The Saint Brice's Day Massacre of 1002: A Case of Medieval Ethnic Cleansing?
About this episode
In this episode Ellen and I talk about one of the more puzzling events in the history of England’s Viking Wars, the St. Brice's Davy Massacre. In the year 1002, King Æthelred "the Unready" issued an order that on St. Brice's Day all the Danes dwelling in England were to be killed in a "most just extermination." Writers from the late eleventh century to the present day--including the script writers for the recent Netflix series, "Vikings: Valhalla"--have depicted what occurred on 13 November 1002 as an indiscriminate slaughter of innocent men, women, and children. In their accounts the St. Brice's Day Massacre was a medieval attempt at ethnic cleansing. But was it? Archaeologists and academic historians have their doubts. Please join Ellen and me in our exploration of the blackest mark on the reputation of one of England’s unluckiest kings. (If you are interested, I made a YouTube video on the St. Brice's Day Massacre for The Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages with Nick Barksdale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vms6_DboG8c. It is one of several YouTube lectures I did on King Æthelred and the Viking Wars.)
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Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada
If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com