Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell of the History of Football. But before they start they tell everyone the wonderful news that History Storytime won Silver in the British Podcast Awards!----more---- The history of Football starts thousands of years ago in China. The Chinese played a game very like football today. There were two teams and they scored by kicking a ball into a net. The Greeks and Romans also had a game that was very similar to football but which also involved using hands. However, while people all over the world played a game very like football, the rules were written down in England. 1000 years ago, England was football crazy. People played all the time. The games were quite disorganised. Towns would play against other towns. The rules were a little vague. They used a bladder blown up to be a ball. Ellie found that really disgusting!! However, there was a problem. England was at war with France. France had amazing knightsin history. However, the English had archers. Being an archer needed a lot of practice so every week Englishmen would practice their archery. That way they could pull the massive long bows and aim them at the French knights. However, more and more English men were playing Football instead of practicing their archery. The King of England got so annoyed that he actually passed a law banning football. However people just ignored him. Then the King of Scotland passed a law banning football. Everyone in Scotland ignored him too. Even women were playing football in history. Sophie reads a poem about women tucking in their skirts to play a proper game. Everyone had a slightly different version of the game with different rules. Around 300 years ago there started to be schools for rich children. Those schools wrote down rules for the sports so that the schoolchildren could play them properly. Around 200 years ago there were trains invented. Now schools could play against other schools. So they got together and wrote rules that they would all agree on. These became the first rules for football. At first it was the rich schools who were the best teams. However, football didn’t just stay a sport for the rich. The towns organised themselves into teams. Those teams were much better than the old rich schools. Now Football was a sport for everyone, and everyone had the same set of rules. The new rules travelled around the world. However, people still have to learn how to play well. In England plays used to just charge at the opposing side with the ball. In Scotland, though, they invented a new way of playing. This involved passing the ball around a lot. This passing game was much cleverer than the English way. It is the way that football is played today. Now millions of people play football and billions enjoy watching it. HISTORY STORYTIME PATRONS’ CLUB If you liked this episode, your kids might consider joining our History Storytime Patron’s Club. We have exclusive history episodes for kids there and your kids can help to choose a history episode. You can join at www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Tudor who ruled England for just nine days.----more---- Henry VIII was King of England. He was married to a Spanish Princess. They had a daughter called Mary. However, Henry really wanted to have a son. He asked the Pope if he could get divorced from his Spanish Princess and marry someone different. The Pope said no. So Henry decided to change the religion of England. England was a Catholic country which meant that the Pope was in charge of the Church. So Henry decided to change it to a Protestant country which meant he was in charge of the Church. Then he divorced his Spanish Princess and married a Protestant called Anne Boleyn. They had a daughter, Elizabeth. So he chopped off Anne’s head and married again. Finally, he had a son called Edward. However, his wife died and he went onto marry three more times. After Henry died his son, Edward, became King. Edward was a strict Protestant and so were many of his nobles. However, Edward got sick and was dying. Edward and his nobles worried that his sister, Mary, would now become Queen. They were afraid she would make England Catholic again. They decided instead to have another person become Queen. Lady Jane Grey. She was a niece of Henry VIII so had royal blood. She was also a Protestant. She was very young, only 16 years old. She was clever and beautiful. She was married to a rich protestant noble. It was her husband and her father in law who came up with the idea to make her Queen. They never bothered telling her about it. Edward left a letter saying that after he died Jane should be Queen. Then Edward died. Immediately, Jane was announced as Queen. She was astonished. She fainted on being told. When she woke up she immediately said that she shouldn’t be Queen and that her cousin Mary was the rightful Queen. Her family ignored her and told everyone that she was Queen anyway. However, the people of London did not agree. Many people thought that Mary was the rightful Queen. She had been Henry VIII’s daughter. More and more people demanded Mary become Queen. After just nine days Mary was swept to the throne. Even Jane’s own father in law who had come up with the whole idea was now supporting Mary. Jane was locked up in the tower of London with her husband. Their father in law was executed. Mary did not want to kill Jane. They were family. And it hadn’t been her idea. But more protestants rebelled including Jane’s father. Mary had had enough. She executed Jane’s husband. Then she executed Jane.   Poor Jane had only been Queen for nine days and was never even crowned. She was used by the men around her for their own power. And she paid the price. PATRONS CLUB Please do join our Patrons Club. You can get exclusive episodes and help choose and episode. Details are here: www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of the amazing scientist Marie Curie.----more---- Marie Curie was born 150 years ago in Poland. Back then Poland was ruled by Russia and the Russians were not kind to the Poles. The Russians stopped the schools teaching science to the Polish children. However, Marie’s father was a science teacher. He took his school science equipment home and taught Marie there. Marie was very clever and top of her class at school. However, in Poland women were not allowed to go to university. So Marie became a governess instead to earn some money. Her sister had gone to Paris and told her that in Paris women could go to university. Marie moved to Paris and started studying Maths, Physics and Chemistry. We explain in our podcast all about these subjects. Marie met a man called Pierre. He was also a brilliant scientist. They fell in love. However, Marie wanted to return to Poland to be a scientist there. He loved her so much he said that he would follow her even if it meant he would never be a scientist again. She decided to go on her own. However, back in Poland no one would give her a job as a scientist because she was a woman. Pierre begged her to go back to Paris, be a scientist there and marry him. She agreed. Back in Paris Marie and Pierre started doing science together. Scientists had already discovered a rock called uranium. This gave off invisible rays. Marie and Pierre decided to study this rock and its rays. They crushed up the rock into a powder which gave off even more rays. Marie called this Polonium after her native Poland. As well as the powder there was some left over liquid. Marie and Pierre put the liquid in a sieve and did lot of different type of mixing with it. They found they had something completely different called Radium. This also gave off invisible rays, called Radiation. The radiation travelled through objects and so was very useful for taking pictures of things that you couldn’t see. This is how x-rays were invented. It was also useful for curing cancer because it zapped the bad cancer cells. However, in large amounts it was very dangerous. Marie and Pierre did not realise this and were often sick while doing their experiments. After these amazing discoveries, Marie and Pierre were awarded the highest prize in science – the Nobel Prize. Shortly afterwards, there was a terrible accident and Pierre was killed. Now Marie had to carry on alone. She continued to make x-ray machines and look for ways to use radiation in hospitals. Astonishingly she received the Nobel Prize again. When World War One broke out, Marie turned her x-ray machines into mobile machines that could help soldiers near the front line. She worked on them herself to help soldiers. After the war, Marie carried on working, until she died aged 66 from illnesses caused by having too much radiation. After Marie died other scientists carried on her experiments and some of these lead to inventing the Nuclear bomb. Marie Curie’s example shows that girls can achieve anything they want and are as good at science as any boy. In fact Marie was one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. PATRONS CLUB If you would like to join our Patrons' Club please go to www.patreon.com/historystorytime.com. We have exclusive episodes there. 

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of Magna Carta, which was signed at Runnymede in 1215, what it was, and what it means today.----more---- King John is not a good man. He is mean to his Barons. He taxes the poor so much that the legend of Robin Hood comes from this period. He loses most of the English lands in France. Now the Barons have to see him all the time which makes them like him even less. King John thinks that he can do what he likes and that laws are for the little people. The Barons write a list of demands down about things that they think should happen and rules which the King should obey. They call this the Great Charter which is Latin is Magna Carta. Some the demands are selfish ones that the Barons want like things about the rules for their children. Some of them are great for everyone like stopping the King putting people in prison without a trial. Some of them are good for people but seem a bit old fashioned today – like stopping the King taking someone’s horse and cart without permission. However, the most important thing about Magna Carta is that it is a set of rules that the King had to follow. No longer could he say that the laws did not apply to him. He had to follow them just like anyone else. At first King John refused to sign. However, the Barons were too strong and he was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. Remember though that King John was a bad man. He did not intend to keep his promises. He got away from Runnymede and started a war with the Barons. The Barons got help from the French. However, when crossing some marshland the sea came in. King John lost all his crown jewels and his crown. He was so upset that he rolled over and died. The Barons offered to stop fighting if they King's young son agreed to the Magna Carta. The people looking after the young king agreed and the fighting stopped. All Kings and Queen afterwards agreed to follow Magna Carta. Whenever a King tried to do something naughty, people would point to Magna Carta and tell him not to be so naughty. Only a few parts of Magna Carta are still law. However, the principle that the King has to follow the law was made then. That is still the law now. Even though the Queen is not in charge of everything anymore, the idea of Magna Carta means that the government have to follow the law too. Magna Carta was so long ago that all those countries which were founded by Britain also used Magna Carta as the basis of their laws – places like the America, Canada and Australia. PATRONS’ CLUB If you liked this episode please join our Patrons Club. We have exclusive episodes there and you can choose an episode. You can join at www.patreon.com/historystorytime    

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) are joined by May (age 6) to tell the legends and truth behind of the Founding of Rome.----more---- We start with Aeneas escaping from a burning Troy. The gods tell him that it is his job to find the area where Rome will later be founded. Aeneas has many adventures, including visiting the underworld. He stops off in Africa where he meets Dido, the beautiful Queen of Carthage. They fall in love. Dido wants Aeneas to stay. However, the god Jupiter, reminds Aeneas that he needs to find the place where Rome will founded. Aeneas leave. Dido is furious. She curses Aeneas and his descendants and then kills herself. Later the Romans believe that the wars between Rome and Carthage are because of the curse that Dido made. Aeneas eventually finds the area near where Rome will one day be built. He settles there in some towns called the Latin people. Later one of the Kings of the Latins is thrown off the thrown by another man called Amulius. The old Kings daughter is a priestess. She has two children by the God Mars – Romulus and Remus. Amulius is worried that the boys will one day want to take his throne. So he abandons them by the river Tiber to die. However, the two babies are rescued by a she-wolf. The She-wolf takes them back to her cave and feeds them her own wolf milk to keep them alive. Later a shepherd finds them and raises them as his own son. As the boys grow up they realise who they are. They make a plan to get rid of the evil King. They are successful and they put their old grandfather back on the throne. The brothers now decide to found their own city. They find a place with seven hills and a river which looks good for a city. However, they argue about which hill to put the city on. Romulus wants to build it on the Palatine Hill. Remus wants to build it on the Aventine Hill. They argue and Remus is killed. Romulus now gets his way and the city of Rome is built on the Palatine Hill. We then discuss if these legends are true or not. We talk about how the Romans believed that they were true and that is important. The stories are probably not totally true. However, it is true that Rome was founded on the Palatine Hill and previously had been different Latin villages. So there is some truth in all the stories. PATRONS CLUB If you liked this episode you might like to join our Patrons’ Club. We have exclusive episodes there and you can help choose an episode or be in an episode like May. You can join at www.patreon.com/historystorytime.

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of the Life of William Shakespeare.----more---- William Shakespeare was born into Tudor England 500 years ago. He wrote some of the most famous plays in history. We tell the story of Hamlet and Ellie points out that this the same story as Disney’s The Lion King. We talk about how Shakespeare's plays are so famous that many people copy them and we watch them even today. William Shakespeare's father was a glove maker and also leant people money. He sent his son William to a local school. There he would have learned reading, writing, Latin and lots of history. Many of the things that were later in his plays are things he would have learned at school. When Shakespeare was 18 years old he met a girl called Anne. They got married and had a baby. Shakespeare then disappears for seven years from history. The girls explore the things which might have happened to him. Did he have to run away because he was caught poaching? Did he go on holiday to Italy? Did he go to London to learn how to write plays? By the time Shakespeare reappears, he is writing plays in London. We learn about what Tudor London was like – including some disgusting bits from our History of the Toilet episode.   The theatre is different then. All the parts are played by men – even women’s parts. Rich people pay for groups of people to write and act in plays. Shakespeare's friends are called the Lord Chamberlains company because the Lord Chamberlain pays for them. Some people want the theatres to be shut down. They think God does want people to have so much fun. However, Queen Elizabeth like the theatre and she keeps the theatres open. Shakespeare and his friends even build their own amazing theatre called the Globe theatre.   Then the Queen dies. Luckily, the new King, King James, also likes the theatre. In fact he likes Shakespeare and his friends so much that he agrees to pay for their plays. Now they are called the Kings Company. King James is very interested in witches so Shakespeare makes a play about witches, called Macbeth.   However, Shakespeare wants to retire and go home to Anne. One of his last plays is called the Tempest and it is about a powerful magician who wants to stop being a magician. Ellie points out that this is like Shakespeare being an amazing writer of plays but wanting to stop.   Then there is an accident in one of his plays. The Globe Theatre burns down. At that point, Shakespeare really has had enough. He stops writing plays and goes back to Stratford to be with Anne. However, we still remember him and watch his plays today. BRITISH PODCAST AWARDS We have been shortlisted for the British Podcast Awards in the Kids and Family category. You can vote for us too for the Listeners Choice Award. We would love it if you could. You don’t need to be in the UK to vote. Details are here: Listeners' Choice Award — British Podcast Awards, supported by Amazon Music PATRONS CLUB If you would like to join our patrons club you can join here: www.patreon.com/historystorytime We have exclusive episodes like our one on the History of Chocolate or on Napoleon and Josephine or you can choose an episode like one of our Patrons chose this episode.

Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell of the Persian invasion of Ancient Greece and the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.----more---- The Persians are determined to get their revenge for their defeat at the Battle of Marathon. The new Persian Emperor, Xerxes, decides to conquer all of Greece once and for all. He assembles the largest army the world has ever seen. The army is too big to be taken by sea. So he builds a bridge of boats to get it from Asia to Europe. However, in building the bridge we learn how Xerxes is a cruel ruler. One of the nobles asks for his son to be left behind. Xerxes agrees but executes the nobles son and chops his body in two. There is a storm and the bridge of boats is destroyed. Xerxes has the sea whipped and red hot irons placed in it as a punishment. Finally, his army gets across and marches into Greece. Many Greek cities surrender. However, Athens and Sparta fight. The Spartans are fierce warriors. Their King, Leonidas, visits an Oracle to find out what is going to happen. The Oracle says that either a Spartan King will die or Greece will be conquered. Leonidas realises that he will have to die if Greece is to be saved. The Spartans choose a clever place to fight. It is called Thermopylae. It is a narrow path between the mountains and the sea. The Persians cannot get their whole army down the path as it is too narrow. The Spartans hold the massive Persian army at bay. However, the Persians discover a path through the mountains. Now they can get behind the Spartans. Most of the Greeks retreat. But Leonidas and 300 Spartans decide to fight to the death to delay the Persians. Leonidas also knows that if he dies then Greece will be saved. Persian archers kill Leonidas. However, his sacrifice has never been forgotten. Before the invasion, the Athenians had discovered silver in the hills near Athens. After a long discussion they had decided to use the money to build a mighty fleet. Athens is captured by the Persians but the Athenians still have their fleet. The Persian and the Athenian led fleet meet in battle near the island of Salamis. The Persian Emperor settles down on the land to watch the battle. The seas are narrow near Salamis and the Persians numbers do not help them. The Greeks win the battle. The Persians realise that now the Greeks can say to the bridge of boats and destroy it. This would trap the Persian Emperor in Greece. Quickly the Emperor and most of his army run home. A little of their army stays and is destroyed the next year. This war did not just save Ancient Greece. It also saved all the things that the Greeks had invented, like Democracy and Freedom. They gave those ideas to us. This is why we remember the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis today. PATRON’S CLUB If you liked this episode then do please join our Patron’s Club. We have an exclusive episode there all about what happened after the Persian Invasion of Ancient Greece. Sparta and Athens go to war with each other… www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell the history of the Persian invasion of Ancient Greece and how it led to the Marathon race. Ancient Greece was a set of city states who ruled themselves. Next door was the mighty Persian Empire. The Persian Emperor told his people what to do. There were a few Greek cities in the Persian Empire. They did not like it. They rebelled. However, the Persians crushed the Greek cities. The Greek city of Athens helped the Greek cities rebel. The Persian Emperor was furious and decided to punish Athens. He sent an army to capture the city. The Persian army landed at Marathon near Athens. The Athenians marched their army out to meet the Persians. The Athenians blocked the road to Athens with tree trunks. They then sent messengers to the Ancient Greek of Sparta asking for help. The Spartans has the best army in Ancient Greece. However, the Spartans could not leave for a week because they had a religious ceremony. The Athenians were on their own. The Athenian army was like other Ancient Greek armies. It was a hoplite army. It was made of soldiers wearing bronze armour with long spears. They worked together in a column as a team. The Persians did not have so much armour or spears but they did have lots and lots of archers. The Athenians were also free people whereas the Persians had been forced to fight. Then Athenians then noticed the Persians getting ready to leave. They realised that the Persians might be getting back on their ships to sail directly to Athens. They could get there before the Athenians. The Athenians could not wait any more for the Spartans. They had to attack immediately. They marched towards the Persian army. The Persians archers fired into the sky at the Athenians. Just then the Athenians broke into a run. The arrows missed them. They kept on running and charged straight into the Persians. They defeated the Persians killing thousands of them. The remaining Persians fled to their ship, chased by the Athenians. As the Persians sailed away, the Athenians worried they still might sail to Athens. The Athenians knew they needed to warn the city that the battle had been won and not to give up. They sent their fastest runner to the city. The distance was 26 miles. He ran all the way from Marathon to Athens. He arrived and told the Athenian people that the battle was won. Then he was so tired that he died. The Persian ships did come, but when they saw the Athenians waiting for them, they fled. All Marathons now are named after the journey made by the Greek runner after the battle. They are all the same distance that he ran. PATRONS’ CLUB If you liked this story then do join our Patrons Club. We have exclusive episodes like the history of Chocolate and the Seven Wonders of the World. www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of Livia, the most powerful woman in the early Roman Empire. ----more---- The Roman Republic is falling. Generals fight to be in charge. Eventually Julius Caesar wins out. Meanwhile, Livia is born to a rich and powerful Roman family. She has a perfect childhood and is married to her older cousin. They have a baby. Then Julius Caesar is murdered to stop him becoming King. Rome is split by civil war. Caesar’s nephew, Octavian, hunts down the murderers of Caesar and anyone supporting them and kills them. Livia’s father is also killed. After more fighting, Livia is forced to flee with her husband. She barely escapes Octavian’s soldiers. Eventually, there is peace and Livia and her husband can go back to Rome. Livia meets Octavian. Astonishingly they fall in love. They agree to get divorced from their partners. They get married. Livia’s old husband even gives Livia away at the wedding. Octavian changes his name to Augustus and becomes Emperor of Rome. They lead a relatively simple life. Livia is the perfect wife for Octavian. She is from an old family and that reassures the people of Rome that they can get back to the good old days. She is portrayed as the perfect wife. However, they have no children. Augustus has children from his previous marriage. He loves them and helps to raise them, but they die. Livia persuades him that her son. Tiberius, from her earlier marriage should become Emperor after him. Augustus is not sure. However, when he realises what a good general Tiberius is, he agrees. Augustus then dies and Tiberius becomes Emperor. People in Rome still love Livia. They call her the mother of the nation. This makes Tiberius jealous. Even though she is his own mother and helped him become Emperor he is still jealous of her. Livia keeps giving Tiberius advice on how to be a good Emperor. This really annoys Tiberius and they have lots of arguments. Eventually he goes to live on a remote island. He is still Emperor but spends most of his time playing silly games. When Livia died of old age she is mourned by Rome as one of the greatest women ever. PATRONS’ CLUB If you liked this episode you might like to join our Patron’s Club. You can listen to exclusive episodes or help choose and episode. You can join at www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the history of how the Vikings built kingdoms, explored continents and worshipped their Norse gods. ----more---- In our first episode on the Vikings they had invaded England and England was now divided between a Saxon and a Viking Kingdom. Here we see how the Vikings repeatedly invade France. Eventually, the French give the Viking, Rollo, land to keep Paris safe from other Vikings. The land is called the land of the Northman, or Northmandy, eventually just Normandy. Other Vikings sail to the Mediterannean Sea. They are paid by the nobles of Italy to fight their wars. When the nobles can’t pay they give the Vikings land instead. Eventually the Vikings own so much land and so many castles that they just take over the whole country and make a Viking Kingdom. Other Vikings explore the Russian rivers. They get to a hill called Kiev which they think is a good place for a city. They capture it and build an empire which today we called Kievan Rus. Some Vikings even made it as far as the powerful city of Byzantium. There they become the bodyguards to the Emperor of Byzantium. They are called the Varangian Guard and were loyal to the Emperor. However, other Vikings look West. They take their ships across the sea to Greenland and make a settlement. One day a ship is blown off course thousands of miles and accidentally discovered North America. Other sailors follow until settlements are founded in what the Vikings called Vinland, which is in North America. The settlements do not survive though so when Columbus eventually makes it there, he if the first European to make permanent settlements. We also learn about the Norse gods. We learn of Odin, Frigg and Thor. We also learn how Friday is named after Frigg and Thursday is named after Thor. Finally we return to England. At first the Saxons defeat the Vikings and reconquer their lands. However, the powerful Viking, King Canute, decides to conquer England. The English kings are useless or unready as they were called. Canute becomes King. We tell his story of how he showed that Kings do not have the power by failing to turn back the tide. The Saxons become King again. However, William of Normandy attacked the English at Hastings and makes himself King. Although history records him as a Frenchman. He was actually descended from the Vikings who were given Normandy to live in. PATRONS’ CLUB If you liked this episode you might to join our Patrons’ Club. You can find us at www.patreon.com/historystorytime.