A Chronological History of Britain
Learn about the rise of England, Scotland, and Wales in episodes of the British History Podcast that cover the so-called Dark Ages.
History is just the story of humans across time. Therefore, like humanity, history is varied, it’s emotional, it’s complex. And often it’s just f*cking messy. King Edward was pushing 40… but new bride, Edith, was only about 22. If you’re a modern royal watcher, or even just a fan of The Crown, you’ll know that [...]
King Edward came to England with a political migraine. His own nobles, the very people from whom he would rely on for the exercise of his power, had been involved in the murder of his brother, Alfred. These were powerful figures in their own right, and many would have had more influence and knowledge in [...]
In 1040, England once again had a new King. But England was finding Harthacnut a tough pill to swallow. It had been a bad sign that, when Harthacnut arrived, one of the very first things he did was mutilate and desecrate King Harold Harefoot’s body. That’s a risky move to make, even when dealing with [...]
Today’s story starts in 1039. It’s a big year, and a lot has happened to get us here. So let’s recap very quickly. The death of Cnut caused a cascade of consequences that reached up to the tip of Scotland and even into the continent. It was an empire crumbling just as it had been [...]
The early 11th century was an unlikely time of heroes. By heroes I unfortunately don’t mean people of good character and brave deeds, but just people who perform extraordinary feats for their time. One of these was the very first King of Wales, Gruffudd ap Llewelyn. He pulled off what no other Welsh ruler had [...]
Here is the story of Macbeth. If you have just tuned into this episode because of the title, know that it is the second episode in a two-part series. You will want to go to the previous episode, Double Double Toil and Trouble, and listen to that first. There you will learn about the peculiar region that spawned this shadowy highland King.
The death of Cnut and the fall of his near-Empire would obviously have impacts on his own dynasty. But while Harold was trying to secure England, Emma was trying to regain power, and poor Edward was trying to stay out of the whole mess, the political tsunami was roaring over the shores of the Irish [...]
The Medieval chronicler, Adam of Bremen, was writing at around this point in history and among the many things he tells us he also includes how Cnut planned his almost empire. And Adam tells us that Cnut intended Sweyn to rule Norway, Harthacnut to rule Denmark, and Harold Harefoot to rule England. And that might [...]
It was November 11 of 1035 and King Cnut was dead. He was buried at Winchester Cathedral. Cnut, and likely the Court, seemed to anticipate his death. Possibly because he had been ill for some time. But the ruling classes of Europe were still completely unprepared for the chaos that followed. Consolidating multiple kingdoms under [...]
I wonder if Cnut could see what was coming. All the signs were in front of him. Everything was starting to line up. But was he actually putting it together? Anger in Norway was reaching a boiling point over the austerity policies and heavy enforcement imposedbyAElfgifu and Cnut’s son (Swein). Armed rebellion was just around [...]