The British History Podcast

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 A...

29 Sep 201632min

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 calle...

16 Sep 201650min

It’s 872 and Halfdan’s year has been a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, he had received a major Danegeld from Mercia, to add to the one he received from Wessex in the previous year. And now he was...

4 Sep 201624min

Last time we left off, Alfred… who we have been following since his earliest days, and whom we now know the most intimate details of, including the state of his butt (which was swollen) and the state ...

24 Aug 201633min

It’s mid April of 871. For four long months, the House of Wessex has been battling against an invasion army of Danes who are holding the Royal Tun of Reading. Battle after battle had resulted in bruis...

12 Aug 201630min

It’s January of 871, still… A tremendous amount has happened in the last fortnight, and the year had barely even begun. People tend to compress the past… especially periods they are unfamiliar with… i...

28 Jul 201628min

“God, in his goodness and justice so much offended by our sins, had thus worn down the lands and kingdoms of the Christians.” That’s a quote from Prudentius of Troyes, who was struggling to explain wh...

19 Jul 201634min

When we left off, the Danes had occupied Reading, fortified it for several days, and then sent a detachment West along the river Kennet… In response, Ealdorman AEthelwulf of Berkshire had raised the l...

8 Jul 201620min