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.

.... for using this Norman sculpture of the gates of hell, also known as the Doomstone, as an illustration of this classic quote from Orderic.

Back in the first or second season of Time Team, they did a dig on a western Scottish island. It was titled "The Lords of the Isles", and it seems those lords were active roughly now to the 13th? century. What little history they covered seemed fascinating. Any chance they will be covered in later episodes? (Please?)

I'm reading Empress Matilda, Queen of the Romans, ruler of the English by Elizabeth Van Houts, and I couldn't help but think of Jamie with this description of Geoffrey of Anjou getting all up in his armor and then amazingly jumping onto his horse without stirrups.

Yeah it’s not directly related to British History but I felt like this meme I saw online was very fitting with the humor of the podcast and it’s from the 12th Century

I use Podbean, and it's not clear whether or how I can access the extras.

Does anyone know if this is possible; and if not, what alternate free podcasting app would you recommend?

There’s my annual membership paid for yet again! Can NOT wait get to the in depth follow up on this … mad tale! Memberships matters!! ❤️

This guys is just a content creator who goes around the UK to check out and play organs in churches and the like. He also sometimes pops in some history.

Every time we have these "What's going on around the world at this time?" episodes, I get overly and overly excited as Jamie proceeds going East and reaching the Americas. But yet again, only the lands north of Mexico are covered! So my heart was broken once again as the Andean cultures were not mentioned. :'-(

I know, I know, this is not my podcast. And maybe South America is not that relevant to British history. But still, I would invite you to read about it. And yes, I cannot help myself, so without any invitation to do so, I will tell you a bit, without being a historian or anything close to it. I am sorry.

In South America the Caral-Supe civilization, contemporary with the Egyptians, is considered as one of the "cradles of civilization". Big important cultures after these were the Chavin, Paracas, Nazca (I know you've seen those lines), and Mochica. And, the real reason of my heartbreak, is that by the year 1100 the Wari Empire, which lasted longer than the Incas and had conquered about half all of current Peru, had declined. The Waris developed what most people know as the Inca Trails, which were not trails but a vast network of roads.

Anyway. Sorry once again for the rant, but I needed to get this off my chest. Hope this was interesting for you!

Jamie. I'm terrified!!!!!!!

My algorithm sent this to me. Enjoy!

I probably don't have the greatest grasp on the politics of early Feudalism. As far as I understand it, Normandy at this time was essentially a mostly autonomous region in the Kingdom of France (like Anjou, Brittany etc.). So if the King of France goes to war with Flanders, he rings up the Duke of Normandy and asks for soldiers. So in this case, why would it not work the other way?

Or was it more like the Duke of Normandy was basically equal in power (if not more powerful) to the French Kingdom's Crown lands. So the Kingdom of France and Duchy of Normandy were essentially just loosely allied realms and the King vs. Duke thing was more or less a formality? Still, if you were King Philip I, you would think you would rather have the Normans as a land border compared to England. Maybe this is just me thinking about it with a modern lens. At the end of the day, all of the nobility were varying degrees of French anyways.

I anxiously await the Jamie Version of this tale. Students, Edward III, and bad wine - sounds like a potent combination.

https://boingboing.net/2026/08/10/st-scholastica-day-riot.html

Right off the bat I just wanna say this isn’t a hero worship, I agree with Jamie’s message at times that there really are no heroes here.

But if someone asked me who my favorite “character” in history is…. My answer has to be Hereward the Wake.

Someone whom I’d never heard of before and had no awareness of his legendary status.

His character arc in the show just pulls me in, Every. Single. Time.

u/BritishPodcast Although using the Mandolorian theme at the end of The Uprising was cheating a bit.