The British History Podcast

PSA: Are We Dead?

03 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

(We aren’t) The post PSA: Are We Dead? first appeared on The British History Podcast.

322 – We’re Absolutely Forked

12 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ealdorman AElfirc of Hampshire was out… and Ealdorman AEthelweard the Chronicler was in. He would now be the King’s chief councillor… and he wou...

321 – Course Corrections

06 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

992 was a bad year. There was treason, Vikings, the King’s closest advisor absconded with half the navy, and tipped off an enemy invasion with just ...

320 – Our Wooden Wall

27 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Battle of Maldon was a catastrophe. The brave last stand of Ealdorman Byrhtnoth was never going to change that fact. He was the leading man of Ess...

319 – The Battle of Maldon

21 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Battles don’t appear out of thin air, not even in honor cultures. There’s a reason, a context, that develops long before soldiers or warriors ente...

318 – Chaos is a Ladder

13 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

By 984 the Regency council had been broken and a new inner circle of nobles had been elevated.  And this development was accompanied by a rapid serie...

317 – A Culture of Corruption

30 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At 16 years old, King AEthelred was considered fully grown by Anglo Saxon standards. And as a bonus graduation present, the powerful Bishop AEthelwold...

316 – The Old Guard

23 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Before we get back to our story, I’ve been seeing your conversations online and it made me realize I need to clarify something.   Some of you took ...

315 – The Cracks in the Foundation

16 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

“Under AEthelred nothing was done; or, more truly, throughout his whole reign he left undone those things which he ought to have done, and he did th...

314 – Æthelred: Are You Ready?

03 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

King Edward, like those before him, had died under mysterious and apparently violent circumstances. And the next in line for this increasingly bloody ...

313 – How to Make a Martyr

25 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

“No man can make himself king, but the people have the choice to choose as king whom they please; but after he is consecrated as king, he then has d...

312 – King Edward

20 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

King Edgar is Dead… and in his place reigned his son, King Edward of England. And you’d think that we’d be referring to him as King Edward the F...

311 – Team Edward

11 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

King Edgar the Peaceable was buried at Glastonbury in 975. But weirdly that isn’t the end of his story. William of Malmesbury tells us that nearly a...

310 – Political Theater

29 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Human beings can’t really be summed up in a nickname. Usually we are more complicated than a word or two. And sometimes, the nickname just doesn’t...

309 – Size Doesn’t Matter (until it does)

22 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

You would think that someone named Edgar the Peaceable enjoyed a good reputation. But the closer you look, the more things start to look…off. And if...

308 – A Thirst for Reform

14 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Across the North Sea, in Scandinavia, a man named Harald Greycloak was struggling for dominance in the region.  He wasn’t just any man, he was a so...

307 – Cleaning House

08 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The King is dead.  Long live the King. Eadwig, the 18 year old King known for his beauty, had died.  Somehow. The post 307 – Cleaning House first ...

306 – King Eadwig

01 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The King is dead, long live the King. So … last episode was a bit of a shocker wasn’t it? After it launched, I got an email from a listener (who h...

305 – A Very Special BHP Valentine’s Day Episode

14 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

History is known as a field for being a bit of a slog. Tracing events, and people, and social movements through decades and centuries is a huge task a...

304 – A Kingdom Divided

12 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Northumbria was always the hot mess of the heptarchy. There are a few exceptions where they manage to pull it together long enough to produce somethin...

303 – Eric Bloodaxe

01 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We can probably assume that Harald Fairhair, the King of Norway, had fantastic hair. It was either big, or really long, or super glossy, and it was al...

302 – King Eadred

25 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ok, where were we? With all this focus on culture, it’s been a little bit since we last talked about the political situation in Britain.  So lets r...

Chapter Eight – Twilight of the Anglo Saxons

17 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This isn’t going to end well.   The post Chapter Eight – Twilight of the Anglo Saxons first appeared on The British History Podcast.

301 – Common Folk

11 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we’re going to wrap up this cultural series with a focus on my favorite group of people.  The people who rarely, if ever, get talked about. ...

300 – Noble Lives

18 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When we left off, we were talking about Thegns. Specifically, we were talking about King’s Thegns and how they could wield degrees of power that cou...

299 – The Shape of Power

07 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ealdormen… Thegns… Ceorls. These were the  important cogs in the machine of government. They had powerful roles, and held powerful spaces within ...

The Achavanich Beaker Burial Project: Ancient DNA with Maya Hoole

03 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Links to material referenced in the show. The Achavanich Beaker Burial ‘Ava’: a Beaker-associated woman from a cist at Achavanich, Highland, and t...

298 – Uptown Ceorl

16 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Long ago there was a settlement that had been occupied and farmed by the British and the Anglo Saxons for centuries. In fact, by the time that the Sca...

297 – The Hundreds and the Wapentakes

10 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We have spoken a lot about the life of a handful of individuals – namely the rulers that have descended from the line of Alfred. There are a couple ...

The Halloween Special

26 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I love Halloween. I think it might be my favorite holiday, and it’s not really because I like spooky things. I actually kind of hate horror movies. ...

296 – Darkening Skies

19 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It begins in France. The struggle for power between King Louis IV and Hugh the Great had been raging for quite some time… When we last visited the c...

295 – The Return of England

11 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

You know the pieces on a chessboard? There’s the knight, and the queen, and the castle….and then there’s the bishop. There’s a reason why a ga...

294 – It All Comes Crashing Down

05 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the last few episodes is a story about a lesson that humanity has had to re-learn again and again throughout history. When your society i...

293 – The Beacons are Lit

23 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When we left off, AEthelstan had recently died, Olaf had returned from Dublin and been crowned King of Jorvik (which meant that the Kingdom of Jorvik ...

292 – King in the North

10 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How we understand any event comes down to what angle we are able to view it from. And the story of AEthelstan is no exception. On the one hand, it is ...

291 – Pandemonium

30 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When King Edward died, the plan was that his second son would take the throne. By all indications, neither Edward nor the power structures within Wess...

290 – This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land

23 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Brunanburh had been a titanic struggle. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle speaks of how the fighting lasted from morning to night, until “the field grew dar...

289 – Brunanburh

18 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

You can’t just go to war. I mean… I guess you can. But it’s not a good idea. War takes work. It takes planning. It takes preparation. War, to pu...

288 – Extracurricular Activities

10 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I wonder if King Rudolph of France resented his crown. I mean, seeking the crown probably seemed like a good idea at the time but the whole thing had ...

287 – The Conquest of Scotland

27 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For the last six years, AEthelstan had been ruling in a manner that hasn’t been seen in Britain for generations. Beyond being a warlord, or even a K...

286 – Noble Pursuits

21 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After generations of devastating war, England has found itself at peace. Which leaves a question we haven’t had to ask in a while. What did the Angl...

285 – Full Court Press

11 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Era of AEthelstan is one of contradictions. His behavior, his policies, his wars… pretty much everything that is happening during this period se...

284 – AEthelstan the Victorious

07 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, we ended with King AEthelstan’s aggression towards Kingdoms of Wales and Cornwall. We don’t know precisely what occurred, or why AEthel...

283 – The Kingdoms of the Foreigners

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine that you went from being a disfavored bastard with little power, to the most powerful English king that had ever existed, in the space of just...

282 – How To Win Friends and Influence Jorvik

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

AEthelstan had completed his annexation of Jorvik, and in doing so he had outperformed every last one of his predecessors, including his grandfather, ...

281 – England

08 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The last couple of episodes have focused on the political tools that AEthelstan had at his disposal. Marriage alliances, fostering, dynastic cults and...

280 – King AEthelstan’s Love Life

25 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What is a King’s most important duty? Is it the defense of the realm? Or perhaps the growth of the kingdom’s borders? What about developing the ec...

279 – Dynastic Cults

17 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Want to know something strange? When Edward died, the Irish annals said nothing. Not a mention about his death, nor the circumstances of it. And it’...

278 – The Thunderbolt

10 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a dirty secret to history podcasts, and it only becomes clear when you actually start one. The truth is that many people will SAY that they ...

277 – King AEthelstan: Say Yes to the Dress

26 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It’s important to hit the ground running when you start a new job. Especially if it is one that carries a lot of responsibility. When you’re new, ...

276 – The Bastard Rebel King

20 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Edward is one of contradictions. There’s something about his rule that seems … complicated and requiring more nuance than many of our...

275 – King Edward the Almost First King of England

13 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Edward is undeniably odd. There are events that are at best, unexplained and at worst look potentially horrible. But he’s also a man of...

274 – The Missing Shire

05 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the last several episodes I’ve been breaking down the weird evidence that surrounds Edward towards the end of his reign. It’s been a deep dive ...

273 – I Do… Do I?

29 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Last episode we talked about the rapid growth of AEthelflaed’s power, Edward’s militarizing AEthelflaed’s borders, Edward visiting her at her ca...

272 – The End of the Age of AEthelflaed

15 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Trying to tell the story of AEthelflaed is like trying to study gravity. We know her indirectly, by the impressions she left and the political shifts ...

271 – How to Break a Kingdom in Six Months

11 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For the last several years, the Anglo Saxons had been on a true war footing. AEthelflaed and Edward had been showing skill and audacity in the field, ...

270 – War in the Five Boroughs

01 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There’s an entry from the Irish Fragmentary annals that caught my attention. It talks about the defeat of Hroald and Ohter at the hands of AEthelfla...

269 – The Western Front

23 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Wessex and Mercia have had a busy decade. Both kingdoms militarized their borders, fought off invasion forces, and even took the offensive and marched...

268 – Viking Invasion

16 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

AEthelflaed, Lady of Mercia, and her brother, King Edward, had been bringing the fight to the Danes… they had been stretching their borders into Dan...

267 – The Southern Expansion

01 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

O potent elfleda! Maid, men’s terror! You did conquer nature’s self; worthy The name of man! More beauteous nature’s form of A woman; but your v...

266 – The Rise of AEthelflaed and the Breaking of Northumbria

27 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Battle of Tettenhall, as we discussed last episode, remains a mystery to us. We aren’t certain of the circumstances that started the battle, exa...

265 – The Battle of Tettenhall; and Zombies, maybe.

13 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There is so much that the Chronicle hides from us after the death of Alfred. Edward’s apple seems to have fallen fairly far from the tree, because t...

264 – The Lost Rebellion

05 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the year 909 we get an odd entry from the Chronicle. “This year St. Oswald’s body was removed from Bardney into Mercia.” It’s an weird entr...

263 – AEthelflaed and Ingimund

06 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When we left off last episode, war had come to Mercia. Ingimund and his Scandinavian allies abandoned their peace treaty and were seeking to expand th...

262 – AEthelred and AEthelflaed

01 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A year after Edward took the throne – in year 901, while he was still fighting AEthelwold’s rebellion – something strange appeared in the Charte...

261 – The Anglo Saxon Chronicle and the Mercian Register

25 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

I hope that after the last few episodes (and honestly, the last few years) have dispelled the myth of elegance that surrounds monarchy. Especially med...

260 – King Edward’s Forgotten Love Life

17 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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, o...

259 – The Last Stand of the House of AEthelred

04 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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), a...

258 – The Rise of King Edward I of Wessex

30 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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...

257 – Political Accommodation Within The Danelaw

22 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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...

256 – Scandinavian Settlement in England

12 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

For the last few episodes we’ve been discussing the way life has been changing in Southern Britain. While the dramatic battles and political maneuve...

255 – Londonwic to London

28 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

254 – Worcester

14 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 to...

253 – Anglo Saxon Market Towns in the Viking Age

07 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 b...

252 – The Coming of the Anglo-Scandinavians

01 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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...

251 – Chapter Seven: England

17 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We are entering a new era in the BHP. Support the Show The post 251 – Chapter Seven: England first appeared on The British History Podcast.

250 – The Year 900

10 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the year 900. We’ve closed out another century, and the 900’s are looking as tumultuous as the 800’s. But before we move forward in our s...

249 – Kenneth MacAlpin and the Birth of Scotland

03 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve reached the end of an era. It was late 899, and Alfred (who has been our central figure for dozens of episodes) was at last at rest. But with ...

248 – The Death of Alfred the Great

16 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

By 897, everything Alfred had known…. changed. He was barely in his 20s when he took the throne and he hadn’t had a chance to stop for a breath fo...

247 – Our Wooden Wall

08 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Danes encamped at Bridgnorth had been campaigning for years. Many had come here with Haesten and the Appledore fleet. They were the veterans of th...

246 – The Hard Edge of Soft Power

25 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When I write an episode I begin by looking at what has happened in the past, then at what will come in the future, and only after that do I allow myse...

245 – King Alfred: Infrastructure is Sexy

13 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

For the Viking army fleeing Shoebury, there wasn’t much to look forward to in a winter holiday at Chester. It would be wet. It would be cold. It wou...

244 – Haesten’s Advance

31 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

“Then came the king’s troops, and routed the enemy, broke down the work, took all that was therein money, women, and children and brought all to L...

The Achavanich Beaker Burial Project: The Beaker People with Dr. Alison Sheridan

24 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Learn more about Dr. Sheridan and her work Dr. Sheridan’s Wiki page Dr. Sheridan’s Great Archaeology page Dr. Sheridan’s Academia.edu page The A...

243 – The Sieges of AEthelred of Mercia

20 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine that you’re in your 20s. You are a member of the royal dynasty… the next in line for the throne. But your future court is filled with powe...

242 – Edward AEtheling at Farnham

12 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

892 was not a very good year. Alfred’s gambit to pacify the forces of Hastein through the power of baptism and gifts had failed utterly, and now the...

The Achavanich Beaker Burial Project: Discovering Ava with Maya Hoole

03 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter: @AvaBeakerBurial Facebook: facebook.com/achavanichbeakerburial Website: https://achavanichbeakerburial.wordpress.com/ Canmore: Canmore.org.uk...

241 – Haesten

27 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What was Alfred’s reaction to the news of a massive viking fleet crossing the channel? Was it a surprise? Did he just expect it at this point? Was h...

240 – Viking Roadshow: Rollo edition

21 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A massive fleet was off the coast of Kent, heading directly for Alfred’s realm. It was a fleet of 250 ships teeming with skilled, highly experienced...

239 – The Dying Time

13 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Today we’re going to cover 5 or 6 years, and we’re going to cover a fascinating theory that (if true) should color virtually everything we know ab...

238 – A Patchwork of War

31 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Sons of Rhodri Mawr were in a difficult position. Their father had been a powerful ruler in Britain… he was a man who had gained vast swaths of ...

237 – Asser

25 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Sons of Rhodri, rulers of vast swaths of Wales, have followed in their father’s footsteps in their quest to bring all of the Western Kingdoms un...

236 – A Return to Scholarship

17 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

“I can not find anything better in man, than that he know, and nothing worse than that he be ignorant.” That’s a quote from Alfred, and I think ...

235 – Alfred’s Educational Reforms

10 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

One of the interesting things about piecing together the life of Alfred is that we find little windows into who he was in the strangest of places. Mos...

234 – The Sons of Rhodri and AEthelred’s Beautiful Hair

03 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This episode has been difficult to write. In fact, the last several have been difficult, and it all comes down to issues of time. Not space time flexi...

233 – Alfred’s Powerplay and the Restructuring of Wessex

25 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

While all of the political wrangling was occurring in Tamworth, Guthrum-AEthelstan was relocating to East Anglia, and he was bringing serious changes ...

232 – Fifth Century Britain with Dr. Catherine Hills

19 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Hills discussed material culture, ethnicity, Anglo Saxon migration, and more in this fascinating interview. You can learn more about what Dr. Hill...

231 – Anglo Saxon Economics and Money with Professor Rory Naismith

11 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Follow Rory on Twitter @Rory_Naismith and make sure to follow him at his Academic page at Kings College London as well as on Academia.edu. This episod...

230 – Guthrum Gets a Bath

03 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

For Alfred, everything had changed at Chippenham. It was at Chippenham where he had lost his crown and his kingdom… it’s also possible that he was...

A Ten Year Old in WWII: A Memorial

30 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Thank you for always being there for me, Nanna. The post A Ten Year Old in WWII: A Memorial first appeared on The British History Podcast.