Shows / The History of England
The History of England
This my re-telling of the story of England. I aim to be honest, and rigorous - but always loving of my country's history. It is a regular, chronological podcast, starting from the end of Roman Britain. There are as many of the great events I can squeeze in, of course, but I also try to keep an eye on how people lived, their language, what was important to them, the forces that shaped their lives and destinies, that sort of thing. To listen free of adverts, support the podcast, access a library…
Episodes
The History of England150 Conquering Hero
By 1417, Henry had sorted out his support in England, and was able to launch a war of conquest in Normandy. After butchery at Caen, castles and towns fell, and…
The History of England149 Sex, Childbirth and Children
Medieval understanding of physiology had an impact on attitudes to sex, just as much as did the teachings of the church. Though who knows how much it had an…
The History of England148 Women and 1066, and Marriage
As far as women were concerned, was 1066 generally a Good Thing, a Bad Thing - or just a Thing? That's the main item of debate this week, along with a bit…
The History of England147 Women and Anglo Saxon England
Unaccustomed as I am to social and economic history...here is the first of a bit of a thread over the next few weeks and months about some social stuff, and…
The History of England146 Agincourt Campaign Part III The Battle
And so at last to one of England's most famous battles. Outnumbered and trapped, Henry and his English and Welsh faced the cream of the French warrior class…
The History of England145 The Agincourt Campaign Part II
Henry probably now intended to be King of France or Duke of Normandy as a minimum. So what he planned was a war of conquest, not just the traditional…
The History of England144 The Agincourt Campaigns Part I
There is little doubt that Henry Vth always intended to fight in France - unless they completely rolled over. Which was unlikely; the French were perfectly…
The History of England143 Champion of Christ
Last week we wondered about Henry - Monster or Hero...? This week you could look at it either way, as Henry faces the Lollards and his old pal, Sir John…
The History of England142 Greatest Man - or Monster?
Henry Vth is a man who has a reasonable claim to be the greatest of English kings. But what did contemporaries think of him? Successful he was no doubt - but…
The History of England141 De Heretico Comburendo
With John Wycliffe and the Lollards in the 14th century, heresy finally came to England. Up to this point, rural England had been notable for avoiding the…
The History of England140 Fathers and Sons
In his final years, Henry faced a new challenge - from his ambitious son Henry. Ill and tired, For a while he loses control to the young bucks, the new…
The History of England139 The Fall of Glyn Dwr
The younger Henry enters our story full time as he leads to fight to Glyn Dwr. And for the alternative Prince of Wales after the failure of the French invasion…
The History of England138 Glyn Dwr and the Showdown
In 1405, yet more rebellion in England, this time from the north led by an Archbishop; and the crowning glory of Glyn Dwr's diplomacy led to the arrival of the…
The History of England137 The Battle of Shrewsbury
The battle of Shrewsbury of 1403 is one of those battles that deserves to be more remembered than it is - along with Lincoln in 1217 for example. The issue at…
The History of England136 Glyn Dwr Ascendant
In 1402 and 1403 Glyn Dwr's power and influence grew. As Glyn Dwr looked for foreign allies, Henry was forced to look north, and look closely at the loyalty of…
The History of England135 Glyn Dwr Rising
As he looked around after dust of the Epiphany Rising had settled, Henry began to realise that he had problems that would make his life difficult; a mega fall…
The History of England4.1 - 134 Lancaster & the Wars of the Roses 1399-1485
A quick overview of series 4, and then it's on to the reputation of Henry IVth, who it has has changed through history. And then we deal with the first…
The History of England133 The History of Europe Part VII
This week we finish off our survey of Europe, bringing us up to date with Byzantium, and the threat from the East. But we'll also bring you up to date with…
The History of England132 The History of Europe Part VI
The growth of Aragon and its mediterranean empire, consolidation and political change in Northern Italy, fragmentation in Germany; Jan Hus, heresy and the…
The History of England131 The History of Europe Part V
Ths episode is the first of 3 to bring us up to date with the history of Europe to the time of Henry IVth. This week it's all about the Economic development of…
The History of England130 Usurpation
In 1399 Bolingbroke and Richard were locked in a struggle - who would rule England and how. For maps, resources, transcripts or to become a member, head for…
The History of England129 Dominion
At last in 1397 Richard would have felt that he had put his past humiliation from the Appellants behind him. But he was no happier or secure. He gathered his…
The History of England128 The Narcisist
In 1397, Richard finally saw the chance to try to get his revenge on the Appellants - Gloucester, Arundel and Warwick. So the parliament of September 1397 was…
The History of England127 A Model of Chivalry
Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby, son of the most powerful magnate in England, was a golden child blessed with every advantage. While Richard tried to get his…
The History of England126 An Uneasy Calm
Between the Appellants crisis of 1388 and 1397, Richard ruled with increasingly confidence. He was hardly the most impressive English king but he appeared to…
The History of England125 Accusatio
By 1387, it was becoming clear that the Wonderful Parliament of 1385 had not solved the problem. Pressure had been building, and Gloucester, Warwick and…
The History of England124 The Character of a King
From the end of the Peasant's Revolt in 1381, England continues to be managed by the Council, but the young Richard began to have more and more influence. And…
The History of England123 Wycliffe and the Lollards
Wycliffe's views finally began to attract the enmity of the church; and the crown, in the form of Richard, was no longer prepared to protect him - though…
The History of England122 Wycliffe and a University Education
Wycliffe's writings were to prove controversial and proved an interesting early echo of the Reformation. They heavily influenced the view of Jan Hus and the…
The History of England121 Counter Revolution
After Richard had broken the revolt in London at Smithfield it was time to tackle the chaos outside London. The Counter Revolution took something between…
The History of England120 ...Who was then the Gentleman?
In June 1381 the revolt came to London. Before long, London was in flames, and the qualities of the young king Richard, and his advisors, were tested to the…
The History of England119 When Adam Delved and Eve Span...
On a hill outside Blackheath, just to the south of London, a hedge priest called John Ball is preaching to a massive crowd of pesants. When Adam delved and Eve…
The History of England118 Introducing Richard II
Richard arrived with the expectation of a nation on his shoulders - the son of the illustrious hero Edward the Black Prince. So what was Richard like, and how…
The History of England117 The Medieval Year
The rythmn of the year would have been far more important to most medieval people that the goings on at Westminster and the court of the king. The stream of…
The History of England116 The Good Parliament and a Bad Death
There were now unusual expecations for the parliament of 1376. But in fact a revolt from the Commons was brewing, dismayed by the failures of the war. The Good…
The History of England115 The Rotten Apple
From 1371 to 1375 the army went from bad to worse. An English fleet was destroyed at La Rochelle and Poitou and the Saintonge fell to the French. The great…
The History of England114 The Worm in the Apple
On the face of it, the 1360's were a continuation and celebration of the great victories of the 40's and 50's. In 1364, Charles of Blois was defeated and…
The History of England113 Fashion in the 14th Century
Fashion finally comes to town in the 14th Century. At the start of the century people are wearing what they've been wearing for centuries. By the end of it…
The History of England112 On the Crest of a Wave
After the victory at Poitiers and capture of the French King, the English seemed to hold all the cards, and the Treaty of Bretigny in 1360 for a while…
The History of England111 Poitiers 1356
1356 saw one of the greatest exchange of arms of the war. Early in the year, the Duke of Lancaster attacked into Normandy and with lightening marches ran rings…
The History of England110 Fire and Sword
In 1354 - 1355 Edward and his court wavered between optimism that a negotiated settlement was within their grasp - and determination to continue to prosecute…
The History of England109 War between the Wars
The period between 1347 and 1353 was one of low level war and violence; punctuated by more or less effective truces. But even the truces don't stop the low…
The History of England108 What has the Black Death ever done for you?
The theory runs that the Black Death transformed medieval society. With a dramatic shortage of labour, the English peasant was able to demand whatever wages…
The History of England107 The Death of Joan
In 1348 a 14 year old royal princess, Joan, set out from Portsmouth to marry Pedro of Castile. Her route went by Bordeaux, and with the massive trousseau she…
The History of England106 Neville's Cross, Calais and Roche Derrien
By the end of the march across Normandy in 1346, Edward had accepted that he was not going to be able to hold French territory. But he had a clear objective -…
The History of England105 Crecy
In 1346 Edward invaded finally launched the invasion he had hoped to lead in 1345. The target was Normandy a devastating raid through northern France, a…
The History of England104 Lancaster and the battle of Auberoche
Edward had little intention of keeping the truce for long. After a brief period of reconstruction, he repudiated the truce a year early. And so enters one of…
The History of England103 The War in Brittany
1341 saw a serious political crisis - Edward returned home determined to put his English administration, parliament and particularly Archbishop in their…
The History of England102 Highs and Lows
In 1340 against all the odds - of numbers and quality - Edward defeated Philip VIth's Great Army of the Sea at Sluys. The impact on morale, English and French…
The History of England101 King of France and England
Edward faced a weary time, a weary time. His allies demanded money, he had none to give them. So they refused to fight, while the French closed in on Gascony…
The History of England100 Theatres of War
Edward had traditionally received much of the blame before the start of the Hundred Years War. But in fact there were many reasons why France and England ended…
The History of England99 Year One of a Hundred
It's claimed that Edward started the war against Francve for glory and fame. This is deeply wrong. The root cause was French aggression. Philip VI was…
The History of England98 The Disinherited
In the early 1330's, Edward was a hero searching for a way to undo the humiliations visited on him by Mortimer and by the French. And Edward Balliol, son of…
The History of England97 Above all Princes of his Age
In 1330 a group of Edward's friends gathered together at the foot of the rock on which Nottingham castle stands. They had learnt of a secret passage that led…
The History of England96 A History of Medieval Europe Part IV
With the defeat of the Hohenstaufen, surely the Papacy had finally won it's battle for supremacy? Actually not. A new challenge rode into town in the form of…
The History of England95 The History of Medieval Europe - Part III
Frederick II renewed the argument that had been going on since the time of Otto the Great - Emperor or Pope? This time there would be a solution one way or…
The History of England94a The Mysterious Death of Edward II
Listen, think and vote at www.thehistoryofengland.com or The History of England Podcast facebook groupNow, traditionally, Edward II is supposed to have died…
The History of England94 The Reign of Isabella and Mortimer
After Edward II's abdication in January 1327, England was ruled on behalf of the new King Edward III by Queen Isabella. But while Isabella probably wanted a…
The History of England93 The Wages of Tyranny
With the fall of Lancaster, the Despencers were off the leash, and able to vent the full force of their avarice on England. Their power and Edward's inability…
The History of England92 The Fall of Lancaster
In 1322, things finally came to a head, and rebellion was out in the open. Lancaster must have had a fighting chance, but it all goes to show that the reign of…