From Iron-bound winter to the bounty of haerfest, the Anglo Saxons and their year
Anglo Saxons
Place Names – a Shedcast
English place names are a direct window in into the lives of our ancestors – an insight into the origins or remarkable features of ancient settlements. Here’s a brief survey of how to decode some of them.
Kilmartin Glen by Michelle of Imagine Alba
Kilmartin 5,000 years, with cairns, standing stones, carved rock, stone circles, forts and castles. It has one of the most important concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in Scotland.Read More
HiT The Dig
A very English drama about the dig on the eve of WWII which reveal one of the most dramatic discoveries in English archaeology – the 7th Century burial ship ofRead More
Sh 31f LLASE Going Nuclear - Members Only
As lords intensified their demands, as pressure on land increased the search was on for more productive ways to farm the land. One impact was the introduction of open field systems andRead More
Sh 31e LLASE The Manor - Members Only
From the 9th century, the need of warfare and resulting taxation drove an ever greater bureaucracy. Meantime trade and population both grew, and towns with it. All these produced profoundRead More
Sh 31d LLASE Warland - Members Only
Away from the Inland estates, the Anglo Saxon peasantry and thegnage often held their lands of ancient right, and the land they held defined their public obligations as well asRead More
Sh 31c Life on the Inland - Members Only
The arrival of resident landowners and the ever present danger of economic disaster would change the way many lived their lives and create the system of serfdom so centralRead More
HiT The Fall of the Roman Empire
Samuel Bronston’s whopping epic, directed by Anthony Mann, failed to win audiences and was a financial disaster for Bronston. But it presents a well worked view of why Rome fell,Read More
Sh 31b LLASE Life on the Scir - Members Only
New petty kingdoms and lordships, scirs, began to form around tribal groups and identities, and then to consolidate into Anglo Saxons kingdoms we will begin to recognise. How were thoseRead More
Sh 31a LLASE – Settlers - Members Only
A new series – Life and Landscape in Anglo Saxon England. In this episode, the Anglo Saxon settlement, and early settlements in South Oxfordshire
The History of the Vikings by Noah Tetzner
The History of Vikings features in depth discussions with world-class scholars from Oxford, Harvard, and Yale University, and dives into Norse Mythology and Viking history. From myths and raids, toRead More
Sea 1 Origins - Members Only
The early centuries of British Navies - and a sea shanty to keep you going
Shedcast 21 English Placenames II - Members Only
The place names of England by theme and time
Shedcast 20 Place Names I – Going Somewhere - Members Only
First of 3 episodes about English place names. An Introduction and the origins of Street and Road
222a The Tower of London by James Holdstock
James Holdstock is a big fan of The Tower of London; he talks about a fortress which has a history as winding, bloody, mysterious and inspiring as England’s, and is a mustRead More
214a The End of Roman Britain by Ed McWatt
Children’s author Ed McWatt and his perspective on the Roman Brexit – Rexit you might say, and how the end of Roman Britain might have felt to those at the time.Read More
148 Women and 1066, and Marriage
As far as women were concerned, was 1066 generally a Good Thing, a Bad Thing – or just a Thing? That’s the main item of debate this week, along withRead More
147 Women and Anglo Saxon England
Unaccustomed as I am to social and economic history…here is the first of a bit of a thread over the next few weeks and months about some social stuff, andRead More
141c The Romans in Britain Pt 2 by Richard Norton
And here we are with the second installment of the Romans in Britain, taking us to the fall of the western Empire. 141c The Romans in Britain Pt2 by RichardRead More
141b The Romans in Britain Pt 1 by Richard Norton
For some reason, don't know why, my interest in English and British history starts with the Anglo Saxons. Not before. Don't ask me why – no idea. I love AncientRead More
56 The History of Medieval Europe, Part 2
The Holy Roman Empire to the death of Barbarossa, the briefest of histories of Norway, Denmark and Spain, and the 4th Crusade. It's action packed. 56 The History of MedievalRead More
55 The History of Medieval Europe, Part I
From Charles Martel and the battle of Tours in 732, through Charlemagne and Otto the Great, the first installment concentrates on France, Germany and Italy and takes us to theRead More
43a Aelfthryth by Melisende of Outremer
Ælfthryth was a controversial figure. Wife of King Edgar, mother of Æthelred the Unready – and possibly murderer of her step son, Edward? Melisende of Outremer looks at the lifeRead More
31a Anglo Saxon Questions – Church Conversion and Economy
Chris and Matt sent some interesting questions that take us back to Anglo Saxon England. So here's a free, supplementary episode. We talk about: How much did daily life reallyRead More
24a The Anglo Saxon view of the outside world
The Anglo Saxons seem a very insular bunch – what was their view of the outside world, how much interaction did they have? A good deal more than we mightRead More
22 1066 and Goodbye to all That
1066 was a year that changed a lot of things – though not as much as you might think. 3 experienced war leaders fought for control of England – andRead More
20 Anglo Saxon England in the 11th Century
Anglo Saxon England has been seen by some commentators as a bit of a basket case by 1066 – out of date and ready to be conquered. But actually EnglandRead More
19 Edward the Confessor
Edward enjoyed one year of independence in 1051-2, before the return of Godwin forced him into humiliating submission. But after Godwin’s death the following year, the rest of his reignRead More
18 The End of the Danish Dynasty, Edward the Confessor and the Rise of the Great men
Cnut’s dynasty survived him by only 7 years, and in 1042 the house of Cerdic returned in the form of Edward the Confessor. Edward is an enigma – weak manRead More
17 Cnut the Conqueror
Cnut was pretty much the complete king. Conqueror of the English, ruler of a Scandinavian empire that spanned 4 countries. And a man who knewRead More
16 Edmund Ironside and Cnut
In 1012, Aethelred looked down and out. But Svein died, and Edmund Ironside appeared on the scene. Suddenly, Aethelred was a real king and all action, and Cnut was forcedRead More
15 Aethelred, Svein Forkbeard and years of misery
The Danish threat is notched up a few levels, and Aethelred the Unready and the English state is brought to it knees. The Vikings are too fast, skillful and mobile,Read More
14 Aetheled the Unready and the Rising Tide
Aethelred’s mother gets her son onto the throne at last. But it’s not long before the disadvantages of kingship become clear, as the Danes begin to return with increasing force.Read More
13 Another and last Golden Age
Edgar the Peaceable’s reign was a golden age of peace, prosperity and monastic reform. Unfortunately, once he’d gone his wife stuck a knife into her stepson, and the trouble startsRead More
12 The last King in Jorvik
Edmund the Magnificent and Eadred finally defeat Eric Bloodaxe, the last king of Jorvik. But there are some social clouds on the horizon in the History of England. TheRead More
11 His Years were full of Glory
Athelstan was a dynamic and effective ruler, in war, law, and diplomacy. As a war leader he established at least nominal overlordship of all Britain; his marriage alliances included theRead More
10 English Reconquest
The story of a brother and a sister – Æthelflæd and Edward, and their bid to reclaim the lands of the Danelaw, the north and east of England being settledRead More
9 Pillar of the Western People
In 892, the vikings returned – and found a very different, much better prepared Wessex waiting for them. Until in 899, Alfred died to be succeeded by his Son, Edward,Read More
8 Reconstruction and Defence
Alfred had earned Wessex and period of respite, between 878 and 892. In this time, Alfred laid the foundations not just for the defense against renewed invasions, but for theRead More
7 Alfred and the Fight for Survival
Between 871 and 878, Wessex came close to extinction, as the Great Heathen Army, the Great Summer Army, and Guthrum the Dane came to conquer. The Campaigns In 870 theRead More
6 The Great Heathen Army
Everything changed for Anglo Saxon England in 866; the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok came for conquest, not just treasure and slaves. The Arrival in East Anglia, 866 In 866, aRead More
5 The Noble Wolf
Æthelwolf hasn’t always had the best press. None the less he laid the basis of an effective and well organised state centred on the traditional heartlands of Wessex, and one betterRead More
5a Pirates from the North
The Vikings visited fire, destruction – and trade – on a bemused and terrified 8th C Europe. Who were they, where did they come from, where did they go andRead More
4 Greater Wessex
The death of Offa & his son led to the bloodletting normal when the succession was a bun fight. But this time round, it would have longer term consequences for theRead More
3 The Mercian Supremacy
Offa becomes king, extends his authority over all England south of the Humber, and hob nobs with Charlemagne
2 The Rise of Mercia
From the 650s, a power begins to emerge in the west midlands – the border people, Mercians
1.8 Revival
Towns had simply disappeared along with the post Roman economy by 500. But slowly by 600 there’s tiny shoots of recovery discernible – so we talk about towns. And weRead More
1.7 Conversion
At the start of the 7th century England was a basically pagan country; by the end of it it was officially at least Christian. While no doubt many pagans stillRead More
1.6 The Life and Times of Penda Part II
Through much of the 7th Century, Penda increased the power and influence of the Mercians. He built his kingdom as a traditional warrior, tribal leader – defeating the Northumbrians, and EastRead More