The Unlikely Spies of Medieval Europe
Prof Jenny Benham,
Medieval History, School of History, Archaeology & Religion, Cardiff University
Date: 20th of May 2026
Time: 20:00
Venue: Zoom
Spies were a common feature of political, diplomatic and courtly life in the period of early medieval Europe. In this article, Jenny Benham explores some interesting contemporary representations of spies, in both literature and art. These stories and images reveal key features of the culture and practices surrounding these so-called ‘little birds’ who listened to and passed on important secret information.
About the speaker:
Jenny Benham is Reader in Medieval History and the Co-director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at Cardiff University. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Higher Education Academy.
OTHER EVENTS
Appalachia and the Hillbilly in the American Imagination
Date: 18th of February 2025
Time: 20:00
Venue: Zoom
Speaker: Dr Antony Harkins, Western Kentucky University, USA
The Appalachian region in the United States comprises the range of mountains stretching from north Georgia up to the state of Maine. It has been celebrated as an area of natural beauty and long-distance walks as well as a major centre of bluegrass music. However, it is also a very misunderstoodarea as evidenced by JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy.
Traces of the Silk Road in Northwest Europe
Date: 18th of March 2026
Time: 20:00
Venue Zoom
Speaker: Prof Susan Whitfield, University of East Anglia
We think of the Silk Roads as a luxury trade route from East Asia to markets such as Damascus in Syria. But there is much more to this story. This trade involved diplomatic, religious and other contacts between different cultures as far as Europe.
Partying like it’s 1679 in Stony Stratford, Or, Mable Graves’s Very Bad Day: Political Protest Songs in 17th century England
Date: 15thof April 2026
Time: 20:00
Venue: Zoom
Speaker: Dr Angela McShane, Hon Reader in History, University of Warwick
Partying like it’s 1679 in Stony Stratford, Or Mable Graves’s Very Bad Day. In 1679, the landlady of The Cock in Stony Stratford was visited by agents of the powerful local magnate, Sir Richard Temple of Stowe. They were investigating a seditious pop song that had created a local and national sensation – and libelled their master. Did she know anything about it? Trouble was … Mabel did know … a lot. Come and hear the story of that sensational song, the era’s huge pop song trade in general, and find out what happened next for Mabel and her family.