The Fama Podcast

In this episode of the audiolog of the project, “Fama in Medieval Denmark, c. 1240-1340”, we discuss two central component parts of fama, namely reputation and public opinion. What are they really, and how do we deal with these concepts when we study the Middle Ages?Host: Thomas K. Heebøll-Holm, associate professor of Medieval History at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense) and head of the research project “Fama in Medieval Denmark (c. 1240-1340): Rumors, Reputation and Public Opinion” https://www.sdu.dk/da/om-sdu/institutter-centre/iks/forskning/forskningsprojekter/famaThe project and show is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.Podcast editor and producer: Sebastian Kirkgaard NielsenLogo design: Mikkel Larris, SDU GraphicsBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thefamapodcast.bsky.socialLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fama-podcast/about/?viewAsMember=trueYou can likewise follow the podcast on Facebook and Instagram.Literature cited:Chauvin, Pierre-Marie. ‘La sociologie des réputations. Une définition et cinq questions’, Communications, 93(2), 131-145.MacGugan, Joanna. Social Memory, reputation and the politics of death in medieval Irish lordship (2023). Origgi, Gloria. La Réputation. Qui dit quoi de qui? (2015).Origgi, Gloria. Reputation.What it is and why it matters (2018).Wilson, Ian and Nigel Bryant (ed. et trans.). The Book of Geoffroi de Charny with the Livre Charny (2021).

In this episode, we'll be having a look at one of the absolute cornerstones of fama—namely, rumours. Rumours are perhaps the most mesmerising bit of fama, but they're extremely hard to pin down in terms of what they actually are. So tune in and hear a brief discussion of rumours, their relationship to fama, and how one might apply modern theories on rumours on medieval source material.Host: Thomas K. Heebøll-Holm, associate professor of Medieval History at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense) and head of the research project “Fama in Medieval Denmark (c. 1240-1340): Rumors, Reputation and Public Opinion” https://www.sdu.dk/da/om-sdu/institutter-centre/iks/forskning/forskningsprojekter/famaThe project and show is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.Podcast editor and producer: Sebastian Kirkgaard NielsenLogo design: Mikkel Larris, SDU GraphicsBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thefamapodcast.bsky.socialLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fama-podcast/about/?viewAsMember=trueYou can likewise follow the podcast on Facebook and Instagram.Literature cited:Aldrin, Philippe. Sociologie politique des rumeurs (2005)Allport, Gordon and Leo Postman. The Psychology of Rumor (1947)Bloch, Marc. ‘Reflexions d’un historien sur les fausses nouvelles de la guerre’ (1921), in Marc Bloch, L’Histoire. La Guerre, la Résistance (2006), 293-316. Gauvard, Claude. « De grace especial » Crime, État et société en France à la fin du Moyen Âge, (2010). Neubauer, Hans-Joachim. The Rumour. A Cultural History (1999).

What is fama, and what did it mean in the 13th century? That is the topic for this episode. Your host discusses the term's meaning in the Middle Ages, its Greek and Roman origins and its application in medieval legal thought and practice. Host: Thomas K. Heebøll-Holm, associate professor of Medieval History at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense) and head of the research project “Fama in Medieval Denmark (c. 1240-1340): Rumors, Reputation and Public Opinion” https://www.sdu.dk/da/om-sdu/institutter-centre/iks/forskning/forskningsprojekter/famaThe project and show is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.Podcast editor and producer: Sebastian Kirkgaard NielsenLogo design: Mikkel Larris, SDU GraphicsBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thefamapodcast.bsky.socialLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fama-podcast/about/?viewAsMember=trueYou can likewise follow the podcast on Facebook and Instagram.Literature cited:Connell, Charles W. Popular Opinion in the Middle Ages: Channeling Public Ideas and Attitudes (2016).Fraher, Richard M. ‘Conviction According to Conscience: The Medieval Jurists'Debate Concerning Judicial Discretion and the Law of Proof’, Law and History Review, vol. 7, no. 1, 1989, 23-88 Théry, Julien. ‘“Fama”. Public Opinion as a Legal Category : Inquisitorial Procedure and the Medieval Revolution in Government (12th-14th centuries)’ in Micrologus. "Dicitur" : hearsay in science, memory and poetry. (2024: 32), 153-194.

There's a medieval concept that could explain everything from Johnny Depp's trial to the rise of MAGA—and you've probably never heard of it. This is the introductory episode of the fama podcast, a companion audiolog to the research project “Fama in Medieval Denmark (c. 1240-1340): Rumors, Reputation and Public Opinion” headed by associate professor in Medieval History at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense), Thomas Heebøll-Holm. In this episode, we briefly introduce the concept of fama as well as our research project on the topic in high medieval Denmark.  Host: Thomas K. Heebøll-Holm, associate professor of Medieval History at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense) and head of the research project “Fama in Medieval Denmark (c. 1240-1340): Rumors, Reputation and Public Opinion” https://www.sdu.dk/da/om-sdu/institutter-centre/iks/forskning/forskningsprojekter/famaThe project and show is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.Podcast editor and producer: Sebastian Kirkgaard NielsenLogo design: Mikkel Larris, SDU GraphicsBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thefamapodcast.bsky.socialLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fama-podcast/about/?viewAsMember=trueYou can also follow the podcast on Facebook and Instagram.Literature cited:Fenster, Thelma and Daniel Lord Smail, eds. Fama. The Politics of Talk and Reputation in Medieval Europe (2003)