The British History Podcast

You’re probably gathering from last week that warfare is becoming a great deal more common. We had that great early era where a lot of what we were dealing with seemed mostly like farmers occasionally getting into spats that got out of control, with a few exceptions. But now we have these Werods running around, and we have the sons of Ida fighting with their neighbors, and the southern kingdoms fighting with their neighbors... Sure, your average anglo saxon will still be a farmer. But now the Chroniclers are telling us of more and more of these conflicts between kingdoms. Something to keep in mind is how different life in Britain was from life on the Continent. In Frankia, it seems like outright battle was generally avoided unless there was no other option and instead raiding and other non-conventional forms of warfare were employed. But in Britain, there’s a surprisingly regular amount of battles, especially when we get fully into the Heptarchy.

So it’s 568. And things in what will someday become England are still chaotic. Remember what was going on up north in Bernicia? Where Ida, who was probably part of some sort of Anglian group, had taken control of Bamburgh, then he died, and then his sons started taking over for him? Well, that’s still going on. It looks like Adda is probably dead. Maybe. It’s really muddy. And like I mentioned earlier, he probably was the king who was fighting with the Brits and killed a number of their kings... maybe... But sometime around now, Adda is no longer king of Bernicia and the throne is held by his brother: Aethelric. We think. Bernicia is so chaotic, and Ida has so many sons, and they have so many problems with their neighbors that I feel like I should have a sound effect for every time that one of the sons of Ida croaks. [Wilhelm Scream]

85 – Ceawlin and the Sons of Ida

So it’s 568. And things in what will someday become England are still chaotic. Remember what was going on up north in Bernicia? Where Ida, who was probably part of some sort of Anglian group, had taken control of Bamburgh, then he died, and then his sons started taking over for him? Well, that’s still going on. It looks like Adda is probably dead. Maybe. It’s really muddy. And like I mentioned earlier, he probably was the king who was fighting with the Brits and killed a number of their kings... maybe... But sometime around now, Adda is no longer king of Bernicia and the throne is held by his brother: Aethelric. We think. Support the Show

Last time we were speaking about Hrothgar the Hypothetical and how he became a member of the Warband, and how they were probably a group apart with their own sets of morals and codes. But there’s a few bits that weren’t included in the narrative we were weaving with young Hrothgar that I think you’ll find really interesting. Let's tackle them!

84 – The Q&A Episode!

We made it to 100! How awesome is that? (Well, it was the 100th episode before I combined a bunch of episodes... and now it's the 84th episode). Support the Show

We made it to 100! How awesome is that? (Well, it was the 100th episode before I combined a bunch of episodes... and now it's the 84th episode).

83 – Dark Age Warfare Combo Episode

Ok, so last time we talked about how Aethelberht of Kent invaded the kingdom of Wessex and was pushed out by Ceawlin and his army. We don't have a lot of facts regarding that conflict, we aren't even told why they were fighting, but we know that they were both destined to become Bretwaldas and that in the end Aethelberht was chased back into Kent. And, presumably following this moment, Ceawlin earned the title of Bretwalda. So good for him. But there's a lot that goes into war beyond one king puffing up his chest and the other king saying "Come at me, bro!" Much as I wish it were that simple and comical, real war is a great deal more complex than that. So lets start by talking about the men who would be fighting these battles. Of course, you have the kings (one of the Old English terms for these kings, by the way, was þeoden... yeah. Like theoden in the Lord of the Rings). Another fun anglo saxon term for King is Cyning. In old english, “ing” means scion. Which is why you start hearing of the sons of nobles being referred to as Aethlings... they’re the scions of nobles. But in this case, Cyning is the scion of the Cynn... which translates to the Kindred, or the family. This can be taken as either the ruling family, which would call back to that families tradition of rule, or it could be taken as the larger form of kindred... as the Cyning is the son of the people. Support the Show

Ok, so last time we talked about how Aethelberht of Kent invaded the kingdom of Wessex and was pushed out by Ceawlin and his army. We don't have a lot of facts regarding that conflict, we aren't even told why they were fighting, but we know that they were both destined to become Bretwaldas and that in the end Aethelberht was chased back into Kent. And, presumably following this moment, Ceawlin earned the title of Bretwalda. So good for him. But there's a lot that goes into war beyond one king puffing up his chest and the other king saying "Come at me, bro!" Much as I wish it were that simple and comical, real war is a great deal more complex than that. So lets start by talking about the men who would be fighting these battles. Of course, you have the kings (one of the Old English terms for these kings, by the way, was þeoden... yeah. Like theoden in the Lord of the Rings). Another fun anglo saxon term for King is Cyning. In old english, “ing” means scion. Which is why you start hearing of the sons of nobles being referred to as Aethlings... they’re the scions of nobles. But in this case, Cyning is the scion of the Cynn... which translates to the Kindred, or the family. This can be taken as either the ruling family, which would call back to that families tradition of rule, or it could be taken as the larger form of kindred... as the Cyning is the son of the people.

82 – War. What Is It Good For?

So the year is 586, and Ceawlin is the leader of the men of Wessex. Wessex has been expanding their holdings to the north and the west, and have been growing in power. Conversely, in the East are the men of Kent under the leadership of AEthelbehrt, who (we are told) has been ruling since he was 8 years old. But the dates are a bit dodgy. And now AEthelbert is 16 years old. Maybe? And he's growing in power. We know this because Kent is growing in wealth and are of sufficiently high status for the King to be marrying the daughter of the King of Frankia. Furthermore, he is a member of the Oiscingas, the ruling family of Kent... said to have been descended from Hengest himself. So something happened, which the scribes fail to tell us of, which resulted in invasion. AEthelberht crossed into Wessex and fought with Ceawlin and Cutha, his brother. But it didn't go too well because we're told that two of AEthelberht's ealdormen were slain and he was chased back into Kent. This is the first outbreak of war between two Anglo Saxon kingdoms, so that's huge. It's also a demonstration of the power of the House of Wessex. If it happened. This is, of course, the dark ages and we're hearing about this from chroniclers who were writing long after this battle took place. Furthermore, they were probably writing to please Ceawlin's descendant, Alfred. So talking about how his mighty ancestor chased off this famous king... this man who would become a Bretwalda... would probably have greatly pleased Alfred.

So the year is 586, and Ceawlin is the leader of the men of Wessex. Wessex has been expanding their holdings to the north and the west, and have been growing in power. Conversely, in the East are the men of Kent under the leadership of AEthelbehrt, who (we are told) has been ruling since he was 8 years old. But the dates are a bit dodgey. And now AEthelbert is 16 years old. Maybe? And he's growing in power. We know this because Kent is growing in wealth and are of sufficiently high status for the King to be marrying the daughter of the King of Frankia. Furthermore, he is a member of the Oiscingas, the ruling family of Kent... said to have been descended from Hengest himself. Support the Show

81 – In Search of Unity: A Tale of Selective Memory