57 The Excommunicate
John took a detailed interest in administration, and made effective changes to the way things worked. Partly his interest was motivated by the need to raise money - as inflation ate away at his earnin...
6 Apr 201230min
56 The History of Medieval Europe Part 2
The Holy Roman Empire to the death of Barbarossa, the briefest of histories of Norway, Denmark and Spain, and the 4th Crusade. It's action packed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...
31 Mar 201235min
55 The History of Medieval Europe Part 1
From Charles Martel and the battle of Tours in 732, through Charlemagne and Otto the Great, the first installment concentrates on France, Germany and Italy and takes us to the shores of Gregory VIIth....
25 Mar 201227min
54 Fighting Back - A Bit
John immediately launched attempts to get his lands back - and ran into the Barons. He does run up a pretty good Navy though. And we hear of Roland the Farter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...
17 Mar 201225min
53 Torn Apart - the Loss of an Empire
After the defection of William des Roches the military situation was poor for John but not irretrievable. Unfortunately, John failed to provide the leadership needed. He distrusted his barons; he pan...
11 Mar 201231min
52 John Softsword
As a younger man, John had been given the nickname Lackland because unlike his brothers he didn't have his own appanage. At the Treaty of Le Goulet in May 1200 he acquired the name Softsword - people ...
18 Feb 201228min
51 The Fouler Presence of John?
In 1199, Richard the Lion Heart died after being shot by a cook outside the castle of Chalus in the Limousin. The Empire was split between supporters of Arthur and supporters of John. Philip was for h...
11 Feb 201230min
50 Defence of the Empire
The war between Richard and Phillip went on from 1194-1198 in fits and starts; usually there was no more than 3 months of fighting before a truce came along. But the general flow was steadily in Richa...
4 Feb 201234min
