Episodes
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At long last, the struggle was over. The post 506 – Chapter Eleven: The Machine first appeared on The British History Podcast.
It was the 15th of August, and King Henry was at Bec. He didn’t want to be at Bec, of course. He wanted to be in the field, fighting Robert. However, until the matter with Anselm was resolved, he didn’t dare take to the field. So here he was. The post 505 – The Battle of Tinchebray first appeared on The British History Podcast.
It was July 21st of 1105 and Henry was in Laigle. Just like he was in the late 1070s. And, just like in the late 1070s, he was in conflict with his older brother. Only this time he wasn’t in the town to do something fun, like pee on Robert from a balcony. No, this […] The post 504 – At Anslem’s Bec and Call first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Curthose and his attendants, what remained of them, were rushing as quickly as they could to Rouen… and he was, presumably, crossing his fingers hoping that the people of that city would welcome him. And, honestly, after Caen I’d say it was even odds at best. The post 503 – The Holy Ghosting first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Henry, with the help of Bishop Serlo, had just rebranded himself and his knights as the pious leaders of Greater Christian Normandy by going through little more than a ritualized barber shop scene and, while we know it was just cosplay, the fact is that people fall for bad faith optics all the time Which […] The post 502 – The Cage Match of Bayeux first appeared on The British History Podcast.
For months, messengers had been arriving from Normandy carrying news of the disorder and chaos that was gripping the Duchy. Now, normally, this would have been good news for King Henry. It was no secret that the King wanted to reunite his father’s cross channel empire under himself… nor was it a secret that he […] The post 501 – Bishop Serlo’s Pop Up Hair Salon first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Some families are just…the worst. You know how it is, there’s the one or two in there that are half decent, but mostly you avoid them too because the rest of the family is just awful. The post 499 – William of Mortain and How Some People Never Have Enough Wealth first appeared on The British History Podcast.
The death of Duke Robert’s chief ally, William of Breteuil, and the succession crisis it kicked off, was destabilizing the duchy of Normandy. And while I’m sure it was a relief that King Henry and Robert of Meulan had brokered a sort of resolution to the crisis… everyone watching knew their intrusion into Norman […] The post 498 – Power and Predictability first appeared on The British History Podcast.
It was 1103 and things were a mess. And…when are they not? But a major reason for this mess was (oddly) William of Breteuil. Now, as you might recall, William of Breteuil was the firstborn son of the Conqueror’s close friendWilliam fitz Osbern… and, thanks to this proximity to power, he was one of the […] The post 497 – That’s Me In The Spot. Light. first appeared on The British History Podcast.
For the first time since William the Conqueror, there was going to be a primatial council at Westminster Abbey. This was a HUGE deal. Like… enormous. Anselm had been trying to hold a major reform council for years, but King Rufus had refused. Reform, as you may remember, wasn’t something that the red king was […] The post 496 – That’s Me In The Corner first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Ok, let’s return to 1101 and 1102, because Henry’s fight with Anselm, and fight between Henry and the Pope (and the fight between Anselm and the Pope) were …amazingly….only half of the story. The post 495 – Power Struggles: Part Two first appeared on The British History Podcast.
In early February of 1102 Queen Matilda was giving birth. The post 494 – Power Struggles: Part One first appeared on The British History Podcast.
The Treaty penned at Alton had avoided outright war, but it wasn’t truly official. It needed to be finalized at Winchester. The post 493 – The Price of Peace first appeared on The British History Podcast.
In 1668, John Dryden became England’s very first Poet Laureate. But he had a rival. No, not just a rival. A nemesis. This man’s name was Thomas Shadwell, and I can’t overstate how much Dryden hated him. The post 492 – The War for Perception first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Duke Robert Curthose was back in Normandy, having reclaimed the Duchy unopposed… and now he was looking to assert his claim on England. The post 491 – All Hats On Deck first appeared on The British History Podcast.
King Henry’s first Christmas Court in the closing days of 1100 had felt…off. The post 490 – Messengers from France first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Ok, let’s face it, last year was a lot. Rampant corruption, threats of war, tyrannical leaders, actual war, a greedy feckless aristocracy, rulers weaponizing the legal system, rulers completely disregarding the legal system, rulers making grandiose promises they had no interest in actually delivering on, international intrigue, at least one incredibly suspicious death, and finally […] The post 489 – From Normandy With Love first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Edith, the daughter of King Malcolm Canmore, has appeared from time to time in our story and (by this point) she was about 20 years old… and many of those years had been weird ones. The post 487 – Stealing a Wife From God first appeared on The British History Podcast.
The cart carrying the body of King Rufus eventually reached the cathedral at Winchester. And if we are to believe Malmesbury, blood had been dripping from it from the forest all the way into the Cathedral. Though, at some point it must have stopped. I mean, even if no one… ya know… sorted it out, […] The post 486 – Stealing a Crown from your Brother first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Zee runs us through the events and it’s… a lot. The post The First Crusade Sample first appeared on The British History Podcast.
It was a calm August afternoon in Winchester. The Royal Palace (or potentially the Conqueror’s castle… our scribes aren’t precise when discussing the location, but probably the Palace)… either way, Winchester would have been full of activity, but nothing out of the ordinary. Just Royal functionaries carrying out their duties while the King was away, […] The post 485 – What Happened? first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Ok, when we left off, Rufus threw a big “look at me” celebration… and the prevailing response appears to have been “yeah, man. We see you.” And that wasn’t even the worst part of his year. The post 484 – Final Destination: The New Forest first appeared on The British History Podcast.
The final two years of the 11th century feel like someone was trying to tie up a bunch of plotlines before the start of season 12. Things are moving fast, everybody is suddenly in different countries, and inevitably…some of these characters aren’t having their contracts renewed. The post 483 – Standing on Ceremony first appeared on The British History Podcast.
Alright. When we left off, I mentioned that while Rufus was in Normandy, things in England had been getting interesting in his absence. Let’s start with Bishop Walkelin. The post 482 – Eye for an Eye first appeared on The British History Podcast.
When we left off, Rufus and Robert of Belleme were marching upon Maine. Specifically, Count Helias’ fortress at Danguel. This fortress made military incursions and raids into Maine insanely difficult. Which Rufus and Robert found deeply inconsiderate, so it would have to be brought down or, at the very least it would have to be […] The post 481 – Operation Baguette Storm first appeared on The British History Podcast.
