Episodes

After the death of Ecgberth in 673, the throne of Kent passed to his younger brother Hlothhere. There is some debate as to whether Hlothhere succeeded Ecgberht immediately or after an interregnum. While this may suggest some ...

With the death of Eadbald, we find ourselves square in the middle of a complicate textual history regarding the foundation legend of the monastery of Minster-in-Thanet. The various narratives which make up this history are al...

Despite Æthelberht’s official adoption of the new Christian creed, he seems to have been largely unsuccessful in promoting it among his courtiers. His own son, Eadbald, refused to adopt the faith. Upon his father’s death in 6...

Any list of the most consequential Anglo-Saxons would need to include King Æthelberht of Kent. As the king who welcomed the Augustinian Mission in 597 and gave them his protection Æthelberht was personally responsible foe the...

Kent consists of a small spur sticking out of the south-eastern tip of England. To its north lies the mouth of the River Thames and to its south it the English Channel. As the closest point between Britain and mainland Europe...

As historians we thrive on the material culture of the past. You don’t need to be an historical materialist to recognize that without material culture our understanding of history is severely limited. Objects are the raw mate...

The period of West Saxon consolidation under Ine had major implications not just for Wessex but for peoples elsewhere in Britain and even on the Continent. One man who embodies the international impact of Ine’s reign is Bonif...

Michael Lapidge called Aldhelm the first English ‘man of letters’ on account of his vast learning. Bede said of him that he was ‘most learned in every respect’ and that he was both a mast of style as well as possessing an unr...

It’s probably no exaggeration to say the Alfred the Great is one of the most, if not the most, famous Anglo-Saxon of them all. The only British monarch given the epithet ‘the Great’, the traditional account of his life is one...

Much like the Advent Lyrics, the second Christ poem, which I will refer to as ‘The Ascension’ is focused on another key moment from the Christian story; the ascension of Christ 40 days after the Crucifixion. The poem is one o...

Æthelwulf’s will attests to his desire that upon his death Wessex would pass into the hands of his sons. This desire was fulfilled when his eldest surviving son Æthelbald became king following his father’s death in 858. The y...

Æthelwulf, father of Alfred the Great, was perhaps the most innovative king Wessex had seen since the reign of Ine. Although he would dedicate much of his reign to securing the throne, through the dual impact of intense Vikin...

In 786 King Cynewulf was murdered throwing Wessex into disorder. In the midst of the feuding that followed King Offa of Mercia moved in to secure the West Saxons’ passivity by elevating a puppet to the throne. He did this in ...

What is Old English poetry? How does it work? In this unlocked bonus episode I walk you through the ways that Anglo-Saxon poets created their work and how this distinctively English art form worked. For more of these cultural...

Following Ine’s abdication in 726, the rest of the eighth century was a time of uncertainty for Wessex. It is a period that is not well served by the primary evidence, and we don’t really get detailed accounts of the kingdom’...

This week, I conclude my look at the form of Christianity that came to be practiced in England across the Anglo-Saxon period. In this episode I look at beliefs about death, the afterlife, and the end of the world. https://www...

In this episode I interview author and historical reenactor John Fletcher about his book 'The Western Kingdom: The Birth of Cornwall'. It's an accessible and fascinating history of Cornwall in the early middle ages and well w...

This week, I begin a two part wrap up of our look at the major themes of Old English literature by looking at the form of Christianity that came to be practiced in England across the Anglo-Saxon period. This and the next epis...

Of all the kings of Wessex prior to the reign of King Alfred, Ine is the one with probably the greatest reputation. This rests mostly on the respect afforded to his law code by King Alfred in the preface to his own collection...

Upon the abdication of Centwine in 685 the Gewisse were thrown into chaos. From the forests on their eastern frontier came news of an exiled noble massing an army to press his claim to the throne. He had already cut his teeth...

The Anglo-Saxons prised wisdom. It permeated every aspect of their culture and they created an elaborate literature of wisdom meant to convey both profound truths and practical knowledge. In this bonus episode we take an over...

The period between Cynegil’s baptism in 636 and the rise of Cædwalla in 685 is one in which the political history of the Gewisse becomes extremely complicated. This is because the political structure of the Gewisse that had d...

'Heroic’ isn’t a term the Anglo-Saxons used, rather it refers to a general type of poetry dealing with heroes, men who live by a code and put their lives at risk upholding said code while performing marvellous deeds. The hero...

Our first secure historical date for the people who became the West Saxons occurred at some point in the 630s when a missionary called Birinus baptised their king, Cynegils, at his royal palace near Dorchester on Thames. Acco...