Dan Snow
speaker
15,398 appearances
106 recordings
11 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard today
Dan Snow’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 103 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 24.
Appearances
Haldrada was keen to invade England, and he now had a useful idiot who could provide him with all sorts of intelligence, a man who'd once been so close to the king, a man who'd once governed the north of England.
Perfect.
Hardrada called up an army.
And started gathering the ships necessary to transport them to Britain.
In August that fleet was assembled.
No mean feat in itself.
I mean, great warriors really have to be great logisticians, particularly in this period, and great sailors too.
Taking advantage of an easterly wind they sailed, perhaps three hundred ships or so from Sonyaford on the west coast.
Passing towering cliffs of rock, more like a river canyon, until the land fell away into a sprawl of rocky islands and the boat started to rise and fall on the ocean swell.
Until they left the land behind altogether, they pushed out into the North Atlantic.
They shook free their sails.
And off they went.
Those sails were festooned with symbols.
There were carved dragons or effigies on the wooden prow of the ships, brightly coloured shields lining up along the rails.
What a sight it must have been.
Hardrado, we're told, was a poet, alongside his many other accomplishments.
And perhaps he stood squarely on that deck, feeling the boat move beneath his feet.
Composing a verse, as the salt sea air swirled around him.
And he felt the clarity that comes with setting out to sea.
His ship was named Serpent.
Showing 1141–1160 of 15,398 · page 58 of 770
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