A Chronological History of Britain
Every episode of The British History Podcast that moves the story forward in a chronological way.
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William the Conqueror had not set his sons up for success, and at the heart of it was land.
Obviously, the way he distributed those lands in his Will had been a bit of a disaster, as it had set his two eldest sons up for war.
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It was Easter of 1088. This was, typically, a time when the most powerful figures of England would gather at Court. But this wasn’t a typical year.
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Primogeniture, the practice of handing all wealth and power from father to the eldest son, had done a lot to consolidate power along single family lines. But it created all manner of problems for …well, pretty much everyone else.
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Somewhere around the time William the First was bursting out of his tomb like roasted chestnut and William the Second was making it rain with his dead dad’s money….something was turning in western culture as a whole.
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It was early September of 1087, and for weeks…nearly two months, in fact… people had been discussing William’s impending death, and worrying about what would happen next. And for good reason.
This family, which ruled over Normandy, had a history of infighting and civil wars, especially during times of succession.
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The story of William and the conquest has been a long road, and I’ve heard from some of you that this season has been challenging to listen to.
I get it. No matter how awful William is he never seems to face any real consequences…
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If the last few episodes have seemed a little confusing, then you’re hearing them right.
Europe at the end of the 11th century was a rapidly changing world and it is all going to have a profound impact on the history of Britain. I want you to really have a good understanding of what is going on here, and to do that I have been forced to go back and forth between simultaneous stories.
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When we left off, things were looking pretty bad for William and William’s hope of a legacy. Maine was once again in rebellion against Normandy. But this time half of France seemed to be looking for an excuse to join them. Denmark was preparing an invasion of England … and even William’s brother-in-law, Count Robert of Flanders, was preparing to be part of that invasion fleet.
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Matilda was dead and now things were coming apart at the seams.