History.  Part 2 - The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons.  England’s fate turns on the wind and the sea. (Transcript added).

History. Part 2 - The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons. England’s fate turns on the wind and the sea. (Transcript added).

From The Rise of the Protestants by Shaughan Holt

April 15, 2026 · 27 min · Season 1 · Episode 1

About this episode

The episode explores the Viking Age and its impact on England leading up to the Norman invasion in 1066.

Episode type • Regular episode Season • 1 • Episode Number 1 • History. Part 2 - The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons. England’s fate turns on the wind and the sea. (Transcript added). © 20 26 The Rise of the Protestants., Author, Shaughan Holt . In this episode, our journey through the Viking Age continues, drawing us ever closer to the dramatic events of the Norman invasion in 1066. The artwork: Pietro Perugino painted Mary at the Cross around 1482. The work is now in the National Gallery in Washington, DC. This scene forms the central panel of “The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene.” But before we begin the next chapter, let us turn briefly to a hymn that has endured for centuries. The music you’ll hear is Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater , performed by Emma Kirkby and James Bowman. The Stabat Mater is a Latin poem, long set to music. Pergolesi’s version, written in 1736 for a Neapolitan brotherhood, soon became his most famous sacred work, so powerful that it even inspired Johann Sebastian Bach to create his own adaptation. Its opening words, “Stabat Mater dolorosa” , mean, “ The sorrowful mother was standing”. They capture a moment of grief…

People in this episode

Host: Shaughan Holt

Topics covered

  • Viking Age
  • Anglo-Saxons
  • Norman invasion
  • medieval churches
  • suffering
  • faith
  • devotion

Keywords

  • Viking Age
  • Anglo-Saxons
  • Norman invasion
  • Stabat Mater
  • Pietro Perugino
  • medieval music
  • suffering
  • faith
  • devotion

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Mary at the Cross, Stabat Mater

Places: England, National Gallery in Washington, DC

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