Anglo-Saxon England

Due to an unexpected medical issue there isn't a new episode this week, but in light of recent news around remains found in Winchester, it seemed like an ideal time to look back at our assessment of King Alfred and his legacy. Credits –  Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening⁠ Social Media...

Today, we are diving deep into the Vita Ædwardi Regis, or The Life of King Edward who rests at Westminster. Written in Latin right on the knife-edge of the Norman Conquest of 1066, this text is not your standard medieval hagiography. It is a complex artefact of its time and an embodiment of how the Anglo-Saxons understood their defeat in 1066. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https...

We come to the end of Edward the Confessor's reign, storm clouds gather. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagr...

Edward faces all-out rebellion spearheaded by Godwine. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxone...

In 1049, Edward massed his fleet on the coast of Sandwich and events careen towards conflict that will change the fate of England. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-Engl...

We begin our look at Edward the Confessor by looking at his early reign in the 1040s. Credits –  Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https...

The Encomium Emmae Reginae is an 11th-century Latin encomium – a work meant to praise a person – in honour of the English queen Emma of Normandy. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/A...

When Harold Harefoot died on 17 March 1040, Harthacnut was well underway preparing an invasion of England to depose his brother. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-Englan...

King Harold Harefoot emerged into a contested political landscape following the death of Cnut in which the influence of two powerful women was decisive. Both sought to secure the English throne for their own sons and built rival political factions to do so. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5...

We look at the works of perhaps the most accomplished author in the Old English canon: Ælfric of Eynsham. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-1105299580480...

Unlocked bonus episode: A very brief intro to the history and focus of Old English prose. Credits –  Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening⁠ Social Media -  Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053⁠ Insta...

I want to take a short detour from a strictly chronological telling of events to loop back and focus on the lives and works of two men who were particularly influential in shaping the legal, religious, and literary world of late Anglo-Saxon England: Wulfstan of York and Ælfric of Eynesham. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&...

We look at Canute's wider realm encompassing Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Dublin. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://ww...

In honour of the on-going discussion in the UK about recognising 927 as the official beginning of England I wanted to seize the opportunity for engaging in this dialogue by releasing a special compilation episode on Æthelstan covering his entire reign. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Dde...

In honour of the season I present an unlocked episode from the bonus feed covering the poem known as 'The Advent Lyrics' or, more traditionally, 'Christ I'. Credits –  Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening   Social Media -  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www...

Canute's reign profoundly transformed England and set the stage for the final decades of Anglo-Saxon rule. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048...

We introduce Canute, one of Anglo-Saxon England's most successful and powerful rulers. Credits –  Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We look at the brief reign of King Edmund Ironside. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonengl...

How 'unready' was King Æthelred? Credits –  Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media -  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/ Learn...

We conclude our narrative of Æthelred’s reign with his final catastrophic decade. Next time we will take a look at the reign as a whole and consider whether Æthelred’s reputation is warranted. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosa...

We continue our look at Æthelred’s reign at its peak: 993 to 1006. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media -  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.co...

As I work on the rest of the Æthelred overview, I wanted to highlight one of the major events and poems of the period: The Battle of Maldon. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-...

There are few kings in English history that are as maligned as Ethelred. Forever remembered as ‘the Unready’, Ethelred’s reign was regarded even by those writing only fifteen years after its end as a time of chaos when England was beset by a renewed Viking menace and the king himself was forced to flee the kingdom, albeit temporarily. Ultimately though, Ethelred’s reign would set the stage for a s...

This episode I wanted to look back at where we have been from the perspective of the high-water mark of Anglo-Saxon history that was the reign of Edgar. In this retrospective analysis, I want to consider some aspects of ‘history from below’ that were not focused on as much in earlier episodes, specifically the economic base of society, slavery, and the position of women in Anglo-Saxon society. Cre...

Following Edgar’s death, we enter into what would be one of the most turbulent periods of Anglo-Saxon history which would see murder, renewed Viking activity, and invasion bring England to its knees. It all began with a dispute over the succession. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening...