History of the Outremer

This is an excellent and very well researched show. The crusades is hardly a neglected area of study in the west, but he brings in a ton of primary source and engages in some very extensive historical analysis. This is not the typical threadbare narrative of the crusades. It’s got plenty of meat! You can tell he has really poured himself into it. His outrageously inflected readings of the sources (in English and also in the original romance) really give a sense of authenticity and fidelity to the typically bombastic language of these works. Plus, he really focuses in on linguistics (one of my favorite topics) and is a Romance powerhouse, even treating us to exclusive translations of scholarship written in French and Spanish. But don’t think it’s dry! Some history podcasts can be so monotonous that you can’t keep focus. The tone here is light, and he sprinkles in movie clips and references to make sure you’re paying attention. Please keep making episodes!

This podcast is well researched and produced. The host always reads a bit of the original source material both in the original tongue and translated. If your interested in more then just a blow by blow retelling of the crusades then this is the show for you.

Very interesting topic told in a very clear and historically acturate manner.

The host is sneaky smart. The more you listen, the more you find out that he’s done extensive homework. He displays an impressively vast knowledge of the 11th century medieval world - and not just the crusader states. That’s, I think, the best attribute of this pod. It really does a good job of threading together A LOT of medieval strings and culminating in the mass Latin west migration to the levant. He gives us informative backstories on Byzantium, the Arabs, the Turks, the Normans, the pope and Italian city states, Fatimid Egypt, the Latin west, and even environmental and economic issues helping to drive forces towards a crusade. And he does it in a storytelling manner, rather than an academic, step by step one. There are some things I think the host could improve upon. What they are though, I honestly can’t quite put my finger on. But overall, this is a nicely done podcast. I personally use it as a story-like follow up to my studies on the various subjects. In other words, I’ll read more in depth, academic approaches to the various histories, and once I’m finished and know what’s going on, I’ll come back to this pod and get the host’s story time take on it. (That’s not to say it’s an unprofessional podcast - I don’t think it is; again, he’s clearly done his homework - just that the pod is organized and presented as more of a tale. Which is a good thing). Anyway, I would recommend. I don’t know the host whatsoever, I’m just an avid history podcast fan.