In 1066 Edward the Confessor died, an event that set in motion a tripartite dispute for the throne of England, ultimately won by William of Normandy. After the Battle of Hastings, forever immortalized in the Bayeux Tapestry, William acquired the epithet 'The Conqueror' and the fate of England and surrounding territories was forever changed.

The battle of Hastings in 1066 was certainly important, but was it decisive? Who were the Normans? What happened to the losers? How did the Irish react to this event? Diarmait mac Máel na mBó, King of Leinster, was allied with Harold Godwinson, who defeated famed 'Last Viking' Harald, King of Norway, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge only three weeks before he was killed by the Normans at Hastings. Godwinson's sons sought refuge with Diarmait in the aftermath. Diarmait is later mentioned in the Irish annals as possessing the standard or banner of the king of England, but how did it get in Ireland in the first place?

These are some of the questions tackled by today's episode with Dr Caitlin Ellis (University of Oslo) and Dr Niamh Wycherley, who are looking at England from an Irish perspective and placing the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings in a wider context bridged by the Irish Sea.

Suggested reading:

Caitlin Ellis, ‘“Brian’s sword” and the “standard of the king of the Saxons” in the Irish annals: the Godwinsons, Hastings and Leinster–Munster relations’, Ériu 73 (2023), 43–62

Caitlin Ellis, ‘Ireland and the Anglo-Normans within the Irish Sea World: Rebels, Mercenaries, Allies 1066–1169’, Borders and the Norman World, ed. Daniel Armstrong, Áron Kecskés with Charlie Rozier and Leonie Hicks (Boydell & Brewer, 2023), 17–42

Regular episodes every two weeks (on a Friday).