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  • DD - Episode 39 - Special - Lady Asa

    DD - Episode 39 - Special - Lady Asa
    2025/05/20
    In this special episode of Domesday Delving, we take a step back from villages and livestock to explore one of the most remarkable stories buried in the margins of the Domesday Book: the case of Asa, a woman in pre-Conquest England who held land in her own right, kept it after separating from her husband, and stood as its lawful lady, only to lose it all after 1066.

    Her story isn't just a legal oddity. It’s a window into a world where Anglo-Saxon women had more rights than we often remember, and where the Norman conquest erased far more than just names on a page. Along the way, we explore how religious and cultural changes affected women’s rights, why Asa’s land was taken despite clear testimony in her favour, and how quickly rights can vanish when power decides they no longer exist.

    If you want to join the Patreon, here’s the link: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving
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    14 分
  • DD - Episode 38 - Elham

    DD - Episode 38 - Elham
    2025/05/13
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we travel to the Kentish village of Elham, once held directly by the Bishop of Bayeux himself, none other than Odo, half-brother of William the Conqueror.

    From flourishing manorial profits to the shadow of eight slaves still labouring in 1086, Elham tells a story of ambition, control, and the long reach of power. But this week’s episode takes us far beyond Kent to the heart of Norman politics, rebellion, and one man’s attempt to seize two crowns.

    We explore the remarkable life of Odo of Bayeux: bishop, warrior, earl, papal hopeful, and probable patron of the Bayeux Tapestry. His rise, his fall, and his final march on Crusade offer a glimpse into a world where faith, power, and family were constantly at war.Plus: a brief look at what the Bayeux Tapestry means to us today, and what Odo never meant it to.

    If you’d like to support the show, you can now do so on Patreon here: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    And if cyberpunk dystopias are more your speed, my latest novel Organ Grinders is now available here: https://books2read.com/u/bOk1d0

    This episode brought to you with the generous support of Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom.
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    23 分
  • DD - Episode 37 - Aylsham

    DD - Episode 37 - Aylsham
    2025/05/06
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we explore Aylsham in Norfolk—a manor once held by Gyrth Godwinson, brother to Harold, England’s last Anglo-Saxon king.

    We’ll unravel the rise and catastrophic fall of the powerful House of Godwin, whose internal rivalries and personal ambitions helped doom even their strongest estates. From bustling fields and scattered berewicks to the cold realities of post-Conquest life, Aylsham’s story shows how even mighty families can fall, and how places endure even when dynasties do not.

    Join the Domesday Delving Facebook group for discussions and episode updates, and if you’d like to help support the podcast, here's the Patreon link - patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    If you enjoy fast-paced, gritty stories, my new cyberpunk novel Organ Grinders is now available here: https://books2read.com/u/bOk1d0
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    14 分
  • DD - Episode 36 - Chebsey

    DD - Episode 36 - Chebsey
    2025/04/29
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we visit Chebsey in Staffordshire, a small village whose Domesday entry reveals a story of hidden upheaval. Part of Chebsey’s land was taken to build an early castle at Stafford, only for that castle to be demolished within a generation.

    What does this tell us about rebellion, royal insecurity, and the fragile hold the Normans had over England? We’ll explore Chebsey’s landscape of ploughs, villagers, and priests, take a look at the rapid rise and fall of early Norman fortifications, and reflect on how even the smallest places survived the shockwaves of conquest.

    Join the Domesday Delving Facebook group for discussion and episode updates, and if you’d like to help support the podcast, you can join our Patreon here: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    Patreon Supporters: Villeins: Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom
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    11 分
  • DD - Episode 35 - Malpas

    DD - Episode 35 - Malpas
    2025/04/22
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we travel to Malpas in Cheshire—a place whose name, from the Old French mal pas, means bad passage.

    But long before that name took hold, the Anglo-Saxons called it Depenbech: the deep stream valley. Once held by Earl Edwin of Mercia, Malpas stood at the edge of Anglo-Saxon power and Norman ambition. We explore what the Domesday Book reveals about the manor’s collapse into waste after the Conquest, and how it began the slow process of recovery under a new Norman baron.

    This episode also dives into the life and downfall of Edwin himself—a powerful noble caught between loyalty and survival, and a man whose story ended in betrayal. We’ll trace the passage from valley to ruin to resilience—and reflect on how the Domesday Book preserves not only wealth and ownership, but silence, loss, and endurance.

    Join the Domesday Delving Facebook group for community and discussion, and if you’d like to help support the show, here’s the link to the Patreon: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving
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    14 分
  • DD - Episode 34 - Saltby

    DD - Episode 34 - Saltby
    2025/04/15
    Saltby in Leicestershire is no sleepy Domesday backwater. In 1086, it was a bustling, high-output manor with an astonishing workforce: 24 villans, 23 sokemen, 14 bordars and 16 slaves.

    Once held by Earl Morcar, the rebellious Anglo-Saxon noble and son of Lady Godiva, Saltby passed into the hands of Norman baron Roger de Bully after the Conquest but its productivity didn’t falter.

    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we explore the remarkable scale of Saltby’s agricultural economy, uncover the biography of the powerful and ill-fated Earl Morcar, and delve into the lives of those who made the land work including those who had no freedom to call their own.It’s a story of hierarchy, continuity, and quiet endurance set in the fields of a village that still remembers its name, but not always its past.

    Here’s the link to the brand-new Patreon account - patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    If you enjoy high-stakes storytelling, don’t forget to check out my cyberpunk novel Kidnap—available now: https://books2read.com/u/3JwE0e

    Until next time, keep delving!
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    15 分
  • DD - Episode 33 - Corby

    DD - Episode 33 - Corby
    2025/04/08
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we explore the curious note that "many things are wanting to this manor"—including woodland and ironworks that had belonged to it in the time of King Edward. What happened in the twenty years between the Confessor’s reign and the Domesday survey to cause such loss? And what can Corby’s vanished iron industry tell us about resilience, change, and the fragility of local economies in the wake of conquest?
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    13 分
  • DD - Episode 32 - Camelot

    DD - Episode 32 - Camelot
    2025/03/31
    Sometimes, Domesday surprises even me. In this episode of Domesday Delving, we explore an unexpected and little-known entry recorded near the Welsh border: Camelot. With its mix of ploughland, meadows, a vineyard, and a hall already falling into disrepair by 1086, this manor raises fascinating questions about the line between history and legend.

    We’ll look at the landholders before and after the Conquest, including a shadowy figure named Earl Artor, and explore what this record can teach us about medieval administration, cultural memory, and the persistence of local tradition. Plus, we dive into the Arthurian mythos, its early sources, and why stories of Camelot still resonate today.

    And if you enjoy a good mystery, my cyberpunk novel Kidnap is out now! You can find it here: https://books2read.com/u/3JwE0e

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    21 分