Podcast Episodes | The British History Podcast

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 have changed for our friends in the north. So, as is our custom, now that we’re changing gears and focusing on a new era in […] The post 130 – Scotcast Part Seven – Who Were The Picts? first appeared on The British History Podcast .

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 valiantly against Caesar and his legions. And although the hegemony under Cassivellaunus didn’t last, it presented a tantalizing new possibility. Unity. A century later, the Romans returned… and this time […] The post Chapter Four: Anglo Saxon Ascen...

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 favorite moments from the entire experience of putting together the BHP. As you might remember, the hoard was found in Mercia and it is dated to […] The post 129 – The Life of King Wulfhere first appeared on The British History Podcast .

The episode covers 664 to 670 and the major characters are… King Oswiu, ruler of Northumbria, son of AEthelfrith, and all around terrifying fellow King Alhfrith of Deira, Oswiu’s son and one of his probable rivals Wilfrid, abbott of Ripon, guy who argued for Rome at Whitby, and all around ambitious guy. and King Wulfhere, […] The post 128 – The End of King Oswiu’s Hegemony first appeared on...

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 Lindisfarne, Wilfred the abbot of Ripon, and Bishop Cedd. And they will be, ostensibly, arguing over Easter. See? Once again, we’ve got Easter causing trouble in Britain. Cadburys chocolate can’t come […] The post 127 – The Synod of Whitby first appeared o...

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, but the theme that is developing here is one of the last gasps of Paganism in Britain and the rise of two rival imperiums: one […] The post 126 – The End of an Era: The Triumph of Christianity in Britain first appeared on The British History Podcast...

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 households, according to Bede. Consider how much power that was conferring upon the King. We’re talking about 7,000 hides of land. Think of how many Ceorls and Thegns now answered […] The post 125 – King Oswiu: A Gathering Storm first appeared on The...

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 done, much like our talks on other matters like food, clothing, and warfare… you’ll have a fuller understanding of who these people were, what their lives were like, and where […] The post 124 – Social Mobility: Getting a Raise in Anglo Saxon Kingdo...

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. When I talk about towns and cities, what I’m largely talking about are larger communities that have a permanent population of traders and craftsmen and whose economy is focused […] The post 123 – Retail Therapy: The Rise of Anglo Saxon Towns first a...

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. Support the Show The post 122 – The Concentration of Power and Wealth first appeared on The British History Podcast .

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, King AEthelhere of East Anglia… and as for King AEthelwald of Deira… well, I’m not sure what happened to him. But he isn’t in the histories any […] The post 121 – King Oswiu: The Aftermath of the Winwaed first appeared on The British History Podc...

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 Archbishop of Canterbury, had died. Well, his seat remained vacant for about six months until March 26, 654 (or maybe 655) when a new Archbishop was ordained. […] The post 120 – Penda and Oswiu: The Winwaed first appeared on The British History Podcas...

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 Eanflaed, Oswiu’s wife. So… even if Oswiu wasn’t fussed about kinslaying, chances are that dinner still had suddenly become a lot more awkward following that rather underhanded victory. […] The post 119 – King Penda: No Posers first appeared on The Brit...

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 kingdom when Penda arrived to have a little chat with him. So he did what many nobles of the time seemed to do… he fled into exile. […] The post 118 – Oswiu and Oswine: There’s No Anglo Saxon Word for Take Backsies first appeared on The British H...

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 Deira, and nephew of Edwin, who was killed by Cadwallon. and Oswine was the son of Osric… So to recap… Oswald and Oswiu are brothers and Bernician. […] The post 117 – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do first appeared on The British History Podcast .

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 forest view of the whole thing. Seriously, 100 episodes! And since then, we have gotten to know the Anglo Saxons and their culture really well. […] The post 116 – Wait, Where Are We? Part two of the history of Britain so far. first appeared on The Bri...

Edwin, Osric, Eanfrith, Eadfrith, Cadwallon, Sigeberht, Ecgric… Following Hatfield Chase, we have seen a blood letting of the aristocracy of Anglo Saxon Britain of epic proportions. And we are only hearing about the very highest echelons… but how many Thegns, AEthlings, and minor nobles have also lost their lives in these power struggles? If the […] The post 115 – Maserfield: Blood Makes The...

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 have gotten pretty exciting. We’ve had the downfall of Cadwallon of Gwynedd and the rise of Oswald of Northumbria and the return of […] The post 114 – Oswald and Sigeberht: The Softer Side of Rule first appeared on The British History Podcast...

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 serious blow for the Northern Welsh kingdom. In fact, in the praise poem written about Cadwallon, we see the first use of the term which would become the modern […] The post 113 – Religious Ambitions: The Rise of Oswald (and Others) first appeared...

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 victory at the Battle of Chester was not just a problem for the Welsh, it was also a problem for Mercia because it further established Northumbria domination. And while […] The post 112 – The Battle of Heavenfield first appeared on The British H...

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 goes around comes around.” The problem with that bit of advice is that it requires a sense of fairness in the world that isn’t always there… not to mention a […] The post 111 – Edwin: What Goes Around Comes Around first appeared on The British History...

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 years… to 628 (ish)… and look at what is going on in Mercia. Mercia, the Midland kingdom, has been a bit of a backwater in our […] The post 110 – Mercia: A New Contender Enters the Ring first appeared on The British History Podcast .

When we last left Edwin, Bishop Paulinus finally had his prize. He convinced the great King of Northumbria… the Bretwalda!… Edwin… to abandon his gods and convert to Christianity. It had been a long hard road for the Bishop. Failed assassinations, war, marriage, magical visions, and some pretty astoundingly rude arguments regarding the weather had […] The post 109 – Edwin’s Ambitions f...

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 it doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible, and (as the feast is celebrating the birth of Jesus) it seemed rather odd to set the date so close to […] The post 108 – The Christmas Special first appeared on The British History Podcast .

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 hadn’t jumped through enough hoops yet. And that he wanted to speak with his council and then deliberate privately before making a decision. Support the Show The post 107 – Edwin’s Conversion first appeared on The British History Podcast .