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Podcast: Line drawing circle containing a microphone below a pair of headphones GHIL Podcast

 
 
16th century woodcut, printed Nuremberg, 1525, showing the peasant army on foot, with spears and polearms, on the left of image, facing opposite them mounted and armoured knights. Between the two groups, a male figure turn the wheel of fortune. On a square black background, with the GHIL podcast logo of a microphone and headphones in a circle.
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Interview

Henrike Lähnemann, Thomas Kaal and Kim König

A linguistic legacy

The lasting impact of Reformation-era texts

9 January 2026

Listen to podcast (0:21 h)

16th century woodcut, printed Nuremberg, 1525, showing the peasant army on foot, with spears and polearms, on the left of image, facing opposite them mounted and armoured knights. Between the two groups, a male figure turn the wheel of fortune. On a square black background, with the GHIL podcast logo of a microphone and headphones in a circle.

Interview

Henrike Lähnemann, Thomas Kaal and Kim König

A linguistic legacy
The lasting impact of Reformation-era texts

In this episode, GHIL Fellow for Medieval History Thomas Kaal and host Kim König talk with Henrike Lähnemann, Professor of Medieval German Literature and Linguistics at the University of Oxford, about her recent GHIL lecture. They explore how Latin and German texts from around 500 years ago shaped the development of the German language and its cultural history, with examples ranging from nuns’ letters to Reformation pamphlets and songs, a brief musical interlude included.

Don't miss Henrike Lähnemann's accompanying GHIL Lecture on “1525 and All That : How Nuns’ Letters and Reformation Pamphlets Shaped German History”.

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