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.

133 – Scotcast: Part Ten

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To start with, we have nine praise poems that tell us of a mighty king of Rheged named Urien, who reigned in the 580’s and 590’s. Urien was no slouch and from the records, it appears that his kingdom stretched all the way to the Solway and he was also given the title of “Defender of Aeon” or Ayrshire… so we’re talking about a king who controlled an enormous stretch of land that included territories on both sides of the Wall.

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132 – Scotcast Part Nine: St. Columba and King Brude

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This episode will cover the years 506 to 584 and will focus primarily upon:

King Brude (also known as King Bridie), the King the the Northern Picts … also referred to as King of Fortriu
and St. Columba, the man credited with converting the Northern Picts… and lesser known monster expert.

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131 – Scotcast Part Eight

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So we will begin the account of what was going on with the Picts following the withdrawal of Rome with a rather discouraging fact… isn’t it nice when I can start an episode on an up note? In the Group A version of the Pictish Chronicle there are only 3 Pictish Kings before Kenneth MacAlpin who had any of their deeds recorded. Just three.

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129 – The Life of King Wulfhere

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About a year and a half ago I did a series on the Staffordshire hoard. And talking with the experts and viewing the relics was easily one of my favorite moments from the entire experience of putting together the BHP. As you might remember, the hoard was found in Mercia and it is dated to roughly around the era that we’re talking about right now. In fact, I would be willing to wager that for most of you, the first time you heard the name “Wulfhere” was during those episodes. Because it’s possible that the Hoard had some level of connection to him, and it might have actually been his.

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128 – The End of King Oswiu’s Hegemony

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The episode covers 664 to 670 and the major characters are…

King Oswiu, ruler of Northumbria, son of AEthelfrith, and all around terrifying fellow

King Alhfrith of Deira, Oswiu’s son and one of his probable rivals

Wilfrid, abbott of Ripon, guy who argued for Rome at Whitby, and all around ambitious guy.

and King Wulfhere, ruler of Mercia and son of Penda.

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127 – The Synod of Whitby

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The major players for today will be Hild (who was the daughter of King Edwin’s nephew, Hereric), King Oswiu of Bernicia, Bishop Colman of Lindisfarne, Wilfred the abbot of Ripon, and Bishop Cedd. And they will be, ostensibly, arguing over Easter.

See? Once again, we’ve got Easter causing trouble in Britain. Cadburys chocolate can’t come soon enough. This is getting out of hand.

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126 – The End of an Era: The Triumph of Christianity in Britain

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Today we’re going to tackle the history from 660 right up to the lead up to the Synod of Whitby… and we’re going to have a lot of moving parts, but the theme that is developing here is one of the last gasps of Paganism in Britain and the rise of two rival imperiums: one based in Northumbria and another based in Mercia. The major players for today’s episode are King Oswiu of Northumbria as well as his chief rival, King Wulfhere of Mercia. However, into the mix will come a number of sub-kings, members of the Clergy, and some intriguing lesser nobles. However, much of the political story of this period in history really does revolve around these two characters. Alright, lets get to it.

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125 – King Oswiu: A Gathering Storm

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So in late 655, following his victory at the Winwaed, King Oswiu occupied and ruled Northern Mercia and thus now ruled over an additional 7,000 households, according to Bede. Consider how much power that was conferring upon the King. We’re talking about 7,000 hides of land. Think of how many Ceorls and Thegns now answered to him, and how much food rent he would now command, in addition to all the holdings of Bernicia and the tributes he was collecting from sub-kings.

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124 – Social Mobility: Getting a Raise in Anglo Saxon Kingdoms

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Today we’re going to wrap up this talk that we’ve been having on the development of social classes in Anglo Saxon britain. Hopefully, once we’re done, much like our talks on other matters like food, clothing, and warfare… you’ll have a fuller understanding of who these people were, what their lives were like, and where we come from.

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123 – Retail Therapy: The Rise of Anglo Saxon Towns

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Alright, lets get to history. Specifically, lets talk about towns. And to start with, lets establish a couple terms I’m going to be using a lot. When I talk about towns and cities, what I’m largely talking about are larger communities that have a permanent population of traders and craftsmen and whose economy is focused largely upon trade. Conversely, villages are smaller communities that are built largely around agriculture. Villages might have more land than a town, but their population density will be much less (by nature of the work they do and the amount of arable land they require) and their economies tend to be more localized and based upon subsistence when compared with towns and cities.

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