Episodios

  • Cenwalh of Wessex: Exile, Conversion, and the Fragile Rise of Christian England

    Cenwalh of Wessex: Exile, Conversion, and the Fragile Rise of Christian England
    Jul 13 2025
    Cenwalh of Wessex: Exile, Conversion, and the Fragile Rise of Christian England
    Royalty: Let’s Make Sense of This Shit 👑

    A kingdom on the edge—power lost, faith gained, and a king fighting to come home.

    Cenwalh’s reign is raw, messy, and transformational. From scandalous marriage breakups to exile in a foreign court, his journey sparks the fragile dawn of Christianity in Wessex. What happens when a king loses everything — and everything changes?

    🔥 In this episode:
    • Royal scandal and exile: How repudiating a Mercian princess set a warlord on the run.
    • Conversion and comeback: Cenwalh’s baptism in East Anglia and the reshaping of his kingdom.
    • Church and crown collide: Political and religious power struggles at the heart of Wessex.
    • Family and missing voices: The queens, rivals, and shadows history almost forgot.
    • Legacy in flux: How Cenwalh’s reign set the stage for England’s future—yet left more questions than answers.
    ✨ Why listen?

    Because history isn’t neat or simple. It’s about flawed humans, messy politics, faith crises, and survival. Isabella guides you through the raw and real story behind a king whose story reshaped a nation’s soul.

    🤔 What’s at stake?
    Power, identity, belief — and the stories we tell about who deserves to wear the crown.

    🧾 Sources & scholarship:
    Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, fresh scholarship, myth-busting insights, and a dash of irreverence.

    🌱 Listener reflection:
    If you lost your kingdom, would you find yourself? What parts of your story will survive? Send your thoughts, questions, and family legends.

    Next up: Ceolwulf, the king who inherited a kingdom on edge and faced the relentless push of faith and power.

    Subscribe, share your stories, and let’s keep making sense of this royal shit—together.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/royalty-let-s-make-sense-of-this-sh-t--6635619/support.
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    57 m
  • Cwichelm of Wessex: Assassination, Survival, and the Shadowy Origins of a Kingdom

    Cwichelm of Wessex: Assassination, Survival, and the Shadowy Origins of a Kingdom
    Jul 7 2025
    Cwichelm of Wessex: Assassination, Survival, and the Shadowy Origins of a Kingdom

    Royalty: Let’s Make Sense of This Shit👑

    A king cloaked in mystery, living in the violent blur of early 7th-century Britain.

    
Cwichelm’s reign is marked by shadowy plots, a failed assassination attempt on a rival king, and the fragile birth pains of Wessex itself.

    🔥 In this episode:
    * The daring attempt on King Edwin of Northumbria’s life — and how one man’s gamble changed the course of English history.
    * Power and partnership: unraveling the murky relationship between Cwichelm and Cynegils, co-kings or rivals?
    * The dangerous crossroads of paganism and Christianity — faith, politics, and survival in a kingdom on the edge.
    * Family and legacy: the missing queens, sons who carry on, and the invisible forces shaping a dynasty.
    * Myth-busting the murky sources — what’s history, what’s legend, and why does it matter?

    ✨ Why listen?

    This episode dives deep into the forgotten corners of early English royalty, unpacking a story that’s messy, human, and full of uncertainty — told with brutal honesty and a touch of irreverence. Isabella guides you through the wild world of Wessex’s shadow kings, where every alliance is fragile and every story incomplete.

    🤔 What’s at stake?
    
How do you hold power when history barely remembers your name?
    
Who decides which stories survive—and which are lost in the fog?
    
What does legacy mean when memory is fragile and kingdoms fragile too?

    🧾 Sources & Scholarship:

    The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, genealogical puzzles, and modern historical research — plus fresh reflections and myth-busting you won’t find in textbooks.

    🌱 Listener Reflection:
    
If you were a shadow king like Cwichelm, what story would you want remembered?
Send in your thoughts, questions, or family legends. Let’s keep the conversation going.

    Next up: Cynegils — the king who baptized Wessex and changed the kingdom forever.
    Subscribe, share, and help us unravel the royal mess — together.



    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/royalty-let-s-make-sense-of-this-sh-t--6635619/support.
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    43 m
  • Cynegils of Wessex: Baptism, Battles, and the Birth of a Christian Kingdom

    Cynegils of Wessex: Baptism, Battles, and the Birth of a Christian Kingdom
    Jun 29 2025
    Cynegils of Wessex: Baptism, Battles, and the Birth of a Christian Kingdom
    Royalty: Let’s Make Sense of This Shit

    👑 Chaos, conversion, and survival on the edge of a new era.

    Cynegils ruled a kingdom caught between old gods and new faiths, fragile borders and fierce rivals. His baptism wasn’t just a spiritual act—it was a royal gamble that shaped the future of Wessex and England itself.

    🔥 In this episode:
    • Brutal wars and shifting alliances: battles against Britons and power plays with Northumbria’s king Edwin.
    • The tangled family tree: royal rivalries, missing queens, and the stakes of succession.
    • Christianity arrives in Wessex: baptism, Bishop Birinus, and the clash of pagan tradition with a new religion.
    • Behind the throne: daily life in a traveling royal court, invisible women, and the human costs of power.
    • Legacy in flux: what did it mean to be “king” when everything was changing?
    • Myth-busting and mystery: piecing together a life hidden in the fog of history.
    ✨ Why listen?
    This is the unvarnished, messy story of a king who held his kingdom together at the dawn of a new age. Isabella guides you through blood, faith, and family drama with humor and honesty, bringing the shadows of history into sharp, human focus.

    🤔 What’s at stake?
    How do you hold onto power when gods change and enemies multiply?
    What’s the price of survival—and conversion—in a world built on swords and stories?

    🧾 Sources & Scholarship:
    The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, archaeological insights, and cutting-edge scholarship—all woven with myth-busting and personal reflection.

    🌱 Listener Reflection:
    If you had to choose faith or family, war or peace, what would your story be? Share your thoughts, legends, and questions with us.

    Next up: Cenwalh, Cynegils’ son, faces exile, war, and the ongoing struggle to define Wessex’s place in a Christianizing England.

    Subscribe, send your stories, and let’s keep making sense of this royal shit—together.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/royalty-let-s-make-sense-of-this-sh-t--6635619/support.
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    38 m
  • Ceolwulf: The Lost King of Early Wessex — Untangling the Shadows of a Forgotten Reign

    Ceolwulf: The Lost King of Early Wessex — Untangling the Shadows of a Forgotten Reign
    Jun 22 2025
    Ceolwulf of Wessex: The Lost King in History’s Shadows
    Royalty: Let’s Make Sense of This Shit

    👑 A reign barely remembered — but what if the quiet kings hold the truest stories?
    Ceolwulf’s Wessex is a world of shifting loyalties, fragile peace, and brutal survival. A king lost in the silence of history, yet essential to the fragile birth of a kingdom.

    🔥 In this episode:
    • The mystery of a seventeen-year reign — what really happened when the chroniclers stopped writing?
    • Power in a world of warriors and whispers — how fragile was Ceolwulf’s hold?
    • Family drama buried in silence — tangled lineages, lost queens, and shadowed heirs.
    • Life beyond the throne — the women, the warriors, the everyday people shaping Wessex.
    • The legacy of survival — why being forgotten doesn’t mean being unimportant.
    ✨ Why listen?
    Because history isn’t just about kings who make headlines — it’s about the ones who hold the line. Isabella guides you through the raw, messy realities behind the silence, with honesty, warmth, and a wink that says “let’s question everything.” This isn’t polished legend; it’s the deeply human story of power, memory, and legacy.

    🤔 What’s at stake?
    Who decides which stories survive? What does it mean to hold power in a world where survival is the greatest victory? And what can a forgotten king teach us about our own place in history?

    🧾 Sources & Scholarship:
    The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, genealogies, archaeology, plus fresh insights and myth-busting reflections that peel back centuries of silence.

    🌱 Listener Reflection:
    What stories are waiting to be rediscovered in your family or your history? What does your own legacy look like when the noise fades? Share your thoughts and questions — you’re part of this royal reckoning.

    Next up: Cynegils. The Christian king who would remake Wessex — baptism, politics, and the kingdom’s next great reinvention.

    Subscribe, send your stories, and let’s keep making sense of this royal shit — together.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/royalty-let-s-make-sense-of-this-sh-t--6635619/support.
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    51 m
  • Ceol of Wessex: Survival, Shadows, and the Fragile Throne

    Ceol of Wessex: Survival, Shadows, and the Fragile Throne
    Jun 15 2025
    Ceol of Wessex: Survival, Shadows, and the Fragile Throne
    Royalty: Let’s Make Sense of This Shit 👑

    Blood spilled, power seized—the chaotic heart of early Wessex unfolds.

    Ceol’s reign was brief, obscure, and overshadowed. Yet, in the wreckage of Ceawlin’s fall, this shadowy king held the kingdom together—barely. What did it mean to rule a realm on the edge of collapse, where family was both ally and enemy?

    🔥 In this episode:
    • Family feuds, betrayals, and brutal violence that decided kingship in the 590s.
    • The mystery of Ceol’s origins: prince, usurper, or survivor?
    • Life at the king’s hall—loyalty, feasts, and fragile alliances in a restless land.
    • The missing voices: queens, sisters, and women erased from the story but shaping history behind the scenes.
    • Legacy in shadow: how survival became a form of power and set the stage for England’s future kings.
    ✨ Why listen?
    Because this isn’t sanitized legend—it’s messy, human, raw. Isabella takes you into the gaps, the silences, and the blood-streaked reality beneath the crown. No sugarcoating, just the full, complicated story of a king lost to history but essential to the making of a kingdom.

    🤔 What’s at stake?
    Power’s fragility. Memory’s selectivity. And what it truly means to inherit a legacy forged in violence and survival.

    🧾 Sources & scholarship:
    The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeological insights, modern historical analysis, and a generous splash of myth-busting and reflection.

    🌱 Listener reflection:
    What would you hold onto if everything was falling apart? Share your thoughts, family stories, or questions, and be part of our royal reckoning.

    Next up: Ceolwulf—the enigmatic successor and the next twist in Wessex’s unfolding drama. Subscribe, send your stories, and let’s keep making sense of this royal shit—together.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/royalty-let-s-make-sense-of-this-sh-t--6635619/support.
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    48 m
  • Ceawlin of Wessex: Power, Betrayal, and the Shadowy Birth of an English Kingdom

    Ceawlin of Wessex: Power, Betrayal, and the Shadowy Birth of an English Kingdom
    Jun 8 2025
    Ceawlin of Wessex: Power, Betrayal, and the Shadowy Birth of an English Kingdom
    Royalty: Let’s Make Sense of This Shit

    👑 Mud, blood, and the brutal truth—step into the chaos of 6th-century Britain.
    Ceawlin’s world is wild, uncertain, and raw. Warlords rule by the sword. Legends and reality blur in the fog of history. Who really built Wessex—and at what cost?

    🔥 In this episode:
    • Epic battles and broken alliances—from Beranburh to Deorham, where ancient cities fall and kingdoms are reimagined.
    • Myth-busting history: Was Ceawlin a nation-builder, a usurper, or both?
    • Family drama on a royal scale—loyalty, betrayal, and exile at the heart of every succession.
    • The “Bretwalda” puzzle: What does it really mean to be “Britain-ruler”—and who decides?
    • Hidden voices: What about the women, the conquered, the forgotten? The untold stories that shaped a kingdom.
    • Legacy and loss: When does a story become a myth, and what survives after the king is gone?

    ✨ Why listen?
    This is the real, messy, deeply human story behind the rise of Wessex—told with honesty, humor, and an open invitation to question everything you’ve ever heard about “royalty.” Isabella is your guide on a journey that refuses to clean up the blood, mud, and heartbreak from history’s pages.

    🤔 What’s at stake?
    Power, identity, memory—who gets remembered, and why?
    What does it mean to build something lasting in a world that keeps shifting under your feet?

    🧾 Sources & Scholarship:
    The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, and cutting-edge modern research—plus a dash of myth-busting, personal reflection, and that signature irreverence.

    🌱 Listener Reflection:
    What would you do for a crown—and what story will be told about you, centuries from now? Send in your thoughts, family legends, and burning questions.

    Next up: Cynegils. Christianity crashes into Wessex. Baptisms, politics, and the next stage of royal reinvention.

    Subscribe, send your stories, and let’s keep making sense of this royal shit—together.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/royalty-let-s-make-sense-of-this-sh-t--6635619/support.
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    43 m
  • Cynric of Wessex: The Ghost King Who Built England’s First Dynasty

    Cynric of Wessex: The Ghost King Who Built England’s First Dynasty
    Jun 1 2025
    The mists of post-Roman Britain have swallowed most names—but Cynric, King of Wessex, refuses to vanish quietly. What do we really know about the man who inherited the “first” English dynasty? Step into sixth-century Wessex, where power is fragile, alliances are dangerous, and even the “facts” are up for grabs. As we dig into Cynric’s 26-year reign, we unravel more questions than answers:

    Was Cynric truly Cerdic’s son, or just a convenient heir for chroniclers desperate to invent a royal line?

    Who were the silent women and “missing” family members shaping a kingdom we’re told was built by men? This episode doesn’t just rehash the old stories—it confronts them. We draw on sources from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicleto modern archaeological finds, revealing how each retelling twists the story in its own way.

    Why do the sources disagree—and what gets lost in the spaces between legend, genealogy, and raw survival?

    You’ll hear how royal myth is spun, challenged, and sometimes flat-out invented. Cynric’s life becomes a window into the everyday struggle of holding power, the burden of being remembered, and the reality that most history is written in pencil, not stone.

    Who gets to found a dynasty, and who gets forgotten?

    And what do we risk when we take the old chronicles at their word? Subscribe for more royalty, more myth-busting, and more of the stories that shape how we make sense of this shit—past and present.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/royalty-let-s-make-sense-of-this-sh-t--6635619/support.
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    44 m
  • Cerdic: The Shadowy Founder of Wessex – Untangling the Real Origins of England’s Royal Story

    Cerdic: The Shadowy Founder of Wessex – Untangling the Real Origins of England’s Royal Story
    May 25 2025
    The roots of English royalty are tangled, messy, and anything but certain—and at the heart of it all is Cerdic, the so-called “founder” of Wessex. Was he a Saxon conqueror, a local Briton with a rebranded name, or something in between? Travel back to a Britain still reeling from the collapse of Rome, where kingdoms are claimed with swords, stories, and sheer nerve. Cerdic’s legacy is written in fragments: scraps of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, whispered local legends, and the shifting landscape of archaeology that refuses to settle on a single truth.

    How did one man’s myth become the cornerstone for centuries of monarchy—and what if it’s built on sand?

    Who decided which voices made it into the story, and which were lost in the fog? This episode pulls apart the legend:

    We follow Cerdic’s arrival on the southern shores, his rise to power, and the gaps and contradictions that turn history into a detective story. Drawing on ancient chronicles, place-name clues, and the hard evidence of burial sites and ruined villas, we piece together the most likely truths—and the stories that were just too convenient to kill.

    Why do some names survive while others disappear?

    And what does Cerdic’s story reveal about how dynasties are created, remembered, and spun? Expect myth-busting, missing women, rival claimants, and the raw reality that no kingdom is born clean.

    Cerdic’s shadow looms over every English king that followed, but his true story is more mysterious—and more human—than any legend.

    Can we ever really know where England’s royalty begins?

    Or is the search itself the real inheritance?

    Subscribe for more royal origins, deep dives, and all the sharp-edged stories that make sense of this shit—one dynasty at a time.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/royalty-let-s-make-sense-of-this-sh-t--6635619/support.
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    1 h y 8 m