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/fama

The project and show is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.

Podcast editor and producer: Sebastian Kirkgaard Nielsen

Logo design: Mikkel Larris, SDU Graphics

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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).

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