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  • The thirteen silver pennies that erased Ceolwulf II from the record

    The thirteen silver pennies that erased Ceolwulf II from the record
    2026/10/30
    A metal-detectorist uncovers thirteen silver pennies that show Alfred of Wessex seated equal with Ceolwulf II-what did it cost him?

    The thirteen silver pennies that erased Ceolwulf II from the record

    In this episode, we follow how a 2015 coin find in Oxfordshire reopened a debate about Ceolwulf II, Mercian kingship, and Alfred of Wessex. The episode traces the evidence in coins and charters and asks what the coinage tells us about power, memory, and who shaped the written record.

    Person: Ceolwulf II
    Event: Thirteen silver coins found in Oxfordshire, 2015
    Date: 874-879 (Ceolwulf’s reign and disappearance)
    Location: Repton (Viking winter camp) and Watlington (coin find)
    Topic: Coin iconography and competing historical narratives

    - A metal-detectorist unearthed thirteen thumbnail-sized silver pennies in Oxfordshire in 2015.
    - Each coin portrays two crowned, robed kings seated side by side, with Alfred of Wessex shown as a peer.
    - The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, compiled under Alfred’s authority, calls Ceolwulf “an unwise king’s thane.”
    - Surviving Mercian charters show Burgred’s thegns and bishops witnessing Ceolwulf’s legal acts, indicating an operative court.
    - Burgred fled to Rome after the Great Heathen Army wintered at Repton, and Ceolwulf appears in records from 874 until his silence around 879.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • The nine days in January that cost Æthelred his lasting fame

    The nine days in January that cost Æthelred his lasting fame
    2026/10/29
    A king wins a great West Saxon victory on a chalk ridge in January 871 but dies nine days later - what did it cost him and the memory of his reign?

    The nine days in January that cost Æthelred his lasting fame

    In this episode, we follow the arc of Æthelred I's brief but consequential rule: his promise to preserve the kingdom, the chalk-ridge victory against the Great Heathen Army, and the sudden death that left his legacy fragile. How did nine days in January 871 reshape which brother history remembered?

    Person: Æthelred I
    Event: Battle on a chalk ridge and death nine days later in January 871
    Related figure: Alfred, his younger brother
    Surviving artefacts: 152 silver coins stamped by 32 moneyers
    Context: Great Heathen Army invasion of southern England, winter 870-871

    - Æthelred signed royal charters as filius regis from 854 and ruled as king after Æthelberht's death in 865.
    - He promised the witan and Alfred that the throne and realm would pass intact at his death.
    - The Great Heathen Army occupied Reading around 28 December 870 and built earthworks between the Thames and the Kennet.
    - In January 871 Æthelred broke the Great Heathen Army on a chalk ridge in what chroniclers frame as the greatest West Saxon victory in a generation.
    - Only 152 silver coins and scattered documents survive as material traces of Æthelred's six years holding the line against Viking forces.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • The carved disc that cost a Norse sailor his way home

    The carved disc that cost a Norse sailor his way home
    2026/10/28
    A Norse sailor holds a seven-centimeter carved disc in Greenland and risks everything to navigate the North Atlantic - what did it cost him?

    The carved disc that cost a Norse sailor his way home

    In this episode, we trace a small carved softwood disc unearthed in 1948 and follow how researchers decoded its notches as a possible sun-compass used by Norse mariners. The episode covers the artifact’s discovery, its physical details, and the archaeological and historical context that links it to vanished Greenland settlements - could a simple piece of wood have steered people across 700 miles of ocean?

    Person: Christen Vebæk
    Date: 1948
    Location: Uunartoq, Greenland
    Period: late tenth to fifteenth century
    Topic: carved softwood disc interpreted as a Norse sun-compass

    - A seven-centimeter carved softwood disc was pulled from beneath collapsed stone in the ruins of a Benedictine convent at Uunartoq.
    - The disc bears thirty-two triangular notches-eight per quadrant-matching the layout of a traditional mariner’s compass rose.
    - Scored lines and a central pinhole suggest a shadow-casting device calibrated to the sun’s arc at solstices and equinoxes.
    - Microscopic study in 1990 showed lines were double-traced, indicating deliberate, durable engraving by a craftsperson.
    - The disc was catalogued by Danish archaeologist Christen Vebæk and later studied by historians like Carl V. Sølver as researchers tried to link it to the vanished Norse Greenland colony.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • The confession to King David that cost him exile and a ruined reputation

    The confession to King David that cost him exile and a ruined reputation
    2026/10/27
    A Viking raider confesses to a Scottish king in person for a monastery raid-what did it cost him?

    The confession to King David that cost him exile and a ruined reputation

    In this episode, we follow the life of Sweyn Asleifsson as the Orkneyinga Saga records it, tracing his rise from a table-game killing to a career of raids, feuds, and shifting protectors. We cover his relationship with Earl Rögnvald, the raid on the Isle of May monastery, and the moment he sails to King David to confess-what did he hope to gain or lose?

    Person: Sweyn Asleifsson
    Event: Raid on the Isle of May monastery and confession to King David
    Text: Orkneyinga Saga (twelfth century)
    Ally/Opponent: Rögnvald Kali Kolsson; protector turned enemy Holdbodi

    - A killing over a board game propels Sweyn from feast to outlaw and sends him into Tiree with a ship and crew.
    - Sweyn expands his reach, raiding as far south as the Isles of Scilly while operating inside the brutal grammar of Norse feud law.
    - He kills an enemy’s grandmother, a deliberate message that perpetuates a family feud and marks his extreme tactics.
    - Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, a poetic earl and future saint, becomes the central relationship that repeatedly intersects with Sweyn’s violent career.
    - After raiding the Isle of May monastery and taking its treasury, Sweyn sails deliberately to King David to make a public confession rather than hide from consequence.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    25 分
  • The victory at Islandbridge that made every Irish chronicler hate him

    The victory at Islandbridge that made every Irish chronicler hate him
    2026/10/26
    A Viking sea‑king seizes Dublin and kills six Irish kings at Islandbridge - then leaves for England; what did his victory cost him?

    The victory at Islandbridge that made every Irish chronicler hate him

    In this episode, we follow the fragmented record of Sitric Cáech from a nameless English princess handed to him at Tamworth to the silver coins that whisper of his reign. The episode traces his return to Dublin, the slaughter at Islandbridge, and the puzzling departure to England - asking what the biggest victories cost this sea‑king and his legacy.

    Person: Sitric Cáech
    Event: Battle of Islandbridge
    Date: 919
    Location: Dublin / Liffey
    Artifact: Coins reading "SITRIC COMES" from the Cuerdale Hoard

    - A princess of the English royal house was given to Sitric at Tamworth in 926; scribes recorded the marriage but not her name.
    - Sitric was grandson of Ímar and part of the Uí Ímair dynasty that moved between Ireland, Scotland, and northern England.
    - In 902 the Uí Ímair lost Dublin and scattered; Sitric returned with a fleet in 917 to reconquer it, defeating Leinster at Mag Femen and capturing Dublin.
    - In 919 Sitric faced six Irish kings at Islandbridge, including High King Niall Glúndub; all six kings died in that battle.
    - After 920 Sitric left Dublin "through the power of God," raided in Cheshire, and by 921 was King of Northumbria; surviving evidence of his rule includes silver coins inscribed "SITRIC COMES."

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    23 分
  • The raven banner he carried cost him his name and a place in the chronicle

    The raven banner he carried cost him his name and a place in the chronicle
    2026/10/25
    A Viking commander lands in Devon with a raven banner and 23 ships; his name is missing from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - what did it cost him?

    The raven banner he carried cost him his name and a place in the chronicle

    In this episode, we follow the winter crossing and the Devon hill fight that left 840 men dead and a raven banner captured, tracing how a blank in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle became a name centuries later. What does that absence tell us about identity, memory, and the making of a legend?

    Person: Odda of Devon
    Event: Winter crossing and battle in Devon, 877-878
    Ships: 23
    Dead: 840
    Source: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Estoire des Engleis; Passio sancti Eadmundi

    - A fleet of 23 ships crossed from Dyfed into Devon in the winter of 877-878 carrying roughly 840 men.
    - The force carried the raven banner Hræfn, a sacred standard linked to Odin and a claim to fate held by a commander.
    - The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the capture of the raven banner by Ealdorman Odda of Devon but names no enemy leader.
    - Three centuries later the Estoire des Engleis assigns the missing commander the name Ubba and links him to a Devon mound called Ubbelawe.
    - Contemporary sources name leaders of the Great Heathen Army (Ivar, Halfdan, Bagsecg) while one brother of Ivar and Halfdan is mentioned elsewhere without a name.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • Halfdan's Coin: How a Viking King Lost England to Other Vikings

    Halfdan's Coin: How a Viking King Lost England to Other Vikings
    2026/10/24
    A Viking commander minted coins in London and claimed rule, but holding England meant fighting rivals and winter - what did it cost him?

    Halfdan's Coin: How a Viking King Lost England to Other Vikings

    In this episode, we follow the movements and decisions that let a Viking commander claim English cities and mint his name on coin, and we trace how those same choices led him away from the land he seized. How did logistics, politics, and rival ambitions shape the rise and unraveling of his control?

    Person: Halfdan Ragnarsson
    Date: 871 (coin struck in London in the winter of 871)
    Location: London; Wessex; Northumbria; Strangford Lough (Ireland)
    Event: Great Heathen Army campaigns in England and subsequent conflicts in Ireland

    - Halfdan’s force landed in East Anglia in 865 and prioritized seizing horses to build a mounted campaign supply system.
    - York fell in 866 amid Northumbrian civil war; Halfdan installed a puppet ruler and used English towns to winter his army.
    - In 867 Halfdan moved to Nottingham and accepted a truce with Mercia as a strategic decision to manage enemies sequentially.
    - By winter 871 Halfdan was minting silver coins stamped with his name in London as a claim to governance.
    - In 871 the campaign against Wessex produced nine pitched battles across the year, with Wessex repeatedly refusing to be subdued.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • The marriage offer from Jerusalem that cost his crusade decades

    The marriage offer from Jerusalem that cost his crusade decades
    2026/10/23
    A Norman regent in Palermo accepts a marriage offer from Jerusalem in 1112 that will ripple across the crusading world - but what does it cost him?

    The marriage offer from Jerusalem that cost his crusade decades

    In this episode, we follow Adelaide del Vasto from her arrival in Sicily as a teenager to eleven years of regency and bilingual rule in Palermo. The episode traces how her ongoing signatures on state documents, suppression of rebellions, and a 1112 marriage proposal from Jerusalem set a chain of political decisions into motion - and asks what price her choices extracted from the crusading generations that followed.

    Person: Adelaide del Vasto
    Date: 1112 (marriage offer); 1101-1112 (regency period described)
    Location: Palermo, Sicily and Calabria
    Event: Messenger from Jerusalem delivering a marriage proposal
    Role: Regent; named malikah in bilingual charter of 1109

    - A girl from Piedmont is married into Roger I’s conquest court and becomes a central figure in a mixed Latin-Greek-Arab administration.
    - After Roger I’s death in 1101, Adelaide rules as regent for two young sons, suppressing rebellions in Calabria and Sicily.
    - Palermo solidifies as the capital under her rule, and officials like the emir Christodulus rise within the existing bilingual bureaucracy.
    - Even after formally handing power to Roger II in 1112, Adelaide’s signature continues to appear repeatedly on official state instruments.
    - In 1112 a messenger from Jerusalem delivers a marriage proposal that links her fate to a dynastic scheme reaching from Palermo to Jerusalem.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分