11th-century invasion and conquest of England by Normans
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The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most famous works of medieval art in the world, but what do we actually know about it? Who made it? Where? Why? And are those actually human genitals?Kate is joined by Dave Musgrove, content director at History Extra and co-author of 'The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Unraveling the Norman Conquest'.This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
William the Conqueror is one of the most famous figures in English history. But his coronation in 1066 was a disaster. Even as he was crowned as King of England, his future looked uncertain. So, how did William go from this shaky start to forging the Norman dynasty? In this first episode of a new series on the aftermath of the Norman Conquest, Tower of London curator Charles Farris is joined by Dr Marc Morris and Dr Caroline Wilhelmsson. Together, they bust some well-worn myths about William and the famous events of 1066. How did William the Conqueror really change England, and why are we still talking about him almost 1,000 years on? Learn more about William the Conqueror on our website.
News items read by Laura Kennedy include: Newly discovered papal letter indicates support for Norman Conquest (details) Translation of Linear A links Minoan and Greek gods (details) (details) Pre-Hispanic Colombians collaboratively built water management systems (details) (details) Newly excavated Anatolian Church may be the site for the First Council of Nicaea (details)
Host Matt Trump powers through a technically cursed evening (broken mic cord, dead camera, "wading through mud" all week) to deliver part three of his summer abroad walking tour as the self-styled Rick Steves of Badlands. After a detour on reactivating a decade-old Facebook account and how he tries to explain his politics to liberal friends, he crosses the Thames to the Tower of London and its Norman builders. The through line is a provocative analogy: the Norman Conquest of 1066, in which a small ruling class dominated England without replacing its people, framed as a template for how he views globalist or "deep state" control of modern America. Expect the White Tower, Traitor's Gate, the scaffold site, a Robin Hood tie-in, a space-alien thought experiment, and a Federal Reserve comparison, all wrapped in his usual history-meets-geopolitics musing. The Romans built the bridge; the Normans, he argues, still run the place.
Did Harold Godwinson really force-march his army 190 miles to Hastings — or is that just Victorian storytelling? Matthew Harffy and Justin Hill are joined by Professor Tom Licence (University of East Anglia), whose new biography Harold: Warrior King is out 11 August 2026.Tom walks us through the source-by-source detective work that made international news: why the "forced march" from Stamford Bridge doesn't hold up under the Latin, and why the evidence instead points to Harold's army moving by sea. We dig into what the Bayeux Tapestry actually says versus what its images imply, why the Victorians reshaped 1066 into a national origin myth, and why Harold — illegitimate, Anglo-Danish, and a first-generation product of Cnut's conquest — deserves recognition as a genuine military strategist rather than the doomed, headstrong king of legend.Plus: news on Matthew's forthcoming Roman novel, Justin's new novel Bjorn the Fell-Handed, and a Patreon Odyssey bonus episode discount.Get 80% off all Rock, Paper, Swords! Patreon tiers in August with code 80AUGUST26: https://www.patreon.com/RockPaperSwordsPodcastKeywords: 1066, Battle of Hastings, Harold Godwinson, Anglo-Saxon history, Norman Conquest, Bayeux Tapestry, medieval history podcast, historical fiction podcast
On this episode, my guest is Lewis Winks, a researcher, writer and campaigner who specialises in nature connection, cultural and behavioural change, and has a background working in the environmental and outdoor education sector. He joins us on behalf of the Right to Roam campaign as well as the Stars Are For Everyone campaign, the latter which he helped spearhed to defend wild camping rights on Dartmoor.Since 2021, Right to Roam has been organising peaceful trespasses into some of the vast areas of countryside from which the public are currently excluded. They follow the tried and tested access code which governs Scotland's right of responsible access, respecting privacy, crops and nature – all while seeking to leave a positive trace and practising deep care for the natural world: a concept they call Wild Service. Their vision is of a future countryside in which people not only enjoy the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of nature but serve as its guardians too.Show Notes* Right to Roam's origins (Guy Shrubsole & Nick Hayes)* The Stars Are For Everyone (Dartmoor National Park)* The right to wild camp in England* The commons and the enclosures* Taking back trespass* The shadow places of fortress conservation* Wild service* Levellers and landlordism* Deifying dispossession* The community right to buy* International solidarityHomework* Right to Roam UK - Website - Instagram - Twitter - BlueSky* Wild Service (Book)* The Book of Trespass* Who Owns England?* Val Plumwood* Survival International* S3 #2 | Decolonizing Conservation in Africa & Beyond | Fiore Longo (Survival International)* S5 #5 | Fortress Conservation in the Congo w/ Martin Lena & Linda Poppe (Survival International)* International Land CoalitionTranscriptChris: [00:00:00] Welcome, Lewis, to the End of Tourism Podcast.Lewis: Good to be here. Hello, Chris.Chris: Yeah. I'd like to thank you for your willingness to join me today on behalf of your comrades and colleagues at Right to Roam, as well as those of The Stars Are For Everyone. And I'd like to begin by asking you where you're tuning in from today and what the world looks like there for you.Lewis: Well, I'm currently in South Devon, where I live in the southwest of England. And I live in a town called Totnes, which is just on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. But the town that I live in has grown up around a river - the River Dart. And so that's a short walk from where I live.And, yeah, obviously, the river's shaped this place, from its headwaters up on Dartmoor, all the way down to the kind of rugged coast. So, I feel very lucky that, not far from where I live, there's a whole range of [00:01:00] landscapes, but not without their challenges.Chris: Yeah, certainly. I remember, not just a few years ago, I was there in Totnes, visiting for the first time, and I had the great honour of getting to explore Dartmoor as well, in a place not too far from where some of my old ones are from, in Devon, in Exeter.Lewis: It's a great place. I mean, Dartmoor is, on global standards, a very tiny national park, really, but I think for people like myself that live near it, to have this kind of expansive space to be able to walk for days sometimes in this sort of landscape, seemingly without boundaries, without walls, without fences, is amazing, in what feels like quite a contained landscape, a kind of patchwork of fields and enclosures. And so, a lot of people are drawn to Dartmoor because of its openness. But that also is an issue, I think. A lot of us here that live in this area are very much working on ecological [00:02:00] issues and challenges, and lots of those are found up in the national park.Chris: Well, would we all be so lucky to have such spaces to walk and roam. On that point, I'd like to ask you if you'd be willing to offer our listeners a little bit about what your organisation, The Right to Roam (in the UK), does there and your role in the organisation.Lewis: Sure, yeah. Well, the Right to Roam campaign, I mean, we've been established only for a few years in our current format, really. We were born out of the pandemic. We were formed principally by two of the co-founders of the campaign, Guy Shrubsole and Nick Hayes, who had both written books at the time and sat together around a kitchen table in 2020.Nick had written a book called The Book of Trespass, which kind of brought into public conversation this kind [00:03:00] of idea that there are places we are not supposed to be and not allowed to go, and challenging the kind of “why,” asking that question of, “Why is this? What's the historical context for our exclusion from landscapes? And through a series of adventures and walks into landscapes, he challenged that in his book. And it's an amazing primer, really, I think, for something that a lot of us take as a given, which is that we live in the corridors, really, between these vast estates here in England and in Wales, and we're excluded from much of the land. And so, it was quite a game-changing book, really, to sort of start to question that kind of assumption, that if you step off those narrow corridors, you are trespassing.And then in the meantime, Guy had written a book called Who Owns England?, asking questions of, “ Who does the land belong to? Who owns the title deeds? And really, most of us don't know. I mean, the government doesn't even really know who owns lots of land. And so, Guy embarks on this project, which he's been working on now [00:04:00] for the last decade or so, to try to find out and try to get more transparency, and really to bring about more democracy in how land is managed and how decisions are made, and really who has a stake in the land in England.And so these were kind of natural collaborators, really. And they sat around this table, and they formed this campaign called Right to Roam, which was really just to ask a simple question, which is, “Why do we not have a right of access to land in England?” And to call for new legislation for greater rights of access so that people can feel they have a greater stake in the landscapes around us.So we're a small team. We're a very much a grassroots campaign. We're not backed by big funders. We don't have any office space. We're just distributed across England, Wales and Scotland. And then, there are just six of us in the kind of core team. But we also have a network of almost [00:05:00] 20 local groups of people who are doing just amazing active work on the ground within communities to push for access reform.And we're funded by about 650 of those supporters who just give a small amount every month. So we're really just beholden to the people that are pushing for these kinds of changes. And we think we're getting somewhere. The conversation is shifting, socially and politically. We've still got somewhere to go, but we're hoping to bring about that change in law before too long.Chris: Hmm. Thank you, Lewis. And what drew you personally to the organisation?Lewis: Well, I live, as I said, down in Devon, and one of the things that happened back in 2022, was that one of the larger landowners in Dartmore National Park decided that he was gonna challenge this historic right that we have here, which is very unusual in England - the right to sleep out under the [00:06:00] stars, the right to wild camp, out in this kind of amazing landscape of Dartmoor.So, this landowner, Alexander Darwall, took the national park to court, and I was one of a few people who got together in the early days of that court case and said, “Right, we need to campaign on this. We need to stand up for these historic customary rights that have existed here and that have given so many people, these beautiful life-shaping experiences over generations.” And he was trying to snub them out. And so we thought, “let's campaign on this.”We set up a campaign called “The Stars Are for Everyone,” to protect those rights, but also to kind of say, “ Well, isn't it just mad that these rights only exist in this tiny corner of England? Shouldn't they exist also elsewhere?”Our intention right from the beginning of that campaign was to transform a court case that was about defending a set of rights into something which was really about taking a giant leap forward and putting in place something much [00:07:00] better for people in the future. And over the course of three years, that campaign was really dynamic, creative, and brought together loads of people.We actually lost the right to wild camp in early 2023. The landowner was successful in overturning that right in the High Court. And just one week after that court decision, we got together with three and a half thousand people up on quite a remote part of Dartmoor, probably one of the biggest land rights protests that we've seen since the 1930s in England. And, the voices of those people were really just... I mean, the ripples went out far and wide. I mean, we were sort of met with international support and interest. And, politically, overnight, it changed the conversation on access in England.And, really to fast forward to the present day after two more court cases, including it being escalated to the Supreme [00:08:00] Court, unanimously in the Supreme Court, the judges agreed that the case should never have been brought. And actually, then, we were able to reassert those rights as they had already existed.And so, not only have we got those rights back, we are now in a much better position, we think, to call for those rights elsewhere. And so my campaigning with the Right to Roam campaign really was kind of came out of this campaign for wild camping, to sleep under the stars.Chris: Mm-hmm. Wow. Wow, I remember, I think that was probably the thing that really drew me, for the first time, to the organisation and the work that you and your team are doing there in England, was through the social media awareness that the storyteller Martin Shaw was bringing to that campaign. Really amazing. And so, I wish nothing but blessings upon your feet and your work. It's incredibly important, and perhaps, a kind of [00:09:00] pioneering way of bringing this kind of organising and this kind of awareness to other places in the world where such access is also needed.But before we dig deeply into that work, I'd like to perhaps offer a little bit of context for our listeners in terms of the history of access in the UK to what is often referred to as “the commons.” And so, I'm wondering if you would be willing to offer a bit of historical background about what we mean when we talk about “the commons” in the English language and the history of the enclosures of the commons, that, for English people, is a kind of history that is all too well known, but for the rest of the world might be obscure.Lewis: Hmm. Well, sure. I mean, the commons, I think it's fair to say that a lot of people in England, really, this is not part of our lexicon, and our understanding [00:10:00] of the land.And, I think that demonstrates really just how effective the loss of commons has been here, is that there's not a broad understanding of what they were or what they are. But the commons really are... I mean, we're talking about a form of governance, a form of collective stewardship and governance for a place that transcends ownership. Commons are about how we relate to a place, and the rights that go with that place. And so, if we look at kind of property rights today, often those property rights exclude anybody who doesn't have their name on the title deed of the property.But yet, that's not always been the case. And certainly, we can still see today in England, and elsewhere globally, systems that acknowledge rights of others, and not just humans, but also kind of more-than-human rights. So in England, if you've gone back to the 1500s, [00:11:00] half of England or thereabouts, (it's difficult to be precise with this) would've had some form of common property understanding, or a kind of tapestry of rights that went with it. And that might have been rights to take firewood and fuel from land to dig peat, to graze animals, to put your pigs out to pannage for acorns. And these rites would've been particular to the landscapes that they were in. So, commoning rights were not the same everywhere. They were responsive to the wider kind of contexts, and today that figure is more like 3% of England. So, a diminishment of the commons in England has been part of our history here, and also part of the history which has affected almost the entire globe as well through colonial activities. But in England, really, this kind of experiment in sort of uprooting and unearthing cultures [00:12:00] that are deeply tied to the land was almost entirely effective at removing people's stake in land and in shoring up the rights of property owners.So, our commons, as they did exist, were fundamental to communities, were fundamental to how people sought to make a living, but also there were other things within that because commoning was about being on land that you didn't own. So with that came other things, which perhaps were taken for granted, which today we might call “recreation,” “being idle under a tree, watching the sunset”, and having those kinds of experiences. Now, we've kind of partitioned them off and put them into national parks and kind of put them in our holiday time, and things we might do when we're on vacation as tourists. But actually, for commoners, presumably, people were spending their time with the pigs out to pannage, thinking about other things, in conversation, meeting their neighbours under trees, doing things which were convivial.And so, [00:13:00] the erasure of the commons in England, and the enclosure acts, which sort of set about to diminish the commons and put them more firmly into private ownership, was also about a loss of community and people's stake in landscapes and also their ability to kind of relate to one another.But I should say as well that this obviously was very intentional. This was about looking at landscape through a kind of lens, a particular form of extraction, to take money from the land. It was also about control. It was about taking people, who, through that particular lens of industrialisation, seemed to be kind of labourers, their worth was kind of in the factories, it was not out on the land. And through mechanisation, as well, obviously, this was accelerated.In the early days of the enclosures, there were anti-enclosure acts in England that sought to try to prevent some of the steamrolling over of what felt like a kind of a deep-rooted culture. But by the [00:14:00] 1600s, those anti-enclosure acts were pretty much repealed, and with them, any kind of opportunity to get back those commons was lost.Loads and loads of rebellions took place to try to prevent that. And it's really interesting to look back in English history at the richness of rebellion and how it was kind of linked to how people relate to land. Looking at this today, it's sort of fairly plain to see that there's a disconnection between people and place. And I think that that kind of keenness to reconnect is a really vital ingredient for how we can kind of push back against some of the more damaging systems that we see around us.But people were rioting against the loss of rights to be able to put pigs out amongst woods that were being enclosed for the private laws, hunting rights. And there were many, many rebellions which took place by poachers, by people that were kind of deemed to be [00:15:00] poachers, who were kind of subject to some of the most harsh laws against them. And actually, a lot of the way in which criminality is portrayed now in England comes directly from the fact that they were trying to clamp down on how property was being challenged by people that have been dispossessed from something that was seen as a common good.Chris: Wow. There's so much there in the way that traditional peoples in England previously would've stewarded the lands that they lived on, even though they didn't own them, per se, and how the enclosure of those lands also led to this degree of, I would say anyways, historically, tourism wherein, the longing to gather as a community or as a group of people, in a place in order to, as you said, even just sit idle under a tree, to learn about the place that one lives in, or other places. That tourism largely took up that mantle [00:16:00] as an industry, as a way of commodifying that human longing toward being together in a place, largely outside of strict work hours. But even during them as well. And of course, the history of tourism is such that, through the enclosures, there was a schism, as you said, that brought people into the towns and cities to work as workers, essentially, rather than stewards of land.And then their “leisure time” was also separated in order to find ways in which that longing could be fulfilled, but through the industrial means of bringing people in mass to the beach or to forests, to other lands.And we'll get to that in a moment, that notion of the kind of colonial and neo-colonial enclosures that today show up as national parks or reserves. But you did mention this rich [00:17:00] history of trespass in England. And on The Right to Roam website, it says that, “it's fair to say that none of the limited access rights established in recent generations has been won without the willingness of ordinary people to cross the lines of property.”And so, it seems to me that the work that Right to Roam is doing is picking up those anti-enclosure movements of previous centuries and bringing them into the contemporary milieu. And so, I'm curious how you imagine or how you think notions of trespass might be understood and utilised as forms of resistance to the enclosures or privatisation of common lands.Lewis: Well, trespass in England is part of civil law, so if you trespass, it's not criminal. It's not a criminal act. So the police can't be called, as long as you're not causing damage. So, in fact, it's just between you and the landowner.And I think one of the first things that we try [00:18:00] to do as a campaign when we're speaking to whether it's new groups, or people that are kind of joining us, is to say, well, actually in custom and in history, we have this right. We have this right to be on land, and that it's only really through a kind of spell that we've been put under this kind of narrative that we've been told that we don't have a right to land. That we don't go there. And so, one of the main forms of action that we take as a campaign is to trespass, is to cross those lines which feel like they're kind of physical lines when you look at a map or where you see a barbed wire fence. But actually, as soon as you cross them, they become quite arbitrary, but also political.And we try to politicise it as much as we can, because if we take it for a given that we're excluded, then we will just remain excluded. So, it's both empowering and also quite an undertaking really to trespass and to do that together is one of the most empowering things you can do as a group or as a community, to go to the places that we're told we don't [00:19:00] have a right to be, but yet when you go there, it suddenly doesn't really make sense that you are excluded.And actually, quite often, as a campaign, we're able to go to places and to learn more about them and to learn more about our landscapes just outside of the towns and cities that we live in, to feel more connected to them. And, in a lot of cases actually do work for the betterment of places as well.I mean, often we're kind of reporting illegal rubbish dumps or seeing where damaging, invasive ecological species have taken hold and or reporting pollution in rivers. And I think it is part of the work of our campaign to help people feel that they can be a part of these places.And as you've mentioned, this idea that tourism is this kind of leisure time activity that we do that feels quite extractive, actually. There's something that we can do, which is about giving back as well, and giving back to our communities. And, [00:20:00] so yeah, it's about crossing lines, and it's about kind of challenging the politics that play there, but it's also just simply about reclaiming something that has historically been a cement that's held communities together.And what we find, I think, is that across the political spectrum, in various sectors and quarters, people just see that as common sense. I mean, it's interesting being part of a campaign that is at once radical as well as being, actually, just people get it, and they want to support it. And that has really helped us, I think, make headway and make progress, because we think we make quite a good argument for why we need better access to land and why we need laws to support that. And we are receiving a good amount of support from many quarters.Chris: Thank you for illustrating that. I remember as a child in Toronto going into the valleys there and the [00:21:00] creeks, and there's, thankfully, a large system of public lands, but of course, there was some areas where you would see signs, and it says “no trespassing,” and you would see this quite a bit, more so as you left the city. And there was this kind of subtle, imposed, instilled sense in me as a child that, like, “okay, obviously I can't go here. But secondly, if I do, then I am not just a guest or a visitor, I'm a trespasser, I'm a criminal. Right?And so to return to this question of the way that governments in the last centuries have taken common lands from people and kind of converted them into what we imagined to be better, pristine environments by virtue of there being no humans.I'd like to broach this question with you because in our correspondence, you referred to, “the hidden damage done to landscapes, the displacement of damage [00:22:00] elsewhere in the name of conservation, creating pristine landscapes and how this plays out as a way to restrict land access as a rationale for exclusion, while we turn a blind eye to damage and exploitation.”You write, “we can see this on a smaller scale with regard to estate and large farms or intensive agriculture in the UK, as well as on a global scale through supply chains and trace both back to a colonial mindset.”And so, previously on the podcast, I've spoken with authors and activists in regard to conservation as a kind of neocolonization of land, both in Africa and in Asia, and we also see it in Scotland.And so, I'm curious how this shows up in the UK and in the Right to Roam's work. This notion that no humans means that somehow the ecologies of place are better off and that there seems to be hiding in these considerations, in these concepts, a kind of misanthropy, a kind of hatred [00:23:00] toward humans.Lewis: Yeah, I mean, conservation I think has been doing amazing work, has also been doing some quite troubling work, I think, over the years. There's no simple kind of response to this. Conservation by its very nature is about working in relationship with place, with people, and with the more-than-human world.And I think like any relationships, those can be difficult and also fulfilling and beneficial and sometimes both. I think conservation as a movement, if you take a historical lens on this and obviously know, looking at it through a cultural perspective, taking in place, people, and history, and thinking about it as well, not just as a kind of a single place-based concern, but also kind of more broadly on a global scale, how conservation has evolved.And it's both evolved out of a kind of a controlling mindset, but also out of a kind of almost a palliative desire to sort of ease [00:24:00] the suffering of the natural world. And I think that that, when we look at it like that, there's a kind of a deep trauma which conservation has been born from, which is that we've done such huge amounts of damage to other places, to other peoples, to our own homes, and our own landscapes here in England that our kind of desire to kind of remedy that is kind of caught up in a kind of traumatic relationship with place. And I think we've learned a lot and obviously come a long way from a kind of fortress conservation mindset, but I think that the kind of misanthropy, which has been present in conservation, still comes through sometimes.I mean, we work as a campaign with so many amazing people working on the forefront of conservation, who are working very hard to try to transform and challenge the sector that they are working within. [00:25:00] But it's kind of understandable that this history of exploitation and damage is kind of wrapped up with a desire to press the emergency button and say, “actually, we need to kind of take drastic measures here.” And for some people, that's led them down the path of wanting a very exclusionary take on how we manage these places and these landscapes.And I think that the other thing is that, what I was talking about in the correspondence that I sent to you, really, particularly inspired by the work of Val Plumwood, the amazing philosopher who took this kind of incredible view of conservation, linked it to what she called “shadow places.” The idea that actually, for every time that we create one of these kinds of islands of pristine habitat, whether it's through exclusion or whether it's through management, planning and whatever else, actually, there's a whole world of things that we displace, and we neglect to see.And we see that with our national [00:26:00] parks here in England. I think it's interesting that Dartmoor, my nearest national park, is actually, historically, it is a very managed and very industrial landscape, yet it's kind of like held up and revered as a place of ecological tranquillity.I mean, it's actually in quite a damaged state. But we see it more broadly, as well. We can see it through our supply chains in England and through food security, or what we might call food security, by basically exploiting other places, the minerals we use, the resources that we use.So many of them come from landscapes that don't have the same protections that we're sort of overlaying onto landscapes here in England. So I think that it is a complex question. I think the fact that we are dealing with the kind of fallout of empire and the colonialization of other places and our exploitation of them leads us back to this sort of issue of actually “ how do we repair our relationship with land, with people? [00:27:00] How do we come to this through a lens of collaboration between people and place that's not about, ‘this is for nature, this is for people'?”And I think, one of the most concerning things I've seen happening in recent years, is this sort of resurgence of a neocapitalist economy in the countryside that's sort of operating under the guise of wanting to protect, but actually is about excluding communities and excluding people. And some of the most amazing work that's happening in England and Wales on Rewilding is about including people and ensuring that there is a joined-up approach between people, place, and ecology.Chris: Thank you, Louis. Your professional background prior to working with Right to Roam was in outdoor and environmental education. And so I imagine that such work kind of flows fairly easily into raising awareness for public access to the commons. But it also seems to me that the [00:28:00] contemporary and commonplace relationships between people in the commons run through the government in the form of laws and regulations. And you write, “there are things you can do on public lands, and there are things you will get fined or arrested for.”And so, a system based on allowances and punishment, a system of rights. But rights do not necessarily breed responsibility. And it can be argued that rights can undermine responsibility both on personal and collective levels. A central question that arises in the debate as to whether to repeal these prohibitions on access is that a people growing up in a culture of enclosure and hypermobility, such as most urban people do these days, tend to have no personal or peripheral example of what worthy stewardship looks like.And so I'm curious, how does the Right to Roam team and perhaps other authors and activists you've come across contend with this notion? There's a mention [00:29:00] on your website of the ability of people to offer “wild service,” and I'm curious what this means in the context of rights and responsibilities.Lewis: Well, I don't think that rights necessarily undermine responsibilities. I think badly designed rights can, but I think that, in a meaningful way, rights can give people a stake. They can really say to people, actually, “ this is something which belongs to you, and that's worth defending.”If people are only experiencing the countryside through prohibition, then clearly that's gonna lead to a form of feelings of unwelcome. And I think that that kind of relationship with the countryside is damaging, and particularly, I think it damages the ideas of trust and our sense that we can actually learn to care for these places. And that's deep set [00:30:00] within the culture, I think, that we're part of. And one of the things, as you've highlighted, this challenge, which is also an opportunity, is for education. And not only do we have these very exclusionary laws, which prohibit us from accessing so much land. I mean, we're talking about we only have access to 8% of England, and about 3% of our rivers. These places also only exist in particular parts of England and Wales. So there are vast parts of the country where the countryside might as well just be wallpaper.And so, for so many people, access is a kind of an academic exercise. It's this idea that you might be able to access it, or if you have a car, you can drive to a place. So I think there's a lot of work to be done to give people the experiences that really build up that kind of culture of care, which I think... or “stewardship” is the word that you used.Getting those laws in place, getting the right to roam legislation that we're after, is the first step on the ladder. [00:31:00] And then the next step is maybe something like, “how do we put in place those systems of infrastructure and support, which we need to actually see more people in the countryside?” And some of those things might be about, “how do we get more school kids out?” I mean, even here near Dartmoor, the only place in England where you can sleep out under the stars, most of the kids in this area won't have had that experience and probably will never have that experience. So how do we remedy things like that? How do we support schools to do more of that? How do we get more of our education systems, both formal and informal education systems, to embrace a culture of access?In England, we can look north of the border to Scotland to see where such a system's been in place since 2003, where the Scottish Land Reform Act was put in place, which gave people a default right of access to land and water in the country, which [with] sensible exceptions for things like privacy, wildlife, land with crops growing on it [00:32:00] and public safety, backed up by a code of responsibility. But that in itself is only just over 20 years old, as an act. So, culturally it's still quite young, but it's been a real success.And then, we can look elsewhere. We can maybe look elsewhere in Europe, to Norway and to Sweden, for examples where, culturally, this is sort of something which is more deeply accepted. And there are many other examples, obviously from across Europe and globally, where there are different sets of rights that give people different sets of access and mobility within landscapes.So I think all we're trying to do really here in England is point to a way of being, which is about the structures of how we do that, but it's also about our kind of mindset and how we relate to places.And we can see that it's entirely possible and preferable to the system that we have here today. So I think [00:33:00] that yes, rights in themselves are not the answer, but they are the kind of the bedrock on which we could build a whole world of possibility.Chris: Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Thank you, Lewis. I guess the question that I was trying to drive towards is this notion that's come up quite a bit in the podcast, which is that tourism doesn't necessarily begin once you get off a plane or a boat or a train. That tourism is a kind of lifestyle that seems to exist in the bedrock of the modern condition. And so how do we bring people into the possibility of something like “wild service” or stewardship when the vast kind of understanding of how we proceed towards quote “nature” or other communities is touristic in nature.And so I'm curious, in the organising that you've done, when people have the opportunity to dig deeper into the histories of their lands, and the access to lands, and the [00:34:00] enclosure that access and the enclosure of the common lands in the UK, and when they start to see perhaps what's possible by virtue of other people showing up, interested in the same research, in the possibility, the real possibility of things being otherwise, once people gathered together toward these possibilities, I'm curious what shows up for you among people who perhaps come from this more touristic sensibility.Lewis: Yeah. Well, a couple of years ago, the campaign wrote a book, a collection of essays called “Wild Service,” which is sort of acts as a bit of a compass towards this kind of new narrative of beyond extractive tourism, beyond recreation even, towards something which we sort of playfully called “re-creation” sometimes, this sort of sense that, actually, there's another way of doing this stuff. There's another way of [00:35:00] being in new places and of experiencing nature places near to and beyond our home. And Wild Service really is about... the kind of the subtitle of the book is “Why Nature Needs You.” So it's really kind of flipping this thing we were talking about earlier, which is that kind of a lot of conservation tends to focus in on, “ we desperately need nature, so we need to protect nature, and the way we do that is by excluding people.” And that's not all of conservation, but that is a kind of prevailing mindset which has existed and is entrenched now.So, wild service is trying to chart a different way, which is that we need to find this kind of peace, really. We are feeling that we can be active agents of benefit for the world around us. And there are some great examples. I mean, Paul Powlesland's an amazing barrister activist, who lives in northeast London and is [00:36:00] guardian of the River Roding up there who kind of lives on the river in his boat, and is out on the river every day, normally waist-deep in the river, acting in service to clean that river up.And it is in a mess. This river's been a historic dumping ground for industry, and neglected by government and local authority over the years, and just trashed. And Paul is with a team of volunteers, working so hard to shine a light on that, but also just basically to clean it up, and to demonstrate how illegal rubbish dumps and illegal sewers are overflowing into it. And it's become this flashpoint really for a wider conversation of concern.And there are many other examples where, you know, on the River Wye, for example, on the border between Wales and England, which is one of the first rivers really to have its kind of legal rights asserted in England through the action of communities.And we're talking about wild swimmers and anglers and [00:37:00] kayakers and people who are kind of out on the river. And I think it's no coincidence that the River Wye is also one of the only rivers in England where there is a legal right of access to swim and to connect with the river. And that people have seen it as a gift really, to then act on behalf of the river. And of course, then that's playing out now.The rights of nature are playing out globally. I mean Ecuador, being one of the kind of trailblazing, the constitution, embedding this. And I think acting as an inspiration for so many more communities to really take on board the rights of nature. And to see a kind of community activists stepping forward in wild service to do some of this work. And in cases like Paul, they often trespass whilst they're doing it.Chris: Yeah, I think there's definitely this question of animism that comes into play, perhaps peripherally as well in these conversations, which is that, so many of our ancestors, at least at some point, [00:38:00] understood the more-than-human beings and worlds within their places as just as alive and deserving of a good life and dignity as humans are.And that over the course of the last 500 years, at least, a degree of deanimation has occurred as a result of the enclosures. Certainly, you could get into the Cartesian philosophical questions, regarding who has a soul and who doesn't. But I think there's something deeply embedded there as well about the questions of, when we find ways to ensure that rivers, for example, or other aspects of the more-than-human world have rights, that we are trying to find a way back towards respecting the dignity that exists, and is [00:39:00] more or less, demanded, if not, seen or experienced a priori, within an animistic perspective.Lewis: Yeah, I mean, absolutely the same logic that tore people from the Commons was also at play, of course, in the kind of instrumentalising and essentializing nature, and creating this sort of division between people and the rest of nature. And it is certainly there in the history of the British Isles.You just don't have to look even back that far to see that people had a much kind of closer relationship. And I think this isn't about going back to anything. This is about finding a new path where, actually, this kind of experiment in driving a wedge between humans and the rest of nature has been wildly unsuccessful, and has caused great harm, and has precipitated, also, the harms done to people elsewhere.And, part of our kind of job now, I think, is to look to other [00:40:00] ways of doing things. And I see really in the kind of richness of the work being done by communities and individuals, and increasingly, with work being done within governance, that actually rights of nature is not a panacea, but it does give us this sort of direction towards something, which is perhaps more unifying, and can be part of that future.Chris: Hmm. Yeah. I'm reminded of a fairly famous quote, at least within the psychedelic culture, of a man named Terrence McKenna, who said that this work is not a return to the archaic. It's a return of the archaic.Lewis: Hmm.Chris: And so perhaps there's something in there that can give us pause to consider and reconsider how we are with more-than-human worlds.Well, I'd like to take a, just a slight detour if we can, because there's this question of [00:41:00] what the enclosures of the commons did, to people both in England and then abroad, later. And a lot of it has to do with the human relationship to nature, to more-than-human worlds. But I'm also curious about this relationship to home, and to housing even, and to what the enclosures kind of precipitated in the behaviour of human beings, what displacement and expulsion and enclosure do to human beings.And so, I have a little quote here from a great book, called The War Against the Commons. And in that book, the author writes,“The largest number of migrants left England entirely, mostly for North America or the Caribbean. [This is as a result of the enclosures.] Net emigration in the century before 1640 was close to [00:42:00] 600,000, and another 400,000 left by the end of that century, extraordinarily large numbers from a country whose mid-1600s population was barely 5 million people.What's more, those are net figures. More people left, but their numbers were partially offset by immigrants arriving in England from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and continental Europe. Most of the emigrants were young men, and about half paid for the dangerous ocean crossing by agreeing to be indentured servants for four or more years there, in the ‘New World.' That was a high price, but hundreds of thousands of landless peasants were willing to pay it.For some, it was not a choice. English courts frequently sentenced vagrants and other criminals to indentured servitude in the New World.”And so, I don't think it's such a huge [00:43:00] stretch of the imagination to say that the chain reaction that began with the enclosures in England and later spread to most parts of the world had direct consequences for how the Americas, among other places, were colonised. I think it's quite curious and telling that the sometimes brutal dispossession and dislocation that was unleashed on commoners in the UK was then later unleashed by those same commoners turned migrants or their descendants on the other side of the Atlantic. And so, given that one of the major issues of our time revolves around migration and borders, I'm curious if this history or this unauthorised history has come up at all in the conversations around migration in your part of the world.Lewis: Yeah. Well, I think the harm that has been done to the landscapes here, clearly, the mindset and the exploitative mindset have been at play [00:44:00] elsewhere as we've discussed. You talked about how vagrants were treated. People are told they have no place on land that they don't own. And then when they find themselves, suddenly without work and dispossessed and subject to new laws that were criminalising that kind of vagrancy, I think that's such a strong kind of signal within a society that there's this kind of way of being successful or a way of undertaking a life, and of doing business, whatever you wanna call it. And so as soon as people are given an opportunity to go off and set off for new shores... we were effectively training a whole population on how to other, and how to exploit. I mean, this was the kind of place in which that mindset was cultivated.Chris: Mm-hmm.Lewis: And people, I think what I always come [00:45:00] back to in, whenever I'm reading about the enclosures and the commons, is that people were resisting, as well. And I think, the Levellers, the amazing campaigning done by the Levellers who took up arms and really knew resisted the kind of modern enclosures and the idea of landlordism, that only land landowners should have a broad set of rights, including the right to vote. The people were resisting this at every step of the way.And I think that we see that obviously internationally, as well. Colonisation by Britain and by other colonising powers has always been resisted, and there are movements globally that are working to protect the rights of people and land against these kinds of damaging and exploitative practises.But I think it comes back really, as somebody who lives here in England, that it might feel small to be a part of a campaign, which is about “I want [00:46:00] rights to be able to walk outta my door and walk into the nearby countryside, whilst there are these sort of incredibly awful, colonial practises going on in the name of progress, globally, in my name.”This is also about how we cultivate that kind of awareness and resistance. Because what I see and what I've learned through being part of this campaign is that, something which is kind of meaningful for us here today, by learning our histories and how this has kind of evolved, really, and grown out of the land where I live, part of that journey is also about educating ourselves and taking action on things which are an injustice for us in our lives, and joining those injustices to others, which are taking place in the name of the same systems that exploited the world, the more direct world around us.So, these are joined up. And, I think the other thing I wanna say is that like so many times in our campaigning we've come across the role of power and privilege and money in the countryside, [00:47:00] and how the larger states and the names that go with them that persist in the countryside today...I mean, about a third of England is still in aristocratic hands. We're unsure of the exact figure because so much of the land in England is not registered, but around about a third of England is still in the hands of... many of those people can trace their lineage right back to the Norman Conquest, to 1066, when William the Conqueror came over and handed out the land of his newly acquired domain to all of his mates. We're still living with that legacy today.And so, we see those power structures in the countryside. We see the money that's behind them. And all of the new money, the corporate money as well, that's being poured into the countryside around us. And there's a direct link there to democracy, as well, to what we're told about who belongs and who gets a say and who actually should feel welcome here. And when we look at the rise of the far-right here [00:48:00] in England, and I think, elsewhere, globally, the perpetuation of the narratives that go behind the rise of the far-right comes from that kind of land-owning, embedded power structure, the same power which has actually disconnected and dispossessed the majority of the population, the 99% of us, who don't own half of England.And that's really shocking. And I think, when we see figures like Nigel Farage here in England, pointing to migrants as the problem, it doesn't take much delving back into our history to see that this is a defence strategy, a way of deflecting blame from those who have acquired through exploitation, through murder and destruction, massive amounts of wealth and privilege and power.And so, this is the latest iteration of blaming people. We blamed the vagabonds and the [00:49:00] poor for causing problems in the countryside by criminalising activities, and exporting them off. And today we're blaming migrants, and I think, to be able to know our history and to look at how the enclosure acts and the loss of a sense of common belonging is connected to how we are having our dispossession thrown back at us through a sense of blame for others who have absolutely no stake in the uprooting of our connection.Chris: Hmm. Brilliant. Yeah. Thank you so much, Louis, for bringing this up. I mean, I've had my friend and mentor Steven Jenkinson on the pod a few times. And one of the things that he's written that describes the dynamics in a lot of the modern condition. But I think in this question, particularly around migration and colonial history,[00:50:00] he writes that, “ they deify what dispossessed their ancestors.” They turn into a God, the trauma that dispossessed their ancestors. And then, of course, in this particular context, they project it onto the people who are now being dispossessed.Lewis: Hmm.I mean, we see this logic also play out in other, smaller ways, I think, in the countryside in England. Like, for example, massive running battles and riots to protect Fenland, the fenlands of the east of England, from being drained and improved. Massive protests to prevent woodlands from being enclosed. But today, we'll see the everyday public who don't have any ownership of those lands, protecting this kind of sense of industrial improvement. And I think that there's a lot of unpicking to be done, to look back [00:51:00] and to say, actually, this is something that was done to us. And with that, we lost our rights, and also now, one of the biggest kinds of parlour tricks really of that whole system has been for us to blame each other.Chris: Yeah. I mean, I see it on a smaller scale as well in terms of landlordism and rent. I mean, we, I had an interview a few months ago, and we brought up the question of rent, which surely existed before the enclosure of the commons, but has become a staple, a normalised aspect of modern life. And it's become that rent has become so normalised that no one questions the kind of wage and rent slavery that we're born into in this late capitalist context. And therefore there's no need to imagine our relationships with home or [00:52:00] house or housing or land being any different.And as you mentioned, how the enclosures created this kind of notion perhaps among people in England in the previous hundred years, and then of course exported elsewhere, that the roots of enclosures and the different forms that they take or can take in the world, are the recipe for a ‘better life', right?And so I see that as well as a kind of historical extension of the enclosures, this notion that, like, “well, it's just the way it is and you just have to pay your rent, and there's no questioning the dynamics of private property. And if you don't like it, just submit or become a landlord yourself.Lewis: Hmm. Well, one of the interesting things I think that happened again in Scotland was that in 2003, the Land Reform Act, which came in and which [00:53:00] I've mentioned as being the acts which brought about the Scottish right to roam as we know it today, actually, that was almost a kind of footnote to the wider act. And one of the main things that it brought about was for people to have a right to buy, for communities to have a right to buy. And one of the big transformations in Scotland in recent years has been communities being able to buy up parts of whole estates and even sometimes whole islands.And so, the Isle of Eigg was one of the first examples, but now there are many, many more across Scotland where communities are starting to take literal ownership of places, and with that obviously comes things like rent controls and responsibility and accountability, between each other, within communities.And so, looking at it through that lens, where people have a greater stake in landscapes that they literally own or have a stake in, there are many, many outcomes in terms of nature conservation and public [00:54:00] access, and a wider sense of responsibility, which can kind of spill over. And it is not without problems. I mean, of course, there are still issues in Scotland with estates, and large, faceless landlords extracting massive amounts of extortionate rent from people. That's, of course, still happening.One of the things that we see in England, and I think is maybe a bit of a kind of telling contrast to that, is that in the last year we've seen two large estates, and there's probably been many more, but two that have come up on our radar, really, that have held-in properties.So one of them down in Dorset, a kind of neighbouring county to where I live, had 32 houses, ostensibly, affordable dwellings for people to live in the countryside, which is hard to come by, actually. In some parts of rural England, it's really hard to live affordably in the countryside. So, people who have been there for generations saw an estate that had been held by the same family for seven generations, suddenly bought by a [00:55:00] faceless corporation on behalf of an anonymous absentee landowner.And suddenly, overnight, the community was hit with kind of massive amounts of uncertainty. People worried about evictions or rents going up. And the same things happened just down the road from us, with an estate owned by the royal family suddenly put up for sale, and suddenly, tenant farmers, people who had had this kind of certainty that actually this has been owned by the royal family since the 1300s, are now being put up for sale.And from that point of view, the person selling it just looks at it like a set of assets that could be sold off. And I think what I would love is for, in England, for us to have a community right to buy. So when things like that happen, then actually communities get this kind of first refusal.So, landlordism and ownership patterns that are linked to the extortions going on are deeply connected to rights of access, because the golden thread that links all of those is a right to belong. And without that kind of certainty that you can call a place home [00:56:00] without being evicted, or without being told that you can get to your kind of favourite river swimming spot, for me, those two things are deeply related, and they point to the need for something much more robust for people who so desperately need it, who don't have the means to buy land themselves.Chris: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Thank you, Lewis. I'm grateful for this work that you do with the right to roam, and hopefully, as the movement grows, there'll be an opportunity for, perhaps, seemingly disparate movements or campaigns to join in this way and to recognise their mutual goals.And so I'm curious, I'd love to ask you about how this shows up on a broader spectrum, in a global spectrum, in terms of the Right To Roam, in terms of access to land and the campaigns and movements that are happening, not just in England, but elsewhere, beyond the Isles and perhaps beyond [00:57:00] Europe.And so I'm curious what kind of similar movements or campaigns might be happening in other countries or continents, for which there might be solidarity between the fight for the commons in the UK and the fight for the commons elsewhere?Lewis: Hmm. Well, land. It literally underpins everything, really.I mean, we see so many campaigns and injustices, which obviously are linked to land and the right to belong and the right to be. And land justice, globally, there's so much international solidarity. Our work today is very much about drawing those threads and remaining kind of focused on what we need to do, but we can see sort of the parallels elsewhere.And, people that we campaign with are also involved in international campaigning with Survival International, for example, doing amazing work to support the rights of indigenous peoples and rights to land globally. And the International Land Coalition, the work that they're [00:58:00] doing, a lot of which is in South America.We talked already about the rights of nature movement, and seeing lots of that kind of showing up and the rights of nature in the constitution of Ecuador, has, as I've already said, been a massive inspiration for that movement now in the UK.And, obviously, in the majority of Latin American countries, this is a real present challenge, and it's highly contested. I was speaking with a group from Dalhousie University in Canada as well recently about the kind of the rights to the coastline up there, and how, even in North American countries, there are like these challenges because of the development of coastlines, and not just coastlines, but also, the private property rights which excludes people to perhaps a more extreme extent than we have here in England.I was always struck by how, in the United States, the [00:59:00] right to roam campaign is sort of... I think people are just bewildered by it. Like, “What is this kind of campaign?” Because the rights of property are so sacrosanct, and the rights of property and the right to exclude, with the exception of the national park.So, we see these interesting challenges coming up, and international solidarity with people, in all sorts of different contexts.I was really interested in the conversation that you were having with Devon Taylor on this podcast about the rights to the coast, for example, in Jamaica, as well, and how that is absolutely linked to the exploitation of Jamaica and of people, and that land is still subject to the same kind of sets of exclusions there. And I was really interested to hear about the campaigning that's being done to just give people a simple right to get to the beach, which just seems so [01:00:00] basic and simple, but actually is fundamental. And so, I'm really gladdened and also shocked by what's happening there. And particularly if you contrast it with a place like Barbados, where there's a right to the coast, to see just what's possible with campaigning. And with political will, actually, you can see that these things are winnable and that they're winnable because of people like Devon doing that kind of work.So yeah, our work's very much focused on England, and what we can achieve within this parliament. We basically want to finish what we're doing, and then carry on with the wider work that we're all also interested in doing, and getting this law changed is our kind of like tiny puzzle piece in the wider tapestry of land justice, globally.Chris: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. May it be that the people who listen to this and who find their way towards the Right to Roam's work, join up and remember the [01:01:00] histories that have led us to this point and to people like yourself who are working to reconcile, as you said, what's been done historically in your name, or in your names.And, it's been a blessing to have you on the pod Lewis, to be able to both historically and contemporaneously, bring together a lot of the threads that a lot of other podcast guests in the past have spoken to, threads that bring us to a degree of source or historical origin in terms of how these enclosures came to be and of course, how people like yourself in the place that they began are working for their proper subversion.And so, on behalf of our listeners, Lewis, I'd like to thank you for joining me today for being willing to speak to these issues, these very complex issues. And I'm of course grateful that you're digging into the complexities in the way that you do.It's a great honour. And finally, [01:02:00] I'd like to ask you, how might our listeners find out more about the Right to Roam and its campaigns? How might they get involved and support, or begin this good work, in the places that they live?Lewis: Thanks, Chris. It is great to be on here and speaking with you, as well.And yeah, I mean, we're a small campaign. We do what we can with the small amount of resources that we have available. But I think, if people want to support our work, you can head over to our website. We've got our website at righttorome.org.uk. So check that out. We've got a mailing list, as well, and we try to send out fairly infrequent, but we hope, worthwhile emails, which give you a bit of insight.They tend to be focused on the work we are doing here for England and Wales. But I think for international listeners, this is potentially of interest as well, because, obviously, this speaks to the wider context. We've got social media as well, so you can see us on Instagram and on Blue Sky. And we're just in the process of setting [01:03:00] up a blog, as well. So, stay tuned for that. But get in touch and listen out for any updates.Chris: Thank you, Lewis. I'll make sure that those links are on the End of Tourism website in the homework section. And, for those who are outside of England who are wondering about this, perhaps the Right to Roam and their work is something not only of an inspiration, but a foundation for the ways in which you and your people might come to gather together and organise for access to land in your places.Thank you so much, Louis.Lewis: Thanks, Chris. Get full access to Chris Christou at chrischristou.substack.com/subscribe
When Edward the Confesor died leaving no children or close male blood-relatives it opened a succession dispute that was to lead to the end of an independent Anglo-Saxon England. Of course, no one knew that at the time but with hindsight the succession dispute provoked by Edward was the short term cause of the Norman Conquest. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nova Anglia, or “New England,” is a medieval tradition about Anglo Saxon exiles who left England after the Norman Conquest and founded a new homeland in the east, placed near the Black Sea or in Crimea. The story survives in later historical references and modern retellings, but it is generally treated as an evidenced episode.The basic idea is that some displaced Anglo Saxon nobles and warriors, rather than accepting Norman rule, carried their identity, customs, and perhaps their loyalty to an English political order into foreign lands. In that sense, Nova Anglia functions as both a migration story and a memory of lost sovereignty: Englishmen building an “England” elsewhere after their own had been conquered.What makes the tale interesting is that it sits at the edge of history and legend. Some accounts describe the settlers as creating a community with English names and institutions, So the story is best understood as a medieval exile narrative with a possible historical core.It also fits a wider medieval pattern: defeated elites sometimes imagined or attempted new beginnings in distant places, especially where there was room to settle and a political vacuum to exploit. Nova Anglia therefore matters not only as a curiosity, but as a window into how the Anglo Saxons may have understood loss, identity, and survival after 1066.
Today, we are diving deep into the Vita Ædwardi Regis, or The Life of King Edward who rests at Westminster. Written in Latin right on the knife-edge of the Norman Conquest of 1066, this text is not your standard medieval hagiography. It is a complex artefact of its time and an embodiment of how the Anglo-Saxons understood their defeat in 1066. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Social Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonengland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Bayeux Tapestry is coming to England for the first time in nearly 1,000 years — and today we're diving into why this magnificent medieval embroidery is so much more than a war story. It's a record of cultures colliding, merging, and ultimately transforming a nation. Historian and Norfolk Tours owner Glynn Burrows joins Lisa on Big Blend Radio's "English Connection" Podcast to unravel the remarkable story behind the tapestry — from the Norman invasion of 1066 and the fate of poor King Harold, to what the tapestry reveals about everyday life: boats, horses, armor, farming, and even a few naughty bits in the border. Glynn and Lisa also explore how the Norman Conquest layered onto the Romans, the Vikings, and the Anglo-Saxons to create the England we know today — and how that same thread of cultures mixing, clashing, and merging runs through American history too.
After the Norman Conquest, many Anglo-Saxon nobles, clergy, and warriors refused to submit and instead chose exile, fleeing not just to Scotland and Scandinavia, but all the way to Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire. The episode explores the remarkable tradition of around 10,000 English exiles traveling by ship, receiving lands from the emperor, and helping form English communities far from home, even in places remembered as a kind of early “New England” on the Black Sea. Steve Guerra and Patrick Young also trace how these exiles entered imperial service through the Varangian Guard, showing that the fall of Anglo-Saxon England did not mean the end of its people, identity, or Christian inheritance. Subscribe to Forgotten Christianity on Substack: https://forgottenchristianity.substack.com/ #HistoryOfThePapacy #ForgottenChristianity #NormanConquest #AngloSaxonEngland #ChurchHistory #MedievalHistory #ByzantineHistory #VarangianGuard #Constantinople #ChristianHistory Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments section below! Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on the links below and on YouTube!Support the show and listen: Patreon: http://patreon.com/historyofthepapacyBuy me a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/historyofthepapacyBuy me a book: http://bit.ly/40ckJ8E YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thehistoryofthepapacyEmail Us: steve@atozhistorypage.comHow to listen: https://www.atozhistorypage.com/podcastListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7DelfggbL0Au4e3aUyWDaS Music Provided by:"Sonatina in C Minor" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Funeral March for Brass" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Crusade Heavy Perfect Loop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Agnus Dei X - Bitter Suite Kevin MacLeaod (incomptech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, Steve Guerra and Patrick Young explored how the Norman Conquest reshaped far more than the English throne, remaking the Church, culture, and power structures of Anglo-Saxon England. They discussed papal backing for William’s invasion, the drive for ecclesiastical uniformity, the displacement of native clergy, and the deeper changes that rippled across the Christian world after 1066. This was not only the story of a conquest, but of how the Normans helped remake the Christian world. #HistoryOfThePapacy #ForgottenChristianity #NormanConquest #1066 #ChurchHistory #MedievalHistory #AngloSaxonEngland #ChristianHistory Subscribe to Forgotten Christianity on Substack: https://forgottenchristianity.substack.com/ Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments section below! Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on the links below and on YouTube! Support the show and listen:Patreon: http://patreon.com/historyofthepapacyBuy me a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/historyofthepapacyBuy me a book: http://bit.ly/40ckJ8E YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thehistoryofthepapacyEmail Us: steve@atozhistorypage.comHow to listen: https://www.atozhistorypage.com/podcastListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7DelfggbL0Au4e3aUyWDaS Music Provided by:"Sonatina in C Minor" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Funeral March for Brass" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Crusade Heavy Perfect Loop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Agnus Dei X - Bitter Suite Kevin MacLeaod (incomptech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
fWotD Episode 3317: Æthelred the Unready Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Thursday, 4 June 2026, is Æthelred the Unready.Æthelred II (c. 968 – 23 April 1016), known as Æthelred the Unready, was King of the English from March 978 to December 1013 and again from February 1014 until his death. The epithet "Unready" is a pun on his name in Old English, Æðel (noble) and ræd (counsel). He was the son of King Edgar (reigned 959–975) and Queen Ælfthryth.Æthelred was born between 966 and 969, and very little is known of his early life. He came to the throne after the assassination by unknown perpetrators of his older half-brother, King Edward the Martyr (reigned 975–978). The crime deeply shocked people, but Æthelred was too young to be suspected of involvement. Shortly after his accession, Viking attacks resumed after a generation of peace. Minor raids in the 980s escalated to large attacks from the 990s. As the English were rarely victorious in battle, the king and his advisers resorted to giving the Vikings tribute to leave England. In 1002 Æthelred ordered the St Brice's Day massacre of Danes, which is seen by historians as a sign of his increasing paranoia, and this culminated by 1009 in the rise of Eadric Streona to become the most powerful of Æthelred's advisers. Increasingly destructive raids by Viking armies wore down English resistance, and in December 1013 King Swein Forkbeard of Denmark conquered England. Æthelred fled to Normandy, but when Swein died in February 1014 he returned to the throne and drove out Swein's son Cnut. In early 1015 civil war broke out when Eadric Streona murdered close allies of Æthelred's oldest surviving son, Edmund Ironside. Cnut returned soon afterwards and Edmund and Æthelred tried to unite against him, but suspicion between father and son hampered them, as did Eadric's treachery and Æthelred's poor health. Æthelred died in April 1016 and Edmund carried on the war until he died in December and Cnut became the king of all England.Æthelred was only nine to twelve years old when he became king, and during his minority the country was governed by his father's leading advisers, including his mother. When he came of age in the mid-980s, he rejected these advisers and adopted new ones, who persuaded him to grant them property at the expense of the church. By the early 990s he had come to regret the course he had followed and to see the Viking raids as God's punishment for his persecution of the church. The 990s and early 1000s formed the most successful period of his reign, when his advisers were of high calibre and there were major cultural achievements in Latin and Old English literature. Historians writing after the Norman Conquest saw him as a bad king until the late twentieth century, when a new generation reassessed his record and argued that although his reign ended catastrophically, there were significant achievements in the 990s and early 1000s.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:14 UTC on Thursday, 4 June 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Æthelred the Unready on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Joey.
What if a single battle could collapse an empire, reshape a continent, or alter the destiny of millions? Throughout history, certain military confrontations have transcended mere combat—they've become the hinge points upon which civilizations turn. In this episode of Echoes of War, we celebrate reaching over 100 episodes by diving deep into the battles that fundamentally rewrote human history. From the clash at Zama where Scipio defeated Hannibal and ended the Punic Wars, to the Battle of Hastings that brought Norman conquest to England, each confrontation shaped the trajectory of civilizations. We explore how Tsushima revolutionized naval warfare, how Lepanto challenged Ottoman dominance, the conquistador siege of Tenochtitlan that ended the Aztec Empire, and the brutal island-hopping campaign of Guadalcanal that turned the Pacific War. These weren't just military victories—they were pivotal moments that altered the course of human history. Join hosts Craig and Gareth as they bring historical analysis to life through genuine conversation and storytelling. Rather than dry recitations of facts, we explore the human drama, strategic brilliance, and consequences that made these battles transformative. The Battle of Zama shifted power in the ancient Mediterranean. The Norman Conquest at Hastings reset the course of English civilization. Tsushima showed the world that traditional naval power could be challenged. Lepanto demonstrated Christianity's capacity to unite against the Ottoman threat. The Fall of Tenochtitlan marked one of history's most consequential collapses—a civilization brought down by disease, diplomacy, and military innovation. And Guadalcanal proved that Pacific island warfare would define World War II strategy. Whether you're a history enthusiast, military strategy buff, or simply curious about how pivotal moments shape our world, this episode delivers the analysis and narrative depth you crave. We don't just tell you what happened—we help you understand why it matters. Support the podcast and gain exclusive access to extended conversations, early episode releases, and bonus historical deep dives. Your support directly funds the research and production that brings these stories to life. Don't forget I have a Youtube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbp8JMZizR4zak9wpM3Fvrw/join or my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel where you can get exclusive content like "What if Japan invaded the USSR during WW2?"
From the chaos of the Norman Conquest to the power struggles of the Plantagenets, the princesses of medieval England lived lives shaped by politics, ambition, and survival. In this episode, I am pleased to welcome historian Sharon Bennett Connolly onto the podcast for the first time, as we explore the women born into royal households between 1066 and the reign of King John: daughters promised in marriage treaties, sisters caught in dynastic rivalries, and queens-in-waiting whose influence stretched across Europe.
As we honor and remember the fallen this Memorial Day weekend, we look at how the quiet, open landscapes of Britain hold the secrets to centuries of conflict, shifting power, and historical memory. From Roman invasions and Viking raids to the pivotal Norman Conquest of 1066, these spaces serve as a powerful link to our shared ancestry. In this episode of Big Blend Radio's "English Connection" Podcast, resident historian Glynn Burrows of Norfolk Tours explores the rich history of battle sites across England, Scotland, and Wales. Discover why so little remains visible on these open battlefields, how these sacred spaces are preserved today out of respect for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and why touring them offers a fantastic window into the details of local and national history. Whether you are tracking Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall or following Harold's hasty march from Stamford Bridge to Battle, Glynn shares expert travel tips and insights for mapping out your own historical itinerary. Important Links: - Read Glynn's article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/touring-battlefields-of-britain - Connect with Glynn: https://www.englishconnection.uk/ - Follow the Podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/english-connection-podcast - Check out the Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/english-connection-magazine
Sharon Bennett Connolly is back on the podcast, and today we're talking of the Daughters of the Conquest.Let's find out why a medieval princess wasn't just marriage fodder for strengthening foreign alliances.Welcome back, Sharon!Find Sharon here:@sharonbennettconnolly on Instagramhttps://historytheinterestingbits.com/silk-and-the-sword-the-women-of-the-norman-conquest/Sharon at Lincoln Castle:https://www.lincolncastle.com/events/event/164/lunchtime-talk-nicholaa-de-la-haye-england-s-forgotten-heroinePre-Order Princesses of the Early Middle Ages:https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Princesses-of-the-Early-Middle-Ages-Hardback/p/57998/aid/1238Women of the Norman Conquest:https://www.amberley-books.com/silk-and-the-sword.htmlWomen of the Anarchy :https://www.amberley-books.com/discover-books/women-of-the-anarchy.htmlHeroines of the Tudor World :https://www.amberley-books.com/heroines-of-the-tudor-world.htmlHeroines of the Medieval World :https://www.amberley-books.com/heroines-of-the-medieval-world-9781445689449.htmlScotland's Medieval Queens:https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Scotlands-Medieval-Queens-Hardback/p/51759/aid/1238More Books by Sharon:https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sharon-Bennett-Connolly/a/3883Find Baroque:https://www.instagram.com/ifitaintbaroquepodcast/https://x.com/BaroquePodcasthttps://www.tiktok.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcasthttps://bsky.app/profile/ifitaintbaroquepod.bsky.socialhttps://www.threads.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcasthttps://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/https://www.reignoflondon.com/https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcastSupport Baroque:https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroqueIf you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours with Reign of London:RMS Titanic:https://www.getyourguide.com/en-gb/london-l57/london-rms-titanic-walking-tour-t1246693/Saxons to Stuarts:https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/Tudors & Stuarts:https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/The Georgians:https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/Naughty London:https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In October of 1066 William of Normandy defeated King Harold II of England on a battlefield near Hastings, and the effects of that Norman Conquest would reshape England's culture, politics, language and religion for more than 1,000 years. But the seeds of that event were sown more than 60 years earlier, when the teenage daughter of a Norman duke arrived on England's shores to marry its king. Her name was Emma, and her career as queen and matriarch would span the reigns of seven of England's kings: she married two kings, two of her sons became kings as did two of her stepsons, and her father-in-law was king. Writer Patrica Bracewell, author of the Emma of Normandy trilogy, will explore the life of this powerful woman who became the wealthiest woman in England, a patron of the arts, a savvy political strategist, and a pivotal figure in the family politics that governed England. Medievalist Elaine Treharne will discuss communities of learning in 11th century England, focusing particularly on the manuscripts produced by religious establishments. Among these are some of the most magnificent volumes ever produced in the pre-print era that show how much emphasis was placed on education, piety and commemoration in this period. Musician Shira Kammen and her ensemble In Bocca al Lupo will present a short program of medieval music inspired by and about the queens of this tumultuous era. Join Humanities West to explore Emma of Normandy, the challenges she faced, the victories she led, and the world in which the woman who was the only twice-crowned queen of England lived. The Commonwealth Club of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. In association with Humanities West. Speaker photos courtesy the speakers; painting: William Blake's The Ordeal of Queen Emma. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Organizer: George Hammond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What if one of the most famous stories in English history never happened? What if King Harold did not march his exhausted troops 200 miles before the Battle of Hastings?Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Tom Licence whose explosive research argues that King Harold's legendary march never happened, revealing a far more sophisticated Anglo-Saxon military strategy than always thought. So how did Harold get to Hastings? And how does this discovery change our understanding of the Norman Conquest? MORE:Harold GodwinsonListen on AppleListen on SpotifyBattle of HastingsListen on AppleListen on SpotifyGone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1066 is synonymous with the battle of Hastings. Yet while Duke William of Normandy was launching his conquest of England, the rest of Europe had its own crises to contend with. This Long Read written by Charles West takes us on a tour of the continent during this dramatic year. Today's feature originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode of Rock, Paper, Swords!, Justin Hill and Matthew Harffy speak with historian Sharon Bennett Connolly about medieval princesses, royal daughters, and women's power in the Early Middle Ages.Drawing on Princesses of the Early Middle Ages, Sharon explores how women shaped dynasties through marriage, diplomacy, and inheritance, and why their influence has often been overlooked in traditional histories of the Norman Conquest.A fascinating conversation for anyone interested in medieval history, women's history, and the realities behind popular myths.
The second part of the discussion of embroidery history covers blackwork and Opus Anglicanum, then embroidery samplers and beetle-wing embroidery. Research: Абильда, Айжан. “Scythians are creators of embroidery art.” Qazaqstan Tarihy. May 24, 2019. https://e-history.kz/en/news/show/7178#:~:text=Embroidery%20is%20a%20traditional%20East,a%20wedding%20or%20a%20party. Angus, Jennifer. “Nature’s Sequins.” Cooper Hewitt. Sept. 14, 2018. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/09/14/natures-sequins/ “The art of printing textile.” Musee de L’Impression sur Etoffes. https://www.musee-impression.com/en/the-collection/ Badshah, Nadeem. “Bayeux tapestry to be insured for £800m for British Museum exhibition.” The Guardian. Dec. 27. 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/27/bayeux-tapestry-to-be-insured-for-800m-for-british-museum-exhibition “Bayeux Tapestry.” UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/bayeux-tapestry “The Bayeux Tapestry.” La Tapisserie de Bayeux. Bayeux Museum. https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/ Binswanger, Julia. “These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing.” Smithsonian. Dec. 11, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-delicate-needles-made-from-animal-bones-may-have-helped-prehistoric-humans-sew-warm-winter-clothing-180985601/ Britannica Editors. "Scythian art". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/art/Scythian-art “Chasuble (Opus Anglicanum).” The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466660 Chung, Young Yang. “Silken Threads: A History of Embroidery in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.” Abrams. 2005. Daniels, Margaret Harrington. “Early Pattern Books for Lace and Embroidery.” Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/nb33_lac.pdf “DMC.” Textile Research Center Leiden. https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/organisations-and-movements/companies/dmc “Dragon Robe Decoded.” Sotheby’s. May 23, 2019. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/dragon-robe-decoded Embroiderers’ Guild. https://embroiderersguild.com/ Embroiderers’ Guild of America. https://egausa.org/ “Embroidery Techniques from Around the World: Crewel.” Embroiderer’ Guild of America. Oct. 28, 2024. https://egausa.org/embroidery-techniques-from-around-the-world-crewel/ Francfort, H.-P., 2020, “Scythians, Persians, Greeks and Horses: Reflections on Art, Culture Power and Empires in the Light of Frozen Burials and other Excavations”, in: , Londres, British Museum, p. 134-155. https://www.academia.edu/44417916/Francfort_H_P_2020_Scythians_Persians_Greeks_and_Horses_Reflections_on_Art_Culture_Power_and_Empires_in_the_Light_of_Frozen_Burials_and_other_Excavations_in_Londres_British_Museum_p_134_155 “Girlhood Embroidery.” Pilgrim Hall Museum. https://www.pilgrimhall.org/girlhood_embroidery.htm Gower, John G., and G.C. Macaulay, ed. “The Complete Works of John Gower.” Clarendon Press. 1901. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/71162/71162-h/71162-h.htm#Page_1 “Introducing Opus Anglicanum.” Victoria and Albert Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-opus-anglicanum?srsltid=AfmBOor2pOTddjxaPC9AXHvvQuGXD4Tyx9N3zBeISzMSDHX1KnaUnfnL “Introducing the Scythians.” British Museum. May 30, 2017. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introducing-scythians Nazarova, Yevhenia. “Ukraine's Ancient 'River Guardians.'” Radio Free Europe. Oct. 17, 2021. https://www.rferl.org/a/scythian-dig-ukraine-river-guardians-discovery/31507187.html "Ancient Peruvian Textiles." The Museum Journal XI, no. 3 (September, 1920): 140-147. Accessed December 22, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/843/ “Embroidery – a history of needlework samplers.” Victoria & Albery Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/embroidery-a-history-of-needlework-samplers “History of The Broderers.” The Worshipful Company of Broderers. https://broderers.co.uk/history-broderers “The History of Britain's Bayeux Tapestry.” Reading Museum. https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/britains-bayeux-tapestry/history-britains-bayeux-tapestry Kennedy, Maev. “British Museum to go more than skin deep with Scythian exhibition.” The Guardian. May 30, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/may/30/british-museum-skin-scythian-exhibition-tattoo-empire Lattanzio, Giaga. “Byzantine.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/byzantine/ Leslie, Catherine Amoroso. “Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia.” Greenwood Press. 2007. Libes, Kenna. “Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/beetle-wing-19thcentury/ Liu Y, Li Y, Li X, Qin L. The origin and dispersal of the domesticated Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, in China: a reconstruction based on ancient texts. J Insect Sci. 2010;10:180. doi: 10.1673/031.010.14140 “Mrs. Jacob Wendell (Mary Barrett, 1832–1912).” The New York Historical. https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/68658/mrs-jacob-wendell-mary-barrett-18321912 Muntz, Eugene and Louisa J. Davis. “A short history of tapestry. From the earliest times to the end of the 18th century.” London. Cassel & Co. 1885. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofta00mntz/page/n3/mode/2up Pohl, Benjamin. “Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the Bayeux Tapestryas monastic mealtime reading.” Historical Research. 2025. https://academic.oup.com/histres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hisres/htaf029/8377922 Puiu, Tibi. “Pristine 2,300-year-old Scythian woman’s boot found in frozen Altai mountains.” ZME Science. Dec. 29, 2021. https://www.zmescience.com/science/scythian-boots-0532/ Razzall, Katie. “Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK on loan after 900 years.” BBC. July 8, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14ev1z6d5go Royal School of Needlework. https://royal-needlework.org.uk/ Salmony, Alfred. “The Archaeological Background of textile Production in Soviet Russia Territory.” The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. Volume 26. No. 2. 1942. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/periodicals/nb_42_2.pdf “Sampler.” Victoria & Albert Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/sampler-jane-bostocke/ Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein ney Furmbüchlein. 1525-1528. Met Museum Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354716 Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein new Modelbuch … “ 1524. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354660 Shrader, Dustin. “Embroidery Through the Ages.” Impressions. July 28, 2023. https://impressionsmagazine.com/process-technique/embroidery-through-the-ages/39234/#:~:text=The%20Age%2DOld%20Beginning&text=We%20tend%20to%20typically%20think,to%20generation%20across%20the%20millennia. “Silk Roads Programme.” UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silkroad-interactive-map Sons of Norway's Cultural Skills Program. “Unit 8: Hardanger Embroidery.” 2018. https://www.sofn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/unit8hardanger_rev8.11.pdf “Suzhou Embroidery.” Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.” https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/videos/suzhou-embroidery/ Teall, John L., Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. "Byzantine Empire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire Warner, Pamela. “Embroidery: A History.” B.T. Bedford, Ltd. 1991. Watt, James C. Y., and Anne E. Wardwell. “When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. Harry N. Abrams. New York. 1997. https://cdn.sanity.io/files/cctd4ker/production/d781d44d3048d49257072d610034400182246d3e.pdf Watt, Melinda. “Textile Production in Europe: Embroidery, 1600–1800.” The Met. Oct. 1, 2003. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/textile-production-in-europe-embroidery-1600-1800 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The first installment of this two-parter covers ancient embroidery around the world, and then focuses on European embroidery, Chinese dragon robes, and the Bayeux Tapestry. Research: Абильда, Айжан. “Scythians are creators of embroidery art.” Qazaqstan Tarihy. May 24, 2019. https://e-history.kz/en/news/show/7178#:~:text=Embroidery%20is%20a%20traditional%20East,a%20wedding%20or%20a%20party. Angus, Jennifer. “Nature’s Sequins.” Cooper Hewitt. Sept. 14, 2018. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/09/14/natures-sequins/ “The art of printing textile.” Musee de L’Impression sur Etoffes. https://www.musee-impression.com/en/the-collection/ Badshah, Nadeem. “Bayeux tapestry to be insured for £800m for British Museum exhibition.” The Guardian. Dec. 27. 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/27/bayeux-tapestry-to-be-insured-for-800m-for-british-museum-exhibition “Bayeux Tapestry.” UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/bayeux-tapestry “The Bayeux Tapestry.” La Tapisserie de Bayeux. Bayeux Museum. https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/ Binswanger, Julia. “These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing.” Smithsonian. Dec. 11, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-delicate-needles-made-from-animal-bones-may-have-helped-prehistoric-humans-sew-warm-winter-clothing-180985601/ Britannica Editors. "Scythian art". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/art/Scythian-art “Chasuble (Opus Anglicanum).” The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466660 Chung, Young Yang. “Silken Threads: A History of Embroidery in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.” Abrams. 2005. Daniels, Margaret Harrington. “Early Pattern Books for Lace and Embroidery.” Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/nb33_lac.pdf “DMC.” Textile Research Center Leiden. https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/organisations-and-movements/companies/dmc “Dragon Robe Decoded.” Sotheby’s. May 23, 2019. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/dragon-robe-decoded Embroiderers’ Guild. https://embroiderersguild.com/ Embroiderers’ Guild of America. https://egausa.org/ “Embroidery Techniques from Around the World: Crewel.” Embroiderer’ Guild of America. Oct. 28, 2024. https://egausa.org/embroidery-techniques-from-around-the-world-crewel/ Francfort, H.-P., 2020, “Scythians, Persians, Greeks and Horses: Reflections on Art, Culture Power and Empires in the Light of Frozen Burials and other Excavations”, in: , Londres, British Museum, p. 134-155. https://www.academia.edu/44417916/Francfort_H_P_2020_Scythians_Persians_Greeks_and_Horses_Reflections_on_Art_Culture_Power_and_Empires_in_the_Light_of_Frozen_Burials_and_other_Excavations_in_Londres_British_Museum_p_134_155 “Girlhood Embroidery.” Pilgrim Hall Museum. https://www.pilgrimhall.org/girlhood_embroidery.htm Gower, John G., and G.C. Macaulay, ed. “The Complete Works of John Gower.” Clarendon Press. 1901. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/71162/71162-h/71162-h.htm#Page_1 “Introducing Opus Anglicanum.” Victoria and Albert Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-opus-anglicanum?srsltid=AfmBOor2pOTddjxaPC9AXHvvQuGXD4Tyx9N3zBeISzMSDHX1KnaUnfnL “Introducing the Scythians.” British Museum. May 30, 2017. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introducing-scythians Nazarova, Yevhenia. “Ukraine's Ancient 'River Guardians.'” Radio Free Europe. Oct. 17, 2021. https://www.rferl.org/a/scythian-dig-ukraine-river-guardians-discovery/31507187.html "Ancient Peruvian Textiles." The Museum Journal XI, no. 3 (September, 1920): 140-147. Accessed December 22, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/843/ “Embroidery – a history of needlework samplers.” Victoria & Albery Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/embroidery-a-history-of-needlework-samplers “History of The Broderers.” The Worshipful Company of Broderers. https://broderers.co.uk/history-broderers “The History of Britain's Bayeux Tapestry.” Reading Museum. https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/britains-bayeux-tapestry/history-britains-bayeux-tapestry Kennedy, Maev. “British Museum to go more than skin deep with Scythian exhibition.” The Guardian. May 30, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/may/30/british-museum-skin-scythian-exhibition-tattoo-empire Lattanzio, Giaga. “Byzantine.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/byzantine/ Leslie, Catherine Amoroso. “Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia.” Greenwood Press. 2007. Libes, Kenna. “Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/beetle-wing-19thcentury/ Liu Y, Li Y, Li X, Qin L. The origin and dispersal of the domesticated Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, in China: a reconstruction based on ancient texts. J Insect Sci. 2010;10:180. doi: 10.1673/031.010.14140 “Mrs. Jacob Wendell (Mary Barrett, 1832–1912).” The New York Historical. https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/68658/mrs-jacob-wendell-mary-barrett-18321912 Muntz, Eugene and Louisa J. Davis. “A short history of tapestry. From the earliest times to the end of the 18th century.” London. Cassel & Co. 1885. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofta00mntz/page/n3/mode/2up Pohl, Benjamin. “Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the Bayeux Tapestryas monastic mealtime reading.” Historical Research. 2025. https://academic.oup.com/histres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hisres/htaf029/8377922 Puiu, Tibi. “Pristine 2,300-year-old Scythian woman’s boot found in frozen Altai mountains.” ZME Science. Dec. 29, 2021. https://www.zmescience.com/science/scythian-boots-0532/ Razzall, Katie. “Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK on loan after 900 years.” BBC. July 8, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14ev1z6d5go Royal School of Needlework. https://royal-needlework.org.uk/ Salmony, Alfred. “The Archaeological Background of textile Production in Soviet Russia Territory.” The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. Volume 26. No. 2. 1942. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/periodicals/nb_42_2.pdf “Sampler.” Victoria & Albert Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/sampler-jane-bostocke/ Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein ney Furmbüchlein. 1525-1528. Met Museum Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354716 Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein new Modelbuch … “ 1524. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354660 Shrader, Dustin. “Embroidery Through the Ages.” Impressions. July 28, 2023. https://impressionsmagazine.com/process-technique/embroidery-through-the-ages/39234/#:~:text=The%20Age%2DOld%20Beginning&text=We%20tend%20to%20typically%20think,to%20generation%20across%20the%20millennia. “Silk Roads Programme.” UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silkroad-interactive-map Sons of Norway's Cultural Skills Program. “Unit 8: Hardanger Embroidery.” 2018. https://www.sofn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/unit8hardanger_rev8.11.pdf “Suzhou Embroidery.” Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.” https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/videos/suzhou-embroidery/ Teall, John L., Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. "Byzantine Empire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire Warner, Pamela. “Embroidery: A History.” B.T. Bedford, Ltd. 1991. Watt, James C. Y., and Anne E. Wardwell. “When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. Harry N. Abrams. New York. 1997. https://cdn.sanity.io/files/cctd4ker/production/d781d44d3048d49257072d610034400182246d3e.pdf Watt, Melinda. “Textile Production in Europe: Embroidery, 1600–1800.” The Met. Oct. 1, 2003. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/textile-production-in-europe-embroidery-1600-1800 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Discussion of things literally or figuratively unearthed in the last quarter of 2025 continues. It begins with potpourri then covers tools, Neanderthals, edibles and potables, art, shipwrecks, medical finds, and repatriations. Research: Abdallah, Hanna. “Famous Easter Island statues were created without centralized management.” PLOS. Via EurekAlert. 11/26/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106805 Abdallah, Hannah. “Early humans butchered elephants using small tools and made big tools from their bones.” PLOS. Via EurekAlert. 10/8/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1100481 Abdallah, Hannah. “Researchers uncover clues to mysterious origin of famous Hjortspring boat.” EurekAlert. 10/12/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1108323 Archaeology Magazine. “Medieval Hoard of Silver and Pearls Discovered in Sweden.” https://archaeology.org/news/2025/10/14/medieval-hoard-of-silver-and-pearls-discovered-in-sweden/ Archaeology Magazine. “Possible Trepanation Tool Unearthed in Poland.” 11/13/2025. https://archaeology.org/news/2025/11/13/possible-trepanation-tool-unearthed-in-poland/ Arkeologerna. “Rare 5,000-year-old dog burial unearthed in Sweden.” 12/15/2025. https://news.cision.com/se/arkeologerna/r/rare-5-000-year-old-dog-burial-unearthed-in-sweden,c4282014 Arnold, Paul. “Ancient ochre crayons from Crimea reveal Neanderthals engaged in symbolic behaviors.” Phys.org. 10/30/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ancient-ochre-crayons-crimea-reveal.html Arnold, Paul. “Dating a North American rock art tradition that lasted 175 generations.” Phys.org. 11/28/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-dating-north-american-art-tradition.html Bassi, Margherita. “A Single Gene Could Have Contributed to Neanderthals’ Extinction, Study Suggests.” Smithsonian. 10/30/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-neanderthal-gene-variant-related-to-red-blood-cells-may-have-contributed-to-their-extinction-180987586/ Benjamin Pohl, Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the Bayeux Tapestry as monastic mealtime reading, Historical Research, 2025;, htaf029, https://doi.org/10.1093/hisres/htaf029 Benzine, Vittoria. “Decoded Hieroglyphics Reveal Female Ruler of Ancient Maya City.” ArtNet. 10/27/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/foundation-stone-maya-coba-woman-ruler-2704521 Berdugo, Sophie. “Easter Island statues may have 'walked' thanks to 'pendulum dynamics' and with as few as 15 people, study finds.” LiveScience. 10/19/2025. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/easter-island-statues-may-have-walked-thanks-to-pendulum-dynamics-and-with-as-few-as-15-people-study-finds Billing, Lotte. “Fingerprint of ancient seafarer found on Scandinavia’s oldest plank boat.” EurekAlert. 10/12/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1109361 Brhel, John. “Rats played major role in Easter Island’s deforestation, study reveals.” EurekAlert. 11/17/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106361 Caldwell, Elizabeth. “9 more individuals unearthed at Oaklawn could be 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims.” Tulsa Public Radio. 11/6/2025. https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2025-11-06/9-more-individuals-unearthed-at-oaklawn-could-be-1921-tulsa-race-massacre-victims Clark, Gaby. “Bayeux Tapestry could have been originally designed as mealtime reading for medieval monks.” Phys.org. 12/15/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-bayeux-tapestry-mealtime-medieval-monks.html#google_vignette Cohen, Alina. “Ancient Olive Oil Processing Complex Unearthed in Tunisia.” Artnet. 11/21/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ancient-olive-oil-complex-tunisia-2717795 Cohen, Alina. “MFA Boston Restores Ownership of Historic Works by Enslaved Artist.” ArtNet. 10/30/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mfa-boston-david-drake-jars-restitution-2706594 Fergusson, Rachel. “First DNA evidence of Black Death in Edinburgh discovered on teeth of excavated teenage skeleton.” The Scotsman. 11/5/2025. https://www.scotsman.com/news/first-dna-evidence-black-death-edinburgh-discovered-teeth-excavated-teenage-skeleton-5387741 Folorunso, Caleb et al. “MOWAA Archaeology Project: Enhancing Understanding of Benin City’s Historic Urban Development and Heritage through Pre-Construction Archaeology.” Antiquity (2025): 1–10. Web. Griffith University. “Rare stone tool cache tells story of trade and ingenuity.” 12/2/2025. https://news.griffith.edu.au/2025/12/02/rare-stone-tool-cache-tells-story-of-trade-and-ingenuity/ Han, Yu et al. “The late arrival of domestic cats in China via the Silk Road after 3,500 years of human-leopard cat commensalism.” Cell Genomics, Volume 0, Issue 0, 101099. https://www.cell.com/cell-genomics/fulltext/S2666-979X(25)00355-6 Hashemi, Sara. “A Volcanic Eruption in 1345 May Have Triggered a Chain of Events That Brought the Black Death to Europe.” Smithsonian. 12/8/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-volcanic-eruption-in-1345-may-have-triggered-a-chain-of-events-taht-brought-the-black-death-to-europe-180987803/ Hjortkjær, Simon Thinggaard. “Mysterious signs on Teotihuacan murals may reveal an early form of Uto-Aztecan language.” PhysOrg. 10/6/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-mysterious-teotihuacan-murals-reveal-early.html Institut Pasteur. “Study suggests two unsuspected pathogens struck Napoleon's army during the retreat from Russia in 1812.” Via EurekAlert. 10/24/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102613 Jones, Sam. “Shells found in Spain could be among oldest known musical instruments.” The Guardian. 12/2/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/02/neolithic-conch-like-shell-spain-catalonia-discovery-musical-instruments Kasal, Krystal. “Pahon Cave provides a look into 5,000 years of surprisingly stable Stone Age tool use.” Phys.org. 12/16/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-pahon-cave-years-stable-stone.html Kristiansen, Nina. “Eight pages bound in furry seal skin may be Norway's oldest book.” Science Norway. 11/3/2025. https://www.sciencenorway.no/cultural-history-culture-history/eight-pages-bound-in-furry-seal-skin-may-be-norways-oldest-book/2571496 Kuta, Sarah. “109-Year-Old Messages in a Bottle Written by Soldiers Heading to Fight in World War I Discovered on Australian Beach.” Smithsonian. 11/6/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/109-year-old-messages-in-a-bottle-written-by-soldiers-heading-to-fight-in-world-war-i-discovered-on-australian-beach-180987649/ Kuta, Sarah. “A Storm Battered Western Alaska, Scattering Thousands of Indigenous Artifacts Across the Sand.” Smithsonian. 10/31/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-storm-battered-western-alaska-scattering-thousands-of-indigenous-artifacts-across-the-sand-180987606/ Kuta, Sarah. “Archaeologists Unearth More Than 100 Projectiles From an Iconic Battlefield in Scotland.” Smithsonian. 11/5/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-more-than-100-projectiles-from-an-iconic-battlefield-in-scotland-180987641/ Kuta, Sarah. “Hundreds of Mysterious Victorian-Era Shoes Are Washing Up on a Beach in Wales. Nobody Knows Where They Came From.” Smithsonian. 1/5/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-mysterious-victorian-era-shoes-are-washing-up-on-a-beach-in-wales-nobody-knows-where-they-came-from-180987943/ Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Golden ‘Tudor Heart’ Necklace Sheds New Light on Henry VIII’s First Marriage.” Artnet. 10/14/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/tudor-heart-pendant-british-museum-fundraiser-2699544 Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Long-Overlooked Black Veteran Identified in Rare 19th-Century Portrait.” ArtNet. 10/27/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/black-veteran-thomas-phillips-portrait-identified-2704721 Lipo CP, Hunt TL, Pakarati G, Pingel T, Simmons N, Heard K, et al. (2025) Megalithic statue (moai) production on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). PLoS One 20(11): e0336251. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0336251 Lipo, Carl P. and Terry L. Hunt. “The walking moai hypothesis: Archaeological evidence, experimental validation, and response to critics.” Journal of Archaeological Science. Volume 183, November 2025, 106383. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440325002328 Lock, Lisa. “Pre-construction archaeology reveals Benin City's historic urban development and heritage.” 10/29/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-pre-archaeology-reveals-benin-city.html#google_vignette Lock, Lisa. “Pre-construction archaeology reveals Benin City's historic urban development and heritage.” Antiquity. Via PhysOrg. 10/29/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-pre-archaeology-reveals-benin-city.html#google_vignette Lynley A. Wallis et al, An exceptional assemblage of archaeological plant fibres from Windmill Way, southeast Cape York Peninsula, Australian Archaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1080/03122417.2025.2574127 Lyon, Devyn. “Oaklawn Cemetery excavation brings investigators closer to identifying Tulsa Race Massacre victims.” Fox 23. 11/6/2025. https://www.fox23.com/news/oaklawn-cemetery-excavation-brings-investigators-closer-to-identifying-tulsa-race-massacre-victims/article_67c3a6b7-2acc-44cb-93ce-3d3d0c288eca.html Marquard, Bryan. “Bob Shumway, last known survivor of the deadly Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire, dies at 101.” 11/12/2025. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/12/metro/bob-shumway-101-dies-was-last-known-cocoanut-grove-fire-survivor/?event=event12 Marta Osypińska et al, A centurion's monkey? Companion animals for the social elite in an Egyptian port on the fringes of the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd c. CE, Journal of Roman Archaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1017/s1047759425100445 Merrington, Andrew. “Extensive dog diversity millennia before modern breeding practices.” University of Exeter. 11/13/2025. https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-humanities-arts-and-social-sciences/archaeology-and-history/extensive-dog-diversity-millennia-before-modern-breeding-practices/ Morris, Steven. “Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic.” The Guardian. 12/8/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/08/linguists-start-compiling-first-ever-complete-dictionary-of-ancient-celtic Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Resolves Ownership of Works by Enslaved Artist David Drake.” 10/29/2025. https://www.mfa.org/press-release/david-drake-ownership-resolution Narcity. “Niagara has a 107-year-old shipwreck lodged above the Falls and it just moved.” https://www.narcity.com/niagara-falls-shipwreck-iron-scow-moved-closer-to-the-falls Newcomb, Tim. “A 76-Year-Old Man Went On a Hike—and Stumbled Upon a 1,500-Year Old Trap.” Popular Mechanics. 11/21/2025. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a69441460/reindeer-trap/ Nordin, Gunilla. “Ancient wolves on remote Baltic Sea island reveal link to prehistoric humans.” Stockholm University. Via EurekAlert. 11/24/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106807 Oster, Sandee. “DNA confirms modern Bo people are descendants of ancient Hanging Coffin culture.” Phys.org. 12/6/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-dna-modern-bo-people-descendants.html Oster, Sandee. “Rare disease possibly identified in 12th century child's skeletal remains.” PhysOrg. 10/10/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-rare-disease-possibly-12th-century.html Osuh, Chris and Geneva Abdul. “Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student.” The Guardian. 11/1/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/01/lost-grave-daughter-black-abolitionist-olaudah-equiano-found-by-a-level-student Silvia Albizuri et al, The oldest mule in the western Mediterranean. The case of the Early Iron Age in Hort d'en Grimau (Penedès, Barcelona, Spain), Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105506 Skok, Phoebe. “Ancient shipwrecks rewrite the story of Iron Age trade.” PhysOrg. 10/14/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ancient-shipwrecks-rewrite-story-iron.html The History Blog. “600-year-old Joseon ship recovered from seabed.” 11/15/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74652 The History Blog. “Ancient pleasure barge found off Alexandria coast.” 12/9/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74860 The History Blog. “Charred Byzantine bread loves stamped with Christian imagery found in Turkey.” 10/13/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74352 The History Blog. “Early medieval silver treasure found in Stockholm.” 10/12/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74343 The History Blog. “Roman amphora with sardines found in Switzerland.” 12/15/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74904 The Straits Times. “Wreck of ancient Malay vessel discovered on Pulau Melaka.” 10/31/2025. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/wreck-of-ancient-malay-vessel-discovered-on-pulau-melaka Thompson, Sarah. “The forgotten daughter: Eliza Monroe Hay’s story revealed in her last letters.” W&M News. 9/30/2025. https://news.wm.edu/2025/09/30/the-forgotten-daughter-eliza-monroes-story-revealed-in-her-last-letters/ Tuhkuri, Jukka. “Why Did Endurance Sink?” Polar Record 61 (2025): e23. Web. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/polar-record/article/why-did-endurance-sink/6CC2C2D56087035A94DEB50930B81980 Universitat de Valencia. “The victims of the Pompeii eruption wore heavy wool cloaks and tunics, suggesting different environmental conditions in summer.” 12/3/2025. https://www.uv.es/uvweb/uv-news/en/news/victims-pompeii-eruption-wore-heavy-wool-cloaks-tunics-suggesting-different-environmental-conditions-summer-1285973304159/Novetat.html?id=1286464337848&plantilla=UV_Noticies/Page/TPGDetaillNews University of Glasgow. “Archaeologists recover hundreds of Jacobite projectiles in unexplored area of Culloden.” 10/30/2025. https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_1222736_en.html University of Vienna. “Neanderthal DNA reveals ancient long-distance migrations.” 10/29/2025. https://www.univie.ac.at/en/news/detail/neanderthal-dna-reveals-ancient-long-distance-migrations Zhou, H., Tao, L., Zhao, Y. et al. Exploration of hanging coffin customs and the bo people in China through comparative genomics. Nat Commun 16, 10230 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65264-3 Zinin, Andrew. “Ancient humans mastered fire-making 400,000 years ago, study shows.” Phys.org. 10/10/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ancient-humans-mastered-years.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we're going back to 1066 as we debate the Norman Conquest and what it meant for England and indeed Ireland. Featuring: · Prof Judith Green, Professor Emeritus at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh; Prof Clare Downham, Professor of Medieval History at the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool and author of ‘Medieval Ireland AD400-1500'; Professor Tom Licence, Professor of Medieval History and Literature, University of East Anglia; Prof Seán Duffy, Professor of Medieval Irish and Insular History at Trinity College Dublin; and Prof David Bates, Emeritus Professor in Medieval History at the University of East Anglia, and author of ‘The Normans and Empire' and ‘William the Conqueror'.
The show's coverage of things literally or figuratively unearthed in the last quarter of 2025 begins with updates, books and letters, animals, and just one exhumation. Research: Abdallah, Hanna. “Famous Easter Island statues were created without centralized management.” PLOS. Via EurekAlert. 11/26/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106805 Abdallah, Hannah. “Early humans butchered elephants using small tools and made big tools from their bones.” PLOS. Via EurekAlert. 10/8/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1100481 Abdallah, Hannah. “Researchers uncover clues to mysterious origin of famous Hjortspring boat.” EurekAlert. 10/12/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1108323 Archaeology Magazine. “Medieval Hoard of Silver and Pearls Discovered in Sweden.” https://archaeology.org/news/2025/10/14/medieval-hoard-of-silver-and-pearls-discovered-in-sweden/ Archaeology Magazine. “Possible Trepanation Tool Unearthed in Poland.” 11/13/2025. https://archaeology.org/news/2025/11/13/possible-trepanation-tool-unearthed-in-poland/ “Rare 5,000-year-old dog burial unearthed in Sweden.” 12/15/2025. https://news.cision.com/se/arkeologerna/r/rare-5-000-year-old-dog-burial-unearthed-in-sweden,c4282014 Arnold, Paul. “Ancient ochre crayons from Crimea reveal Neanderthals engaged in symbolic behaviors.” Phys.org. 10/30/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ancient-ochre-crayons-crimea-reveal.html Arnold, Paul. “Dating a North American rock art tradition that lasted 175 generations.” Phys.org. 11/28/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-dating-north-american-art-tradition.html Bassi, Margherita. “A Single Gene Could Have Contributed to Neanderthals’ Extinction, Study Suggests.” Smithsonian. 10/30/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-neanderthal-gene-variant-related-to-red-blood-cells-may-have-contributed-to-their-extinction-180987586/ Benjamin Pohl, Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the Bayeux Tapestry as monastic mealtime reading, Historical Research, 2025;, htaf029, https://doi.org/10.1093/hisres/htaf029 Benzine, Vittoria. “Decoded Hieroglyphics Reveal Female Ruler of Ancient Maya City.” ArtNet. 10/27/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/foundation-stone-maya-coba-woman-ruler-2704521 Berdugo, Sophie. “Easter Island statues may have 'walked' thanks to 'pendulum dynamics' and with as few as 15 people, study finds.” LiveScience. 10/19/2025. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/easter-island-statues-may-have-walked-thanks-to-pendulum-dynamics-and-with-as-few-as-15-people-study-finds Billing, Lotte. “Fingerprint of ancient seafarer found on Scandinavia’s oldest plank boat.” EurekAlert. 10/12/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1109361 Brhel, John. “Rats played major role in Easter Island’s deforestation, study reveals.” EurekAlert. 11/17/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106361 Caldwell, Elizabeth. “9 more individuals unearthed at Oaklawn could be 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims.” Tulsa Public Radio. 11/6/2025. https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2025-11-06/9-more-individuals-unearthed-at-oaklawn-could-be-1921-tulsa-race-massacre-victims Clark, Gaby. “Bayeux Tapestry could have been originally designed as mealtime reading for medieval monks.” Phys.org. 12/15/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-bayeux-tapestry-mealtime-medieval-monks.html#google_vignette Cohen, Alina. “Ancient Olive Oil Processing Complex Unearthed in Tunisia.” Artnet. 11/21/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ancient-olive-oil-complex-tunisia-2717795 Cohen, Alina. “MFA Boston Restores Ownership of Historic Works by Enslaved Artist.” ArtNet. 10/30/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mfa-boston-david-drake-jars-restitution-2706594 Fergusson, Rachel. “First DNA evidence of Black Death in Edinburgh discovered on teeth of excavated teenage skeleton.” The Scotsman. 11/5/2025. https://www.scotsman.com/news/first-dna-evidence-black-death-edinburgh-discovered-teeth-excavated-teenage-skeleton-5387741 Folorunso, Caleb et al. “MOWAA Archaeology Project: Enhancing Understanding of Benin City’s Historic Urban Development and Heritage through Pre-Construction Archaeology.” Antiquity (2025): 1–10. Web. Griffith University. “Rare stone tool cache tells story of trade and ingenuity.” 12/2/2025. https://news.griffith.edu.au/2025/12/02/rare-stone-tool-cache-tells-story-of-trade-and-ingenuity/ Han, Yu et al. “The late arrival of domestic cats in China via the Silk Road after 3,500 years of human-leopard cat commensalism.” Cell Genomics, Volume 0, Issue 0, 101099. https://www.cell.com/cell-genomics/fulltext/S2666-979X(25)00355-6 Hashemi, Sara. “A Volcanic Eruption in 1345 May Have Triggered a Chain of Events That Brought the Black Death to Europe.” Smithsonian. 12/8/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-volcanic-eruption-in-1345-may-have-triggered-a-chain-of-events-taht-brought-the-black-death-to-europe-180987803/ Hjortkjær, Simon Thinggaard. “Mysterious signs on Teotihuacan murals may reveal an early form of Uto-Aztecan language.” PhysOrg. 10/6/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-mysterious-teotihuacan-murals-reveal-early.html Institut Pasteur. “Study suggests two unsuspected pathogens struck Napoleon's army during the retreat from Russia in 1812.” Via EurekAlert. 10/24/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102613 Jones, Sam. “Shells found in Spain could be among oldest known musical instruments.” The Guardian. 12/2/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/02/neolithic-conch-like-shell-spain-catalonia-discovery-musical-instruments Kasal, Krystal. “Pahon Cave provides a look into 5,000 years of surprisingly stable Stone Age tool use.” Phys.org. 12/16/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-pahon-cave-years-stable-stone.html Kristiansen, Nina. “Eight pages bound in furry seal skin may be Norway's oldest book.” Science Norway. 11/3/2025. https://www.sciencenorway.no/cultural-history-culture-history/eight-pages-bound-in-furry-seal-skin-may-be-norways-oldest-book/2571496 Kuta, Sarah. “109-Year-Old Messages in a Bottle Written by Soldiers Heading to Fight in World War I Discovered on Australian Beach.” Smithsonian. 11/6/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/109-year-old-messages-in-a-bottle-written-by-soldiers-heading-to-fight-in-world-war-i-discovered-on-australian-beach-180987649/ Kuta, Sarah. “A Storm Battered Western Alaska, Scattering Thousands of Indigenous Artifacts Across the Sand.” Smithsonian. 10/31/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-storm-battered-western-alaska-scattering-thousands-of-indigenous-artifacts-across-the-sand-180987606/ Kuta, Sarah. “Archaeologists Unearth More Than 100 Projectiles From an Iconic Battlefield in Scotland.” Smithsonian. 11/5/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-more-than-100-projectiles-from-an-iconic-battlefield-in-scotland-180987641/ Kuta, Sarah. “Hundreds of Mysterious Victorian-Era Shoes Are Washing Up on a Beach in Wales. Nobody Knows Where They Came From.” Smithsonian. 1/5/2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-mysterious-victorian-era-shoes-are-washing-up-on-a-beach-in-wales-nobody-knows-where-they-came-from-180987943/ Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Golden ‘Tudor Heart’ Necklace Sheds New Light on Henry VIII’s First Marriage.” Artnet. 10/14/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/tudor-heart-pendant-british-museum-fundraiser-2699544 Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Long-Overlooked Black Veteran Identified in Rare 19th-Century Portrait.” ArtNet. 10/27/2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/black-veteran-thomas-phillips-portrait-identified-2704721 Lipo CP, Hunt TL, Pakarati G, Pingel T, Simmons N, Heard K, et al. (2025) Megalithic statue (moai) production on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). PLoS One 20(11): e0336251. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0336251 Lipo, Carl P. and Terry L. Hunt. “The walking moai hypothesis: Archaeological evidence, experimental validation, and response to critics.” Journal of Archaeological Science. Volume 183, November 2025, 106383. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440325002328 Lock, Lisa. “Pre-construction archaeology reveals Benin City's historic urban development and heritage.” 10/29/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-pre-archaeology-reveals-benin-city.html#google_vignette Lock, Lisa. “Pre-construction archaeology reveals Benin City's historic urban development and heritage.” Antiquity. Via PhysOrg. 10/29/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-pre-archaeology-reveals-benin-city.html#google_vignette Lynley A. Wallis et al, An exceptional assemblage of archaeological plant fibres from Windmill Way, southeast Cape York Peninsula, Australian Archaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1080/03122417.2025.2574127 Lyon, Devyn. “Oaklawn Cemetery excavation brings investigators closer to identifying Tulsa Race Massacre victims.” Fox 23. 11/6/2025. https://www.fox23.com/news/oaklawn-cemetery-excavation-brings-investigators-closer-to-identifying-tulsa-race-massacre-victims/article_67c3a6b7-2acc-44cb-93ce-3d3d0c288eca.html Marquard, Bryan. “Bob Shumway, last known survivor of the deadly Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire, dies at 101.” 11/12/2025. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/12/metro/bob-shumway-101-dies-was-last-known-cocoanut-grove-fire-survivor/?event=event12 Marta Osypińska et al, A centurion's monkey? Companion animals for the social elite in an Egyptian port on the fringes of the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd c. CE, Journal of Roman Archaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1017/s1047759425100445 Merrington, Andrew. “Extensive dog diversity millennia before modern breeding practices.” University of Exeter. 11/13/2025. https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-humanities-arts-and-social-sciences/archaeology-and-history/extensive-dog-diversity-millennia-before-modern-breeding-practices/ Morris, Steven. “Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic.” The Guardian. 12/8/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/08/linguists-start-compiling-first-ever-complete-dictionary-of-ancient-celtic Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Resolves Ownership of Works by Enslaved Artist David Drake.” 10/29/2025. https://www.mfa.org/press-release/david-drake-ownership-resolution “Niagara has a 107-year-old shipwreck lodged above the Falls and it just moved.” https://www.narcity.com/niagara-falls-shipwreck-iron-scow-moved-closer-to-the-falls Newcomb, Tim. “A 76-Year-Old Man Went On a Hike—and Stumbled Upon a 1,500-Year Old Trap.” Popular Mechanics. 11/21/2025. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a69441460/reindeer-trap/ Nordin, Gunilla. “Ancient wolves on remote Baltic Sea island reveal link to prehistoric humans.” Stockholm University. Via EurekAlert. 11/24/2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106807 Oster, Sandee. “DNA confirms modern Bo people are descendants of ancient Hanging Coffin culture.” Phys.org. 12/6/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-dna-modern-bo-people-descendants.html Oster, Sandee. “Rare disease possibly identified in 12th century child's skeletal remains.” PhysOrg. 10/10/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-rare-disease-possibly-12th-century.html Osuh, Chris and Geneva Abdul. “Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student.” The Guardian. 11/1/2025. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/01/lost-grave-daughter-black-abolitionist-olaudah-equiano-found-by-a-level-student Silvia Albizuri et al, The oldest mule in the western Mediterranean. The case of the Early Iron Age in Hort d'en Grimau (Penedès, Barcelona, Spain), Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105506 Skok, Phoebe. “Ancient shipwrecks rewrite the story of Iron Age trade.” PhysOrg. 10/14/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ancient-shipwrecks-rewrite-story-iron.html The History Blog. “600-year-old Joseon ship recovered from seabed.” 11/15/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74652 The History Blog. “Ancient pleasure barge found off Alexandria coast.” 12/9/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74860 The History Blog. “Charred Byzantine bread loves stamped with Christian imagery found in Turkey.” 10/13/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74352 The History Blog. “Early medieval silver treasure found in Stockholm.” 10/12/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74343 The History Blog. “Roman amphora with sardines found in Switzerland.” 12/15/2025. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/74904 The Straits Times. “Wreck of ancient Malay vessel discovered on Pulau Melaka.” 10/31/2025. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/wreck-of-ancient-malay-vessel-discovered-on-pulau-melaka Thompson, Sarah. “The forgotten daughter: Eliza Monroe Hay’s story revealed in her last letters.” W&M News. 9/30/2025. https://news.wm.edu/2025/09/30/the-forgotten-daughter-eliza-monroes-story-revealed-in-her-last-letters/ Tuhkuri, Jukka. “Why Did Endurance Sink?” Polar Record 61 (2025): e23. Web. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/polar-record/article/why-did-endurance-sink/6CC2C2D56087035A94DEB50930B81980 Universitat de Valencia. “The victims of the Pompeii eruption wore heavy wool cloaks and tunics, suggesting different environmental conditions in summer.” 12/3/2025. https://www.uv.es/uvweb/uv-news/en/news/victims-pompeii-eruption-wore-heavy-wool-cloaks-tunics-suggesting-different-environmental-conditions-summer-1285973304159/Novetat.html?id=1286464337848&plantilla=UV_Noticies/Page/TPGDetaillNews University of Glasgow. “Archaeologists recover hundreds of Jacobite projectiles in unexplored area of Culloden.” 10/30/2025. https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_1222736_en.html University of Vienna. “Neanderthal DNA reveals ancient long-distance migrations.” 10/29/2025. https://www.univie.ac.at/en/news/detail/neanderthal-dna-reveals-ancient-long-distance-migrations Zhou, H., Tao, L., Zhao, Y. et al. Exploration of hanging coffin customs and the bo people in China through comparative genomics. Nat Commun 16, 10230 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65264-3 Zinin, Andrew. “Ancient humans mastered fire-making 400,000 years ago, study shows.” Phys.org. 10/10/2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ancient-humans-mastered-years.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our series on the Norman Conquest finally comes to an end with a grand finale covering the aftermath of the events in Scotland, England, and Wales. Though William the Bastard may die 20 years after the conquest takes place, his actions will reverberate throughout history....
Also known as William the Bastard, the powerful Duke of Normandy would change the course of English history. Join us for our very special December episode!Sources:Mitchell, David. Unruly. Crown, 3 Oct. 2023.Morris, Marc. The Norman Conquest. Simon and Schuster, 13 Sept. 2022.
It all comes down to this. Harold Godwinson, Harald Sigurdson, and William the Bastard are preparing their armies, for a tri-cornered showdown for the English throne. But what really happened in 1066? In this episode, Olivia and Aran will piece together Norman histories, Icelandic sagas, English chronicles, and one big tapestry, to assemble the events that would change England - and Europe - forever.
The chilling discovery of a medieval well in Norwich, filled with the remains of 17 Jewish adults and children, opened a window into the lived reality of historical antisemitism. What do these findings tell us about the forces that shaped Jewish life and loss in medieval England?Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis continue their exploration of Norwich, uncovering the rich, and often heartbreaking, story of the city's once-thriving Jewish community. Dr. Oren Margolis joins Eleanor to trace the journey from the arrival of Jews after the Norman Conquest through centuries of resilience, discrimination, and ultimately expulsion in 1290.More:Antisemitism in Medieval EuropeListen on AppleListen on SpotifyJulian of NorwichListen on AppleListen on SpotifyGone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
So far we've talked a lot about the Norman conquest without talking very much about who the Normans were and why they (and especially one guy) wanted to conquest. Well, that changes today! How did some Vikings become French, why is that our problem over here in England, and what's wrong with being a bastard descended from a long line of bastards? Find out....Join the Weird Medieval Guys discord today: https://discord.gg/S36vz4jD98
How did the alphabet we use today take shape?Matt Lewis welcomes Danny Bates to explore how the medieval period shaped the alphabet we use today. They discuss the transformation of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the significant impact of the Norman Conquest of 1066, and the eventual disappearance of medieval letters like thorn (þ) and ash (æ). This is a journey across millennia from the adaptability of letters during the fall of Rome to innovations in medieval script and chaotic English rules.MOREMedieval Writers, Extraordinary WomenListen on AppleListen on SpotifyThe Origins of EnglishListen on AppleListen on SpotifyGone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit to watch the new Medieval Rebels series plus hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Pope Alexander II might not have been the holiest member of his family, but he still certainly left an impact. In his episode, we discuss the Patarines, the fallout of In Nomine Domini, and the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 Get your Intelligent Speech 2026 tickets now at https://intelligentspeechonline.com/, and use code POPE in the checkout for a discount! Support Pontifacts: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pontifactspod Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/pontifactspodcast Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/pontifactspod Amazon Wishlist: https://tinyurl.com/pontifactswishlist
In the third episode of our Norman Conquest series, we look at the life and times of the second of our claimants to the English throne in 1066: Harald Sigurdson, King of Norway. When a teenaged Harald's life is upended by Cnut's invasion of Norway in 1028, he builds a new life for himself as a mercenary in Kyiv, and eventually as an honour guard for the Roman Emperors themselves. Along the way, he'll have to contend with Arab armies, a sexually voracious Empress, and even a giant serpent. It's a pulpy, action-packed adventure story for the whole family! Assuming any of that is true, anyway. Which... eh. We'll get into it. Join the Weird Medieval Guys discord today: https://discord.gg/S36vz4jD98Music used: "Olav Trygvason", recorded by GULDBERGS AKADEMISKE KOR (https://archive.org/details/78_olav-trygvason_guldbergs-akademiske-kor-f-a-reissiger-arild-sandvold_gbia7026768b)
Thanks to the efforts of Alfred the Great and his descendants, England enters the new millennium as united kingdom. However, trouble is brewing: the Vikings have returned, and their leader, Sweyn Forkbeard, has designs on the English throne. What follows is a bloody tale of intrigue, with more mysterious deaths than a series of The Traitors. Expect an unready king, people marrying their dead enemies' wives, and the rise of a newly-minted dynasty that you might have heard of: the Godwinsons.
(Originally published Oct. 2016) In 1066, the course of English history was dramatically altered, as the realm was conquered by Normans from across the Channel. Join CJ as he discusses: Some backstory on Medieval England & Normandy The death of Edward the Confessor & coronation of Harold Godwinson William of Normandy's preparations for invasion to […]
We are literally so back!! And this time with our longest series yet!! This is part 1 of 6(?) of our Norman conquest series and this part is all about ENGLAND!! More specifically, the crazy cats who invented it. Many thanks to our dear friend Joe Mason for joining us again. Join the official WMG discord!https://discord.gg/6GzvXdWX23
When we think of Europe in the 11th century, one date stands out: 1066. However, as Professor Charles West explains, this was a century of great change, and great events, across all of Europe. In conversation with David Musgrove, Charles talks about why we should perhaps be more concerned with the battle of Manzikert than the battle of Hastings, and why the 11th century is a story of cities and popes as much as it is of conquest and the Normans. (Ad) Charles West is the author of Europe in the Eleventh Century: Beyond Revolution and Reform (Oxford University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=3041&awinaffid=489797&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FEurope-Eleventh-Century-Revolution-Medieval%2Fdp%2F0198860234%2F%3F_encoding%3DUTF8%26pd_rd_w%3DnAZG5%26content-id%3Damzn1.sym.a7785aa2-ac28-4769-b3eb-cff7b9738627%26pf_rd_p%3Da7785aa2-ac28-4769-b3eb-cff7b9738627%26pf_rd_r%3D130-4414563-4593041%26pd_rd_wg%3DfXSDe%26pd_rd_r%3D5b153ec9-1b16-4286-8ae5-7ff403b76e63&clickref=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Welcome back to England to explore English and Cinema history with Christian Garcia of "That Ol' Gay Classic Cinema" through the 1938 Erroll Flynn and Olivia de Havilland classic, The Adventures of Robin Hood. We talk hidden mirrors, the Norman Conquest, dudes sleeping together in the woods,being a race traitor, how tights were worn and whatever a “lusty infant” means. Check out That Ol' Gay Classic Cinema on Instagram and wherever you get your podcasts! Research for this episode: Robin Hood: Separating Fact from Fiction by J.C. Holt King John The Norman Invasion William the Conqueror King Richard ==================================== Watch Us on YouTube! Follow Our Adventures on Social Media: @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. This episode was edited by Cullen Callaghan. Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.
After five years we come to our final 'everything you wanted to know about' episodes. We revisit our first episode where Marc Morris, author of an acclaimed history of the Norman Conquest, tackles some of the big questions about William the Conqueror and his followers. Our brand new multipart specials begin next Sunday starting with a look at the Gunpowder Plot. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Welcome to episode 108 in which Kt takes us way back to the year 1066 and completes her own Viking Age saga that she has been unraveling over the course of the show. In this episode, Kt delves into the stories of legendary figures like King of Norway Harold Hardrada and the last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson; the cultural significance of berserkers; and the end of Viking Age and the start of the Norman Conquest.~~~~~*The Socials and Patreon!Patreon-- The Best Buds Club! Instagram - @HighTalesofHistory TikTok- @HighTalesofHistoryPod YouTube-- @High Tales of HistoryFacebook -High Tales of History or @HighTalesofHistory Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com ~~~~~*Mentioned in the Stories:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STK4GBaqItkEpisode 46. St. Olga of KyivEpisode 39. Olaf Guthfrithson, Viking King of Dublin and NorthumbriaEpisode 34. How the Kingdom of England BeganSeason 2, Episode 6: William the Conqueror~~~~~~*Source Material and References:https://allpoetry.com/The-Battle-Of-Stamford-Bridgehttps://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stamford-Bridgehttps://thehistorianshut.com/2019/08/20/harald-hardrada/#:~:text=By,Classics%2C%201966%2C%202005https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/The-Battle-of-Stamford-Bridge/https://youtu.be/STK4GBaqItk?si=XAC8LrjFzl8iCxtshttps://allthatsinteresting.com/viking-berserkershttps://www.historyextra.com/period/viking/the-truth-about-viking-berserkers/#:~:text=What's%20the%20earliest%20evidence%20of,light%20shield%20to%20protect%20themselves.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEXXA0naXkk&t=16http://andrewloganmontgomery.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-koryos-orlanth-adventurous-and-myth.html#:~:text=Today%2C%20it%20is%20all%20widely,much%20of%20the%20Eurasian%20continent.https://dandavisauthor.com/the-koryos-an-ancient-warband/#:~:text=The%20leader%20of%20these%20bands,AMAZON%20UKhttps://youtu.be/LbIwi1HxmpE?si=jHR9uw1_UDbJqoIO~~~~~~~*Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Dr. Eleanor Janega unravels the blood-soaked aftermath of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England. Joined by Professor Levi Roach, Eleanor delves into the harrowing campaign, known as the Harrying of the North, where William the Conqueror brutally suppressed the north of England through widespread destruction and terror tactics. They explore the political impact, the subsequent revolts, and how these events reshaped the English social landscape. MORE:Battle of HastingsWilliam the ConquerorGone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. The audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Special Patreon Release: Wisdom from a Homeschooling Dad with Steve Lambert Luke 6:40 (NI) "The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher." *Transcription Below* Questions and Topics We Discuss: What are some wonderful aspects of your lifestyle that are not available to families who are not home educating their children? What are some common questions you get about homeschool and what truth do you have to replace the myths? How long will prep take for the homeschooling parent and what does a typical schedule look like? Steve Lambert has worn many hats in his 73 years: Pastor, author, speaker, stock broker and more. Together, he and his wife Jane Claire Lambert created and publish "Five in a Row" homeschool curriculum which has been a reader's choice favorite for nearly 30 years. They began homeschooling their children in 1981 and their seven grandchildren were homeschooled as well. Five in a Row Website Thank You to Our Sponsors: Chick-fil-A East Peoria and Savvy Sauce Charities Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook, Instagram or Our Website Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“ Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“ Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” *Transcription* Music: (0:00 – 0:08) Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 1:37) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. I want to say a huge thank you to today's sponsors for this episode, Chick-fil-A East Peoria, and Savvy Sauce Charities. Are you interested in a free college education for you or someone you know? Stay tuned for details coming later in this episode from today's sponsor, Chick-fil-A, East Peoria. You can also visit their website today at Chick-fil-A.com/EastPeoria. I'm excited to introduce you to my fascinating guest, Steve Lambert. Steve has a unique perspective, as he has worn various hats, such as pastor, author, speaker, stockbroker, and more. But today, we're going to hear various stories of how God has been faithful in calling he and his wife, Jane, to homeschool, and also publish homeschool curriculum called Five in a Row. Regardless of our family schooling choice, these stories will build up our faith and remind us who we get to turn to in all things. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Steve. Steve Lambert: (1:37 - 1:39) Good morning. It's great to be with you, Laura. Laura Dugger: (1:40 - 1:53) Well, you are a part of a multi-generational homeschooling family. So, will you begin our time by taking us back to that initial decision that you and your wife made to home educate your children? Steve Lambert: (1:54 - 3:31) Sure, I'd love to. We made that decision back in 1981. I'm sure probably you and many of your listeners were not even born in 1981. But my wife came to me and she said, "So, hypothetically, what would you think if…” and my response was something like, "That cannot possibly be legal." Because at that point, we knew no one who homeschooled. We never met a homeschooler. I don't, you know, it was just completely foreign to my understanding. But I began to pray about it. And as I did, I felt like the Lord said, "You're accountable for how you raise your children." And I thought, well, if I'm accountable, then I ought to have some idea of how they're being raised. Because, frankly, in a classroom, 95% of their lives are spent there in the classroom. And they get home on the activity bus at 5:15 and eat dinner and go up and do their homework. And that's the end of the day. And so, I thought, alright, maybe that's a good plan. Now, parenthetically, let me add that it wasn't until a couple of years later, I felt like the Lord spoke to me and said, "And your children are accountable for how they turn out," which was profoundly important to me at the time. Because we've all known great families who produce train wrecks for kids. And we've known some train wreck parents who produce great kids. But we're accountable for how we raise our kids. And I thought, if I'm going to have to sit for the final exam before the Lord of Heaven, I'd like to at least have some input in some part and at least know how they were raised. So, that was beginning in 1981. Laura Dugger: (3:32 - 3:43) That is incredible, because you had no idea. I'm even getting goosebumps just thinking now of where your family is at from that decision. And could you catch us up to speed? How many children do you have? Steve Lambert: (3:44 - 4:25) We had two daughters. We kind of left that in the Lord's hand. And that's what we ended up with. And my wife would have loved to have more, but we ended up with two daughters. And between them, they have six daughters and one grandson. So, we have seven grandkids. Several of them are through homeschooling now, college or career. The youngest at this point is six. So, they're third-generation homeschoolers, which I think speaks to the validity of the homeschooling option for many people. You know it's worked successfully when your children want to homeschool their children rather than running as far away from homeschooling as they could possibly get. Laura Dugger: (4:27 - 4:38) Well, and even going back then to 1981, you were questioning at that point, is this even legal? So, catch us up. At that time, were there any legalities that you were up against? Steve Lambert: (4:40 - 8:42) Then, like now, it really does depend on the state where you reside. And Missouri has always been fairly homeschool-friendly. That said, within about a year after we began, our oldest daughter had been in public school in K-1 and had been in a private Christian school for one semester of second grade before we began the decision to homeschool. And someone, presumably a family member I suspect, turned us into Family Services for Educational Neglect Child Abuse. So, we had that dreaded knock at the door, and DFS came and had to inspect the children, make sure that they weren't bruised or harmed in any way, and then begin kind of the prosecutorial process against us. But eventually they realized they really didn't have much say, so they turned the case over to the superintendent of schools. And we happened to live in the same district where Jane and I had become high school sweethearts. So, we hired an attorney, and we went and had a meeting with the superintendent of schools. I often tell the story and describe him as being an older gentleman. Now, in reality, compared to me today at age 73, he was probably only 60. He was a young fellow of about 60. But when you're 30, that seems pretty old. And he had a couple of PhDs in education and administration, and he said, "You know, I strongly disagree with the choice you've made," but unfortunately, we had had our daughter tested using standardized testing just prior to that, and he compared her test scores after a year of homeschooling with her test scores when she had been in his public school classrooms, and she had improved significantly in every subject area. So, he said, "I'm not going to cause you any problems, but I still think you're making a serious mistake." And the footnote to that story was lived out less than a year later when my phone rang, and it was the superintendent of schools. And he said, "Mr. Lambert, can I speak with you frankly?" And I thought, oh boy, here we go. He said, "I don't know if you're aware of this, but we're having some problems in public education." And I said, "No, not, I can't believe that. Really, doctor?" And he goes, "No, we really are. Test scores are declining. Parents are unhappy. Faculties are unhappy. Administrations are unhappy. Students are unhappy. And I put together a blue-ribbon panel of educational experts for six weeks this summer to discuss how can we reface and reimagine education in our district. And you seem to have a very unique perspective on education, Mr. Lambert. Would you consider being a part of that panel?" And I said, "I would." And so, I went to the first meeting. They all introduced themselves and they all had lots and lots and lots of letters after their name. One was the director of curriculum development, another the director of elementary testing, another the director of high school counseling. And finally, I introduced myself and said, "Hi, I'm Stephen Lambert. I'm a homeschool dad." And every head in the room turned to look at me sitting in the back because up until that point, as far as I know, none of those men and women had ever seen a homeschooler and lived to tell about it. So, they began the journey. The first night of the discussion and the person in charge of the summer series said, "You know, we can all make a long list of things that are wrong with public education, but let's not start there. Let's start on a positive note as we explore this difficult topic. Number one, responsibility for educating children rests with the state." And I raised my hand and I said, "That's not right." And he said, "What do you mean that's not right?" And I said, "No, the responsibility for raising and educating children rests with their parents and only insofar as they choose to delegate some or all of their authority to you, does the state have anything to say about it?" And he said, "Let's take a brief recess." So, it's probably just as well that I didn't tell him that God told me that because that would have made his head explode completely. But anyway, that was 40 years ago. So, lots of water under the bridge since then in public education, I'm sorry to say has not gotten better, but instead it's gotten worse. Laura Dugger: (8:44 - 9:07) Well, and I think within that, you've even brought up some questions that people have about homeschooling families when you first were talking about the standardized tests. So, do you get these questions? A lot of times, do your children have any friends? Did they grow up socialized or how did they compare to their peers? Those types of things that there may be an underlying myth. Steve Lambert: (9:09 - 11:20) Oh, for sure. Those are the common questions. I was so ignorant of homeschooling in 1981 that I didn't even notice. I didn't even know the word socialization. I was too ignorant to even know that, but I did know friendship. And in fact, I prayed and I asked the Lord, I said, "How are my kids going to have friends if they're homeschooled?" And as you and some of your listeners may understand, I felt like the Lord spoke to me, not audibly, but in a sense that I clearly understood his heart. And he said, "Do you want friends for your children?" And I said, "Yes, Lord, of course I do more than anything." And he said, "And so friends come from being in the midst of people." And I went, yes. And then I paused and I could sense him kind of waiting on me. And I said, "Don't they?" And I felt like the Lord said, "No, if you want friends for your children, ask me. I'm the author of friendship." And he reminded me of David and Jonathan, for example. He said, in my imagination, at least he said, "This very night, I can hear the prayers of tens of thousands of people around the earth who are surrounded by people, but who are contemplating suicide this very night because they're so lonely. Friends don't come from being in large groups. Friends come from heaven, ask me." And so, that became a prayer. And neither of our children, none of our grandchildren have ever lacked for friends, lots of friends, close and intimate friends through sports, through music, through their church connections. And it really has turned out to be true that friendship, whether you're an adult, a child, or a teen, if you're lacking friends in your life right now, getting involved in more and more people and more and more busyness isn't necessarily the answer. Just stop and ask the Lord, "Lord, I'm lonely. I need some friends in my life. Would you bring me some?" And our daughter's first close friend, after I prayed that prayer was a number of months later. It was a little girl who had immigrated all the way from South Africa. Her father had immigrated to the United States after becoming a believer to attend a Bible college and then came to Kansas City to attend a seminary. And his daughter became my daughter's best friend, but she came from halfway around the globe. And since then, there've been so many that we couldn't count them all. Laura Dugger: (11:22 - 11:49) Wow. Steve, that is such a powerful and encouraging parenting tip, really just in every phase that we know where to turn and that God is the one who actually has the power to make these prayers answered. So, thank you for sharing that. What would you say are some wonderful aspects of your lifestyle that were not available to families who were not home educating their children? Steve Lambert: (11:50 - 14:20) You get to see your kids come to life, to discover who they are and why they were made and to watch them learn to read and to watch them explore and discover God's amazing creation in the world around them. You can travel with your kids. If you're homeschooling, you can take them wherever you go and you can have school in the car or school in the park or school at the lake. My kids, instead of reading about some of the national parks and reading about some of the great museums in America, we went and we saw them firsthand and in the process we got to see them begin to blossom and figure out who they were and why they were created. We're seeing with all that's happening today, a struggle that really so much boils down to children and teenagers and young adults having absolutely no idea who they are and they're questioning everything from their gender to their faith, to philosophy, to finances, to all those kinds of ecological issues. They really have no idea who they are and it's because in the classroom, nobody ever teaches them. You know, it says in Luke 6:40, "that a student is not greater than his teacher, but when he is fully trained, a student will be like his teacher." Discipleship is really about teaching and if you're not disciplining your children, somebody is. And in a public-school classroom, the wisdom of Dr. Luke suggests that your children will grow up to be just like their teachers and that's exactly what we're seeing in today's culture. So, if you want to have some input, if you want to see your children blossom, I mean, there's nothing more exciting than seeing your children learn to read for the first time and it's not that difficult. I mean, I often tell parents if you were trapped on a desert island, just you and your child, could you teach them to read? Well, sure you could. You take a stick and you make the letter A in the sand and you'd say, this is an A and then this is a B and this is the number two and this is the number three. There's nothing more rewarding at the end of life. And I can say this at age 73, I can say this without any reservation. The single most important thing you can do is to trust your life to Jesus. The second most important thing you can do is find somebody who's like-minded and marry them and make that marriage work through thick and through thin. And the third most important thing you'll ever do is raising your children and watching them become the men and women God created and take their place in a dying culture. Laura Dugger: (14:22 - 14:42) And you have years of wisdom journeying through being a homeschooling dad. And so, again, I would love to hear more about your journey. So, if we go back to 1981, I'm assuming that all of the curriculum was not available that we have available today. And so, how did you and your wife practically live this out? Steve Lambert: (14:44 - 22:14) Well, you're right, Laura. There wasn't any of the curriculum, which in many respects was a blessing. To be honest, there's so much material out there today. It's a little overwhelming. If you go to some of the larger homeschool conventions, you can find as many as seven or 800 vendors there, each telling why their particular curriculum is the one that you ought to choose. But back then there were no choices. And in fact, we contacted a couple of Christian curriculum publishers and asked to buy their materials. And they said, "No, we can't sell you because that would upset our Christian school customers because they had the exclusive right to this material." And so, we began with a old set of world books and a stack of children's reading books. And I think we did go to the yard sale, and we found an American history book that was published, I think in 1943. And so, it was somewhat incomplete because it didn't explain who won World War II. It just kind of ended in the middle of the war, but we began that journey. And what we discovered was that God consistently brought us the tools, the resources, and the people that our children needed. I would come home on certain days and I'd find Jane kind of crying in her bedroom and the girls crying in their bedroom. And because they were, we were trying to replicate school at home. And that's completely the wrong direction. Well, it turns out we didn't want school at home. We wanted homeschooling, which is an entirely different proposition. And so, on that journey, Jane began to pray. And she said, "Lord, this is not what I had in mind for our children. I did not imagine that we would be fighting and arguing over. You will do your homework. I won't. You can't make me. Yes, I can. How can I teach my children?" And he said, "Why don't you read to them?" And she said, "Well, I do read to them, but how can I teach them?" And he said, "Why don't you read to them?" She said, "No, no, I understand. I love to read to them, but how do I teach them?" And he said, "Why don't you read to them?" And so, after the third time, they began focusing more on reading aloud. And that just naturally led to the entire world around us. It doesn't really matter what you're reading. God gave educators and parents a secret weapon, and it's called curiosity. And so, if you can engage that curiosity and you read them a story, it doesn't matter what three bears, and suddenly they want to know more about bears. And how does this hibernation thing work and where do they live? And do we have any near our home? And can you find bears? And what's the difference between a black bear and a grizzly bear? And how long do they live? And what do they eat? And suddenly you become the guide rather than the opposing force. Suddenly you begin to sit on the same side of the desk with your students and you go on a learning journey together, because particularly in those early years up to middle school, really the only lessons, the lesson that you really need to teach children is to fall in love with learning. If they learn that you're home free, because they will self-direct and self-educate right on through high school, graduate school, they'll be lifelong learners. But if you reduce education to nothing more than carrots and sticks and dangling promises and threats, they will quickly learn that learning is not fun. And we just need to get through this as quickly as we can so that we can get on with life and the things that are truly important. And if you doubt that, I often tell parents who are contemplating homeschooling, if you doubt that, just look in the mirror, go back and just think about, for example, your fifth grade social studies exam. Tell me who the Norman Conqueror was. When did the Norman Conquest take place? How did that change European history? And you'll say, wow, I remember. I've heard of the Norman Conqueror, the Norman Conquest, but honestly, I don't remember it yet. Why not? Because honestly, I just learned it long enough to take the test. And then I forgot. And your kids are just like you. Many attribute Einstein with the saying that doing the same thing the same way and expecting some sort of a different result is insane. So, it stands to reason if you teach your kids the same way you were taught to memorize names and dates and highlight pages and books for Friday's quiz, they'll end up with the same results. They won't particularly be interested in learning. They won't remember 99% of all the things that you checked off your checklist that you covered with the children, but they don't remember any of it. So, through reading, that opened the door for the girls to begin to ask questions. And suddenly, like I said, instead of being in that tug of war, where as a parent or a teacher, you're trying to force children to memorize and regurgitate long enough to take a test, you suddenly become a resource person and you take them to the library and you take them to the natural history museum and you take them to the art gallery and you take them on nature hikes in the woods. And one question always begets ten more. I remember that when my oldest daughter, her firstborn was about two or three and she was getting ready for bed and in the bathtub and she said, "Mama, can I ask you a question?" And my daughter said, "No." She said, "Please, mama, just one question." She said, "No, honey, you've already had your 472 questions for today. Mama's exhausted. Finish your bath. Let's go to bed. You can ask a question tomorrow." She said, "Please, mama, please. Just one more question." She said, "All right, one more question. And then it's bedtime." She goes, "Okay. So, like, how does electricity work, mom?" So, that curiosity that God gave those children is the spark that makes homeschooling, not only a joy, but makes it infinitely doable. Whether you dropped out of high school or whether you have a doctorate in education, if you can keep that curiosity alive, your kids are going to be great. And let me add one other thought. We live in a world, the dean of a medical school, school of medicine at a university told me not too long ago, he said, "Do you realize that the body of knowledge of the human body doubles every year?" We learned more in 2022 about the human body than we had learned in all of history through 2021. And he said, we get the best and the brightest, the top one tenth of 1% who come here to medical school. And there's no way they can possibly keep up with the amount of new knowledge that's being developed. And if you ask someone who has a doctorate in any subject, the most tempting question to ask is, so you must know pretty much everything there is to know about that. And if they're even remotely honest, the first thing they'll say to you is, "Oh no, no, no, no. The farther we explore, the deeper we get, the more we realize we haven't even scratched the surface. There's so much we don't understand. The more we learn, the more we realize how much we yet have to learn." And so, that's an infinite loop of getting children to begin to manage their own education. We've said for years, you know, he got the best education money could buy, or they gave him the best education. You can't give a child an education. They're education resistant. The child has to learn to want to know, to be hungry and thirsty to know more about the world that God created around them and how it works. And homeschooling is a wonderful vehicle to make a lifetime learning out of your son or your daughter. 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There are processing fees that we cover for these donations, but we wanted to offer listeners a seamless way to share their finances with us when we share our content with them. So, just visit thesavvysauce.com and find the donate page under the tab support. Another way to find it is simply type in donate to the search bar on our website and just click the first picture shown. We are all about sharing around here, sharing resources, sharing joy, and sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. We ask that you also share by sharing financially, sharing The Savvy Sauce podcast episodes, and sharing a five-star rating and review. You can also share any of our social media posts on Instagram or Facebook. We are grateful for all of it, and we just love partnering together with you. Now, back to the show. The more I learn about homeschooling, the more encouragement I've heard from homeschooling parents, they will talk about there is always a learning gap no matter how you were educated. And so, I love how you're addressing that with lifelong curiosity that we will continue learning our whole life. But you also mentioned this word, if parents are considering homeschooling, you said it's so doable. And when you're talking about Jane hearing from the Lord, read to your children, I find that so encouraging. That's my favorite activity to do with our girls. That was the impetus for your family launching Five in a Row. Is that right? Steve Lambert: (28:24 - 32:17) That is right. Over a period of time, Jane certainly did math mechanics in a math workbook, and she used some specific structured approach to phonics to teach reading. But other than that, it was largely an open palette in which reading helped direct the course of education. And that became something that many of her homeschool friends as the years went by found enviable. They said, "You know, how does that work?" And she said, "Well, you just read aloud to your children, and then there's opportunities in an illustrated book to talk about the illustrations, the perspective, vanishing point, type of colors, the difference between watercolor and gouache, complementary colors on the color wheel, history, where did our story take place, what's it like, where is it on the map, what do people eat there?" And they said, “Yeah, we don't get that.” So, she began to just really as kind of a love gift for a few girlfriends, began to write some lesson plans to go with some popular children's books. And one thing led to another, and that was in 1994. So, this is our 29th year in publication, and I think Five in a Row has won pretty much every award that's out there, from Reader's Awards, Magazine Awards. It's more than 100,000 families, 600,000 children have used Five in a Row in the last 29 years, and virtually no advertising. It's almost exclusively by word of mouth, from a veteran homeschool mom pulling aside a young mom who just spent $1,300 on a massive stack of curriculum and is completely overwhelmed just three weeks into September, to say, you know what, we tried that, and we tried this, and we tried this other program, and we spent a lot of money. And then an older mom told me about Five in a Row , let me show you how it works. And suddenly that changes everything for so many of these young moms. Most of the problems that new homeschoolers are facing simply are not issues at all. And the crazy part is that there are some things they ought to be worrying about, but they don't know enough yet to worry about the correct areas. But both the obvious and the more subtle areas, God has answers. If he's invited you to go on the homeschool journey, he has something amazing in mind for your family. There are very few born homeschoolers, very few 15- or 16-year-old adolescent young women tell their school counselor, "You know what, I'd like to spend my life living in a two-income world on a single income and stay locked up with little people all day long without any peer support and have my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law think I'm crazy." That's not on most young women's radars, but it begins, for most families, the same way it began for our family. Hypothetically, honey, what would you think if, as the finger of God, the same God that said, let the waters be parted, the one that said, Lazarus, come forth, the one that said, let there be light, says, "Why don't you homeschool your kids?" And so, you become what we often call accidental homeschoolers. It suddenly occurs to you something that you swore you would never, ever do. But the good news is the one who invited you is faithful. Love is a powerful motivator. We all have stuff, and God has tried to make us deal with our stuff for years, and we've been resistant in many cases. So, he invites us to the covenant of marriage so that we'll have a living witness to remind us of our stuff. Honey, why do you always wait to the last minute? Honey, why do you get so upset? And if we're still stubborn, then he invites us to have children so that we have several living witnesses. But if we remain stiff-necked, finally he invites us to homeschool with children. And this way we have a house full of living witnesses all day long that say, "Mama, how come this and why do you do that?" And suddenly we begin to grow in ways we never thought possible through the medium of homeschooling. It strengthens marriages. It grows us up in Christ. It causes us to deal with our stuff. It's amazing what it does for our children. Laura Dugger: (32:18 - 32:44) It does seem like progressive sanctification, how the Lord has built that in within the family. And I just appreciate how you've gone before us. And so, if someone's feeling nudged in this direction, can you paint a picture, even using Five in a Row curriculum, what kind of prep would that require for the homeschooling parent? And what kind of schedule would their day look like? Steve Lambert: (32:46 - 39:39) Homeschooling is essentially tutorial education, and that's always been the realm of kings and the super wealthy who hired an individual tutor for their children. Because of homeschooling, our children can have a tutor. And tutorial education is so inherently efficient that even if you're terrible at it, your kids are going to do pretty darn well. So, when we start out, we're tempted to emulate the classroom. So, we think, well, my daughter's six. She was going to go into first grade, so we need to start at 7:45 in the morning and we need to go until 3:45 in the afternoon with 20 minutes for lunch. Nothing could be further from the truth. You can work with a kindergarten or first grader; 90 minutes a day is probably overkill. So, it's something that anybody can do in their schedule, at least in those early years. And it works best when it works for you and for your children. If your kiddo is a late-morning sleeper, trust me, they're not going to be at their best at 7:45. Don't let them sleep until 9:30. That's okay. You'll realize, for example, when you have teenagers, that they don't come to life until sometime after 11:00 p.m. That's when they want to come into your bedroom and ask you important life questions when you're struggling to try to get to sleep. So, first of all, you work with your children's schedule to some degree. You work with the schedule that works for you. And you work where it works for you. If you're sick or if you're dealing with morning sickness and pregnancy, homeschool's going to happen in the bed today, kids. Come on, gather around. We're going to read a story. If it's a nice day, homeschooling is going to happen at the park today. We're going to go on a nature hike. We're going to look at trees and wildlife and streams and rocks and waters. And we're going to learn to take our paints with us. And we're going to learn to paint the sky the way the illustrator did in our story this week that we're reading in Five in a Row. When Jane began, she actually would take the girls to a cemetery nearby where everything was beautifully mowed and there were beautiful trees and lakes. So, Five in a Row is built around the concept of reading a classic children's book, which Jane has selected thoughtfully and curated. And you read it for five days in a row. And so, on the first day, you're going to read the story aloud. And the children just want to know how did the story ended, what happened? A very surface, cursory reading of the story, really thinking only about the plot. But, you know, as you go back and watch a movie the second or the third time or read a book sometimes or play the second or third time, you discover there's a whole lot more beneath the surface. So, the first day they look at, on Mondays they do social studies. So, they look at the setting of the story. Where did it take place? How did people live in the 17th century? How did people live today in Japan or Australia? How did people live along the Ohio River in the 1800s? What sort of foods did they eat? What was their language like? Let's find it on a map. Let's learn more about it and maybe plan to cook a meal from that region or that period of history later in the week for the family. And you can make that as complex as you want. You can have the children make shopping lists and invitations and invite Grandma and Grandpa and help cook the meal and learn liquid and dry measure and cups and quarts and all of that and put a towel over their arm and serve the meal to Grandma and Grandpa and tell them about what they learned about Spain or Italy or France or Canada this week. So, now you've read the story and you've learned something about what's going on in the story. So, Tuesday, we go back and we read it a second time. This time we look at language arts, so new vocabulary words that came up in our story this week, new creative writing techniques that maybe there was a cliffhanger that made us want to turn the page and read and see what was next or maybe the author was really great at asking questions or writing dialogue or opening sentences that create curiosity. And so, we learned some of those techniques, and we can try them ourselves. And even a four- or five-year-old can dictate while Mom writes down their story, and they can illustrate it later and share it with Dad. And then on Wednesday, we look at the art. So, what did the artist teach us? What medium did they use? Was this charcoal? Was it pen and ink? Was it watercolor or gouache? Was it oils or pastels? How did they draw the water? Look, they drew reflections on the water. It's not just blue paper, is it? You can see the same colors in the water that were on the shore on the opposite side. You know what, kids? Let's get out your colored pencils or your crayons or your pastels. Let's try drawing water more realistically the way the illustrator taught us in our story today. And maybe learn something about famous artists who had similar styles of Degas or Renoir or Van Gogh or whoever. Thursday, we do applied mathematics, which is not the same as math. You're going to be doing math for 15 to 30 minutes every day in a sequential approach. But this is about learning, you know, the difference between a square and a rectangle. Well, they have four sides, but what's the difference? They're not all equal on the rectangle, are they? We're going to learn, like I said, how many pints in a quart, how many quarts in a gallon. And then on Fridays, we do science lessons. So, there's lots of opportunities in every children's book to learn more about why does the sky look blue? Why is the grass green? Why do some things float when you put them in the water and some things sink? And all of a sudden, you're at the kitchen sink with a stopper in it. You fill it with water, and you've gotten a penny and a cork and a birthday candle and whatever is in the kitchen junk drawer. And suddenly, the kids are learning about buoyancy, and they're testing things, and they're predicting their answers, learning more about the world of science and creation. So, typical day, long story short, for a beginning homeschooler with a kindergarten-aged child, probably going to be 15, 20 minutes maybe for phonics, 15 to 20 minutes for math, which at that level is simply learning the digits and haven't even thought about adding yet. And then another 30 open-ended minutes, 30 minutes to 90 minutes for exploring Five in a Row or whatever it is that you're reading that day. And for some days, that might turn into two hours. In fact, there are some days where it turns into all the way to bedtime and continues over the next two days. If you're learning about the solar system, and suddenly that catches their attention, and they want to go to the planetarium nearby, and they want to borrow their uncle's telescope, they eat, sleep, and drink astronomy for the next two or three days. And frankly, that's not an interruption in the curriculum. That's the answer to a prayer. God, please help my children grow curious. Help them nurture their love of learning. Cause them to want to learn. And sooner or later, we're going to learn about astronomy anyway, but all too often, it's while the kids are fascinated by a bug that just crawled in the room. And so, the smart mom puts astronomy on the shelf for the moment and learns about insects. Or vice versa. You're trying to learn about insects, and they're staring out the window looking at moons still visible in the western sky that hasn't set yet. So, helping children learn in the proper season is another key to making it all work. It's so flexible, and it's so simple. Laura Dugger: (39:41 - 40:33) Guess what? We are no longer an audio-only podcast. We now have video included as well. If you want to view the conversation each week, make sure you watch our videos. We're on YouTube, and you can access videos or find answers to any of your other questions about the podcast when you visit thesavvysauce.com. Well, that flexibility sounds so freeing and attractive, and as you explain it, it just sounds like such a lovely educational experience. And yet, I know a lot of homeschooling parents fear is that when their children graduate from the home, they wonder if they've done enough and how they'll perform out in, quote, the real world. So, what was your experience as you and Jane launched your first child to college? Steve Lambert: (40:35 - 46:24) Well, we actually sent our first one to college a week after she was 16. And to be honest, I wouldn't recommend that again for a variety of reasons. She had a four-point-something or other GPA in college beginning at just barely 16. But being academically ready and being emotionally ready are two different things. And so, probably, if for no other reason, we missed out on two more years of just exploring and learning together in home education. But when she went, she was the top of her class pretty much in every subject. Almost every study done of homeschool students by private industry and government suggests that students, on average, score about 20% higher if they were home-educated in every subject except math, where they're about the same, than their public school peers. And it's now been more than 20 years since Harvard set out, and they kind of were one of the earliest ones to create full-time recruiters for homeschool students because universities and the marketplace are looking today for homeschoolers. They realize that these kids are the leaders today. I saw a study of a small private university, I think in the Carolinas, if I recall, and they only had 3,000 students on campus, of which 90 were homeschooled, so 3% of the student body. But of the 12 elected student leadership positions, student advisor to the dean, senior class president, whatever, 11 of the 12 were homeschool students. So, even their peers recognized that these were the leaders in their community. And we now live in a world where nobody seems to want to work. Everywhere you go, there's help-wanted signs. And we've seen so many stories from friends and customers whose children were homeschooled who said it's a tremendous opportunity right now in the marketplace if you just show up and you're just semi-dedicated to actually doing the job. I interviewed a guy, well, he actually came up to ask me questions after I spoke, in Chicago, as a matter of fact. And he was the head of human resources for a large Fortune 50 company, and he said he had, I don't know, a quarter of a million employees. And so, I asked him, I said, so this is in May, you're out recruiting, I assume. And he says, “Yeah, I've got six recruiting teams crisscrossing American college campuses trying to recruit new employees.” And I said, “So you're obviously looking for the highest-grade point average or highest graduating class position and competing for those students.” He said, “No, not at all.” And I said, no? I said, “So IQ or SAT score?” He goes, “No, none of that.” I said, “Why?” He said, “Let me tell you something.” He said, “The average new hire costs us $70,000 to train. And this has been 15 years ago. So, it's probably 170,000 a day. And no matter what your discipline, whether you're in sales, marketing, quality control, engineering, whatever, we're gonna spend the first year teaching you how we do it here, not how you learned it in college. If we aren't successful in our recruiting, our company will go bankrupt. This is our largest single expense is personnel.” And we have learned over the years that graduating class position or grade point average or SAT score IQ is totally irrelevant when it comes to determining who'll be successful in the company and who won't. And I was a little taken aback and I said, “Well, if it's not any of those things, then you just throw darts at resumes?” He goes, “No, no, no.” He said, “We can accurately identify these students in the most cases.” I said, “So what do you look for?” And he said, “Well, you're gonna laugh.” I said, “Maybe.” He said, “First and foremost, by far and away, the ability to get along and work well with others.” He said, “If you can't, you're gonna get cross ways of your boss or another employee and either quit or get fired in the first six months. The second is to be able to complete a job, see it through to completion and meet the deadline. And number three, if you're really, really golden, the ability to work within the constraints of a budget. Those are the things that are successful, whether you work for our company or whether you're an entrepreneur or whether you're a homemaker, whatever you do in life.” So, with that in mind, I've spoken all over the country and encourage parents. These are things that we need to be working on. There are things that are not being worked on in the classroom. So, look for opportunities to hand more of the education off to your students, let them plan what do I wanna study for the next two days, the next two weeks, the next two months? Where am I gonna get the resources to discover that by the time they're in high school? I'm gonna give you a budget to work with. There's $200, you can buy some resources, tools that you think would be useful in the process. Where do we need to be in project management to start the process? Where should we be by the end of week two? Where should we be by the end of the month? These are the skills that employers are looking for and so many parents have told us that their kids have just rocketed in the marketplace. My final question to this guy was, so are you finding bright young men and women who can do the job? He goes, there's never been brighter, more thoroughly educated young men and women who can do the job. He said, the problem is I can't find any who will do the job. I can't find people who will do even four hours work for eight hours pay. They wanna go to Starbucks, they wanna be on their cell phone, they wanna be on Facebook, they wanna be talking to their friends, taking care of their online banking, paying bills. And so, character comes first. And if we teach our children their purpose and their place in this world, if we help them find and discover their giftedness and their aptitudes and invite them along those pathways and we increasingly turn more and more of that education over to them in the high school years where they begin to take responsibility for their own education, we're going to end up with not just capable but outstanding young men and women who can quickly take their place in our culture and rise to the very top because frankly, there's very little competition. Laura Dugger: (46:26 - 46:36) Wow. Well, Steve, is there anything else that we haven't yet covered? Any scriptures or stories to share that you wanna make sure we don't miss? Steve Lambert: (46:37 - 50:16) The thing we want people to take away from all of that is not that the only way to raise your kids is to homeschool or that God doesn't approve of anything else. The point is, listen to God and do what he said, but don't put your fingers in your ears because he often calls us to things that we really maybe didn't wanna hear and obedience is better than sacrifice. One of my favorite stories, when our oldest daughter started to college, she went through placement counseling that summer and the placement counselor said, "You know, I don't think I've..." That was in 1991. He said, "I don't think I've ever had a student who was homeschooled." So, that's pretty interesting. And she said, "Okay, great." And there were 30,000 students at this college and she was not only at that point, as far as we know, the only or first homeschooler, but she was also the youngest, having just turned 16 that in the middle of August. And so, when she began, one of the prereq classes that every incoming freshman had to take was public speaking. And she realized much to her horror that her public speaking teacher was the guy who had helped with her placement counseling earlier in the summer. And she really didn't want anybody to know she'd been homeschooled, but she said there were returning GIs from Operation Desert Storm. There were empty nest moms coming back to finish the degree. There were pre-med students. There were student athletes. There were just every kind of student in that class because everybody had to take public speaking. And he said, the very first day, the teacher said, "I'd like for everybody to give a six-minute speech on Monday. That's the best way to do this is just to jump in on whether or not you think we ought to be involved in nation building. Except for you, Ms. Lambert, and I'd like for you to give six-minute speech on what it was like to be homeschooled." And she slunk down below her desk and tried to disappear into the floor. And she said, "Dad, what am I gonna do?" I said, "Well, just get up and tell them." So, she did. And she said, you know, as far as I can tell over the course of that semester, she said every single person in that class, whether they were 18 or 58, found me somewhere on the campus in the quadrangle at the library, the cafeteria, in the parking lot, and said in one way or another, their own words, "You're so lucky your parents cared enough about you to be involved in your education. I'm jealous. I'm envious. I wish my parents had been." She said, but the one that killed me was a girl who was 18, had just graduated from a prestigious high school the previous May. And she began to tell her story. And she said, "When I began high school four years ago, my goal was to become valedictorian of my graduating class. I've never been at a sleepover. I've never been to a, you know, skating party or, you know, movies. All I've done is study for four years. And she said, I was in AP classes all the way through and my GPA was like 4.7887. And there was this guy and his was 4.78779. And he and I competed every year in every class. And it came down to the final test and the final class and the final semester. And I beat him by two points." And so, last May, she said, my dream came true. And I stood on the football field and I gave the commencement address, the valedictorian address to 4,000 of my peers, their parents, civic leaders, laity, community leaders of faith. And both of my parents were too busy to attend. She said, "I wish my parents cared and had been as involved in my education as yours were. You're very lucky." And she said, "Dad, it just killed me to hear her story." And I said, "I don't have any answers, honey, but our joy was raising you girls and seeing you become the people that God intended you to become." Laura Dugger: (50:18 - 50:43) Wow, Steve, that is so powerful. And what an incredible charge to leave each of us with to go and do likewise. And as we wind down our time together, you are already familiar that we are called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for you today, what is your Savvy Sauce? Steve Lambert: (50:45 - 51:59) Read aloud, read often, read to your spouse, read to your kids. Jane and I continue, we've been together now 57 years, and we still read aloud to one another every single day. I read aloud to my kids still on occasion, my grandkids still, my daughters are in their 40s. My grandkids, but that was the joy. And that's the thing that when all else fails, when your relationship is struggling, when your homeschool day is falling flat on its face, get a great book and snuggle together with your kids and read out loud. It's in that process that their imaginations are birthed, their angst is quieted, and disagreements between spouses can suddenly be pushed aside because suddenly you're facing sorrow and you have a sword in your hand or you're coming down the Mississippi River on a riverboat or whatever it is that you, it unlocks doors that sometimes we didn't even know were locked. So, that's the Savvy Sauce that's worked for us. Read aloud, read often, and don't let a day go by that you don't read to your children, even when your kids are 18. And if you have little ones, read to the little ones and I guarantee you the high schoolers will come around and listen to every day. Laura Dugger: (52:00 - 52:23) I love that so much. That is wonderful. And I have very much appreciated your insights and wisdom that you shared with us today. So, thank you for the legacy that you and Jane have been building for years. Thank you for being a faithful and intentional father and husband. And thank you so much, Steve, for being my guest. Steve Lambert: (52:24 - 52:29) Laura, it's been my pleasure. I've appreciated the opportunity. Thank you for what you do. God bless you. Laura Dugger: (52:29 - 55:45) Thank you. One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a Savior. But God loved us so much, he made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, would you pray with me now? Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me, so me for him. You get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you ready to get started? First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible, and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process. And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today. And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.
This week's rounds are Music (Mangled by MIDI), The Norman Conquest of England, Founders of Religions (Quickfire), and Native Gardening (with guest host Lindsey). Music comes from Ihsan & The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with Conquest.
Following the Norman Conquest at the Battle of Hastings, Norman culture transformed the country, as William I governed through force and bureaucracy. One of his lasting legacies - the Domesday Book - was the result of a complex and extensive survey to find out who owned what, and how much tax they should pay. It provided a snapshot of medieval life and has survived almost 1,000 years of turmoil, war and politics. The Domesday Book can still be consulted in modern legal disputes today, but how did William's bureaucrats create such an in-depth document about an entire kingdom? What does the book reveal about the king's ruthless methods of conquering? And what light does it shine on the so-called Dark Ages? This is a Short History Of The Domesday Book. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Dr Chris Lewis, a fellow at the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London, and co-author of the book, Making Domesday. Written by Jo Furniss | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact check by Sean Coleman Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You'll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Edward the Confessor, England's penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, has long been remembered as a saintly, pious monarch – but was he really the weak ruler whose indecision paved the way for the Norman Conquest that some historical sources would have us think? And if not, how should we understand him? Emily Briffett spoke to historian Tom Licence to explore the life of this medieval monarch – from his early years in exile and his ambitions for the crown to the subsequent political challenges he faced that ultimately shaped the fate of England. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On October 14, 1066, England changed forever. Forces from Normandy, France, defeated the English King and changed life in England forever. It affected everyone from the aristocracy down to the commoners, and it even trickled down to the very language spoken in the country itself. In fact, the events of 1066 can still be seen and felt today. Learn more about the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Newspapers.com Get 20% off your subscription to Newspapers.com Mint Mobile Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Stitch Fix Go to stitchfix.com/everywhere to have a stylist help you look your best Tourist Office of Spain Plan your next adventure at Spain.info Stash Go to get.stash.com/EVERYTHING to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures. Subscribe to the podcast! https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Historians have counted lots of things in the Bayeux Tapestry – animals, ships, hands and plants. But nobody had counted the number of penises it contained until Oxford historian Professor George Garnett decided to take on the challenge. David Musgrove invites George to discuss his findings, and explain why this is, in fact, serious research that helps us better understand this vital account of the Norman Conquest of 1066. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What happened in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings? What horrors did William the Conqueror have to inflict upon his Anglo Saxon subjects in order to consolidate his new realm? And, what role did castles, the Harrowing of the North, and the Doomsday Book play in the creation of a new England? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss William the Conquerer's new reign in the wake of the Battle of Hastings, and the true nature of the Norman Conquest. _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Norman Conquest of 1066, culminating in the legendary Battle of Hastings, is perhaps the greatest turning point in the history of the English nation. It was a year that changed the fate of England forever, forging empires, and settling continents. And yet, despite its infamy and significance, the true nature of those totemic events are often forgotten. So what happened in the build up to the Battle of Hastings? The dramas of 1066 were set in motion by a succession crisis in 975 AD, following the death of King Edgar. England by that time was the wealthiest and best run government in Northern Europe, a kingdom of united English speaking peoples, established by Alfred the Great and his successors. Following the mysterious death of Edgar's first son, Edward, his second son, Æthelred - later known as ‘The Unready' - took the throne. For many years his kingdom flourished, until disaster struck: the Vikings returned to reign terror upon the Anglo-Saxon people, under the leadership of the terrifying Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway. With his coffers straining, his people enslaved, and his lands shrinking, Æthelred, now wed to the foreign Emma of Normandy, finally decided to take drastic action, and weed the Vikings out once and for all. So it was that with the dawning of the millennium, a terrible, bloody massacre began…. Join Tom and Dominic as they set out upon one of greatest narratives in all English history, with the build up to 1066 and the Battle of Hastings. Would England survive the wrath of the Vikings? EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices