The Sixth Age: A Medieval History Podcast

The Sixth Age: A Medieval History Podcast

Forget everything you think you know about the "Dark Ages." The Sixth Age is a deep dive into Medieval History that strips away modern myths to reveal the world as it was actually lived.

Why did people in the Middle Ages see the world the way they did? From the fall of Rome to the dawn of the Renaissance, we reconstruct the Medieval worldview using primary sources and period-accurate perspectives. If you’re a fan of European history, historiography, and immersive storytelling, join us as we reject later stereotypes to rediscover the vibrant, complex, and often surprising lives of our ancestors.

Subscribe to The Sixth Age for a fresh, authentic look at the history of the Medieval world.

Listen on:

Episodes

6 days ago

The Sons of the Sea-Monster: The Merovingians and the Making of France

6 days ago

This episode explores the legendary and historical origins of the Merovingian dynasty, from the myth of Merovich’s sea-monster conception to Clovis’s military conquests and conversion to Christianity.It examines Frankish identity, Roman influence, the synthesis of Roman and Germanic cultures, and how Clovis’s actions set the foundation for the medieval kingdom of France.

Friday May 15, 2026

Christian Creeds: Formalizing Ancient and Early Medieval Christianity, from Nicea to Chalcedon

Friday May 15, 2026

This episode traces early Christianity’s theological diversity and the struggle to define orthodoxy from grassroots movements to imperial councils.It explains how emperors like Constantine and Theodosius used councils (Nicaea, Ephesus, Chalcedon) to settle disputes over Jesus’ nature, label heresies, and enforce creeds—reshaping the Christian world and provoking enduring schisms.

Friday May 08, 2026

Saint Brigid: Breaking Boundaries in Medieval Ireland

Friday May 08, 2026

How do you turn a pagan goddess into a Christian saint? That's what we're asking in this week's episode on Saint Brigid, the boundary-breaking Irish woman who was venerated across Medieval Europe. We'll be talking about Brigid's pagan origins, as well as examining her relationship with some modern-day Irish social movements.
Learn more at our website!

Sunday May 03, 2026

Theodoric the Great, and the Foundation of Medieval Italy

Sunday May 03, 2026

This week we're diving into the life of Theodoric the Great, the Ostrogothic King who conquered Italy and ruled Barbarian and Roman alike. We'll be focusing on the way Theodoric blended Roman and Gothic culture to rule effectively, and talk about how his rule paved the way for an Italian Kingdom, independent of Constantinople's oversight.
Comments, questions, or concerns can be left at 6thagepod.com/contact
Apologies for the dog eating his lunch in the background. Mic filters are on the way, so there should be less background noise in future episodes.

Friday Apr 24, 2026

The First Pilgrim: Saint Helena of Constantinople

Friday Apr 24, 2026

Join us this week as we do a deep dive on the first Christian pilgrim, Saint Helena of Constantinople. Her story provides us an insight into women's role in the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman world, and she set the stage for the centuries long tradition of Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem that persists today.

Saturday Apr 18, 2026

Saint Augustine

Saturday Apr 18, 2026

Learn about the quintessential Medieval saint and theologian, Augustine of Hippo.
Please ignore the dog eating his lunch in the background.
The podcast website is now up! Visit 6thagepod.com today.

Friday Apr 10, 2026

Meet the Barbarians

Friday Apr 10, 2026

It's time for a whirlwind tour of the Barbarian peoples settling along the Roman Empire's fringes. These guys will undermine the Empire from the inside, and ultimately lay the foundations for the Medieval Kingdoms we know and love.

Sunday Mar 29, 2026

New Rome Who Dis

Sunday Mar 29, 2026

Rome fell in 476 AD. Or did it? This episode dives into the transition from the Roman world to the Medieval one, and tackles some of the biggest misconceptions we have about the Fall of the Roman Empire.

Wednesday Mar 18, 2026

Clovis and Hannah

Wednesday Mar 18, 2026

The story of a Jewish Builder, sharing his visions of the end of the world.

Tuesday Mar 10, 2026

Introduction

Tuesday Mar 10, 2026

Welcome to the Sixth Age: A Medieval History Podcast. Learn about our approach to Medieval History here!

Works Cited

Episode One: Introduction

Gabriele, Matthew, and David M. Perry. The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe. First Harper Perennial edition. Harper Perennial, 2022.

Jones, Dan. Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages. Viking, 2021.

Landes, Richard. “The Fear of an Apocalyptic Year 1000: Augustinian Historiography, Medieval and Modern.” Speculum 75, no. 1 (2000): 97–145. https://doi.org/10.2307/2887426.

Episode Two: Clovis and Hannah

Becker, Nickolas and Philosophy Documentation Center. “The Beatitudes through the Ages.” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 42, no. 1 (2022): 215–16. https://doi.org/10.5840/jsce202242168.

Bermejo-Rubio, Fernando. “Was Pontius Pilate a Single-Handed Prefect? Roman Intelligence Sources as a Missing Link in the Gospels’ Story.” Klio 101, no. 2 (2019): 505–42. https://doi.org/10.1515/klio-2019-0040.

Eklund, Rebekah Ann. The Beatitudes through the Ages. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2021.

Evans, Craig A. Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies. 1st ed. Arbeiten Zur Geschichte Des Antiken Judentums Und Des Urchristentums Series, v. 25. BRILL, 1995.

Gers-Uphaus, Christian. “The Figure of Pontius Pilate in Josephus Compared with Philo and the Gospel of John.” Religions 11, no. 2 (2020): 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11020065.

Hunter, David G. “Helvidius, Jovinian, and the Virginity of Mary in Late Fourth-Century Rome.” Journal of Early Christian Studies 1, no. 1 (1993): 47–71. https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.0.0147.

Mcguckin, John A. “Origen on the Jews.” Studies in Church History 29 (1992): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0424208400011189.

Muessig, Carolyn. “Preaching the Beatitudes in the Late Middle Ages: Some Mendicant Examples.” Studies in Christian Ethics 22, no. 2 (2009): 136–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0953946809103488.

Pagels, Elaine H. Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus. First edition. Doubleday, 2025.

Reimer, Andy M. Miracle and Magic: A Study in the Acts of the Apostles and the Life of Apollonius of Tyana. Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Supplement series 235. Sheffield Academic Press, 2002.

Soyer, François. Medieval Antisemitism? Past Imperfect. Arc Humanities Press, 2019.

Tredwell, Daniel M. A Sketch of the Life of Apollonius of Tyana: Or the First Ten Decades of Our Era. 1st ed. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2023.

Willem Van Henten, Jan. “REBELLION UNDER HEROD THE GREAT AND ARCHELAUS: PROMINENT MOTIFS AND NARRATIVE FUNCTION.” In The Jewish Revolt against Rome: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Online-Ausg, edited by Mladen Popović. Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, Volume 154. Brill, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004216693.

Episode Three: New Rome Who Dis

Alvar, Jaime, and Richard Lindsay Gordon. Romanising Oriental Gods: Myth, Salvation, and Ethics in the Cults of Cybele, Isis, and Mithras. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 165. Brill, 2008.

Cataldo, Jeremiah W. A Social-Political History of Monotheism: From Judah to the Byzantines. First edition. Routledge, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315406909.

Cook, William R., William R. Cook, and Ronald B. Herzman. The Medieval World View: An Introduction. 2. ed. Oxford Univ. Press, 2004.

Ermatinger, James W. The Roman Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia. Empires of the World. ABC-CLIO, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, 2018. https://doi.org/10.5040/9798216009771.

Esler, Philip Francis, ed. The Early Christian World. Second edition. Routledge Worlds. Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315165837.

Falcasantos, Rebecca Stephens. Constantinople: Ritual, Violence, and Memory in the Making of a Christian Imperial Capital. Christianity in Late Antiquity 9. University of California Press, 2020.

Hagler, Aaron M. Owning Disaster: Coping with Catastrophe in Abrahamic Narrative Traditions. Routledge, 2024. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003377191.

Halsall, Guy. Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376-568. Cambridge Medieval Textbooks. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Halsberghe, Gaston. Cult of Sol Invictus. Études Préliminaires Aux Religions Orientales Dans l’Empire Romain 23. Brill, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004296251.

Heyob, Sharon Kelly. The Cult of Isis among Women in the Graeco-Roman World. Études Préliminaires Aux Religions Orientales Dans l’Empire Romain 51. Brill, 1975. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004296374.

Oman, Charles William Chadwick. The Byzantine Empire: “Byzantium Could Not Be Deprived of Its Unrivalled Position”’. Copyright Group, 2019.

Robin Darling Young. “The Lady Advances: The Voices of Women in Early Christianity.” Journal of Early Christian Studies (Baltimore) 31, no. 3 (2023): 263–82. 2864246453, pp. 263–82. ProQuest Central; ProQuest One Academic. https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.2023.a904927.

Schott, Jeremy M. Christianity, Empire, and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity. Divinations. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.