Western Civ

In this episode we return to what we will loosely be calling "France". The Carolingian Empire is forever gone. In its place are a patchwork of small kingdoms ruled over, nominally, by the new King, Hugh Capet. Over the next roughly one-hundred years, Capet and his successors would battle Dukes, Counts, and other Kings, in an effort to re-centralize authority in Medieval France.

In this episode William the Conqueror cleans up the last few rebellions in England, only to turn around see his possessions back on the continent under siege. While William fights his son and the King of France, his subordinates in England nearly drive the English to yet another rebellion.

Between 1066 and 1074 William the Conqueror fights off a series of rebellions in England to solidify his rule.

In this episode we follow Harold Hardrada and William of Normandy across the seas to England to battle Harold Godwinson for the throne. When the dust settled, William the Bastard would be re-titled, William the Conqueror.

We resume our narrative in this episode circa 1000 AD in the Kingdoms of England and Normandy. Things are not going well in England. A series of inept English rulers allow different Scandinavian Kings to seize control over the English throne. Finally, when Edward the Confessor established himself as the English King things appear to be headed in the right direction. But, left without an heir, the question looms large in the distance: who will rule when he is gone? Then, a fishing trip gone really, really bad, has a very odd result when Harold Godwinson, the heir apparent, shows up in the court of William of Normandy. And all that sets the stage for one of the most unusual and fateful years in human history: 1066.

In this episode, we step back again from the narrative to consider the major demographic changes which swept Europe during the High Middle Ages (1000 - 1300 AD).

In this episode we consider the question: what are the Dark Ages? And specifically, when should the Early Middle Ages be said to begin?

Medieval Hungary (865 - 1035)

The empire of Charlemagne finally collapses for good.

The Binding of Fenrir Wolf