Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie, and this is episode 461,

destabilizing a nation, a how-to guide. This show is ad-free due to member support, and as a way of

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We've been spending a lot of time with Rufus and Robert.

And honestly, that was the way things were back in the 11th century, too.

Rufus and Robert got the attention,

while Henry, the youngest and apparently most forgettable brother,

was often left out.

And this reality was made most clear when their father died,

because despite holding vast territories,

the conqueror didn't bother to give Henry a single hide of land.

In doing so, the bastard ensured that his youngest son would live his life

in noble limbo and at the mercy of his older brothers. I mean, sure, Henry had money thanks to his mother,

but he didn't have land, nor did he have a title. That left him with cash and no power.

And given the structure of feudal Norman society, that meant without the support of a powerful

noble, like one of his brothers, he basically had no chance of gaining lands of his own.

And that meant that he basically had no chance of gaining lands of his own. And that meant that he basically had no chance of getting something else he wanted.

A wife.

...