Bonus Episode - Thugs & Miracles

09/02/21 • 38 min

This week we have a special treat - Episode 1 of Thugs & Miracles a podcast by Benjamin Bernier. We handed our feed over to Benjamin, a gifted storyteller who brings you the History of France from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the Fall of the Guillotine:

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Thugs and Miracles! In this first episode of the podcast that looks back at 1,500 years of history through the eyes of the kings and queens of France, we'll set the scene for you. With the Western Roman Empire collapsing and on its way out, a power vacuum developed in the areas that the legions once kept under the control of emperors; now, barbarian kings, many who had ties to the old Empire, are left to fight it out for supremacy. This is the world of 476 CE, the beginning of the Medieval Era, and a time filled with more violence, spirituality and drama than any television show or movie could even hope to capture.

This is a time of long-haired, mystical kings; of queens making power plays in a male-dominated society, and stories of patricide, fratricide, and every other type of -cide possible. It’s the history of court members making power grabs and overthrowing regimes; of deals made to unite religions and compel alliances; and of miracles, saints and relics appearing through the years to change the course of events and make the impossible possible. Professor Paul Freedman may have said it best when he said of these times, “we're into what certainly seems like a combination of thugs and miracles.”

Thugs and Miracles is available on all major podcast platforms and on www.thugsandmiracles.com

Thugs and Miracles is available on all major podcast platforms and on www.thugsandmiracles.com

Previous Episode

Ep. 29 - The Last Years of Henry III - Tyrant or consolidator of power?

In 1046 Henry III reached the zenith of his rule. He deposed three unworthy popes and replaced them with serious churchmen who will bring the necessary reforms about. Domestically he is in control of the three Eastern European states, Poland, Bohemia and Hungary and the restless Lotharingians seem settled.

How did it come about that by 1056 the chronicler writes that "both the foremost men and the lesser men of the kingdom began more and more to murmur against the emperor. They complained he had long since departed from his original conduct of justice, peace, piety, fear of god and manifold virtues in which he ought to have made progress"

The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.

As always:

Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com

If you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans Podcast

Facebook: @HOTGPod

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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.

So far I have:

The Ottonians

Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy

Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen

Frederick II Stupor Mundi

Saxony and Eastward Expansion

The Hanseatic League

The Teutonic Knights

The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356

The Reformation before the Reformation

Next Episode

Ep. 30 - Three Roads to Canossa - Lay Piety, Reform Papacy and the Saxon Rebellion

Emperor Henry III is dead. The realm is now in the hands of his widow, Agnes of Poitou who rules on behalf of the six-year-old king Henry IV. Agnes is no Theophanu and no Adelheid. Not that she is incompetent, she just isn't absolutely brilliant, and absolutely brilliant is the baseline necessary to manage this fragile situation.

The relationship between the central imperial power and the magnates has flipped, and instead of all-powerful emperors, the dukes, counts and bishops do what they like. And Henry III's bête noire, Godfrey the Bearded is more powerful than ever.

The laity calls for a church that is more like the church of the apostles, pious and dedicated to the poor. They demand an end to simony and the licentiousness of priests.

And the papacy asserts its independence. Not that they necessarily intend to throw off the imperial yoke, but the reformers need protectors against the Roman aristocracy that literally used popes as footstools and ATMs.

All this culminates in a situation where the young king Henry IV sees no other way to escape from his opponents than by jumping into the cold and fast flowing River Rhine, choosing death over captivity..