Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

High & Late Middle Ages

106 Episodes 28 Series 120 Figures 65 Events 297 Books 203 Authors

Covering roughly the 11th–15th centuries, the High & Late Middle Ages era treats political consolidation, religious conflict, urban and commercial growth, and the expansion of empires. Series include "1066" (political turmoil and the Norman Conquest), "Amsterdam" (the city's development from a 13th‑century fishing village to a major financial centre), "Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade" (heresy and crusade in Languedoc), "Genghis Khan" (Temüjin’s rise and the Mongol Empire), and "Henry IV" (usurpation and contested kingship). Episodes cover Harun al‑Rashid and Baghdad, the Princes in the Tower, Macbeth’s historical basis, Anglo‑French truces and Exeter 1067. Discussed figures and works include Innocent III, Henry IV, Vlad the Impaler, Ibn al‑Haytham, The War on Heresy and Worlds of Arthur.

Timeline Subway

Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 12 of 106

2024

3 episodes

The Canterbury Tales (Ep 4)

This episode examines Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales as both a literary masterpiece and a vivid window onto …

The Murder of Richard II (Ep 3)

The Peasants' Revolt · Part 3

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook narrate the rise and fall of Richard II, tracing how his personality, favourites and …

The Peasants’ Revolt: London’s Burning (Ep 2)

The Peasants' Revolt · Part 2

This episode examines the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, focusing on the dramatic events around Blackheath, Mile End, London…

2023

9 episodes

The Mystery of the Pregnant Pope

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the legend of Pope Joan — a purported female pope said to have reigned …

RIHC: The Princes in the Tower, Fabricated Evidence and History in the News

In this on-the-road episode recorded in Adelaide, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook answer listener questions and discu…

Baghdad: The Golden Age (Ep 3)

Baghdad · Part 3

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine Harun al-Rashid and Baghdad at the height of the early Abbasi…

Baghdad: The Arabian Nights (Ep 4)

Baghdad · Part 4

This episode — the fourth in the hosts' series on Baghdad and the Islamic Golden Age — examines how medieval Baghdad be…

The History Behind Hogwarts: Ancient Schools and Revolting Students (Ep 2)

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their multi-episode examination of the origins and cultural resonances…

Viking Sorcery

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview archaeologist and scholar Neil Price about Norse religion, magic (sei…

The Blood-Drinking Bride of Christ

This episode of The Rest Is History (hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook) examines the life, mystical experiences, …

Amsterdam: Miracles, Money and Mud (Ep1)

Amsterdam · Part 1

This Rest Is History Club episode is a walking tour of Amsterdam that traces the city’s rise from a 13th‑century fishin…

The Mystery of the Holy Grail (Ep 2)

Indiana Jones double bill

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the origins, meanings and later receptions of the Holy Grail legend. Tr…

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Series in this era

28 series

1066

5 episodes Aired: 2025-04-06 – 2025-04-22

Joan of Arc

5 episodes Aired: 2026-01-05 – 2026-01-14

The Hundred Years' War (S2)

5 episodes Aired: 2024-08-25 – 2024-09-10

12 (or 13) Days of Christmas

4 episodes Aired: 2021-12-25

Dawn of the Samurai

4 episodes Aired: 2026-04-05

The Hundred Years' War (S1)

4 episodes Aired: 2023-04-03

The Road to 1066

4 episodes Aired: 2025-03-17

Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade

3 episodes Aired: 2023-02-06

Great World Cup Saga

3 episodes Aired: 2022-11-28 – 2022-12-13

She-wolves Mini Series

3 episodes Aired: 2026-05-19 – 2026-06-09

Historical figures

120 tagged

Edward III of England

28 episodes

William I of England (William the Conqueror / William, Duke of Normandy)

25 episodes

Richard II of England

22 episodes

Henry V of England

21 episodes

Harold Godwinson (Harold II of England)

18 episodes

Edward the Confessor

16 episodes

Henry IV of England (Henry Bolingbroke)

16 episodes

Harald Sigurdsson (Harald Hardrada, Harald III of Norway)

15 episodes

Cnut the Great (Canute)

14 episodes

Edward I of England

13 episodes

Historical events

65 tagged

Hundred Years' War (1337–1453, Western Europe)

29 episodes

Battle of Hastings (1066)

18 episodes

Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415)

15 episodes

Norman Conquest

15 episodes

Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066)

12 episodes

Black Death (c.1347–1351)

12 episodes

Battle of Crécy (26 August 1346)

11 episodes

Peasants' Revolt (1381, England)

11 episodes

Battle of Poitiers (19 September 1356)

10 episodes

Wars of the Roses (1455–1487)

8 episodes

Books

297 tagged

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Author: Traditional Attribution or Various

8 episodes

Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom

Author: Tom Holland

8 episodes

Holy Blood and the Holy Grail

Author: Michael Baigent; Richard Leigh; Henry Lincoln

6 episodes

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Author: Tom Holland

5 episodes

The Canterbury Tales

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer

5 episodes

The Da Vinci Code

Author: Dan Brown

5 episodes

Henry V

Author: William Shakespeare

4 episodes

The Last English King

Author: Julian Rathbone

4 episodes

1066 and All That

Author: W. C. Sellar & R. J. Yeatman

3 episodes

A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom

Author: Mark Gregory Pegg

3 episodes

Authors

203 tagged

Traditional Attribution or Various

24 episodes

Tom Holland

16 episodes

William Shakespeare

9 episodes

Dominic Sandbrook

7 episodes

Geoffrey Chaucer

6 episodes

Michael Baigent; Richard Leigh; Henry Lincoln

6 episodes

Charles Dickens

5 episodes

Dan Brown

5 episodes

Helen Castor

4 episodes

Julian Rathbone

4 episodes