67. Totila and the Ostrogothic Resurgence
542-543 In Belisarius’ absence, the Byzantine’s greed and incompetence create a space for the Ostrogoths to launch a comeback. Under their new leader, Totila, they enjoy stunning success in a series o...
18 Maj 28min
66. When the General's Away...
540 to 541 We return to Italy, where Belisarius had the Ostrogoths on the ropes… until he didn’t. Leadership failures on both sides result in a renewal of conflict and the appearance of a new power am...
6 Mars 21min
65. Church and People
90% of the population of Europe was made up of rural peasants. By the end of Roman rule in the West, only some of those peasants had been fully Christianized. This episode is about the efforts by the ...
19 Feb 34min
64. Church and State
The process of fragmentation that followed the fall of the west affected the Church just as much as it did other parts of society, and there was a process of remaking. What emerged was not the behemot...
13 Feb 30min
63. Brunhilda Part 3: Slay, Queen
584 to 612 Part three of a two-part series on the life and times of Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia sees the her emerge fully as a player in Frankish and European politics. Her influence is felt across ...
27 Jan 44min
62. Brunhilda Part 2: Widow and Regent
577 to 587 Part two of Queen Brunhilda’s biography covers the conflict between her husband and his father and strife between the Queen and the nobles around her son. We also talk about her role spons...
1 Jan 31min
Bonus Episode: The Sandby Borg Massacre
480 CE A pre-Christmas ghost story. Excavation of a fortification on a Swedish island reveals a spasm of violence that wiped out an entire settlement. The finds shed light on life in the fifth centu...
23 Dec 202513min
61. Brunhilda Part 1: Queen Energy
567 to 577 Part one of life of Brunhilda, the Visigothic princess who was regent for three generations of Merovingian rulers. Autochthonous : adj. Native to the place it is found, i.e. indigenous. Lin...
12 Dec 202530min
