Épisodes

  • DD - Episode 48 - Fawton

    DD - Episode 48 - Fawton
    Jul 22 2025
    This week, we head to the remote reaches of Cornwall, where the Count of Mortain held almost everything in sight — including Fawton, a manor that offers a rare glimpse into post-Conquest livestock records and the booming medieval wool trade.

    We delve into the life and legacy of Robert of Mortain, the Conqueror’s quiet but crucial half-brother, and ask what we can learn from his bold wager: 120 ships, pledged to an uncertain invasion. Was it madness, loyalty… or something more strategic?

    Plus, a look at how even something as humble as a sheep can reflect centuries of trade — and a reminder that calculated risks, not blind luck, are the engines of real change.

    A warm thank you to this week's Patrons: Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom, and Norman.

    Patreon: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    Cattle Raid: https://books2read.com/u/3LMK21
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    25 min
  • DD - Episode 47 - West Clyst

    DD - Episode 47 - West Clyst
    Jul 15 2025
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we turn our attention to the quiet Devon manor of West Clyst—a small estate with just a handful of tenants and a single named landholder: Wulfgifu, an Anglo-Saxon woman whose name disappears after the Norman Conquest.

    Through this brief but revealing entry, we explore what was lost when women like Wulfgifu were written out of history, what ordinary people might have eaten in 1086, and why the silences in our records matter just as much as the words.

    A story of ploughs, pottage, and the politics of memory.

    This episode was brought to you by: Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom, and Norman. If you want to help them keep making this possible, join the Patreon at: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    12 min
  • DD - Episode 46 - Taunton

    DD - Episode 46 - Taunton
    Jul 8 2025
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we explore the powerful and complex town of Taunton, Somerset—a Domesday entry bursting with legal privileges, economic reach, and a population that far exceeded what the record shows. From borough-rights and crime fines to buried lords and bishop-run courts, Taunton shows us what it meant to wield local power in medieval England—and what that still means for us today.

    Plus: a deep dive into swineherds, tax biases, and why local control isn't always local accountability.

    This episode brought to you by: Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom and Norman.

    Patreon: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    26 min
  • DD - Episode 45 - Swyre

    DD - Episode 45 - Swyre
    Jul 1 2025
    In this week’s episode of Domesday Delving, we travel to Swyre in Dorset — a small coastal holding with a rare gem in its Domesday entry: a clear acknowledgement of King Harold. From this one line, we dive into the life, reign, and legacy of England’s last crowned Anglo-Saxon king.

    Was Harold Godwinson truly the usurper the Normans painted him to be — or a legitimate king cut down by an invading opportunist? Why does so much of what we “know” about 1066 come from those who had the most to gain from rewriting the story? We explore how propaganda shaped the narrative of conquest — and how it still works today. From medieval tapestries to modern news channels, we ask: who gets to tell the story, and what happens when we only hear one side?
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    31 min
  • DD - Episode 44 - Bedwyn

    DD - Episode 44 - Bedwyn
    Jun 24 2025
    This week on Domesday Delving, we journey to Bedwyn in Wiltshire, a royal estate so significant it was never taxed in hides. We explore the powerful symbolism of money, from medieval plough-teams and burgesses to today's digital currencies, and ask what it means when wealth loses its weight.

    Along the way, we look at coliberts, crown land, and why even the absence of a mint can tell us a great deal about value, power, and who gets remembered in history
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    16 min
  • DD - Episode 43 - Speen

    DD - Episode 43 - Speen
    Jun 17 2025
    This week, we delve into Speen in Berkshire, a village whose Domesday entry includes a church, a mill, and seven slaves. What begins as a straightforward exploration quickly spirals into a deeper conversation about the history of slavery, the role of the Church, and the uncomfortable ways in which religious institutions have justified, and at times resisted, systems of oppression.

    As promised, here are the links, in order, to Kidnap, Organ Grinders, and Payback:

    https://books2read.com/u/3JwE0e

    https://books2read.com/u/bOk1d0

    https://books2read.com/u/4AyO5e
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    13 min
  • DD - Episode 42 - Damerham

    DD - Episode 42 - Damerham
    Jun 8 2025
    This week on Domesday Delving, we travel to Damerham in Hampshire, a village with Neolithic tombs, a royal past, and a surprisingly tangled tax record.

    Once a royal estate and later a valuable holding of Glastonbury Abbey, Damerham’s Domesday entry reveals confusion over land value, rising rents, and a striking population of coliberts - freemen in a feudal world.

    We dig into the medieval tax system, ask who really pays for empire-building, and reflect on how today’s tax avoidance by global giants echoes the same patterns, squeezing the poorest while the wealthiest slip away. Yes, this one’s political. And yes, it needs to be.

    Also: Payback, the third book in the Orbitals series, is out now! Corporate cybercrime, revenge, and high-speed justice for just 99 cents this month. You can get it here: https://books2read.com/u/4AyO5e
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    15 min
  • DD - Episode 41 - Mortlake

    DD - Episode 41 - Mortlake
    Jun 3 2025
    This week, we head to Mortlake in Surrey, a manor so rich in assets it even held properties in London and Southwark.

    Once the domain of Archbishop Stigand and later seized by Lanfranc, Mortlake offers a window into the tangled relationship between church and state after the Norman Conquest. We look at the political rivalry between these two ecclesiastical giants, the Church's role in government, and how rural manors ended up controlling urban real estate.

    Along the way, we unpack strange terms like "messuage," revisit the question of Harold’s legitimacy, and explore what happens when religion and political power become too closely entwined.

    Domesday Delving has a Patreon here: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    And if you want to escape medieval England for a cyberpunk future, Payback is available here: https://books2read.com/u/4AyO5e

    This episode brought to you by Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom.
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    17 min