Anglo-Saxon England

Even as its glory days slipped into the past, Northumbria was still able to produce one last great mind who would have a profound impact on the rest of the world. Alcuin of York came from an obscure f...

14 Apr 202210min

This episode, ahead of the big episode on the Northumbrian collapse,  we take a break from politics to look at one of the most important artefacts from Anglo-Saxon England: the Lindisfarne Gospels. It...

30 Mar 202212min

After Osred's death in 716, Northumbria entered a period of political upheaval which eventually saw the emergence of a new dynasty to claim the throne. This family, descendants of Leodwald, quickly ac...

11 Mar 202213min

This week we look at fallout of Nechtansmere and the end of Athelfrithing domination of Northumbrian politics. Ironically, this coincided with one of the more famous kings of the dynasty, famed for hi...

23 Feb 202214min

This week we meet the single most important Anglo-Saxon scholar of them all. Bede lived an extremely quiet life, but his intellectual world was fantastically productive. He produced works which provid...

10 Jan 202218min

This week we step back from royal politics to look at some of the main saints to emerge from Northumbria in the 7th C. We also look at how the distinctive culture that these people fostered set the sc...

30 Des 202117min

Following the death of Oswald, Northumbria was reduced to a fragmented vassal of Mercia. But that was changed under the leadership of Oswald's brother, Oswiu. Oswiu reunited Northumbria and led it to ...

8 Des 202127min

After the death of Edwin, Northumbria was thrown into chaos by the ravages of Cadwallon who swiftly deposed the kings who rose to replace him. But, in 633, a young Northumbrian noble returned from exi...

3 Nov 202118min