The British History Podcast

For years, Normandy had been wracked with internal conflict, war, and political unrest.  The Duchy had nearly been the end of Duke Robert countless times… and if there was a single defining characteristic of Normandy under Robert, it would be “chaos.”

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Don’t panic, we aren’t quitting. But we are making a change that might affect you.

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It turns out hustle culture is nothing new.

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It’s September of 1096, and Duke Robert was setting out on Crusade, intent on taking the main pilgrim road to Rome and Norman Italy.  Joining him were his retainers, soldiers, and supporters… including high ranked figures like Bishop Odo of Bayeux, Count Robert of Flanders, and Stephen of Aumale (who was the forgettable guy that […]

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Everyone in England was angry with Rufus. He was fining, taxing, and now torturing his way through the country.  And Rufus was mad at everyone in England.   Which was why he was fining, taxing, and torturing his way through the country.

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And the full version even includes a drinking game! You can hear the full episode by signing up for membership.

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In 1096, Robert de Mowbray, the former Earl of Northumbria, was living in Windsor.  And he better get comfy, because his majesty seemed quite happy to keep him there as a permanent resident.

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We strive in this one to prove you can be urban without being urbane. You can hear the full episode by signing up for membership.

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Night fell… and gradually, everything within Bamburgh and the Malvoisin went quiet.  Sure, there were the occasional patrols, and the occasional muffled voice as two people shared a moment, or simply tried to keep themselves awake while on watch… but for the most part, there was no sound except for that of the waves lapping […]

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Rufus was marching North to directly challenge de Mowbray and anyone foolish enough to follow  him.  And of course he was.  There was only one response this King was ever going to have to de Mowbray’s instigation.  War.  

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So, when we left off, Anselm finally had his Pallium, and Rufus got… well… Rufus got all the independence and freedom from Church interference that he could have hoped for.  Even better, his Bishops were on the same page as him and were supporting the King’s independence from Rome.

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We have spent a lot of time with the situation between Anselm and Rufus, and all their messy interpersonal drama, but we haven’t really discussed the true elephant in the room. Radicalism.

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It was January of 1095 and Rufus was still at war with his eldest brother, Duke Robert. A  war that could have been avoided if the Red King had simply kept his word… or even just apologized. But he wasn’t interested in doing either of those things, so people were dying in Normandy.

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As I’ve mentioned a few times… we are discussing one of those periods of history where everything was kind of happening all at once.  This presents a challenge when trying to create a clear narrative that you can follow, while also staying true to the order of events. And that’s assuming there is a clear […]

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In the space of less than a year, the Norman barons had surged deep into Wales and were further entrenching themselves using castles and other fortifications.

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King Malcom Canmore hit his breaking point.

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If you think that video games are too violent, wait until you hear about Face Slap.

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Ok, I know at the end of that last episode I kinda sorta promised you a fight. And we are definitely going to have one. But we are pausing real quick to cover some SERIOUSLY good gossip…and possibly a murder?

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All of those promises Rufus made to be a better man had finally convinced God.  After about two months of being bedridden, the King finally recovered from his mysterious illness.  And now that the Divine had delivered its side of the bargain… well, there was really no point to any of those promises anymore. So […]

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Rufus was once again the only brother in England.

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Come get schooled.

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We don’t really know precisely what Henry got up to once he fled Mont Saint Michel. What few records we have are incomplete and some contradictory.  But from those records we /are/ able to glean some details… and when we take the accounts in total, what immediately becomes clear is that, just because Henry was […]

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After Robert kicked Henry out of Rouen, the Duke tried to restabilize his position in Normandy. And his first move was to make an alliance with Robert of Belleme. 

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You’ve probably heard the phrase “it takes money to make money,” and while usually the person telling you that is just trying to sell you something you don’t need….there is some truth to it. At least in the way our economy works. It’s also true of how feudal economies worked.

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We’ve been spending a lot of time with Rufus and Robert. And that was the way things were back in the 11th century, too.  Rufus and Robert got the attention, while Henry… the youngest, and apparently most forgettable brother… was often left out.  And this reality was made most clear when their father died… and, […]

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It’s one of the most famous landmarks in the world. The White Tower, or more recently, the Tower of London. If you’ve visited London you likely took time to go see it.

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With Count Henry and Robert of Belleme imprisoned under his tender care, Bishop Odo had free rein to guide the impressionable Duke Robert in whatever direction he wanted.  And he had a direction in mind.

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The last two episodes have been focused on how King William Rufus handled the aftermath of the rebellion, and the political moves being made.  But Rufus didn’t exist in a vacuum… and across the Channel, his brothers were also making moves.

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William the Conqueror had not set his sons up for success, and at the heart of it was land. Obviously, the way he distributed those lands in his Will had been a bit of a disaster, as it had set his two eldest sons up for war.  

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I’ve gotta be honest, some of these spells seem a bit rude.

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William Rufus’ first year as King had probably not gone down as he hoped. And as Bishop Odo and his co-conspirators boarded their ships and sought sanctuary in Normandy…Rufus could only return to court and count the rest of his problems..

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Got a jealousy problem and a spare leek? Boy, do we ever have a cure for you.

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Word of Rufus’ army, and the destruction of the rebel forces at Tunbridge, had no doubt reached Pevensey and its commander, Robert of Mortain… and I think it’s highly likely that the messengers also reported that the King’s army had turned north, towards Rochester. Bishop Odo’s stronghold.

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It was Easter of 1088.  This was, typically, a  time when the most powerful figures of England would gather at Court.  But this wasn’t a typical  year.

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Primogeniture, the practice of handing all wealth and power from father to the eldest son, had done a lot to consolidate power along single family lines. But it created all manner of problems for …well, pretty much everyone else.

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We’re joining the Sisterhood of the Travelling Uterus for this one.

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Somewhere around the time  William the First was bursting out of his tomb like roasted chestnut and  William the Second was making it rain with his dead dad’s money….something was turning in western culture as a whole.

The post 452 – Odo? Oh Yes. first appeared on The British History Podcast.

You know, I almost titled the last episode  “The Gang Goes To A Funeral” but the trouble was that the gang /didn’t/ go to the funeral. All of them decided they had somewhere else to be. 

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It was early September of 1087, and for weeks…nearly two months, in fact… people had been discussing William’s impending death, and worrying about what would happen next.  And for good reason. This family, which ruled over Normandy, had a history of infighting and civil wars, especially during times of succession.

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Strap yourselves in. These kids are something else.

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