This week we’re going to take a look at what happened with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria. This relatively minor-sounding player in the midst of Charlemagne’s dynastic growth may sound unimportant, but he is a bellwether of just how strong Charles

The Spanish March (S3: E9)

Mar 16th, 2022 35m 34s

This week, we’re going to take a look at Charlemagne's 778 campaign into Spain. Since the most memorable part of the campaign is an epic poem entitled The Song of Roland - a poem focused on the tragic loss of part of Charlemagne's army and the

Baptism or Death (S3: E8)

Mar 6th, 2022 31m 16s

This week, we’re going to take a look at one of the great resistance leaders from the age of Charlemagne: Widukind. Because - news flash! - lots of people did not like Charlemagne. Before we get into everything, there is one more thing we shou

Bonus

An Interview with… #4: Shelley Puhak, Author of The Dark Queens

Feb 22nd, 2022 40m 23s

Today on the show, we interview Shelley Puhak, the author of the soon-to-be-released book The Dark Queens! It is all about Fredegunda and Brunhilda, the rival Merovingian Queens who ran Kingdoms and fought against one another (we spoke all abou

The Fire of Paganism (S3: E7)

Feb 13th, 2022 32m 26s

This week we’re going to take a look at what may be one of the great military miscalculations of all time. Charles was a solid tactician and an excellent logistician, and clearly very successful in most things he tried his hand at. Politics,

The Iron Crown (S3: E6)

Feb 2nd, 2022 37m 40s

This week we’re going to take a look at how, for the third time in less than two decades, the Franks and the Lombards came to blows. However, the Franks would be under new management for the fight this time. Would the change of leader make a di

Little Brother (S3: E5)

Jan 23rd, 2022 33m 22s

This week we’re going to take a look at what exactly happened between Charles and his brother Carloman. The two are referred to in all of the histories as having had a troubled relationship, and this is another one of those situations where, i

The Best Laid Plans (S3: E4)

Jan 12th, 2022 28m 7s

This week we’re going to take a look at the first few years of Charles and Carloman’s reign as seen through the eyes of their mother, Queen Bertrada. Honestly, she’s a tremendous woman who took her shot when she had it; however, when you listen

Pépin the Underrated (S3: E3)

Jan 2nd, 2022 33m 13s

This week we’re going to look back one last time at the life and times of one of the most horribly underrated Kings in all of French history, a guy who may have done more to establish the foundations of modern-day France than any other individu

Bonus

An Interview with… #3: History of the Germans

Jan 1st, 2022 40m 43s

Hello everybody, and welcome to 2022! We here at Thugs and Miracles hope you had an enjoyable New Year’s Eve, and if you’re traveling home today or tomorrow, well, we’re here to keep you company! And not just us! Nope, we’re joined today for a

The Donation (S3: E2)

Dec 22nd, 2021 29m 24s

This week we’re going to look at what may have been the greatest forgery in the history of the world... or at least, one of the most impactful. You see, the Donation of Constantine, for all of its discussion of curing the Emperor of leprosy and

The New King of the Mountain (S3: E1)

Dec 12th, 2021 32m 43s

Welcome back and welcome to Season Three! As always, I’m Benjamin Bernier, and this week we’re going to get right into it...Picking up where we left off at the end of last season, we're going to watch the newly crowned Pépin I of the Carolingi

Introducing... #3: History of the Germans - A New Beginning

Sep 21st, 2021 36m 23s

Hello everyone! I’m popping up in your feed today... not to begin Season 3 - that’s still a little ways off yet! No, what I’m hoping to do today is to introduce you to a new friend of mine and his show, History of the Germans. I’m talking of co

The Merovingians Are Dead; Long Live the Carolingians (S2: E25)

Sep 6th, 2021 34m 45s

This week, at long last and well overdue, we have made it to the end of Season 2 of the podcast! Having wrapped up all of the Kings and having put us on the road to Season 3 with the Carolingians, we're taking this week to look back on the past

A Brand New World (S2: E24)

Aug 23rd, 2021 25m 38s

This week, we have finally made it to the last day of the last Merovingian King, Childéric III. And what can we say about this event other than it has been a really, really long time coming. I mean seriously, we’re talking about a Merovingian k

Abdication (S2: E23)

Aug 10th, 2021 26m 13s

This week, we’re going to look at the abdication of a powerful figure, a man who loomed over Francia and French politics in the mid-8th century - but this man was not the King! This week we’ll be looking at Carloman, the Austrasian Mayor of the

A Different World (S2: E22)

Aug 2nd, 2021 24m 14s

This week, we’re going to take a look at the end of Charles Martel, the naming of his two legitimate sons as heirs, and consider just how different the world is now from the world we started with in 451. I mean, think of how much has changed: t

Interregnum (S2: E21)

Jul 13th, 2021 32m 32s

This week, the show that purports to look “at history through the eyes of the Kings and Queens of France” is going to be just a little bit blind, because with the death of Theuderic IV… we have no King. We have no Queen. And we have no heir app

Bonus

Introducing... #2: Written in Blood History - Arminius

Jul 4th, 2021 50m 18s

Hello boys and girls, and Happy 4th of July to all of my American listeners who are hopefully listening to this podcast while headed out to watch a baseball game or enjoy a picnic and fireworks somewhere and enjoy our nation’s celebration of it

The Battle of Poitiers (S2: E20)

Jun 28th, 2021 28m 50s

This week, we’re finally there, finally to that glorious battle depicted on the walls of the Gallery of Battles: the Battle of Poitiers. To begin this week, the opening story brings us from the build-up noted in last week's episode and delivers

Build-Up (S2: E19)

Jun 21st, 2021 29m 34s

This week we’re getting ready for the big event, the royal rumble, the epic battle for the ages that would, one way or another, seal the fate of Europe as either a Christian or Muslim land…Okay, okay, I’m getting a little carried away with the

Kingmaker (S2: E18)

Jun 14th, 2021 25m 57s

This week we’re going to return our sights to the Merovingian kings. They’ve been so quiet in this time period and overshadowed by such larger-than-life personalities that it’s easy to look past them, but they deserve a glance. One thing we hit

The Hammer (S2: E17)

Jun 7th, 2021 27m 42s

This week, welcome to Charles “The Hammer” Martel. I’ll be honest, up until this point you would be excused if you hadn’t heard of most of the names we’ve covered on this show. Clovis, Chlothar, Brunhilda, Fredegunda and Theuderic are not exact

Introducing... #1: History Cache - Olympias

May 31st, 2021 1h 19m

Hello and happy Memorial Day to all of you out there enjoying a long weekend in the States; for all of my U.K. listeners, happy Spring Bank holiday! I’m not going to lie, that’s possibly the least sexy way of saying “long weekend” that I’ve eve

Echoes of the Past (S2: E16)

May 24th, 2021 22m 6s

This week, we’re going to wrap up what has been a three-part examination of the life and achievements of Pépin d’Herstal, a.k.a. Pépin II, a.k.a Pépin the Younger, a.k.a. Pépin le Gros. Pépin was a larger-than-life figure, a man who ruled Franc