The British History Podcast
Episodes
132 – Scotcast Part Nine: St. Columba and King Brude
06 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This episode will cover the years 506 to 584 and will focus primarily upon: King Brude (also known as King Bridie), the King the the Northern Picts …...
131 – Scotcast Part Eight
29 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
So we will begin the account of what was going on with the Picts following the withdrawal of Rome with a rather discouraging fact… isn’t it nice w...
130 – Scotcast Part Seven – Who Were The Picts?
17 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The last time we had episodes focusing upon the Scotcast, it was at the end of Season Two… at the end of roman Britannia, and quite a lot of things ...
Chapter Four: Anglo Saxon Ascendancy
07 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It began with Cassivellaunus. The first recorded King to have commanded the submission of most, if not all, of the British tribes and who fought valia...
129 – The Life of King Wulfhere
04 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
About a year and a half ago I did a series on the Staffordshire hoard. And talking with the experts and viewing the relics was easily one of my favori...
128 – The End of King Oswiu’s Hegemony
25 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The episode covers 664 to 670 and the major characters are… King Oswiu, ruler of Northumbria, son of AEthelfrith, and all around terrifying fellow K...
127 – The Synod of Whitby
04 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The major players for today will be Hild (who was the daughter of King Edwin’s nephew, Hereric), King Oswiu of Bernicia, Bishop Colman of Lindisfarn...
126 – The End of an Era: The Triumph of Christianity in Britain
27 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re going to tackle the history from 660 right up to the lead up to the Synod of Whitby… and we’re going to have a lot of moving parts, ...
125 – King Oswiu: A Gathering Storm
15 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
So in late 655, following his victory at the Winwaed, King Oswiu occupied and ruled Northern Mercia and thus now ruled over an additional 7,000 househ...
124 – Social Mobility: Getting a Raise in Anglo Saxon Kingdoms
09 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re going to wrap up this talk that we’ve been having on the development of social classes in Anglo Saxon britain. Hopefully, once we’re...
123 – Retail Therapy: The Rise of Anglo Saxon Towns
30 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Alright, lets get to history. Specifically, lets talk about towns. And to start with, lets establish a couple terms I’m going to be using a lot. Whe...
122 – The Concentration of Power and Wealth
21 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
I’ll be talking in broad strokes today, but I want to give you a forest view of what we’ve been talking about over the last couple seasons. Suppor...
121 – King Oswiu: The Aftermath of the Winwaed
09 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Battle of the Winwaed is over and Penda is dead along with 30 noble warleaders who had joined him in battle… with them was King Anna’s brother...
120 – Penda and Oswiu: The Winwaed
01 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
So when we last left off, things were going crazy in the North and in the Midlands. But the very last thing I mentioned was that Honorius, the Archbis...
119 – King Penda: No Posers
25 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
So where were we? Oswiu had arranged for the murder of his cousin, which is awkward in itself… but the slain King Oswine was also related to Eanflae...
118 – Oswiu and Oswine: There’s No Anglo Saxon Word for Take Backsies
18 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When we left off Cenwalh of Wessex had left his wife, irritated Penda (since his wife was Penda’s sister), and gained a fancy new wife but lost his ...
117 – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
10 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Oswald was the King of Northumbria and son of AEthelfrith who was killed by Penda at Maserfield. Oswiu was his brother Osric of Deira was the King of ...
116 – Wait, Where Are We? Part two of the history of Britain so far.
27 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been about 2 years and 100 episodes since I did a recap episode to remind you where we were, what the flow of history was, and give you a fores...
115 – Maserfield: Blood Makes The Grass Grow
19 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Edwin, Osric, Eanfrith, Eadfrith, Cadwallon, Sigeberht, Ecgric… Following Hatfield Chase, we have seen a blood letting of the aristocracy of Anglo S...
114 – Oswald and Sigeberht: The Softer Side of Rule
13 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This is going to be one of those episodes that has a lot of moving parts and you might want to listen to it twice. Just a heads up. Alright, so things...
113 – Religious Ambitions: The Rise of Oswald (and Others)
05 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When we last left off, Oswald son of AEthelfrith and Acha, defeated and killed Cadwallon of Gwynedd at the battle of Heavenfield. The defeat was a ser...
112 – The Battle of Heavenfield
29 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The year was 633 or 634, and the tide was turning against Northumbria for the first time in as long as anyone could probably remember. AEthelfrith’s...
111 – Edwin: What Goes Around Comes Around
23 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
That’s something I’ve heard my entire life. When I was younger and picked on at school my father would sometimes say “Don’t worry, Jamie, what...
110 – Mercia: A New Contender Enters the Ring
14 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, last episode, we jumped forward a little to take the story of East Anglia to the point where Sigebehrt took the throne… but lets go back about 3...
109 – Edwin’s Ambitions
07 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When we last left Edwin, Bishop Paulinus finally had his prize. He convinced the great King of Northumbria… the Bretwalda!… Edwin… to abandon hi...
108 – The Christmas Special
23 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since I was a kid in Catholic school, I’ve been somewhat fascinated by the date of Christmas. I often wondered where it came from, given that i...
107 – Edwin’s Conversion
16 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, so when we left off, Bishop Paulinus thought he was about to get Edwin to convert… but then Edwin pulled a bait and switch, and said that god ha...
106 – If You Give Edwin an Inch…
06 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Alright, so when we last left Edwin he was installed as King of Northumbria by King Raedwald, Bretwalda. And he had wielded his newly granted power to...
105 – Sutton Hoo: Treasures of the Dead
25 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Alright, so last episode we learned all about Edith and Basil’s experience at Sutton Hoo, and we covered the opening of four of the 18 mounds… and...
104 – Sutton Hoo: The Finding of Raedwald… and Rabbits
14 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Raedwald… King of East Anglia… Bretwalda. When he is mentioned, if you had heard that name before this show, chances are you heard it in connectio...
103 – Edwin the Conqueror
06 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Alright, last week we finally saw the fall of AEthelfrith and the rise of Edwin of Deira and King Raedwald of East Anglia… Bretwalda! As you probabl...
102 – Have Exile, Will Travel
28 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, when we left off, Edwin… the exile from Deira, had been on the run for quite some time. The King of Bernicia, AEthelfrith, now occupied the thro...
101 – I Ran (So Far Away): The Life and Times of Edwin of Deira
21 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re going to talk quite a bit about Northumbria. And actually, Northumbria is going to start to get really important in our story going forw...
100 – There’s a New Barber In Town
08 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
So you might not know this about me… but I used to have long hair. Really long hair. That flowed down my back in ringlets and, if I left conditioner...
99 – False Starts
01 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is going to have a lot of moving pieces and a lot of AEthel’s. So many AEthels. I’ll do my best to keep reminding you who I’m talki...
98 – The Zeal of Augustine
25 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, when we last left off, Augustine had become the Archbishop of England, had been given orders to make London the seat of the English Church, and ha...
97 – Augustine and Gregory Make a Diocese
17 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
So last week we ended with Augustine converting the people of Kent to Christianity and AEthelberht coming out as Christian… was he converted by Augu...
96 – The Conversion of King AEthelberht
09 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
In the last several episodes we’ve been speaking about religion. We’ve spoken about the paganism that existed on the island, the christians that l...
95 – Two Old Men and a Slave Boy
05 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, so lets leave Britain for this episode and head to Rome. I hear it’s nice this time of year. Actually, I hear it’s really hot this time of yea...
94 – Dark Age Beliefs
29 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
As we go forward in this series, what I hope you’re beginning to get a sense of from both the WelshCast and all the other shows focusing on the so c...
93 – Chapter Three: The Warriors of God
22 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
It has been nearly two hundred years since Rome withdrew from Britannia setting this small island at the edge of the world on a course that could not ...
92 – WelshCast Part Five: More People that Gildas Hated
15 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Alright, so we have two more kings of Wales before we leave Gildas and his spittle flecked rantings. And something that you might notice as we go forw...
91 – WelshCast Part Four: Three Kings of Wales Who Really Annoyed Gildas
09 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re going to talk about some of the people who were really pissing Gildas off. People that drove him so batty that he just couldn’t conta...
90 – WelshCast Part Three: The Silent Treatment
02 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
As you probably remember from the main podcast, before we had the appearance of major Anglo Saxon kingdoms, there was an initial migration and invasio...
89 – WelshCast Part Two: All The Comforts of Rome (well… some of them)
25 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We’re now at the point where Rome has withdrawn from Britannia (and more important to our story, from Wales), and today we’re going to talk about ...
88 – WelshCast Part One: From the Stone Ages to the Withdrawal of Rome
11 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since I did the Scotcast I’ve been receiving messages on facebook, on twitter, on the forums, and I’ve even been getting personal emails aski...
87 – Concubinage and Apartheid in Anglo Saxon England
04 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, so last episode we ended at 597. For those of you who are really into Anglo Saxon history, you might recognize that date as the date that Christia...
86 – The Fall of Ceawlin… and others
30 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, from the title you might have gathered that we’re going to be talking about Ceawlin today. Now from all this discussion of various anglo saxon l...
85 – Ceawlin and the Sons of Ida
30 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
So it’s 568. And things in what will someday become England are still chaotic. Remember what was going on up north in Bernicia? Where Ida, who was p...
84 – The Q&A Episode!
16 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We made it to 100! How awesome is that? (Well, it was the 100th episode before I combined a bunch of episodes… and now it’s the 84th episode). Sup...
83 – Dark Age Warfare Combo Episode
09 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, so last time we talked about how Aethelberht of Kent invaded the kingdom of Wessex and was pushed out by Ceawlin and his army. We don’t have a l...
82 – War. What Is It Good For?
02 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
So the year is 586, and Ceawlin is the leader of the men of Wessex. Wessex has been expanding their holdings to the north and the west, and have been ...
81 – In Search of Unity: A Tale of Selective Memory
25 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, we have a battle coming up but things are still changing rather rapidly and there’s some interesting stuff to cover regarding that, such as lang...
80 – Bloodletting
18 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, when we left off, Ida had become king of Bernicia and we had the beginnings of regional cultural groups. These groups were the result of a whole h...
79 – Saint Patrick’s Day Special
11 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We begin our story in Bannaventa Berniae, a small town somewhere in the West of Britain, probably along the coast. This was probably a small typical R...
78 – It’s Only Natural
04 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
I’m going to wrap up the discussion of the development of regional cultures with a talk on an omnipresent (yet often ignored) influence on all of hu...
77 – Cliques: How the In Crowd Created Our Culture
01 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, when we last left off, we were talking about a new class of elites in sub-roman britain. A group of individuals we identify as anglo saxons and ki...
76 – Developing Class
19 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today we start with a death. Wihtgar, brother of beloved Stuff, warrior, conqueror of Cerdic’s-Ore, and ruler of the Isle of Wight died in 544. Or d...
75 – Cerdic and Cynric: A Story of… well… Probably Farmers
11 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Alright, so when we left off, Cerdic and his son had recently arrived on the island and the Battle of Mons Badonicus had just taken place. So that’s...
74 – When Neighbors Attack: A Story of “Kings”
05 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Right, so here we are right in the middle of all the drama and bloodshed that has been called the Anglo Saxon invasion. We have famous names such as H...
73 – And This Gives You Power Over Me?
28 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, it’s been a while since we’ve spoken about the story. Instead, we’ve been chatting about the culture and the people, we’ve been speaking a...
72 – Staffordshire Hoard: Wrapping Up with Kevin Leahy
25 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re wrapping up the Staffordshire Hoard project. We have been given an amazing amount of depth and detail thanks to the wonderful experts wh...
71 – Staffordshire Hoard: Psychopathic Peacocks with David Symons
21 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re going to learn more about the context and the craftsmanship of the Hoard. I think this will help shed some light on what makes this find...
70 – Staffordshire Hoard: Interpretation with Cathy Shingler
18 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today we have more from Cathy Shingler! Now that we’ve heard about the discovery of the Hoard and how it has been excavated and preserved, we’re g...
69 – Staffordshire Hoard: Conservation with Deborah Cane
15 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re chatting with Deborah Cane about how the Hoard is being preserved for future generations. Some of this stuff is cutting edge work. I hop...
68 – Staffordshire Hoard: A Bonus Update on the New Find
08 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Deb Klemperer took the time to chat with us via telephone today regarding the treasury inquest that focused on the 81 new objects that were found and ...
67 – Staffordshire Hoard: Deb Klemperer on the Dig
07 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
I love the way Deb Klemperer tells stories, so today we’re going to hear more from Deb on the Hoard. As you might recall from the last episode, she ...
66 – Staffordshire Hoard: Receiving the Hoard
02 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode features Deb Klemperer, the head curator at The Potteries Museum at Stoke-on-Trent. We will be discussing the museum side of the H...
65 – Staffordshire Hoard: The Dig
27 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode features Stephen Dean, the principle archaeologist of the Staffordshire County Council. We will be discussing all things related t...
64 – Merry Christmas (plus listener email)
25 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
I just wanted to record a short episode today to thank all of you (and also respond to some listener email). Thank you very much, everyone! And Merry ...
63 – King Arthur Part One
18 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve reached 3,000 likes on facebook! So as promised, here’s a bonus member’s only episode. This time, I’m releasing an episode looking i...
62 – Staffordshire Hoard: Rise Up O Lord
17 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode features Cathy Shingler, of The Potteries Museum in Stoke on Trent. She will be discussing with us the iconic band, possibly from ...
61 – Staffordshire Hoard: Introduction
11 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Today we are beginning our project on the Staffordshire Hoard. We will be featuring interviews from major figures within the Birmingham Museum and A...
60 – The Return of the Kings
24 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
They’re coming… Support the Show The post 60 – The Return of the Kings first appeared on The British History Podcast.
59 – The Halloween Special
22 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
As you might imagine since I’m doing an episode on it, Halloween has a lot of British influence upon it. In fact, the name itself comes from Scotlan...
58 – Dark Age Medicine
15 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This is a combination episode covering medicine in the Dark Ages! Support the Show The post 58 – Dark Age Medicine first appeared on The British His...
57 – A Tale of Three Cities (sort of)
01 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, we’ve been getting pretty deep into the weeds and have been getting farther and farther from a coherent story. On the one hand, the culture is t...
56 – Telling the Full Story (a Bonus Episode)
25 Sep 2012
Contributed by Lukas
So I’m doing a short midweek episode because something’s been irking me. I’ve heard repeatedly from a variety of people that history is a guy th...
55 – Anglo Saxon Construction
22 Sep 2012
Contributed by Lukas
OK, So I had requests for an episode on construction. I actually had a surprising number of requests for it, actually. So we’re going to do a single...
54 – What Not To Wear: In The Dark Ages
14 Sep 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Clothing… we all wear it. Well, most of us do. And in this episode we’re going to learn about what sort of clothing people were wearing in Britain...
53 – Producing the BHP Full Time, a Proposal
22 Aug 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, so right now I’m in a situation where I might need to make some hard choices on where my time goes. The thing is that this has been one of the b...
52 – DRUIDS! (Bonus Episode)
17 Aug 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re going to talk about Druids, who they were, and where our information comes from. Support the Show The post 52 – DRUIDS! (Bonus Episod...
51 – Dark Ages Feasting
04 Aug 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This is a combination episode covering everything to do with feasting in Anglo Saxon Britain! Support the Show The post 51 – Dark Ages Feasting firs...
50 – The Denbighshire Hill Forts
20 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Today we have something pretty exciting. Listener Simon put me in contact with Erin Robinson and Fiona Gale, who are currently working on archaeologic...
49 – Dark Age Economics
03 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This is a combination episode covering matters of economies and travel in the Dark Ages. Support the Show The post 49 – Dark Age Economics first app...
48 – Dark Age Diets Combo Episode
26 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This is a combination episode focusing upon the food and drinks that the Anglo Saxons enjoyed. Support the Show The post 48 – Dark Age Diets Combo E...
47 – Was there an Anglo Saxon Invasion of Britain?
19 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, so last week I left you on a bit of a cliffhanger. We talked about the invasion stories and I alluded to how some people don’t believe that ther...
46 – Hengist and Horsa
13 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
So to start with I’m going to try to compile the various accounts and stories we have of the Anglo Saxon invasion into a single narrative. As you mi...
45 – Britain: The Last Outpost
28 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
So today we’re going to do a forest view of what we’ll be talking about over the next few months. And then, after this episode, we’ll be getting...
44 – Sources of Confusion
18 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Ok… the dark ages. This is going to be a hell of a project, so let’s talk about what we know, what we don’t and why. I want you to be able to tr...
43 – Le Mort d’Arthur (Bonus Episode)
09 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re going to have a reading of Le Mort d’Arthur by Thomas Mallory, Book 1 Chapters 1 through 4. You can get a free Kindle copy of Le Mor...
42 – Wait, Where Are We? A summary of the history of Britain so far.
06 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Today we are going to be recapping the story thus far. (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Welsh History, English History) Suppo...
41 – Chapter Two: The Birth of Britain
30 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Next week we will start our second season. So here’s a promo of what to expect! I hope you’re looking forward to it as much as I am. :) Support th...
40 – Scotcast Part Six
27 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Here we have the sixth and final episode of the Scotcast. This will bring us up to 410, where we are in the main podcast, and we will be able to conti...
39 – Scotcast Part Five
21 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
We’re getting ever closer to uniting the two shows! Today we’re going to cover several hundred years (and about six months of podcasts) in a singl...
38 – Scotcast Part Four
10 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
We’re closing out the BC period. Which means we’ve got iron, Celtic culture, and Brochs. Good times! (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Cel...
37 – Scotcast Part Three
02 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Bronze Age Scotland! (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History) Support the Show The post 37 – Scotcast Part Three first appeared on ...
36 – Scotcast Part Two
27 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
We’re still in Pre-history… there’s a lot of it! (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History) Support the Show The post 36 – Scot...
35 – Scotcast Part One
17 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
We’re catching up with what was going on beyond the Wall during all of this drama. And to start with, lets talk about how Scotland got its shape and...
34 – Cribs: Britannia Edition
11 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
We’re nearly done with the Romans! (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Su...