When Christ and his Saints Slept - History of England David Crowther

Despite the name, this episode is a lot about explaining why the anarchy of the reign of Stephen wasn't as bad as it is often portrayed.

If you like the kings, dates and battles approach to history this series is the one for you.  Personally I like a mixture of the narrative and the social so I could live with a bit more about ordinary people's lives.  But this is a good explanation of the complex dynastic goings on of the time which is well worth a listen to get the KD&B side straight. If you really aren't interested in who did what when you might want to give it a skip because that is pretty much all this particular episode delivers.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/09/32-when-christ-and-his-saints-slept.html

England in the Reign of Henry I - History of England Dave Crowther

Did the effective establishment of a feudal system under the Normans in England create the stable conditions that allowed the country to develop out of feudalism?  It is an interesting question that Dave raises early on in this episode of the History of England.  He doesn't answer it, he gets on with describing the politics, infighting and fighting methods in use at the time instead.  If you don't know your Plantagenets from your Normans, this is a great podcast series.  If you know very little about the subject it is a good starting point as it assumes very little knowledge of history.

If you want a bit more depth and already have a good idea of what went on, try http://historicalpodcasts.blogspot.com/2011/01/europe-from-its-origins-episode-19-1347.html - bearing in mind you'll have to invest a lot more time into it. 


But you if like this period, you may well enjoy both.  I do.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/29-england-in-the-reign-of-henry-i.html

The Lion of Justice - History of England Podcast Dave Crowther

Another week, another brutal Norman tyrant comes to the throne.  This week its Henry I.  I don't know much about this period of English history and I must say that these early monarchs, and I'll take Dave's word for it that Henry was famous for his justice.  In this episode he comes across as another brutal Norman thug, but it is an interesting listen nonetheless.  The bit about surnames at the end was interesting - if I were Dave I would have put it at the beginning rather than the end.  I find that if I am hearing a story I sort of turn off when it reaches the conclusion and reach for the fast forward button.  If I hear some background before the story it gives me something to look at for while I am listening.  But maybe that is just me.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/28-the-lion-of-justice.html

Hateful to his people and odious to God - History of England Dave Crowther

"Hateful to his people and odious to God"  was how a church historian described William Rufus.  I was hoping he was going to go an add that he farted in his general direction.  William Rufus was the first English king to run into relationship issues with the Catholic Church.  A handy completion of the account of this not very well known monarch.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/27-hateful-to-his-people-and-odious-to-god.html

William Rufus and the First Crusade - History of England Dave Crowther

William Rufus is introduced very quickly, and we then get a whistle stop account of the Crusades.  I must say I could easily have got by quite nicely without the Crusades bit.  Dave did anticipate this by saying that it was his podcast and he can do what he likes.  And of course it is and he can.

William Rufus is more interesting and I could have quite happily listened to more about him, though given that we are still way back in the 11th Century maybe there aren't enough sources for there to be much more to tell.  (And if you are reading this Dave, you might want to have another go at editing it.  There are a couple of short snaps that get repeated.)

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/26-william-rufus-normandy-and-the-first-crusade.html

Death of the Conqueror - History of England Dave Crowther

This week's podcast is basically a thumbnail of the character of William, a few jokes about the Doomsday Book and an account of his death.

All good entertaining stuff and well worth a listen.  He hasn't really done much to set up the next reign so he has some work to do next time.  But if you haven't heard any of the previous issues, I'd say that this one is a good sampler for the series.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/25-death-of-a-conqueror.html

Revolt of the Earls - History of England Dave Crowther

One of the things that William did that was to have a big impact on English history was to replace all the Saxon nobles with Norman ones.  In hindsight that all seems logical enough, it was a Norman invasion after all.  What did they expect, a brainstorming session?  But in fact it doesn't seem to have been part of the original plan at all.  William only got rid of the big Saxon aristocrats when they rebelled against him.  Even then he gave some of them a second chance.  Hear all about it on this podcast.  Personally I enjoy them more when they are dealing with the guys we don't know so much about, like this one.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/06/24-revolt-of-the-earls.html

William the Conqueror subjugates England - History of England Dave Crowther

It was by no means a foregone conclusion that even after the battle of Hastings William would be able to hold on to the throne of England.  In this episode we learn just how precarious his hold on the place actually was.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/06/23-william-the-conqueror-and-the-subjugation-of-england.html

1066 and Goodbye to all that - History of England Dave Crowther

 This podcast so far has been about stuff that not many people know much about. In this episode for the first time we hear stuff that everyone in England knows all about.  1066 is notoriously the only date that most English people ever remember from their school history.

Dave acknowledges that he isn't coming up with much new and graciously invites people who know the story already to give this week's episode a miss.  To be honest, if you do know the story you might as well.  But if you don't, this is pretty much the standard version you can find anywhere and is as good a place to learn it as anywhere else.  If you want a really good account of the battle, sadly not yet podcasted anywhere, by anyone Edward Creasey's chapter from 15 Decisive Battles of World History is superb.  (Thanks to Colin of History Books Review for pointing that one out to me.)

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/06/22-1066-and-goodbye-to-all-that.html

The Normans - History of England Dave Crowther

The Normans are to have a huge impact on the history of England so Dave devotes a whole episode to them.  This was brought home to me personally as by sheer fluke this particular podcast happened to come up on my car stereo as I was out on business that took me through the town of Battle in East Sussex, and past the Norman Abbey built there to commemorate the battle of Hastings.  The Normans are a bit like the Inland Revenue (the UK tax office).  You probably don't like them but you can't ignore them.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/05/21-the-normans-a-race-unbridled.html

Anglo Saxon England - History of England Dave Crowther

In this episode Dave pauses his narrative to have a look at what Anglo Saxon England was like just before the Norman invasion.  If you are listening to the whole series in one sitting this is probably a handy break to pace out the events.  If you are following it weekly you may well have found it a bit annoying since it comes in the middle of the build up to the battle of Hastings which has been set up in the previous episode.

Having said that, it is interesting enough and the bit about place names is particularly fun.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/05/20-bits-and-bobs-11th-century-england.html

Edward the Confessor - History of England Dave Crowther

Edward the Confessor's character hasn't really impressed itself very forcefully on the history of England, and despite Dave's efforts he doesn't really do so on this podcast either.  Most of it covers the political manoeuvres of the Godwin clan, which in turn sets the scene for the dramatic events of 1066

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/05/19-edward-the-confessor.html

Edward the Confessor - History of England Dave Crowther

Edward the Confessor is sometimes portrayed as a weak character, sometimes as a saintly one and occasionally as a man who managed pretty well in tough times.  But most of us just don't know anything about him.  In this first of two episodes on him, Dave suggests he did okay, but maybe could have done with a bit of assertiveness training.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/05/18-the-end-of-the-danish-dynasty-edward-the-confessor-and-the-rise-of-the-great-men.html

Cnut the Conqueror - History of England Dave Crowther

Cnut put a lot of effort into appearing English, and has managed to obscure the fact that he was in fact Danish pretty successfully.  Dave is getting into his stride with this series now - this is a crisp well presented episode that takes us from the early years of Cnut's reign through to his death.  On the way we learn a lot about the man and his times.  A nice bit of work.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/04/17-cnut-the-conqueror.html

Cnut has also had the Rex Factor treatment.

Edmund Ironside and Cnut- History of England Dave Crowtherl

Edmund Ironside has one of the best sobriquets of any Saxon king.  Sadly it didn't translate into long run military success and he ended up dieing and the Dane Cnut became the undisputed king of England.

As this podcast has developed it has moved steadily into periods where more and more is known about what actually happened.  Although Dave gives every impression of having enjoyed the earlier ones immensely I have a feeling that listeners will find this podcast the best in the series yet mainly because with a clearer idea of what is going on everything is a lot a clearer which is much easier on the ear.  I would go so far as to say that although there is nothing wrong with the earlier ones, you might do well to start listening here.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/04/16-edmund-ironside-and-cnut.html

Aethelred, Svein Forkbeard and years of misery - History of England Dave Crowther

Aethelred the Unready continues to be totally unready for anything in this episode of Dave Crowther's continuing chronicle of the kings of England.  Svein Forkbeard gave him a complete run around and was within a hair's breadth of taking over the kingdom.  A good solid podcast telling the story well.  It was let down a bit by the story itself which is unrelenting misery and failure - that of course is not Dave's fault but the fault of the man in charge at the time.  Even after all these years Aethelred is still a disappointment to his country.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/04/15-aethelred-svein-forkbeard-and-years-of-misery.html

Was Ethelred the worst king in English history? Discuss on the history podcasts forum.

Ethelred the Unready - History of England Dave Crowther

Ethelred the Unready has a dismal reputation in English history.  Often on examination very good or very bad reputations turn out not to be justified.  But in this case, he does seem to be just as rubbish as we all thought he was all along.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/03/14-aetheled-the-unready-and-the-rising-tide.html

Another and last golden age - History of England Dave Crowther

Edgar the Peaceable's reign was as his name suggests, peaceful.  It wasn't totally uneventful though, there were some pretty juicy palace politics just before he came to the throne and just how he came to be on it has a whiff of suspicion to it.  But he governed well and guarded his kingdom carefully giving England the thing it probably most wanted, peace.  I think the phrase Golden Age has to be understood as strictly relative here. In the Dark Ages, simply not being overrun by violent thugs is enough to count.  But Edgar did set the pattern for English coronations which has been used ever since.

Recommended.

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2011/03/13-another-and-last-golden-age.html

The Last King in Jorvik - The History of England Dave Crowther

The Vikings that settled in England got steadily less wild and more like the locals.  By the time of the last king of  Jorvik they had more or less settled into normal English politics.  Jorvik, or York as we call it now, was their last stronghold.

http://www.historyofengland.typepad.com/

Unshakeable Pillar of the Western People - The History of England Dave Crowther

In this episode Alfred the Great is well prepared and successfully defeats a substantial Danish army.

http://www.historyofengland.typepad.com/