547-561 The two remaining Merovingian kings, Chlothar and Childebert, rule the now vast lands of the Franks, while warily eying each other. The question of inheritance hangs over everything, and one son decides to betray his father. Links: www.instagram.com/darkagespod Webpage for this Episode: https://darkagespod.com/2025/04/16/57-the-life-and-loves-of-theudebert-i/ Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

c. 500 to 590 "Bishops move diagonally. That's why they often turn up where the kings don't expect them to be." - Terry Pratchett, Small Gods   Links: www.instagram.com/darkagespod Webpage for this Episode: https://darkagespod.com/2025/05/05/58-bishops-gambits/   Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Additional Music: Hildegard of Bingen, “Antiphon for St. Ursula” Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

516 - 548 One of the strongest of the early Merovingians, Theudebert built a powerful kingdom while squabbling with his uncles and carrying on a complicated personal life. Links: www.instagram.com/darkagespod   Webpage for this Episode: https://darkagespod.com/2025/04/16/57-the-life-and-loves-of-theudebert-i/   Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/  

511-532 Out of the four sons of Clovis, not one of them was the type to stay at home, or to be content with what he had. In this episode, we’ll abandon chronological accuracy for the moment, to tell stories of each of these kings. Violence, mostly. Links: www.instagram.com/darkagespod   Webpage for this Episode: Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

c. 450 - c. 600 When Clovis, king of the Franks, died in 511, he passed on to his sons a huge territory, containing many millions of people. In this episode, we take a look at those people, how they made their livings, and how they organized society around them. Links: www.instagram.com/darkagespod https://www.museedestempsbarbares.fr/le-village-franc/ Webpage for this Episode: https://darkagespod.com/2025/03/03/the-kingdoms-of-francia/     Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/  

Basque-ing in Glory 4000 BCE to c. 700 CE The Western Pyrenees are home to the Basques, a mysterious community who speaks a unique language, and who have been there … for as long as anyone can tell. In this episode we’ll explore their history up through the seventh century, and their relationship to the people who have come and gone around them. Webpage for this Episode https://darkagespod.com/2025/01/31/54-basque-ing-in-glory/ Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Of Outstanding Goodness 586 to 601 CE Reccared takes the throne and makes a momentous change. The Visigothic kingdom becomes unified under one religion and climbs to a new level of stability and security. Webpage for this Episode Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

A Saintly Prince 578 to 586  CE Religious differences lead to rebellion and murder, as a Visigothic prince becomes a martyr for Catholicism… or does he? Webpage for this Episode https://darkagespod.com/2024/12/30/52-a-saintly-prince/ Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

A strong king emerges in Visigothic Hispania, who moves to reform his kingdom and push to develop a new identity.  Webpage for this Episode https://darkagespod.com/2024/12/16/51-liuvigild-and-the-search-for-unity/ Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Five Kings and Some Romans 513 to 552 CE Putting on the afterburners to get through about fifty years of Visigothic history, as the Balt dynasty runs out into the sand, and uncertainty and internal division opens the door to outside powers. Webpage for this Episode https://darkagespod.com/2024/07/21/50-five-kings-and-some-romans/ Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/  

Conquest and Crisis: Visigoth Hispania, Pt. 1  456 to 513 CE After beating up on the Suevi it was the Visigoths’ turn to be beaten up by the Franks. After years of expansion, the Visigoths are forced to realign themselves south, under a new, unlucky king. Webpage for this Episode https://darkagespod.com/2024/07/02/conquest-and-crisis-visigoth-hispania-pt-1/ Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

The Kingdom of the Suevi  C.418 to 470 The Suevi have been the unloved stepchildren of the Dark Ages Podcast for far too long, and finally get their own episode! They’re going to have to be happy with it because I don’t see anything else coming their way. We’ll trace their origins in the forests of Germania, their establishment of a kingdom in northwestern Hispania, and the fortunes of their three most successful kings, before it all turns to mush in the end. Webpage for this Episode https://darkagespod.com/2024/06/17/48-the-kingdom-of-the-suevi/ Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

C.406 to 452 And we’re back! Thank you to everyone for your patience and kind emails and messages, they meant a lot to me and kept me motivated to come back. Hispania was a peaceful and prosperous part of the Roman Empire for much of its history, and a popular retirement destination. The arrival of the Vandals, Suevi, and Alans, followed by the Visigoths, put all that peace and tranquility firmly in the rear view mirror. Webpage for this Episode darkagespod.com/2024/06/10/47-roman-hispania/ Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

The Fall of Italy March 538 - May 540 The Gothic War grew in intensity after the siege of Rome, and Belisarius had to deal with threats both from without and from within his own army as he fought to bring it to a successful conclusion. The war spread across northern Italy, with devastating consequences for the civilian populace. Instagram Sources Support the Show Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

What happens when I wander off topic into the wilds of Magical Practice in Byzantine Egypt? You get a bonus episode, that’s what!  This one explores a story of one particular Egyptian saint, and the strange case of the woman transformed into a horse. It’s just a bit of anthropological fun. We’ll be back to Belisarius in the next episode. Instagram Sources Support the Show Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Other Music: "Ritual" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   "Rites" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   "Shaving Mirror" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Wives, Lovers, and The Worst Year Ever This episode is all over the place. It features marital infidelity, official corruption, Swiss glaciers, an Icelandic volcano, and an attempt at an Irish accent that inevitably slides into a Scottish one in less than four words. Enjoy. Instagram Sources Support the Show Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

November 536 to March 538 Belisarius continues moving up the Italian Peninsula, to bring his army to attack the greatest prize: Rome itself. Instagram Sources Support the Show Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/  

Theodahad’s Thirty Pigs 535 to 536 The death of Amalasuintha triggered the Gothic Wars, wherein the Eastern Empire, under Justinian, attempted to claw back what it had lost in Italy. This episode follows the war up to  the siege of Naples by Belisarius in the autumn of 536. Transcript Instagram Sources Support the Show Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com    

Queen of the Goths 526 to 535 The death of Theodoric brought his youngest daughter Amalasuintha to power, as regent to her son Athalaric. She was the first queen of a post Roman state to openly wield authority, and inherited a realm divided against itself. This episode tells her story. Instagram Sources Support the Show Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Additional Music:   "I Walk With Ghosts",  by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  "The Epic 2"  by Rafael Krux Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5384-the-epic-2- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  Music promoted on https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ "Nordic Wist" and "Pippin the Hunchback" by Kevin MacLeod (https://www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ "We Three Celtic Kings" by Alexander Nakarada | https://creatorchords.com Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   Sound effects from freesound.com and https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

September 533 - March 534 Things go from bad to worse for the Vandals in Africa. Instagram Sources Support the Show Title Music:"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound effects from freesound.com