Early medieval

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Pod Michael Wood WL

Astonishing Æthelstan: Michael Wood on the 10th-century king . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Pod Thomas Williams WL

Dark Age bullies & forgotten kingdoms: busting early medieval myths . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sæberht of Essex, who oversaw the building of London’s original church of St Paul’s (Photo by The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo)

How to survive the Dark Ages in Britain: 6 crucial tips

This statue of Alfred the Great stands in Winchester, the former 'capital' of his kingdom (Photo by TonyBaggett via Getty Images)

What if... Alfred the Great lost to the Vikings at the battle of Edington?

A page from The Encomium, a flattering account of the reign of Cnut written in the early 1040s and commissioned by his mother Emma of Normandy to show her powerful position

Emma of Normandy: not just a two-time queen consort of England

St Columba. This Irish patron saint's influence on the Christian church was, and still is, felt much further afield

Medieval miracle worker: how St Columba transformed Christianity in Britain

Dr Rory Naismith answers listener questions on Britain in the early Middle Ages. (Image from Getty Images)

Early Medieval Britain: everything you wanted to know

A 12th-century Celtic round tower at Clonmacnoise, County Offaly

“The power of the Irish over the Britons is great”: Fergal Keane on Britain’s Irish roots

King John hunting on horseback, 14th century. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Was King John murdered?

Newark Castle flanked by the river Trent. To say that King John's death here in 1216 was little-lamented is something of an understatement.

King John and the French invasion

Pod Judith Herrin WL

The Byzantine empire: everything you wanted to know

Edward Brooke-Hitching discusses some of history’s strangest literary curiosities. (Image by Getty Images)

Bizarre books and macabre manuscripts

An illustration depicting the deposition of the body of Edward the Confessor in the tomb at Westminster in 1066. (

Was the early medieval period a “golden age” for the elderly?

King Arthur and a hand holding the sword Excalibur.

The legends of King Arthur: everything you wanted to know

King Arthur addresses his knights in a 12th-century Arthurian manuscript now held in Rennes, France. (Photo by: Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)

King Arthur: five men who made up the legendary Dark Ages king