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

About this episode

This episode continues the exploration of 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
• Norman invasion
• Anglo-Saxons
• history
• religion
• music

Keywords

• Viking Age
• Norman invasion
• Anglo-Saxons
• Stabat Mater
• Pietro Perugino
• history
• religion

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Stabat Mater, The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene, Mary at the Cross

More episodes of The Rise of the Protestants

• (New, updated) History. Part 3 - 1066: The Fall of Anglo-Saxon England. (Transcript added). · June 10, 2026 · 32 min
• (New) Series 2 Episode 12 - Escape to the Low Countries: Richard Bernard, Thomas Helwys and the Gainsborough Congregation. · June 5, 2026 · 27 min
• Series 2 Episode 11 - Exiled Paths: Nonconformity and Dissent in Kent. (Transcript added). · May 11, 2026 · 20 min
• (New) History. Part 2 - The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons. England’s fate turns on the wind and the sea. (Transcript added). · April 15, 2026 · 27 min
• (New) Series 2 Episode 10 -The Congregations of Gainsborough and Scrooby. (Transcript added). · April 2, 2026 · 36 min
• Bonus Episode — The Appointment of Sarah Mullally (Transcript added) · April 1, 2026 · 6 min