The British History Podcast

100 – There’s a New Barber In Town

So you might not know this about me… but I used to have long hair. Really long hair. That flowed down my back in ringlets and, if I left conditioner in it, sausage curls. Basically, I had captain hook hair. And of course, I had all manner of people taking an interest in my hair and what I did with it. Generally, if someone took an interest, they were going to tell me I needed to cut it. Anyway, ever since, I’ve been fascinated by the attention we pay to hair. And I started to wonder if the Anglo Saxons had a similar thing going on in their culture. Which lead to some research, and ultimately this episode. I hope you enjoy it. Support the Show

So to start with… what is with hair? Why is it so symbolic? Well, it’s easily changeable. It can be cut, styled, dyed, bleached… bleached then dyed… it can be bleached, dyed, and then drenched in elmer’s glue so it would stand up in liberty spikes… just saying. There’s all kinds of stuff you can do with hair. But it also is part of the body. It’s not clothing, which is external, but rather it’s part of you. It’s something you’ve grown. Clothing can simply be discarded, but this is attached to your body and is there to stay… until you cut it off. It’s also attached to your head, which is a primary source of communication. It frames and sometimes obscures the face. It’s intertwined with facial features, which are often the most remembered aspects of a person’s appearance. Hair is strongly tied to who we are on a superficial level. You only need to describe someone to a friend to see it’s importance. “Hey, do you remember Charlotte? You know, the girl with short red hair.” It’s highly identifying. And hair also transmits some bits of information regarding the person’s life. It can communicate age, whether sexual maturity has been reached (for example, if body hair is present). And the way hair is treated can show a person’s life stage. For example, many cultures have tied the first cutting of the hair to a rite of passage or major life event. In some Germanic tribes, there was an important relationship that formed between a boy and the person who first cut his hair. And you just have to look across the channel to the Frankish territories to see how serious that was. The Franks actually had heavy punitive fines for anyone who dared to cut the hair of a long haired boy without his family’s permission. And considering how close the Franks and the English of the south were, it’s not impossible that some of that behavior made it across the channel.

Bonus Episode – The History Channel’s Vikings

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99 – False Starts

This episode is going to have a lot of moving pieces and a lot of AEthel’s. So many AEthels. I’ll do my best to keep reminding you who I’m talking about and what they rule over and why they’re important, but this might be an episode you’ll want to relisten to. A lot of important things are going to happen. And all of the action will take place in just over a decade. A very very messy decade. Support the Show

Ok, so to bring you back up to speed, Augustine was now the Archbishop of England, he had orders to expand into York and London (despite their current pagan leadership), he had King AEthelberht of Kent on his side, but other than that he was sort of on his own on the island… partially because he failed to make friends with the Christians in the Celtic west. Here’s a tip, when trying to make friends… don’t threaten to have them killed if they refuse. But for Augustine, despite his conflict with the Christians to the west, things were going fairly well. I mean, by this point, he had founded a couple monasteries and he even rebuilt an old Roman church in Canterbury, along with the help of AEthelberht. We also see that he was carrying out Pope Gregory’s orders fairly well, by convincing the Anglo Saxons to slightly shift their pagan feasts so that they could count as celebrations for Christian Martyrs, and rather than knocking their temples down, he just consecrated them. And that move, incidentally, was politically savvy for gaining converts, and also probably kept Augustine and his fellow missionaries from meeting a bloody end at the hands of an angry mob.

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98 – The Zeal of Augustine

Ok, when we last left off, Augustine had become the Archbishop of England, had been given orders to make London the seat of the English Church, and had some Papal answers to some rather odd questions. Well, the the Pope wasn’t just sitting on his hands and letting things take their course. He was actively involved. For example, he wrote to the Archbishop in Arles and basically said “Can you help out Augustine, please? Also, if he brings any issues regarding the behavior of the clergy to you, look into it seriously and sternly.” Reading between the lines from the Pope’s direction, I think it’s pretty clear that the Bishop of Arles was something of a light tough, and Augustine was the opposite. The Pope also write and advised Augustine to not be vain about the miracles that were occurring in Kent, not to take any glory regarding them upon himself. Again, because the Pope felt the need to comment on this… we’re getting a little glimpse into the kind of person that Augustine was. And it wasn’t just clergy that the Pope was writing to. He also wrote to King AEthelberht of Kent. The Pope, naturally, requested that the King push the Christian faith and suppress any other religions he encounters. And the King was given a carrot to encourage him. First, in the form of presents that carried with them the blessing of the Apostle Peter… so that’s pretty cool. But second, the Pope reminded AEthelberht that the world was soon to end (as in, within his own lifetime), with all sorts of disasters and wars on the way, but that the King would be given a place in heaven if he did his job well and got plenty of converts. So this mission was something of a team effort, and Augustine would have been aware of that. And that’s a good thing, because one thing was clear from the letters and the orders Augustine had been given... he had his work cut out for him. Luckily, the Pope Gregory seemed to recognize that, because in addition to letters requesting support, the Pope also sent more missionaries in 601. And they arrived with presents! For example, they brought Augustine a Pallium, which was basically a special outfit that served as a physical manifestation of the papal authority bestowed upon the new Archbishop. Interestingly, some scholars argue that the connection of this garment to the Roman church can be traced to another Roman character that had a ties to Britain: Emperor Constantine. But whatever the origins, Augustine now had one… and he probably looked rather fancy in it. The missionaries also brought sacred relics, vessels, other vestments, books…. And, of course, they also brought instructions… Augustine needed to ordain 12 new bishops for the diocese as soon as possible… and also to send one of those bishops up to York.

Ok, when we last left off, Augustine had become the Archbishop of England, had been given orders to make London the seat of the English Church, and had some Papal answers to some rather odd questions. Support the Show

97 – Augustine and Gregory Make a Diocese

So Augustine was probably feeling pretty happy with himself. He had gone to the edge of the world and now the Church had a foothold of Christianity out there, and the King was openly Christian as well. All in all, this was a pretty good get for the Church and it had “promotion” written all over it. Was it hard? Probably. I mean, we aren’t told who his nearly 40 missionaries were, nor are we told what happened to them or even what the Pope thought of them. But we can surmise that some of them at least had a rough time of it based upon what Bede had to say about them demonstrating that they were willing to suffer and die for their faith. So you might be wondering if they were rewarded or if Augustine took all the glory while they were left muttering about what a prima-donna he was.. Well, we have no idea. But, at least based on what Bede is telling us, Augustine is the one who got the spotlight. So Bede tells us that sometime before 601, Augustine left Kent and traveled to Arles… a much more staunchly Christian seat of power. What we are are not told is whether his poor, potentially scarred and bruised missionaries also came along. But we do know that while he was there Augustine received his orders from Pope Gregory. Augustine would become an Archbishop. Not an Archbishop of Canterbury… Nope. Augustine would be the Archbishop of the English. In fact, Canterbury wasn’t even going to be the seat of power, but rather London (the old Roman trading town that used to be known as Londinium) would be the See of England. Well, that was a bit awkward and it makes me wonder if the Pope knew of the political realities on the ground because London was held by Sledd, king of the East Saxons. And he was pagan.