In the jungle of podcasts devoted to history (let us say rather that it is about a forest, even a wood, and not a jungle), those of
Fanny Cohen Moreau come from the most beautiful forests. In Passion Médiévistes, Passion Modernistes or Passion Antiquités, she welcomes researchers to approach their subjects of study with passion (hence the title) and pedagogy. But it’s probably in the podcast
Super Royal Joust that its tone and its specificity are best heard. She pits the kings of a century against each other, assisted by two speakers, to choose the best. “This is the format that people ask me the most, and the one on which I have the most feedback,” she readily admits.
While she animates the round table on Saturday, October 9 The medievalist at work: doing a thesis on medieval history in the 21st century At the Blois History Rendezvous, the journalist and podcast producer answered our questions.
Who has the most fun in Super Joust Royale? You and your guests or listeners?
Ha, I don’t know. We, in any case, have a lot of fun doing it.
And who learns the most?
So there, the answer is not obvious because the participants also really learn things. Everyone prepares their argument in their own corner so we have the surprise at the time of the game! But of course I sincerely hope that the listeners learn things. Because, yes, the tone is light and humorous, but we still get a lot of information. It’s a different form of popularization than my other podcasts, but we still try to deconstruct some historiographical clichés.
What do you mean ?
Talking about kings is a pretext for talking about history in general. For example, when we say that Philip the Fair had the Templars arrested because he was stiff and needed money after his monetary reform failed … Speaking of succession, how the reigns are are chained, we also demonstrate something about the Salic law. It’s a lot less obvious than many people think. For example, when we explain how François 1er became king of France, we measure the share of luck and chance. Succession is not something natural. Very often the stakes of power come down to knowing who has the most friends and the most money …
However, we feel that your speakers have their favorites, their favorite kings.
Every historian has his fads. The period that a historian has chosen to study says a lot about him, about his character. So yes, we are a bit of supporters, we have assumed bad faith. Anyway, when we talk about the history of the kings of France, it is not possible to be completely objective. For this podcast, we’re emphasizing that. We support our king like a supporter supports his team. Even if it sucks …
The goal is still to take stock of the reign of each, right?
Yes, but with the codes of pop culture. We make the match between Pépin le Bref and Charlemagne against if we refereed a fight between Sangoku and Vegeta.
How did you come up with the idea for this particular tone?
Often, before or after the recording of the Passion Médiévistes podcast, we found ourselves chatting at the bar and boasting the kings of France to relax. Quite naturally I ended up saying to myself “we should record this”… The casting is not complicated because I take my friends. The assembly is also faster.
Do you receive criticism of this format from your subscribers?
Yes, not bad (laughs). It is the podcast that has the most positive feedback but it is also the format where I have the most reviews! Some people reproach me for speaking like Cyril Hanouna … But I think it’s also interesting to talk about history with everyday words, expressions of today. We are not going to apologize for making fun of the kings of France who died eating a door lintel … We cannot all speak like Stéphane Bern. Even if I have nothing against Stéphane Bern whom I dream of interviewing.
And those who appreciate the format, what do they say?
The goal is to provoke reactions. Most people like to disagree with our arguments, as long as it’s done in a good mood and they’re learning things. A fan of Real Madrid and Barça can have a great evening arguing. Among the people who like the format, I also have a few young history teachers who are not necessarily medievalists and who are happy to have a podcast that allows them to understand the context.
But are teachers your target?
I have a very large target. My podcasts need to be of interest to my 15-year-old cousin and my 86-year-old grandmother who does not have the patent.
In your provisional ranking of the kings of France, Saint Louis is last… That wouldn’t please my grandmother.
Yes, we are accused of having hatched a plot against him but factually he missed a lot of things, sorry.