The British History Podcast

King Edward, like those before him, had died under mysterious and apparently violent circumstances. And the next in line for this increasingly bloody throne of England was his 12 year old little half-brother. Æthelred.  

The post 314 – Æthelred: Are You Ready? first appeared on The British History Podcast.

“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 those things he ought not to have done.”   That is the damning conclusion of  Edward Augustus Freeman, a Victorian historian, and epic beard grower.  

The post 315 – The Cracks in the Foundation first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 the discussion of AEthelred’s unflattering nickname, and how he caught hell for some things that were out of his control or part of the common culture, and […]

The post 316 – The Old Guard first appeared on The British History Podcast.

At 16 years old, King AEthelred was considered fully grown by Anglo Saxon standards. And as a bonus graduation present, the powerful Bishop AEthelwold of Winchester… who appears to have been the defacto head of state while AEthelred was a child… had died. With his passing, the power of the old guard had been broken […]

The post 317 – A Culture of Corruption first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 series of changes at the highest levels of the kingdom. The political rivals of this new council were rapidly losing power, with titles (and even lands) of wealthy dynasties […]

The post 318 – Chaos is a Ladder first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 enter a field prepared to do violence. And the Battle of Maldon comes with a lot of context. We left off in 988… and on that year, Archbishop Dunstan, who had […]

The post 319 – The Battle of Maldon first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 Essex and the second most powerful Ealdorman in England and now he was dead. And his Fyrd was defeated. To top it off, there are indications that, facing […]

The post 320 – Our Wooden Wall first appeared on The British History Podcast.

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 enough time to let them escape.

The post 321 – Course Corrections first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ealdorman AElfirc of Hampshire was out… and Ealdorman AEthelweard the Chronicler was in. He would now be the King’s chief councillor… and he would be supported by his son, AEthelmaer… the King’s uncle, High Reeve Ordwulf of Devon, and the King’s mother, AEthelthryth. And as for the King’s old council.  Well, with the exception of […]

The post 322 – We’re Absolutely Forked first appeared on The British History Podcast.

And we are back! Thank you all for being patient while the BHP went on a brief parental leave.  And speaking of things that are back… The Dowager Queen AElfthryth has returned to the King’s inner council following what looks like a political coup against AElfic of Hampshire and his faction. And just because it […]

The post 323 – Brotherhood of the Wolf first appeared on The British History Podcast.