Storyline | The British History Podcast

Oswald was the King of Northumbria and son of AEthelfrith who was killed by Penda at Maserfield. Oswiu was his brother Osric of Deira was the King of Deira, and nephew of Edwin, who was killed by Cadwallon. and Oswine was the son of Osric… So to recap… Oswald and Oswiu are brothers and Bernician. […] The post 117 – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do first appeared on The British History Podcast.

It’s been about 2 years and 100 episodes since I did a recap episode to remind you where we were, what the flow of history was, and give you a forest view of the whole thing. Seriously, 100 episodes! And since then, we have gotten to know the Anglo Saxons and their culture really well. […] The post 116 – Wait, Where Are We? Part two of the history of Britain so far. first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Edwin, Osric, Eanfrith, Eadfrith, Cadwallon, Sigeberht, Ecgric… Following Hatfield Chase, we have seen a blood letting of the aristocracy of Anglo Saxon Britain of epic proportions. And we are only hearing about the very highest echelons… but how many Thegns, AEthlings, and minor nobles have also lost their lives in these power struggles? If the […] The post 115 – Maserfield: Blood Makes The Grass Grow first appeared on The British History Podcast.

This is going to be one of those episodes that has a lot of moving parts and you might want to listen to it twice. Just a heads up. Alright, so things have gotten pretty exciting. We’ve had the downfall of Cadwallon of Gwynedd and the rise of Oswald of Northumbria and the return of […] The post 114 – Oswald and Sigeberht: The Softer Side of Rule first appeared on The British History Podcast.

When we last left off, Oswald son of AEthelfrith and Acha, defeated and killed Cadwallon of Gwynedd at the battle of Heavenfield. The defeat was a serious blow for the Northern Welsh kingdom. In fact, in the praise poem written about Cadwallon, we see the first use of the term which would become the modern […] The post 113 – Religious Ambitions: The Rise of Oswald (and Others) first appeared on The British History Podcast.

The year was 633 or 634, and the tide was turning against Northumbria for the first time in as long as anyone could probably remember. AEthelfrith’s victory at the Battle of Chester was not just a problem for the Welsh, it was also a problem for Mercia because it further established Northumbria domination. And while […] The post 112 – The Battle of Heavenfield first appeared on The British History Podcast.

That’s something I’ve heard my entire life. When I was younger and picked on at school my father would sometimes say “Don’t worry, Jamie, what goes around comes around.” The problem with that bit of advice is that it requires a sense of fairness in the world that isn’t always there… not to mention a […] The post 111 – Edwin: What Goes Around Comes Around first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, last episode, we jumped forward a little to take the story of East Anglia to the point where Sigebehrt took the throne… but lets go back about 3 years… to 628 (ish)… and look at what is going on in Mercia. Mercia, the Midland kingdom, has been a bit of a backwater in our […] The post 110 – Mercia: A New Contender Enters the Ring first appeared on The British History Podcast.

When we last left Edwin, Bishop Paulinus finally had his prize. He convinced the great King of Northumbria… the Bretwalda!… Edwin… to abandon his gods and convert to Christianity. It had been a long hard road for the Bishop. Failed assassinations, war, marriage, magical visions, and some pretty astoundingly rude arguments regarding the weather had […] The post 109 – Edwin’s Ambitions first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, so when we left off, Bishop Paulinus thought he was about to get Edwin to convert… but then Edwin pulled a bait and switch, and said that god hadn’t jumped through enough hoops yet. And that he wanted to speak with his council and then deliberate privately before making a decision. Support the Show The post 107 – Edwin’s Conversion first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Alright, so when we last left Edwin he was installed as King of Northumbria by King Raedwald, Bretwalda. And he had wielded his newly granted power to exact revenge upon King Ceretic of Elmet, probably in response to the British King poisoning Edwin’s Nephew. But for as powerful as Edwin was in the north, Raedwald […] The post 106 – If You Give Edwin an Inch… first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Alright, last week we finally saw the fall of AEthelfrith and the rise of Edwin of Deira and King Raedwald of East Anglia… Bretwalda! As you probably gathered, that was not the last would will hear of Edwin. Support the Show The post 103 – Edwin the Conqueror first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, when we left off, Edwin… the exile from Deira, had been on the run for quite some time. The King of Bernicia, AEthelfrith, now occupied the throne held by his father, and his father’s father, and so on and so forth. His sister, Acha, had given birth to a child with the man who […] The post 102 – Have Exile, Will Travel first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Today we’re going to talk quite a bit about Northumbria. And actually, Northumbria is going to start to get really important in our story going forward. Now much of what we know of Northumbria during this period is due to the efforts of Bede, and other Northumbrians who maintained his tradition of keeping annals. And […] The post 101 – I Ran (So Far Away): The Life and Times of Edwin of Deira first appeared on The British History Podcast.

This episode is going to have a lot of moving pieces and a lot of AEthel’s. So many AEthels. I’ll do my best to keep reminding you who I’m talking about and what they rule over and why they’re important, but this might be an episode you’ll want to relisten to. A lot of important […] The post 99 – False Starts first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, when we last left off, Augustine had become the Archbishop of England, had been given orders to make London the seat of the English Church, and had some Papal answers to some rather odd questions. Support the Show The post 98 – The Zeal of Augustine first appeared on The British History Podcast.

So last week we ended with Augustine converting the people of Kent to Christianity and AEthelberht coming out as Christian… was he converted by Augustine or had he already been converted? We just don’t know. Support the Show The post 97 – Augustine and Gregory Make a Diocese first appeared on The British History Podcast.

In the last several episodes we’ve been speaking about religion. We’ve spoken about the paganism that existed on the island, the christians that lived on the island, the reasons why individuals and rulers might want to convert, and of course we’ve spoken about what the church in Rome was up to and what their plans […] The post 96 – The Conversion of King AEthelberht first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, so lets leave Britain for this episode and head to Rome. I hear it’s nice this time of year. Actually, I hear it’s really hot this time of year. But it seems like everywhere is right now… so Rome it is! Support the Show The post 95 – Two Old Men and a Slave Boy first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Alright, so we have two more kings of Wales before we leave Gildas and his spittle flecked rantings. And something that you might notice as we go forward is that we don’t haven’t been provided a Tyrant of Powys nor are any of the Eastern Kingdoms listed. Sure, we don’t know where Aurelias Conanus ruled, […] The post 92 – WelshCast Part Five: More People that Gildas Hated first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Today, we’re going to talk about some of the people who were really pissing Gildas off. People that drove him so batty that he just couldn’t contain his rage. And since Gildas was Welsh, he was predictably focusing his ire upon the Welsh kings. Though, like I mentioned earlier, the term “Wales” isn’t something that […] The post 91 – WelshCast Part Four: Three Kings of Wales Who Really Annoyed Gildas first appeared on The British History Podcast.

As you probably remember from the main podcast, before we had the appearance of major Anglo Saxon kingdoms, there was an initial migration and invasion in the sub-Roman period, with famous Germanic leaders like Hengest, Horsa, and Aelle appearing in Kent and Sussex. But there was also a staunch British resistance to these incursions lead, […] The post 90 – WelshCast Part Three: The Silent Treatment first appeared on The British History Podcast.

We’re now at the point where Rome has withdrawn from Britannia (and more important to our story, from Wales), and today we’re going to talk about the impact that had upon the people. Support the Show The post 89 – WelshCast Part Two: All The Comforts of Rome (well… some of them) first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ever since I did the Scotcast I’ve been receiving messages on facebook, on twitter, on the forums, and I’ve even been getting personal emails asking for more about Wales. And my response has always been the same, I’ll do it but not yet. Support the Show The post 88 – WelshCast Part One: From the Stone Ages to the Withdrawal of Rome first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, from the title you might have gathered that we’re going to be talking about Ceawlin today. Now from all this discussion of various anglo saxon leaders, you might have noticed that while I’ve been saying Cynric, Cerdic, and Ceawlin… with C being a CH sound… we also have this Cutha fellow in Wessex, and […] The post 86 – The Fall of Ceawlin… and others first appeared on The British History Podcast.

So it’s 568. And things in what will someday become England are still chaotic. Remember what was going on up north in Bernicia? Where Ida, who was probably part of some sort of Anglian group, had taken control of Bamburgh, then he died, and then his sons started taking over for him? Well, that’s still […] The post 85 – Ceawlin and the Sons of Ida first appeared on The British History Podcast.

We begin our story in Bannaventa Berniae, a small town somewhere in the West of Britain, probably along the coast. This was probably a small typical Roman style settlement laid out on a grid with small Roman houses and a villa, or villas, for prominent families in the area. Though it’s doubtful it would have […] The post 79 – Saint Patrick’s Day Special first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Alright, so when we left off, Cerdic and his son had recently arrived on the island and the Battle of Mons Badonicus had just taken place. So that’s exciting. And Gildas says that it was followed by peace, and procopius tells us that Germans were fleeing from Britannia as late as about 30 years later. […] The post 75 – Cerdic and Cynric: A Story of… well… Probably Farmers first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Right, so here we are right in the middle of all the drama and bloodshed that has been called the Anglo Saxon invasion. We have famous names such as Hengest and Aelle showing up. Support the Show The post 74 – When Neighbors Attack: A Story of “Kings” first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, it’s been a while since we’ve spoken about the story. Instead, we’ve been chatting about the culture and the people, we’ve been speaking about digs and hoards, we’ve been discussed booze and horse dung. But we haven’t spoken too much about the politics of the time. Support the Show The post 73 – And This Gives You Power Over Me? first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, we’ve been getting pretty deep into the weeds and have been getting farther and farther from a coherent story. On the one hand, the culture is the story, but on the other hand it’s hard to get attached to a story if you forget who we are talking about and the people involved. So […] The post 57 – A Tale of Three Cities (sort of) first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok, so last week I left you on a bit of a cliffhanger. We talked about the invasion stories and I alluded to how some people don’t believe that there was an invasion, but I didn’t really go into a serious analysis of the evidence as it relates to it. But worry not, this entire […] The post 47 – Was there an Anglo Saxon Invasion of Britain? first appeared on The British History Podcast.

So to start with I’m going to try to compile the various accounts and stories we have of the Anglo Saxon invasion into a single narrative. As you might recall from prior episodes, this means that I’ll be drawing from some rather unreliable sources. But I think that telling the story in a single cohesive […] The post 46 – Hengist and Horsa first appeared on The British History Podcast.

So today we’re going to do a forest view of what we’ll be talking about over the next few months. And then, after this episode, we’ll be getting down into the trees. I figure this is the best way for you to have a firm grasp of what is going on and what I’m talking […] The post 45 – Britain: The Last Outpost first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Ok… the dark ages. This is going to be a hell of a project, so let’s talk about what we know, what we don’t and why. I want you to be able to trust the stories I’m telling you, and so it’s required that I let you know how unreliable damn near every source we […] The post 44 – Sources of Confusion first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Today we are going to be recapping the story thus far. (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Welsh History, English History) Support the Show The post 42 – Wait, Where Are We? A summary of the history of Britain so far. first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Next week we will start our second season. So here’s a promo of what to expect! I hope you’re looking forward to it as much as I am. :) Support the Show The post 41 – Chapter Two: The Birth of Britain first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Here we have the sixth and final episode of the Scotcast. This will bring us up to 410, where we are in the main podcast, and we will be able to continue forward into the dark ages! (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 40 – Scotcast Part Six first appeared on The British History Podcast.

We’re getting ever closer to uniting the two shows! Today we’re going to cover several hundred years (and about six months of podcasts) in a single show. (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 39 – Scotcast Part Five first appeared on The British History Podcast.

We’re closing out the BC period. Which means we’ve got iron, Celtic culture, and Brochs. Good times! (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History) Support the Show The post 38 – Scotcast Part Four first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Bronze Age Scotland! (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History) Support the Show The post 37 – Scotcast Part Three first appeared on The British History Podcast.

We’re still in Pre-history… there’s a lot of it! (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History) Support the Show The post 36 – Scotcast Part Two first appeared on The British History Podcast.

We’re catching up with what was going on beyond the Wall during all of this drama. And to start with, lets talk about how Scotland got its shape and talk a little about the early inhabitants who lived there. (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History) Support the Show The post 35 – Scotcast Part One first appeared on The British History Podcast.

This one was a beast, but we’re finally done with the Roman occupation of Britannia! But Rome isn’t going to let us go without a serious amount of chaos and general nuttiness. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 33 – Strength and Honor(ius) first appeared on The British History Podcast.

With special guest Valentinian II. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 32 – Theodosius and Theocracy first appeared on The British History Podcast.

There’s some serious name envy going on in this episode. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 31 – Magnus Maximus first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Things in Britannia just keep getting worse! (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 30 – What is Best in Life? first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Our luck could only hold out so long. And now Britannia is getting a taste of what the rest of the Empire had already come to know. Here’s a bust of Constantius II. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 29 – An End to Prosperity first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Oh yeah, we’ve got a real love affair going on here. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 28 – Constantine and Britannia Sitting in a Tree first appeared on The British History Podcast.

Constantius, throwing caution to the wind, follows in the footsteps of Severus. The featured image here is a bust of Constantius… And I thought I had a big nose. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show The post 27 – York’s Revenge! first appeared on The British History Podcast.