The British History Podcast

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.

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.

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

The post 261 – The Anglo Saxon Chronicle and the Mercian Register first appeared on The British History Podcast.

A year after Edward took the throne – in year 901, while he was still fighting AEthelwold’s rebellion – something strange appeared in the Charters. This event doesn’t get discussed in the Chronicle. But these Charters reveal that in 901, there was an enormous gathering of the important political figures of Wessex. This gathering took […]

The post 262 – AEthelred and AEthelflaed first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 their borders, but according to the Irish Annals and the Welsh annals, it wasn’t AEthelred Lord of Mercia who was organizing the defenses. It was AEthelflaed, Queen of the Saxons. […]

The post 263 – AEthelflaed and Ingimund first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 entry that caps a very strange section of the Chronicle. In the seven year period from 902 to 909 we’ve got three blank years, two star gazing entries, one […]

The post 264 – The Lost Rebellion first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 the record his court produces during his reign is spare even by Anglo Saxon standards. But even with all of its contradictory statements and black holes, the Chronicle […]

The post 265 – The Battle of Tettenhall; and Zombies, maybe. first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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, exactly where the battle took place, nor which Anglo Saxon leaders actually fought in it. But one thing scholars agree upon is that Mercia and Wessex won a resounding victory – […]

The post 266 – The Rise of AEthelflaed and the Breaking of Northumbria first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 valour shall secure Man’s higher name. For name you only need Not sex to change: unconquerable queen, King rather, who such trophies have obtained! O virgin and virago both farewell! […]

The post 267 – The Southern Expansion first appeared on The British History Podcast.

AEthelflaed, Lady of Mercia, and her brother, King Edward, had been bringing the fight to the Danes… they had been stretching their borders into Danish controlled lands and they haven’t just been on the offense… they’ve been winning. When an army was raised out of Leicester in 913 for the express purpose of countering the […]

The post 268 – Viking Invasion first appeared on The British History Podcast.