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Teig O’Kane and the Corpse
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Members Only 101 – Shop Talk: Jokes, Pop Music, and Coups
330 – The Purge
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The Court of AEthelred had turned over three times during his reign. First, there was his regency council. Then, when he took full power he replaced his regency council with his young friends and corrupt enablers. Then the old guard reasserted itself, along with the powerful Wulf dynasty of the midlands in the 990s. And now, at 1006 it was turning over for a forth time. The old guard, having returned in what looks like an attempt to get the kingdom back on track, was now …legitimately really old. Queen AElfthryth’s faction was now dying out, and Uncle Ordwulf, Cousin AEthelweard, even Wulfric Spot are now dead and gone.
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327 – Sail Away Sail Away Sail Away
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Now that we’ve checked in with the rest of the world, let’s get back to our story…which lately hasn’t been going so well. In the space of 70 years the Kingdom went from a preeminent power in the West to little more than a viking hunting preserve.
By the year 1000, things had become so bad that the Viking armies were now just wintering on the island. The English nobles, unable to oust them, were essentially paying for the invader’s room and board via danegelds. Which were pulled from local peasantry. Essentially, the English rulers were so incompetent, they were pillaging their own countryside.
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326 – The Year 1000
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It’s so easy to lose the forest for the trees. This show is a show about one small island which, even at this part of the story, is still at the edge of civilization. It is very easy to forget that there is a whole other world out there… and, it is a world that keeps turning and the events that are happening at this point in history all over the world shaped who we are today.
It’s the year 1000. And before we return to our story, we are going to check in briefly with the rest of the world. What follows isn’t comprehensive, but it is intended to help place the events of our story in the context of the bigger, human, story.
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325 – From Bad to Worse
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When we left off, England was reforming its legal structure.
Now, law isn’t known for being a sexy subject…neither are lawyers for that matter. But law shapes our societies in ways that are so fundamental that they are often invisible to us. And these reforms are no exception. These codes go on to transform English life.
324 – Law and Lawlessness
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With the Scandinavian raiders gone, and with AElfric of Hampshire defanged, England was free to get back to work. And, as we saw last episode, this meant that the King was once again redistributing wealth from the have-a-lots to the have-even-mores.
323 – Brotherhood of the Wolf
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The Dowager Queen AElfthryth has returned to the King’s inner council following what looks like a political coup against AElfic of Hampshire and his faction.
And just because it was political doesn’t mean it was bloodless. All of AElfric’s allies were dead. Only AElfric himself, who appears to have been too big to fail, remained as the sole surviving member of the faction.
PSA: Are We Dead?
322 – We’re Absolutely Forked
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Ealdorman AElfirc of Hampshire was out… and Ealdorman AEthelweard the Chronicler was in.
He would now be the King’s chief councillor… and he would be supported by his son, AEthelmaer… the King’s uncle, High Reeve Ordwulf of Devon, and the King’s mother, AEthelthryth.