Category: Podcast Episodes

Every episode of The British History Podcast. This category includes cultural history, storyline episodes, English history, Welsh history, Scottish history, and even some Irish history and Roman history thrown in.

288 – Extracurricular Activities

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I wonder if King Rudolph of France resented his crown.

I mean, seeking the crown probably seemed like a good idea at the time but the whole thing had been turning out to be an enormous headache. And it all started when Rudolph’s father in law (Robert) rebelled against King Charles and drove him into Lorraine. Pretty soon thereafter, Robert got himself crowned as King of the Franks. And that’s not too bad… a father in law who was King of the Franks? Sounds great.

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287 – The Conquest of Scotland

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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 mere members of his Court, and he was receiving tributes and gifts from Scotland, Norway, and Frankia. And the next generation of monarchs were living in his Court.

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285 – Full Court Press

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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 subjects. And there is plenty of real evidence that AEthelstan was a kind king and role model to those around him, and that he took his role as a ruler seriously and with care.

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284 – AEthelstan the Victorious

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Last week, we ended with King AEthelstan’s aggression towards Kingdoms of Wales and Cornwall. We don’t know precisely what occurred, or why AEthelstan demanded crippling tributes from the Welsh and then violently expelled or executed the Cornish of Exeter.

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282 – How To Win Friends and Influence Jorvik

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AEthelstan had completed his annexation of Jorvik, and in doing so he had outperformed every last one of his predecessors, including his grandfather, Alfred the Great. But there were a few loose ends that he still needed to knot up. And as he watched the defenses of Jorvik burn and dolled out Jorvik’s wealth to his loyal men – two of those loose ends, namely his former rivals Guthfrith and Turfrid, slunk away with little more than their lives.

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281 – England

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The last couple of episodes have focused on the political tools that AEthelstan had at his disposal. Marriage alliances, fostering, dynastic cults and diplomatic entreaties were all powerful pieces moving on a huge dark age chess board. And the thing I want you to realize about these things is first, that they took time. A strategic mind – a mind like AEthelstan’s – would see the long game and set his moves accordingly knowing they wouldn’t fully materialize for years to come. The second is that these tools were highly cultural. There’s nothing inherently political about marriage or fostering until a people make it so. By examining the tools that political actors wield we learn something important about the culture and society that underlies it. What it values, and how it prioritizes people and things.

And all of these slow, important tools are working constantly in the background throughout AEthelstan’s reign.

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280 – King AEthelstan’s Love Life

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What is a King’s most important duty?

Is it the defense of the realm? Or perhaps the growth of the kingdom’s borders? What about developing the economy? Fostering strong diplomatic alliances? Shepherding the souls of his subjects to Christ? How about just keeping his subjects happy and healthy?

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