When we left off, we were talking about Thegns. Specifically, we were talking about King’s Thegns and how they could wield degrees of power that could rival even the formidable Ealdormen.

The post 300 – Noble Lives first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ealdormen… Thegns… Ceorls. These were the  important cogs in the machine of government. They had powerful roles, and held powerful spaces within anglo saxon culture. And it’s time we get to know these roles like the back of our hand. Support the Show

The post 299 – The Shape of Power first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Links to material referenced in the show. The Achavanich Beaker Burial ‘Ava’: a Beaker-associated woman from a cist at Achavanich, Highland, and the story of her (re-)discovery and subsequent study, Published in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe at Nature.com A summary […]

The post The Achavanich Beaker Burial Project: Ancient DNA with Maya Hoole first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Long ago there was a settlement that had been occupied and farmed by the British and the Anglo Saxons for centuries. In fact, by the time that the Scandinavians arrived on the island, this village known as Wharram Percy was already well established, and had been inhabited continually for centuries. And it held strong for […]

The post 298 – Uptown Ceorl first appeared on The British History Podcast.

We have spoken a lot about the life of a handful of individuals – namely the rulers that have descended from the line of Alfred. There are a couple of reasons for that. The first is the simple fact that by virtue of how limited literacy was during this era, these are the lives we […]

The post 297 – The Hundreds and the Wapentakes first appeared on The British History Podcast.

I love Halloween. I think it might be my favorite holiday, and it’s not really because I like spooky things. I actually kind of hate horror movies. The reason I love Halloween is because in the pantheon of modern holidays it stands out. Most holidays in the western world have been rebranded and repackaged to […]

The post The Halloween Special first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Brunanburh had been a titanic struggle. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle speaks of how the fighting lasted from morning to night, until “the field grew dark with the blood of men.” Blood spilled from warriors of no less than four separate kingdoms. The scribes speak of how the ground was littered with men impaled upon spears. […]

The post 290 – This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land first appeared on The British History Podcast.

For the last six years, AEthelstan had been ruling in a manner that hasn’t been seen in Britain for generations. Beyond being a warlord, or even a King… AEthelstan was acting more like an Emperor. All of the Anglo Saxon territories were annexed into his new Kingdom of England, the Kings of Wales were now […]

The post 287 – The Conquest of Scotland first appeared on The British History Podcast.

After generations of devastating war, England has found itself at peace. Which leaves a question we haven’t had to ask in a while. What did the Anglo Saxons actually do during peacetime? Support the Show

The post 286 – Noble Pursuits first appeared on The British History Podcast.

The Era of AEthelstan is one of contradictions. His behavior, his policies, his wars… pretty much everything that is happening during this period seems to have an element of duality. This man was discussed by scholars of his time in terms of his piety and his generosity both with the church and also with his […]

The post 285 – Full Court Press first appeared on The British History Podcast.