Anglo-Saxon England is a podcast looking at the history of Anglo-Saxon England, beginning with the end of Roman Britain and ending with the Norman Conquest. We will not only talk about the history but also the literature, culture, and historiography of the Anglo-Saxon period. This show strives to offer an accessible but scholarly rigorous overview that will appeal both to beginners and to experts.
📻 Siste episoder av Anglo-Saxon England
Her er de nyeste episodene tilgjengelige via RSS-feeden:
In honour of the season I present an unlocked episode from the bonus feed covering the poem known as 'The Advent Lyrics' or, more traditionally, 'Christ I'.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
King Canute (00:26:25)
Canute's reign profoundly transformed England and set the stage for the final decades of Anglo-Saxon rule.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Canute's Childhood (00:10:25)
We introduce Canute, one of Anglo-Saxon England's most successful and powerful rulers.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Edmund Ironside (00:09:28)
We look at the brief reign of King Edmund Ironside.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Æthelred Unready? (00:10:30)
How 'unready' was King Æthelred?
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Æthelred’s Final Decade (00:16:02)
We conclude our narrative of Æthelred’s reign with his final catastrophic decade. Next time we will take a look at the reign as a whole and consider whether Æthelred’s reputation is warranted.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Æthelred’s Mature Reign (00:19:52)
We continue our look at Æthelred’s reign at its peak: 993 to 1006.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Battle of Maldon (00:21:45)
As I work on the rest of the Æthelred overview, I wanted to highlight one of the major events and poems of the period: The Battle of Maldon.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Æthelred’s Early Reign (00:14:32)
There are few kings in English history that are as maligned as Ethelred. Forever remembered as ‘the Unready’, Ethelred’s reign was regarded even by those writing only fifteen years after its end as a time of chaos when England was beset by a renewed Viking menace and the king himself was forced to flee the kingdom, albeit temporarily. Ultimately though, Ethelred’s reign would set the stage for a successful Danish invasion and the rise of Cnut.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
History from Below (00:19:48)
This episode I wanted to look back at where we have been from the perspective of the high-water mark of Anglo-Saxon history that was the reign of Edgar. In this retrospective analysis, I want to consider some aspects of ‘history from below’ that were not focused on as much in earlier episodes, specifically the economic base of society, slavery, and the position of women in Anglo-Saxon society.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Edward the Martyr (00:20:26)
Following Edgar’s death, we enter into what would be one of the most turbulent periods of Anglo-Saxon history which would see murder, renewed Viking activity, and invasion bring England to its knees. It all began with a dispute over the succession.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
King Edgar: Part 2 (00:22:45)
We wrap up our look at possibly the greatest of all Anglo-Saxon monarchs.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Ideology of Benedictine Reform (00:43:01)
Oswald of Worcester (d.992) is usually viewed as one of three episcopal leaders of monastic reform in tenth-century England, but this interpretation conflates Oswald’s motivations and interests with those of Dunstan (d.988) and Æthelwold (d.984). This article uses the surviving source-material to re-examine how far Oswald was genuinely connected with his contemporaries’ reforming ideology and how this differed from Æthelwold’s specifically. Ultimately two distinct movements emerge from this re-evaluation, one centred on Winchester and the other on Worcester (and its associated houses), both based on distinct ideologies of monastic reform.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oswald (00:15:05)
We look at the last of the Big Three reformers, Oswald, and set up a discussion of what exactly the reformers in England wanted to achieve.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Æthelwold (00:17:37)
If you read about the English Benedictine Reforms today, the older narrative focused on Dunstan as the its spearhead will have been largely replaced by a view that positions his student Æthelwold as the driving force behind reform. It is Æthelwold who composed the main source texts of English reform and it was he who sought to guide the politics of England by cultivating close links with the family of King Edgar.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
St Dunstan (00:15:09)
The Benedictine reforms in England were, in the traditional narrative, spearheaded by three key ecclesiastics: Dunstan, Æthelwold, and Oswald. The exact relationship of these three has been subject to regular revaluation since the late tenth century and I will offer my own revaluation in due time. Starting in this episode, I will present the lives of each reformer in the traditional mould so that later we can look again at their stories when we consider the nature and impact of English Benedictine reform.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Beginnings of Benedictine Reform (00:13:00)
Although the Benedictine reform movements that found royal favor in England in the late-tenth century are usually associated with King Edgar, their origins predate him quite substantially with roots going all the way back to the reign of Æthelstan. The true origins of Benedictine reform, though, came not from England but from Francia.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Church in Late Anglo-Saxon England (00:19:26)
Since a major part of King Edgar’s legacy is based on his advocacy of church reform, it is reasonable to spend some time considering the state of the Church in the mid-tenth century and the role it played in society. It’s easy to fall into rhetoric which assumes that the Church is the same in all places and at all times. This obviously cannot be true, thus why we tend to talk about the Church in medieval England or the Church in the ancient world. But it can be easy to forget that even within an historical period – like the period of ‘Anglo-Saxon England’ – ideas and institutions did not remain static. The Church of the conversion period was different from the Church of the Norman Conquest.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
King Edgar (00:10:58)
Edgar, son of Edmund, is not that well known today to those not already interested in Anglo-Saxon history, yet there can be no doubt that he, along with Alfred and Æthelstan, is one of the most important rulers in terms of their contribution to the formation of the English kingdom. Through his patronage of Benedictine monastic reforms Edgar oversaw the creation of an ideology which united Church and Crown in a manner that had not yet been seen in England.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
King Eadwig (00:19:45)
Following Eadred’s early death the eldest son of Edmund, Eadwig, was finally of an age to become king. Through his uncle’s years of intensifying illness, the court had become adept at governing with minimal royal input. The young and healthy Eadwig was not content to let things proceed as they had under Eadred, however. In attempting to bend the system to his will, Eadwig would become one of the most scandalous kings of the Anglo-Saxon period and bring the kingdom literally to breaking point.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
King Eadred (00:15:48)
When Edmund was killed in 946 his two sons, Eadwig and Edgar, were still just infants. Thus, the witan chose to elevate Edmund’s brother, Eadred, to the throne so as to avoid the dangers of having a child king.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
King Edmund (00:19:18)
Edmund was an important ruler in shaping the future course of English history whatever his personal failings. In the end he died too soon to know how he would have fared without his mother or when powerful nobles began to chafe under his authority. Perhaps that is for the best since as it stands he can easily be held in some, albeit qualified, esteem.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Æthelstan and the Continent (00:11:15)
Last time we looked at how Æthelstan ruled his kingdom but this is only half of the story of his reign. Much like his grandfather Æthelstan sought to forge close links with rulers and ecclesiastics throughout western Europe in an effort to solidify the intellectual, cultural, and political prestige of England on an international stage.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Æthelstan’s England (00:16:48)
Æthelstan is routinely regarded as one of Anglo-Saxon England’s greatest kings. This is a reputation ascribed to him not only for his military and political achievements, but also for the remarkable impression that his decades on the throne have left in the historical record. The abundance of material provides unparalleled insight into how the royal government of Æthelstan functioned and how the king’s policies shaped English culture for the next several generations.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Æthelstan: The First King of England (Part II) (00:15:33)
We look at the second half of Æthelstan's reign from its peak to its complex end.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening
Social Media -
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglandAnglo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices