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The History of English Podcast

The Spoken History of a Global Language

Ranked #1

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Episode 141: The Great Vowel Shift (Part 1)

Episode 141: The Great Vowel Shift (Part 1)

The term ‘Great Vowel Shift’ was coined in the early 1900s by the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen to describe a systemati... Read more

24 Sep 2020

55mins

Ranked #2

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Episode 10: Early Indo-European Migrations

Episode 10: Early Indo-European Migrations

The emergence of the first Indo-Europeans and the early migrations of these steppe herders is examined.  The specific ad... Read more

5 Sep 2012

42mins

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Ranked #3

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Episode 137: A Rose By Any Other Name

Episode 137: A Rose By Any Other Name

The rose is one of the most beloved flowers in western Europe, and it has a long association with English royalty.  In t... Read more

23 May 2020

1hr 6mins

Ranked #4

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Bonus Episode 1

Bonus Episode 1

Kevin Stroud updates listeners regarding the podcast and the website for the podcast.   Kevin also answers some question... Read more

19 Sep 2012

12mins

Most Popular Podcasts

Ranked #5

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Episode 13: Greece, Phoenicia and the Alphabet

Episode 13: Greece, Phoenicia and the Alphabet

Mycenaean Greek writing disappears during the Greek Dark Age, but the Greeks encounter the Phoenicians and adopt their a... Read more

17 Oct 2012

38mins

Ranked #6

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Episode 71: On The Hunt

Episode 71: On The Hunt

In this episode, we explore the events leading to the death of William the Conqueror. And we’ll look at the reign of his... Read more

5 Dec 2015

Ranked #7

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Episode 130: Dialect Dialogues

Episode 130: Dialect Dialogues

Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the first English writers to compose dialogue in regional dialects to reflect the way charac... Read more

22 Oct 2019

55mins

Ranked #8

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Episode 125: The First English Bible

Episode 125: The First English Bible

Many people are familiar with the King James Bible, but over two centuries earlier, an Oxford theologian named John Wycl... Read more

28 May 2019

1hr 9mins

Ranked #9

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Episode 132: Food for Thought

Episode 132: Food for Thought

In the midst of the English literary revival of the late 1300s, the household chefs of Richard II compiled the first coo... Read more

19 Dec 2019

1hr 10mins

Ranked #10

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Episode 131: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Episode 131: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the most popular English poems of the Middle Ages. In this episode, we explore... Read more

25 Nov 2019

1hr 16mins

Ranked #11

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Episode 14: The Greek Word Horde

Episode 14: The Greek Word Horde

The Classical Greek period is explored with an emphasis on Modern English words which originated during this period of G... Read more

1 Nov 2012

46mins

Ranked #12

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Episode 64: Feudalism and Early Normans

Episode 64: Feudalism and Early Normans

The Normandy of William the Conqueror was a product of the feudal age of Western Europe. In this episode, we explore the... Read more

10 Jul 2015

Ranked #13

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Episode 66: Broken Promises and the Eve of Conquest

Episode 66: Broken Promises and the Eve of Conquest

Many scholars consider the Norman Conquest of England to be the most important event in the history of the English langu... Read more

20 Aug 2015

Ranked #14

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Episode 17: Ancient Celts and the Latin Invasion of Gaul

Episode 17: Ancient Celts and the Latin Invasion of Gaul

We look at the arrival of Celtic speaking people in Europe, and the invasion of Celtic Gaul by the Romans. Celtic is rep... Read more

15 Dec 2012

46mins

Ranked #15

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Episode 44: The Romance of Old French

Episode 44: The Romance of Old French

The modern French language evolved from a Latin dialect spoken in Gaul during the period of the late Roman Empire. That ... Read more

6 Jun 2014

Ranked #16

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Episode 67: The Year That Changed English

Episode 67: The Year That Changed English

In this episode, we look at the events of 1066 – one of the most important dates in the history of English. Of course, t... Read more

18 Sep 2015

Ranked #17

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Episode 15: Etruscans, Romans and a Modified Alphabet

Episode 15: Etruscans, Romans and a Modified Alphabet

The first Indo-Europeans settle into Italy, but they encounter an existing civilization known as the Etruscans.  The Etr... Read more

13 Nov 2012

37mins

Ranked #18

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Episode 70: Mind Your Manors For Pete’s Sake

Episode 70: Mind Your Manors For Pete’s Sake

For more than a century following the Norman Conquest, English writing fell out of favor. During that hiatus, French wor... Read more

15 Nov 2015

Ranked #19

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Episode 105: Suffix Summary

Episode 105: Suffix Summary

In this episode, we explore some of the suffixes that were in common use in the early 1200s at the time the Ancrene Wiss... Read more

25 Dec 2017

48mins

Ranked #20

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Episode 83: A Trilingual Nation

Episode 83: A Trilingual Nation

During the reign of Henry II, the speech of England was dominated by three languages – English, French and Latin. In thi... Read more

5 Sep 2016

52mins

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