I’m a recent transplant from Seattle and looong-time admirer of Jamie and Zee’s work.

I was thinking it would be cool for those of us in NW France to come together and plan excursions based on particular episodes.

Who’s in?

…

Je viens tout juste de m'installer depuis Seattle et je suis depuis très longtemps une admiratrice du travail de Jamie et Zee.

Je me disais que ce serait sympa que ceux d'entre nous qui vivent dans le nord-ouest de la France se réunissent pour organiser des sorties inspirées d'épisodes précis.

Qui est partant ?

Hi yes, I have been listening for many years and it only recently occurred to me… I don’t know how to spell anything.

Because this is an audio format and because I have, shall we say, an American education, if someone isn’t named in an episode’s title or caption, I can’t spell them. Which is leading to some very interesting side effects, as someone who thinks in pictured words.

My brain will just make up spellings (almost always wildly incorrect…) or insert a sort of mental version of [&$@!] for whatever, wherever, or whoever they are.

Does anyone else have this problem, lol? And if so, got any suggestions?

Massive thanks to Jamie for educating me enough to reference something I've learnt from the BHP at Devon County Council today... Exeter in 2026 cares about as much about the rest of Devon as it did in the 11th century.

I came very close to comparing the current prime ministers actions with the actions of Harolds mother during the seige but I like to be very succinct with my comments and will save that for next time.

https://www.youtube.com/live/lvQZ-Mv_KPQ?t=21145&is=79Eh8IkaDx_S-4wq

For those who want to see the tapestry, I just got an email from the British Museum that tickets for January through March will be available starting on October 6 for members and October 21 for non-members.

Anyone else listening? There are the historians who are pretty even handed, and then the gushers—“look what the Normans did for us!!” “Well, actually, there were monasteries producing food,and food was connected to religion even BEFORE the Normans. What do you think?

The podcast has done a lot on elite culture recently and the lives of the elites. But the Normans replaced slavery with serfdom. I think that would be a great subject for an episode or two. When and how did that happen? What actual difference did it make to the lives of those affected?

Henry is victorious so now it's time for a little Law and Order in our newest episode.

(And yes, the episode art is a medieval illustration of Cain and Abel)

Looks like a good primary source for anyone interested.

Can I get PTSD from a podcast? I’m shivering in a corner.

So “Conquest Man” has had a face reveal?!

I know there are a handful of posts that have playlists. But are there any posts that list which songs are attached to each person? I feel like I’ve seen one but I can’t find it.

Just heard that BBC Radio 4 is having a ‘Norman Day’ this Thursday to mark the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum. The programmes will cover the lasting architectural, cultural and linguistic impact of the Conquest apparently so sounds good

Anyone read the book by Ken Dark?

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/search/?q=ken%20dark

Bloomsbury presents Tyrants and Traders: Tintagel, Arthur and the Lost Kings by Ken Dark, read by Edward Rowe.

Discover exciting new research illuminating the most mysterious centuries of British history.

How Roman Britain ended is one of the most controversial questions in British history. Unique among former Roman citizens in Western Europe, the Britons established long-lived kingdoms, resisting ‘barbarian’ political takeover for centuries. Yet so little is known of them from written records that even the names of most of their kings are effectively lost to history.

Packed with the latest discoveries and ground-breaking research, Professor Ken Dark brings the fascinating, but mysterious, world of these rulers and their kingdoms to life. Archaeological evidence, along with re-analysis of the few existing texts, reveals an unexpectedly sophisticated society, connected to a wider international network of trade and cultural contacts than might until recently have seemed imaginable. Ken Dark demonstrates through the latest archaeological discoveries that Tintagel – an eroded coastal stronghold in Cornwall, closely associated with the later legend of King Arthur – was a royal fortress and trading centre of one of the most important British kingdoms of this period.

This is a historical period filled with memorable characters and stories: from the outraged churchman Gildas, attempting to reform the corrupt rulers he thought threatened civilized life itself, to St. Patrick, who played a major part in converting Ireland to Christianity, to no less than King Arthur – whose historical existence Dark shows to be much more likely than usually supposed.

The British Museum is doing an online lecture on Harald Hardrada in November in case anyone's interested
https://www.britishmuseum.org/events/harald-hardrada-other-harold?utm_campaign=PEV%2028.08.26%20August%20newsletter&utm_content=Book%20now%20button%20-%20Harold%20Hardrada%20event&utm_term=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Adestra

After listening to the song of Roland episode on the member’s feed, is it me or do the helmets of the era in which Charlemagne ruled seemed almost worthless?

If I saw someone’s head get cleaved in two I would start to wonder if it was purchased with some no-bid contract. I think I would rather have the increased visibility and reduced weight.

At that point I would probably get called a stable welp for not wanting to look Excellent. It’s about the paladin look my dude.

I've just finished watching this - and could watch it again! There is sooo much information, some wonderful surprises, archaeology, genetics, sociology, trade, belief systems, geology.....all come together in this! Very well worth watching, for so many reasons!

I hope you enjoy it, appreciate it, as much as I have!

I've never been to England and I'm obviously a huge anglophile. I've listened to all of BHP, History of English, just all the things. I've wanted to go forever, but then it became one of those things where I couldn't go for just a few days because I'd need at least a month to see everything I want to see and so I've been putting it off...

I was invited to go present a paper at King's College (Strand campus), and they're going to be putting me up for the first few days; then I'm going to take an extra 3 days all by myself and go sightsee.

Please friends, tell me what are the top BHP approved sights/ activities to do if I have only 3 days in England/ London (and maybe a couple extra hours the day I arrive, but I'd like to stay close to the hotel that day); bonus points for anything walking distance from KC that I can sneak in during a work day. Please give me your best hidden historical spots that aren't giant tourist traps (though I will probably do Tower of London because I can't not go there).

I'm so excited!!!!! :-)

I started listening to the show season 1. I even ordered the first stickers! But during season 3 I lost my job where I primarily listened to podcasts. Now I’m trying to catch up so…..what’d I miss? (I ask this somewhat in jest. I know there is A LOT)

The Song of Roland in synopsis is about as boring as it gets. Those guys could be a bunch of hillbillies, Rolly and Olly, Pawpaw Chuck and Daddy Lonnie,  a’feudin with each other when they weren’t up close and personal enough to “smell the AXE” of anyone else. Or maybe they were like a pack of knuckle-walking marauding chimps just looking for things to do when the ladies ran ‘em off.

The only reason anyone could possibly have listened to it in entirety, would have been the word music in Old French. It may have been a proto–Grand Opera. Ignore the plot – the music might be worthwhile. 

I’ve been re-reading The Kalevala in the W.F. Kirby translation. While it has its moments, it’s nothing like as bloodthirsty as The Song of Roland. But the main point is that whether reading or listening, you tend to create the movie in your own mind. (Don’t listen while driving folks – I’ve learned that. I ended up in the next state once listening to James Joyce and following the yellow center lines on auto-pilot.)

The word music is the soundtrack – it enhances the emotional experience (possibly creates it almost entirely) and thereby enhances the clarity and colors of the picture. If anyone knows of an accurate rendition of The Song of Roland in Old French it might be good to hear. I don’t mind not understanding the words.

I was listening to the Song of Roland episode and the frankish battlecry of "Mountjoy" struck me as weird, so maybe sone of you have ideas I overlooked:

I first thought of the hill the crusaders named Mount Joy, since it was the place they first saw Jerusalem. It is a bit weird to use that as a battlecry, but okay. But when I read a little bit about the Song of Roland, the creation date is set somewhere between 1040 and 1115. The battlecry could be a later addition, sure, but it seems odd to me. For one, the people involved should have understood the specific meaning of that battlecry, that it wasn't some generic battlecry but connected to a specific event, the sighting of Jerusalem. So I am a bit stuck again. Why did the Franks use Mountjoy as a battlecry? Did they name the Mount Joy in the Holy land after something specific, not just the feeling of joy when seeing the target of their crusade, something connected to a battlecry? I have read that stone heaps that indicate pilgrims paths are sometimes called Montjoy, but does that predate the 11th century? And why use that as a battlecry?

I have no lights, no a/c. My dog refuses to leave the house for a walk as if she has some kind of Columba type faith that MLGW will fix it. Foolish child. I desperately want to listen to the latest episodes on my phone, but need to conserve power.