The Saxon Centuries Podcast
1) Wessex's Champion
Even before taking up the kingship in 686, Cædwalla was already causing havoc in the south. As Wessex's king, he was able to vault the West Saxons to heights they hadn't reached since the re...Show More
2) Warring Ambitions
Wulfhere and his brother Æthelred fought to realise their father's vision of Mercian hegemony as political instability reigned across England from 673-686. Support the show
3) Matters Southerly
In this episode, we double back to cover the kingdoms south of the Humber from Wulfhere's return to Mercia in 658 to the accession of Hlothhere in Kent in 673.Support the show
4) Synods and Surveys
In the aftermath of the Winwæd, doctrinal disputes in the Northumbrian church threatened Oswiu's peaceful imperium whilst Mercia's native royal line was restored.Support the show
5) The Northumbrian Golden Age
From 650 to 750, the Kingdom of Northumbria experienced a flourishing of monastic learning, generating manuscripts, monuments, and Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum.Support the show
6) The Age of Penda
With his defeat of Oswald at Maserfield, Penda became the foremost of England's kings for thirteen remarkable years.Support the show
7) Oswald's Restoration
In the aftermath of Hatfield Chase, Oswald rose to restore Northumbria to power and ensured the rise of Celtic Christianity in the process. Ultimately, however, he too fell at the hands of Penda and t...Show More
8) Scion of the North
After reclaiming his birthright, Edwin of Northumbria reigned for a decade and a half, establishing Northumbrian preeminence.Support the show
9) He of Sutton Hoo
Rædwald established his own imperium following Æthelbert's death, becoming Rex Anglorum, or King of the Angles, with his victory at the River Idle in 616.Support the show
10) Æthelbert the Lawgiver
In the early seventh century, Æthelbert promulgated a law code that laid the foundations for much of English law and justice, continuing his transformative reign through 616.Support the show