Podcasts · History · Education

The British History Podcast

Jamie Jeffers

300 episodes · in order

The BHP is a chronological retelling of the history of Britain with a particular focus upon the lives of the people. You won’t find a dry recounting of dates and battles here, but instead you’ll learn about who these people were and how their desires, fears, and flaws shaped the scope of this island at the edge of the world. And some of those desires are downright scandalous.

Episodes page 3 of 6

  1. 339 – Cnut the Conqueror

    · 24 min · S8 E339

    The fall of the House of Wessex and the rise of Cnut looks like a simple story of conquest. After all, it’s right there in the title. Virtually every book on this era has a chapter called “The Conquest of England.” And…

  2. 340 – A Bit of a Cnut

    · 32 min · S8 E340

    When we left off, Cnut had managed to get Eadric to go on the record calling for the execution of the English claimants to the throne… and then Cnut rejected the suggestion, and instead outlawed Eadwig, and exiled the…

  3. 341 – King Cnut of England

    · 29 min · S8 E341

    Cnut made a lot of smart moves in a very short amount of time. He outlawed much of the corruption that had plagued the courts of AEthelred. He scrubbed his new kingdom of the loyalists to Edmund Ironsides. He granted…

  4. 342 – King Cnut of Denmark and England

    · 30 min · S8 E342

    If you have heard of King Cnut, what you probably heard was the story of Cnut and the Tides. The most common version of it goes like this.

  5. Bonus Episode: Shrove Tuesday

    · 11 min · Bonus

    Today is Shrove Tuesday. And if you’re not in Britain, you might be wondering what Shrove Tuesday is, and even if you are British, you might be wondering why you’re celebrating it.

  6. 343 – By Thorkell’s Beard

    · 23 min · S8 E343

    This is a story of palace intrigue, murder, and atypical alopecia… and it all begins where these things usually do… with a real estate transaction.

  7. 344 – Cnut’s Mad Lads

    · 30 min · S8 E344

    In the year of 1021, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle tells us two things. A Bishop died. And Thorkell the Tall was expelled from the country. And that’s all it tells us.

  8. Bonus Episode: Slavery

    · 31 min · Bonus

    More material is coming, but here is a bonus episode to keep you company while you're practicing social distancing.

  9. 345 – Building Blocks

    · 20 min · S8 E345

    In the early 11th century, the English were crushed by the Scots in the Battle of Carham. We are told that King Malcolm of Scotland, supported by King Owain of Strathclyde, brought their combined armies to bear against…

  10. 346 – Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Drakkars

    · 31 min · S8 E346

    It’s 1025 Cnut had a problem on his hands. Barely a year after putting down Thorkell’s rebellion, Cnut was sailing for Denmark… again. To war, again.

  11. 347 – Aggressive Diplomacy

    · 25 min · S8 E347

    What we call history was, at one point, just current events. And world affairs never happen in a vacuum. It’s never just one thing happening after another…

  12. 348 – Ruling Hard or Hardly Ruling

    · 30 min · S8 E348

    Europe was in chaos in the 1020s. Crises just kept coming, and the powerful were trying to capitalize on disorder. And in times like these, actions can have outsized impact, even the smaller ones.

  13. 349 – AElfgifu’s Tale

    · 23 min · S8 E349

    Successful Kings don’t rule alone. This is especially true for Kings with as much going on as Cnut. And one of Cnut’s most influential right-hand men was actually his Queen. And Emma was more than just an advisor. She…

  14. 350 – A Tough Cnut to Crack

    · 23 min · S8 E350

    We have another mystery on our hands. We have a missing year. And I don’t think it was because nothing was happening.

  15. 351 – Collapse

    · 28 min · S8 E351

    I wonder if Cnut could see what was coming. All the signs were in front of him. Everything was starting to line up. But was he actually putting it together?

  16. 352 – Chaos

    · 20 min · S8 E352

    It was November 11 of 1035 and King Cnut was dead. He was buried at Winchester Cathedral. Cnut, and likely the Court, seemed to anticipate his death. Possibly because he had been ill for some time. But the ruling…

  17. 353 – Mother of the Year

    · 31 min · S8 E353

    The Medieval chronicler, Adam of Bremen, was writing at around this point in history and among the many things he tells us he also includes how Cnut planned his almost empire. And Adam tells us that Cnut intended Sweyn…

  18. 354 – The West, after Cnut

    · 33 min · S8 E354

    The death of Cnut and the fall of his near-Empire would obviously have impacts on his own dynasty. But while Harold was trying to secure England, Emma was trying to regain power, and poor Edward was trying to stay out…

  19. 355 – Double, Double Toil and Trouble

    · 44 min · S8 E355

    As we have been covering the Dark Ages, we have been at the mercy of the scribes. If they don’t write something down, there is almost no way for us to know about it. One of the biggest casualties in this dynamic has…

  20. 356 – Macbeth

    · 45 min · S8 E356

    Here is the story of Macbeth. If you have just tuned into this episode because of the title, know that it is the second episode in a two-part series. You will want to go to the previous episode, Double Double Toil and…

  21. 357 – Walter Map’s Courtly Trifles

    · 29 min · S8 E357

    The early 11th century was an unlikely time of heroes. By heroes I unfortunately don’t mean people of good character and brave deeds, but just people who perform extraordinary feats for their time. One of these was the…

  22. 358 – King Harthacnut

    · 30 min · S8 E358

    The death of Cnut caused a cascade of consequences that reached up to the tip of Scotland and even into the continent. It was an empire crumbling just as it had been born, and the kingdoms with in it (and neighboring…

  23. The Witch of Fife

    · 10 min

    Happy Halloween! The post The Witch of Fife first appeared on The British History Podcast.

  24. 359 – Play Autocrat Games; Win Autocrat Prizes

    · 29 min · S8 E359

    In 1040, England once again had a new King. But England was finding Harthacnut a tough pill to swallow.

  25. 360 – The Long Game

    · 30 min · S8 E360

    In 1040, while England was dealing with the chaos of Harthacnut’s reign and the threat of yet another succession mess, Scotland was dealing with its own set of problems. The northern Kingdom just lost its king. And…

  26. 361 – W A Poet

    · 26 min · S8 E361

    King Edward came to England with a political migraine.

  27. 362 – Meet the Godwins

    · 29 min · S8 E362

    History is just the story of humans across time. Therefore, like humanity, history is varied, it’s emotional, it’s complex. And often it’s just f*cking messy.

  28. 363 – Treason!

    · 29 min · S8 E363

    Piece by piece, the board was being set for a comeback. The Godwin family had been thrown from power decades ago. But Godwin knew how to be patient and grind it out. And now he was back on top, the second most powerful…

  29. 364 – Reconciliation

    · 30 min · S8 E364

    Complex societies are able to do incredible things. By having an interconnected civilization, with people from all over the place contributing to it, people are able to specialize… and that specialization allows for…

  30. 365 – The Red Cliffs of Dover

    · 38 min · S8 E365

    In 1050, Thorrfinn the Jarl of Orkney went to Rome. And on trip to Rome is complete without a visit with the Pope. And when Thorrfin had his meeting, we’re told that Pope personally absolved the Jarl’s sins.

  31. 366 – Move, or You Will Be Moved: Part 1

    · 32 min · S8 E366

    The summer of 1051 must have felt like some sort of nightmare. A French aristocrat rode into Dover, picked a fight and then slaughtered the townsfolk. And that man’s cousin, the King of England, told the townsfolk’s…

  32. 367 – Move, or You Will Be Moved Part 2

    · 22 min · S8 E367

    Swegn Godwinson was exiled….again. Only this time it was for life. As that judgment came down, the Godwins must have realized they had been maneuvered into blind dependence on the King’s mercy.

  33. 368 – Move or You Will Be Moved: Part 3

    · 23 min · S8 E368

    This poem about Godwin and his children is found, not in the Chronicle, nor in a document dedicated to Godwin… but in the Vita AEdwardi… the Life of King Edward.

  34. 369 – Move or You Will Be Moved: Part 4

    · 34 min · S8 E369

    When you come at the King, you best not miss… and now the Godwins had the King of France and the Holy Roman Emperor acting as their surrogates while they were constructing no less than two invasion fleets just off of…

  35. Bonus Episode from the Archive: The Poet’s Curse

    · 27 min · Bonus

    This is an old one, but it was specifically requested. Please forgive the audio quality and delivery. The post Bonus Episode from the Archive: The Poet’s Curse first appeared on The British History Podcast.

  36. 370 – Breaking Bread

    · 34 min · S8 E370

    Earl Godwin and his family were back, baby. Well, mostly.

  37. 371 – Naked Ambition

    · 41 min · S8 E371

    Godwin was dead, and now Harold Godwinson found himself leading the family. Befitting this new role, he was due to inherit the wealthy and politically potent Earldom of Wessex. His father’s Earldom. And according to…

  38. 372 – Hostile Takeover

    · 27 min · S8 E372

    If I could interview one figure from this period, I think it would be Queen Edith. That woman had a WEIRD life. She was married off to a King. Then she watched that King try to destroy her family…As thanks she got…

  39. 373 – The First King

    · 42 min · S8 E373

    Earl AElfgar was having a rough time. The clergy and local lords of East Anglia had never really warmed up to him since his appointment to the post in 1053. Their loyalty to Harold went so deep that we can still see…

  40. 374 – Be Careful What You Wish For

    · 29 min · S8 E374

    1055 had been an absolutely crazy year. But, for the Godwinsons, it hadn’t been all bad. Having clearly given up on King Edward, Queen Edith was now fully on team Godwinson and bending all of her political and…

  41. 375 – Life and Death Politics. But Mostly Death.

    · 32 min · S8 E375

    For the first time in a long time, Wales was experiencing a time of internal peace, thanks in large part to its unification under King Gruffydd.

  42. 376 – Lost Years and Lost Lands

    · 26 min · S8 E376

    Things are moving quickly in our story, now. Pieces are moving into place, and the board is shifting rapidly. Thanks to the benefit of hindsight, we can see where this is going and see how these events are leading to a…

  43. 377 – The King of Wales

    · 36 min · S8 E377

    Water, and the ability to control water ways, was an important aspect in the Welsh imagination. In fact, the importance of Welsh power on the seas even appears in the Mabinogion.

  44. 378 – Everybody is killing everybody else and no one is talking about it

    · 23 min · S8 E378

    On the year 1059, there is an enigmatic entry in the Welsh Chronicle.

  45. 379 – Everybody Is Killing Everybody Else And Nobody Is Talking About It: Part 2

    · 25 min · S8 E379

    Earl AElfgar and his alliance with King Gruffydd of Wales was likely the one true barrier that stood between Harold Godwinson and the throne of England.

  46. 380 – Everybody Is Killing Everybody Else And Nobody Is Talking About It: Part 3

    · 27 min · S8 E380

    Up in the hills of Snowdonia, pinned between the sea and the English midlands, King Gruffydd fought against the invading forces of the Godwinsons. And he was giving the English such a hard time that even the Life of…

  47. 381 – Weekend at William’s

    · 46 min · S8 E381

    Well, their King had been assassinated and their lands were carved up between rival nobles who were subservient to England.

  48. 382 – Bros Before Thrones

    · 39 min · S8 E382

    It was 1065. And King Edward was falling ever more ill.

  49. 2021 Halloween Special

    · 17 min

    A 14th century monk

  50. 383 – The Death of King Edward

    · 1 h 01 min · S8 E383

    Christmas of 1065 would have been a grim affair. And as 1066 approached, the Court was likely consumed with anxiety. The King was childless and the throne was being eyed from all sides by foriegn dynasties and,…

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