In this episode we look at the reign of the last king of the Mercian Supremacy: Coenwulf. We look at how he rebuilt a fractured Mercian dominion in the wake of Offa's death, how he struggled to incorporate the Church into his overlordship, and how a 10th C legend about his son's death was used to explain the whole collapse of the Mercian supremacy that had been a fact of Anglo-Saxon politics for almost 200 years at the time of his death. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://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/anglosaxonenglandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tamworth in Staffordshire proudly announces it's history as 'capital of the kingdom of Mercia' to all who visit. In this episode we look at the history of the town and how it's origins as a major royal site rest decisively with King Offa, who cemented its place in history as the heart of Mercia. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://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/anglosaxonenglandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglosaxonenglandpodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Offa of Mercia is one of the great figures of Anglo-Saxon history. Casually known in English textbooks, his true greatness is often only alluded to. He was a great visionary king who aspired to remake the political system of Mercia, to centralise it, and even to found an empire in Britain.Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8DdeningSocial Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonenglandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Athelbald of Mercia was yet another Anglo-Saxon king to return from exile and rejuvenate a stagnating kingdom. More than any king we've discussed so far, he fundamentally altered the way politics in his kingdom worked through daring use of royal power to cement the position of the king of Mercia as a legal warrior diplomat at the head of an economic powerhouse. It ended in betrayal from within, but at its peak he ruled gloriously as the de facto overlord of southern England. Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://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/anglosaxonenglandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Penda's death in 655, Mercia faced a grim future. Cowed by a dominant Northumbria and ruled by a puppet king there seemed to be little hope for the people of march. But, in the shadows, nobles plotted with Penda's second-born. The puppet was killed and when Oswiu's attention was elsewhere, they raised their banner in rebellion to expel the Northumbrian officials and set Wulfhere on the throne to rule them as a free people. Wulfhere would rebuild his father's supremacy and use the tools open to him as a Christian to parley simple military dominance into permanent overlordship. But prestige is fleeting and when the energy that set Wulfhere on the throne dissipated, the heirs of Penda began to lose authority until finally a new dynasty stepped in to take up the mantle of kingship.  Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://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/anglosaxonenglandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Penda's career is one of the most dramatic in Anglo-Saxon history yet very little is known about him apart from what others tell us about him. In this episode I cut through the uncertainty to give you a glimpse of this man, what he accomplished, and how he not only helped forge a singular Mercian identity but also set the stage for future Mercian supremacy.Credits – Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8DdeningSocial Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonenglandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mercia, the kingdom which grew out of the English Midlands, dominated England south of the Humber from the 620s until its final fall in the late 800s. It was a military and cultural powerhouse for much of that time, yet its origins are mysterious, even more mysterious than those of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In this episode, we begin our look at the history of Mercia by considering its origins in the distant past of legend and using archaeological and literary analysis to chart its history up to its entry on the historical stage.  Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening"Alexander Nakarada- Adventure" is under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...https://youtube.com/c/SerpentSoundStu...Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: https://youtu.be/0iVgv5OP4soSocial Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonenglandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The collapse of Northumbria in the ninth century was a result of long standing crises being compacted by the sudden arrival of a new threat the likes of which they could not have imagined. The memory of Northumbria would echo down the centuries, but as the smoke cleared a whole world had come to an end and the future seemed more ominous than ever.Credits - Sound effects created by Michael Ghelfi Studios:https://michaelghelfi.com/Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8DdeningSocial Media - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anglosaxonenglandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anglo-Saxon-England-Podcast-110529958048053YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyGUvYZCstptNQeWTwfQuA  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even as its glory days slipped into the past, Northumbria was still able to produce one last great mind who would have a profound impact on the rest of the world. Alcuin of York came from an obscure family but would go on to find success in the court of Emperor Charlemagne as one of his advisors and teachers. Here he would help formulate new standards for education that would shape the future of Western education. Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdeninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode, ahead of the big episode on the Northumbrian collapse,  we take a break from politics to look at one of the most important artefacts from Anglo-Saxon England: the Lindisfarne Gospels. It is my hope that this episode will give you a grounding in the history and features of this remarkable manuscript. I think you will agree that the details of its creation enhance the splendour of this already dazzling piece of craftmanship and devotion.   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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices