The History of England

1141 was a turbulent year in England's history. The Civil war had reached an early deadlock, dramatically broken by the capture of the king at the Battle of Lincoln, and the defeat of the Empress at W...

11 Sep 201126min

'...they said openly that christ and his saints slept'. This stunning phrase gives us an image of devastation hat led to the period being called 'The Anarchy'. In this episode, we look at how the Step...

4 Sep 201130min

Henry was a Norman king like any other - Normandy was in his blood. For 30 years, he controlled the diplomatic game to keep Normandy in the Empire. The one thing he couldn't control was the succession...

14 Aug 201129min

The fight with Robert gave Henry a great chance to replace the old conquest families with his own men, and particularly in the Welsh Marches. And this week we also do a catch up on what’s changed in w...

7 Aug 201127min

After the initial struggle for succession and baronial revolt, England itself was pretty peaceful during Henry’s reign. The church & state debate needed fixing. And Normandy was a constant battle, and...

31 Juli 201127min

The youngest of William the Conqueror’s sons, Henry, wasted no time shedding tears for his brother Rufus. He got himself crowned, anointed and blessed. The next 6 years were to be dominated by the str...

24 Juli 201126min

Rufus fell out big time with Anselm, his Archbishop of Canterbury. Unusually for Medieval Man he was impious and irreverent. Meanwhile, the Welsh struggled for independence against Norman tyranny, and...

18 Juli 201125min

William Rufus was a flamboyant, red faced, pudgy and irreverant bloke, but none the less his father's favourite son. So Dad tipped him the wink and he left the death bed to take the throne of England ...

11 Juli 201130min