Category: The Dark Ages

Learn about the rise of England, Scotland, and Wales in episodes of the British History Podcast that cover the so-called Dark Ages.

224 – Chapter Six: Wessex

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For generations, the Anglo Saxon dominance in eastern Britain has gone largely unchallenged. In the face of this, the warlike vagabonds that first came to these lands had been transformed into gentry. Power had calcified into the hands of a few, war had become a ritualized way for dynasties to settle arguments over wealth, and Kingdoms grew complacent.

And into this arena entered the Northmen… skilled opportunists who saw that the systems that supported these dynasties were outmoded and could be wielded against them. And they were stunningly effective.

In barely over a decade, all of the Heptarchy had fallen to the Danish sword.

Most recently, Wessex, the last free anglo saxon kingdom, had fallen to Guthrum. All was lost.

Or so many thought.

Hidden in the marshes of Somerset, Alfred prepared his next move. He had lost his crown, his kingdom, and god knows what was happening with his family but he wasn’t out of the fight yet.

He still had a small band of supporters and while it would be difficult, what he had would have to be enough. The kingdom needed to be retaken… and Alfred had a plan.

His war would continue and Alfred will become Great in Season Six of the British History Podcast: Wessex.

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223 – King Alfred and Chippenham

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How do you redeem a year like 877? If you’re Alfred, how do you fix something like this? Even if he cast it in the best possible light, the story of 877 would still be the story of how Wessex lost control of two of its major coastal strongholds, was unable to directly counter the military strength of Guthrum, and largely only survived thanks to bad weather. Now, true, that could certainly be cast as divine intervention, and that would definitely bolster some spirits, but even in that circumstance, you’re looking at a year that was so bad that the almighty had to get involved to keep the kingdom safe from total annihilation.

And the hits kept coming. As harvest season drew to a close, Alfred would have received word from across the channel that King Charles the Bald of Frankia had died. Charles was never the best king, but his death raised the specter of instability… and don’t forget how powerful the Viking fleets became when they were able to exploit Frankish instability. The prospect of short sighted nobles once again financing these pirates would have been cause for concern to say the least.

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222 – Viking Kings and The Black Pool

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At some point early in the Viking Age, a group of Northmen came across a natural harbor on the western side of the Irish Sea. Being that they were a seafaring people, having places in foreign lands where they could safely make port was a significant advantage. Orkney was already showing its usefulness, and now they needed another waypoint further south. The life of a northman, even the life of a Vikingr, involved a lot more travelling and trading than it did actual raiding. So having friendly trading spots along their route wasn’t just convenient, it was good business.

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221 – Alfred and Guthrum: The Price of Peace

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When we left off, Guthrum had marched into the heart of Wessex without being noticed, lead his forces right past Alfred’s hold in Winchester, and seized the Royal tun of Wareham. In response to this, Alfred raised the Fyrd, marched upon the southern port town, and besieged it. Now all of our surviving sources are silent on how long this siege lasted. Alfred may have tried to end it quickly, but it’s just as likely that he and his army camped on the edge of Wareham for a very long time and that Guthrum’s army was running low on supplies. Looking at the record, our best guess is that the siege lasted until winter and only came to a conclusion in either in the end of 876 or early 877, but this is one of those details we will never know for sure.

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220 – Alfred and Guthrum: Magic, Madness, Heaven, Sin

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It’s the year 876 and historians Dudo and Flodoard tell us that a fleet of Vikings slammed into the Frankish city of Rouen and nearly leveled it to the ground.

In response to this attack, King Louis the Stammerer, brother of Judith, launched a campaign to oust them… but he never saw this completed because King Louis fell ill and died not long after. The Kingdom of the Franks was split between Louis’ two sons, Carloman II and Louis III. This death and political restructuring didn’t end the Frankish fight against the Vikings… but that fleet that nearly razed Rouen was htere to stay and they were lead by a man named Hrolfr… though, you probably know him by the name the Franks gave him. Rollo.

This single event on the continent would change the course of British History forever. Hrolfr, at this point an obscure viking from an unknown lineage, is the founder of the House of Normandy. The house which will eventually come to rule England. Later records also tell us that Hrolfr even befriended Guthrum at some point.

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218 – The Kingdom of Jorvik

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Today we begin in Orkney.

The history of Orkney is rather obscure, and that fact is reflected in the show… with it appearing only occasionally in the Scotcasts and Celtcasts. However, in the last 80 years, things have been changing rapidly for the inhabitants of this misty land, and the people of Orkney started to play a key role in the Nordic invasion of Britain and actually provide a window into what’s coming for Northumbria.

Early in the Viking Age, the Norse discovered that only about a couple days voyage to the south lay an archipelago of about 170 islands that spanned the northern portion of Britain. It was ideal for their needs. The voyage to the British isles were perilous. It required the longships to travel out of the sight of land and that meant that, rather than beaching their ships at night and resting, they would instead have to sail adrift in undecked open ships over black night time waters.

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217 – Halfdan’s Ravaging of the North

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We begin our story in Alt Clut.

Alt Clut was an ancient British Kingdom and it could trace itself back to Roman Britannia – and possibly even further. At the center of this kingdom was an old fortress on a River, the River Clyde. The Kingdom’s name derived from the Brythonic name for the rock featured by this fortress. Alt Clut: Rock of the Clyde.

This rock feature on the river Clyde probably defined the area for many of its people, and over time it likely came to define the people themselves.

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216 – The Great Heathen Army: Always Be Prepared

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Click here to go the Summary of Zee’s PhD that I talked about.

We are coming to a major turning point in the story of Britain.The Anglo Saxon kingdoms never had a chance of turning the Great Heathen Army back, and now it looks like they’re here to stay. There’s no denying it anymore. But that’s as much a problem to solve for the Danes as it is for the Anglo Saxons. What happens when you’re no longer invaders, but rulers? History as we know it is littered with empires that fail right at this point, when they switch from the the activity of conquering to the business of governance.

This is also a major new problem for one of the last independent Anglo Saxon kings.

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215 – King Burgred and the end of the Danish Sausage Fest

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It’s 873 and so far Halfdan has extracted THREE Danegelds from King Burgred in exchange for promising to not occupy Mercia. And, of course, he’s gone on to occupy Mercia… most recently in a town called Torksey. He also put down a rebellion in Jorvik and reclaimed the city. He pushed King Ricsige of Northumbria beyond the Tyne, effectively demoting him to King Ricsige of Bernicia. And now, he was marching (or potentially rowing) towards Repton, which was also in Mercia.

Burgred couldn’t catch a break with this guy.

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