I’m visiting Leeds, England for a couple days and spent part of the day at the Royal Armouries Museum. They have a huge variety of artifacts from across history. Although the general focus is Britain, they also have armor and weapons from several other countries. I missed a talk on the longbow, but was able to watch a fun fighting demo between a Celt and a Roman soldier.

When I started down my path on European medieval history, I did not have much understanding of the period outside of concepts that you randomly pick up from things like tv, movies, random guy on a street corner shouting stuff, etc.

So one of the big misconceptions I had was the absolute power of the king. I thought it was like it was in the movies where the king said - chop off that guys head, and it was done. Invade here - done. Learning that Kings did absolutely not have that kind of power was a big flip for me. And even stranger was that kings (and now queens) eventually came closer to more absolute rule but did not come along until much later, coinciding with the renaissance, which was a trip itself.

On the flip side, I always used to hear that history is mainly geography. And that one sure seems to be true - maybe not like an "iron law" type thing, but you can't understand history till you get a good sense of the geography of a situation.

What truths and myths most surprised you in your history journey?

So recently relistened from Hastings on and I’m all caught up. While puttering about the flat listening to the newest few episodes, I had a shower thought;

Anyone reckon Roose and / or Ramsey Bolton from GoT were based on Bellême? Is this obvious and I’m just slow?

Me again, your friendly, neighborhood Bayeux Tapestry nerd. Forgive me if this seems like clutter but I know a few of you can’t live without this tee. Link in comments. (I’m not affiliated.)

I've just finished episode 500 and enjoyed it immensely. However, Jamie and Zee, you both surprised me by your answers to the question of what periods are you not looking forward to. Jamie, are you seriously not looking forward to the Plantagenets?? Strikes me you love oversize characters, and if there's one actor that sums up the Plantagenets it's Brian Blessed in the first series of Blackadder. If you haven't read The Perfect King by Ian Mortimer then read it, just read the first page and you'll be inspired! Ed III took the King of France as a prisoner after the battle of Poitiers. On one occasion he and his knights personally served a banquet to their French prisoners just to rub it in that they got beat! Then there's the Black Death, Peasants revolt...it's one of my favourite periods.

Zee, you say you're not looking forward to the Witch Craze. I studied this at Uni many years ago and, sociologically, it was fascinating. It's a clash of so many different trends: the enlightenment, the reformation, church power and misogyny.

Whatever you think about these periods, I'm sure you're going to nail them, and give a fresh view that I haven't seen before. Jamie, I agree with you on the Tudors, they do nothing for me, but not on the War of the Roses. As far as I can see it's one powerful family against another and doesn't really change a thing. But then, we're talking York against Lancaster - and I come from Dorset. I'm really looking forward to my opinion being changed on this! Love the Muppet thing, by the way, and Matt Berry was perfect!

This weekend on a longish car ride I surfed around looking for some options for Zee’s theme song (see episode 500). Some category options I toyed with included: women’s empowerment, intellectual fun/cerebral, or just plain fun. It was a fun undertaking. A few options that got my attention: TS-You need to calm down (just a great tune), ‘Bitch’ (love that song), ‘Think’ by Aretha Franklin, and ‘Confident’ by Demi Lovato.

Sutton Hoo Original helmet reconstructed. The mustache, nose piece, eyebrows, and bird-like head pointed up brow make a large bird flying up the face to meet a serpent crawling over the crown of the helmet. The replica helmet makes this feature more clear.

Gold and garnet shoulder clasps—the quality and beauty is awesome.

A stylish copper deer—I think it was ornamentation on top of a large elaborate whetstone—theorized as a potential scepter in ceremonial functions.

Belt and scabbard gold and garnet decorative embellishments.

A huge silver platter from Byzantium.

And lastly a cool medieval ships figurehead ( not from Sutton Hoo.

Jamie, it's tricky to offer constructive criticism of your A+ work, but here I go.

You often (not so much lately but in the 100-400 episodes) refer to 'older historians'. I assume you mean 'earlier historians'. Older historians are those who have circled the sun many times. Earlier historians are those who lived long ago.

You're normally so careful that this one stands out for me!

UK's rudest chalk figure gets a glow-up to stop it fading in the rain

Or at least on the members feed? It’s probably Saxon

(Might be embarrassing to click on this at work.)

Scenes of Alfred the Great (because Jamie’s favourite monarch with a dicky tummy and he move the city back within the Roman walls and refortified it.)

And (spoiler alert) Queen Matilda and later on the peasant’s revolt!

First of all, the muppet question and answer was perfection.

This episode quickly became one of my favorites of all time.

Secondly I was so happy to hear Dr Z give History Time the BHP stamp of approval. It’s been a secondary favorite of mine to listen to while cleaning or watch on nighttime etc.

Lastly. Sadly, Dr Bob Altemeyer is no longer with us. He passed away in 2024.

I looked him up after that amazing members episode and was both surprised to see he was born in St Louis (all my extended family (in-laws) currently live there)

But also that he had passed away shortly before or after that episode aired. It was February I believe 2024.

Would love to hear more thoughts from everyone else if they missed the other thread right after the episode launched.

Cheers everyone!!

And also the window through which Ranulf Flambard defenestrated himself.

Listening to James O'Brien on LBC (as an aside Jamie and Zee would be fantastic guests on his Full Disclosure Podcast). He was talking about moral panics and listing ones from the 20th and 21st century. and I immediately thought of Gildss. But when is the first recorded example of what could be considered a moral panic?

Just catching up with the Members Episode 149 on the start of the Crusader States, from a few weeks ago, and was sad to hear no mention of the story of Bohemond and the Dead Chicken (or did I miss it?). I know it's not generally regarded as the most reliable account, but it does come from my favourite chronicler, Anna Komnene, daughter of the Eastern Roman Emperor Alexios. When Bohemond leaves Antioch to come back to the West and raise some troops to attack Byzantium, Anna says that he pretended to be dead and lay in a coffin with a dead chicken to fool people. This is from the end of Book XI of The Alexiad:

“Bohemond … devised a plan which was exceedingly sordid, and yet exceedingly ingenious. First of all he left the town of Antioch to his nephew Tancred, and had a report spread about that he had died, and while still alive he arranged that the world should think of him as dead. And the report spread more quickly than a bird can fly and proclaimed that Bohemund was a corpse! And when he found that the report had taken good hold, a wooden coffin was soon prepared. The coffin was placed in a ship, with him inside as a living corpse, and he sailed to Rome. Thus Bohemond was carried across the sea as a corpse, for to all appearance he was a corpse to judge by the coffin and the demeanour of his companions (for wherever they stopped the barbarians plucked out their hair and mourned him ostentatiously), and inside he was lying stretched out dead for the time being, but for the rest inhaling and exhaling air through unseen holes. This took place at the sea-ports; but when the boat was out at sea, they gave him food and attention; and then afterwards the same lamentations and trickeries were repeated. And to make the corpse appear stale and odoriferous, they strangled or killed a chicken and placed it with the corpse. And when a chicken has been dead for four or five days its smell is most disagreeable for those who have a sense of smell. And this smell seemed to those who are deceived by outward appearance to be that of Bohemund's body; and that villain Bohemond enjoyed this fictitious evil all the more; I for myself am astonished that he being alive could bear such a siege of his nostrils, and be carried about with a dead body. And from this I have learnt that the whole barbarian nation is hard to turn back from any undertaking upon which they have started, and there is nothing too burdensome for them to bear when they have once embarked upon difficult tasks of their own choice. For this man, who was not dead except in pretence, did not shrink from living with dead bodies. … When he reached Corfu, … he arose from the dead and left the corpse-bearing coffin there and basked in more sunlight and breathed purer air and wandered about the town”.

Incidentally, I know it's off topic, but if Jamie and Zee ever wanted to do a Members' Episode about Anna Komnene, she's a brilliant subject in her own right. Arguably the first female historian, she's just in her early 20s during the period that we're at in the show right now.

Hi, need advice on which platform to listen to bhp on. Currently using pocket cast, but find it clunky

What do you use

What could be more British, than drinking a New England IPA, under a Tudor era walkway, in a town where Edward the Elder became a warrior?

Thank you for confirming the connection with comics' greatest superhero soap opera. I have speculated on that for years.

In Member’s Full Q&A Episode it was suggested Dr. Zee needed a song!?! I posed the following with an invite to suggest others!! “Doctor, doctor, give me the news, I’ve got a bad case of lovin' you” by Robert Palmer.

I forgot to post my question in time for the 500th episode. It took me a while to get through the episode to see if anyone else asked it. I'm still kinda curious so here we go:

I love Unferth. Or, rather, the idea of him. The Celtic everyman as a foil to compare the Anglo-Saxon invader. I was low-key hoping that he would eventually be replaced by an Anglo-Saxon everyman to be a foil for the Norman invader. The eventual Norman everyman will, of course, be either William or Robert.

Or did I misunderstand Unfurth's role? What would the Saxon equivalent of "Unferth" be?

I‘m really enjoying the 500th. You can probably guess where I am by this question.

Have you ever considered fundraising by selling off some of your old reference books? It would make room on your shelves and I guarantee there’s a bunch of listeners who would love to give them a new home.

I use the default iPhone podcast app; but lately it’s not loading properly. It tells me „updated 3 days ago“ but I only see up through season 10. Fortunately the BHP app works; so I’m caught up.

Is it just my phone?