The British History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

260 – King Edward’s Forgotten Love Life Nov 17, 2017

Show notes

Sometimes life comes at you fast. So much happens in such a short space of time that you barely have a chance to take note of where you’re at and, only after it’s all passed, only /then/ do you have a chance to say “oh my god, what /was/ all of that?” I wonder if […]

The post 260 – King Edward’s Forgotten Love Life first appeared on The British History Podcast.

259 – The Last Stand of the House of AEthelred Nov 04, 2017

Show notes

It was an audacious move. To take possession of two towns, to fortify himself inside the Royal Estate of Wimborne (the resting place of his father), and to do all of this after taking an unnamed nun as his wife. But that was what AEthelwold son of AEthelred did. As we discussed last week, we […]

The post 259 – The Last Stand of the House of AEthelred first appeared on The British History Podcast.

258 – The Rise of King Edward I of Wessex Oct 30, 2017

Show notes

On October 26th, 899, Alfred the Great died. He left behind his wife, Eahlswitha, as well as his grown children. I imagine that the loss of Alfred was probably quite difficult on all of them. It’s always hard to lose a family member. But for Edward… the designated heir… what must that have been like? […]

The post 258 – The Rise of King Edward I of Wessex first appeared on The British History Podcast.

257 – Political Accommodation Within The Danelaw Oct 22, 2017

Show notes

Things in Britain are changing rapidly. In Scotland the MacAlpin dynasty is rising, and with it comes the merging of the Scottish and Pictish cultures. A similar blending is happening in the Anglo Saxon regions. As we’ve see in the last few episodes – cities are changing, economies are emerging. And the sudden appearance of […]

The post 257 – Political Accommodation Within The Danelaw first appeared on The British History Podcast.

256 – Scandinavian Settlement in England Oct 12, 2017

Show notes

For the last few episodes we’ve been discussing the way life has been changing in Southern Britain. While the dramatic battles and political maneuvering dominated the story of the last season, you’re now learning of the many of the changes that were changing how lives were lived on the island, and some of them weren’t […]

The post 256 – Scandinavian Settlement in England first appeared on The British History Podcast.

255 – Londonwic to London Sep 28, 2017

Show notes

London is a world unto itself, and it has been for most of its very, very long history. One of the weirdest things about the city is that it contains its own separate city – distinct from the rest of London. It has its own laws, its own government, its own walls. The City of […]

The post 255 – Londonwic to London first appeared on The British History Podcast.

254 – Worcester Sep 14, 2017

Show notes

If you read of old Britain… even if you read of modern Britain… you’d be forgiven if you thought it was all London. And London does soak up a ton of the spotlight. It’s like the Stonehenge of the non-neolithic period. You can’t avoid it. And we won’t here, either. London will be covered regularly, […]

The post 254 – Worcester first appeared on The British History Podcast.

253 – Anglo Saxon Market Towns in the Viking Age Sep 07, 2017

Show notes

Cultures change all the time – yours is changing right now, in ways you may or may not realize. It’s a completely normal, everyday fact that has been with humanity since we began. Probably before we began. And yet, telling the story of how a culture changed is extremely challenging. Cultural shifts are messy, they’re […]

The post 253 – Anglo Saxon Market Towns in the Viking Age first appeared on The British History Podcast.

252 – The Coming of the Anglo-Scandinavians Sep 01, 2017

Show notes

At the start of 867, there were four major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain. By 874, three of the four – Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia – had lost their independence. That’s a timespan of only 7 years, and in that 7 years the political landscape of Britain had changed dramatically and permanently. That’s insane. For […]

The post 252 – The Coming of the Anglo-Scandinavians first appeared on The British History Podcast.