Anglo-Saxon England

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 successful Danish invasion and the rise of Cnut.

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

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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.

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

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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

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We wrap up our look at possibly the greatest of all Anglo-Saxon monarchs.

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

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Oswald of Worcester (d.992) is usually viewed as one of three episcopal leaders of monastic reform in tenth-century England, but this interpretation conflates Oswald’s motivations and interests with those of Dunstan (d.988) and Æthelwold (d.984). This article uses the surviving source-material to re-examine how far Oswald was genuinely connected with his contemporaries’ reforming ideology and how this differed from Æthelwold’s specifically. Ultimately two distinct movements emerge from this re-evaluation, one centred on Winchester and the other on Worcester (and its associated houses), both based on distinct ideologies of monastic reform.

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

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We look at the last of the Big Three reformers, Oswald, and set up a discussion of what exactly the reformers in England wanted to achieve.

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

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If you read about the English Benedictine Reforms today, the older narrative focused on Dunstan as the its spearhead will have been largely replaced by a view that positions his student Æthelwold as the driving force behind reform. It is Æthelwold who composed the main source texts of English reform and it was he who sought to guide the politics of England by cultivating close links with the family of King Edgar.

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

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The Benedictine reforms in England were, in the traditional narrative, spearheaded by three key ecclesiastics: Dunstan, Æthelwold, and Oswald. The exact relationship of these three has been subject to regular revaluation since the late tenth century and I will offer my own revaluation in due time. Starting in this episode, I will present the lives of each reformer in the traditional mould so that later we can look again at their stories when we consider the nature and impact of English Benedictine reform.

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

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Although the Benedictine reform movements that found royal favor in England in the late-tenth century are usually associated with King Edgar, their origins predate him quite substantially with roots going all the way back to the reign of Æthelstan. The true origins of Benedictine reform, though, came not from England but from Francia.

Credits –

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watchv=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Since a major part of King Edgar’s legacy is based on his advocacy of church reform, it is reasonable to spend some time considering the state of the Church in the mid-tenth century and the role it played in society. It’s easy to fall into rhetoric which assumes that the Church is the same in all places and at all times. This obviously cannot be true, thus why we tend to talk about the Church in medieval England or the Church in the ancient world. But it can be easy to forget that even within an historical period – like the period of ‘Anglo-Saxon England’ – ideas and institutions did not remain static. The Church of the conversion period was different from the Church of the Norman Conquest.

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

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA

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