“A great many things keep happening, some good, some bad” (Gregory of Tours 539-594)
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The Podcast
A narrative retelling of German history from the coronation of Henry the Fowler in 919 AD to German Reunification in 1990. Weekly 20-30 minute episodes are available here and with all major providers of fine audio entertainment.
Seasons so far:
The Salians and the Investiture Controversy
Barbarossa and the Early Hohenstaufen
Frederick II and the Later Hohenstaufen
From the Interregnum to the Golden Bull
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
Recent Reviews
Blogposts and Transcripts
Episode 147 – Brescia or Bust
Henry VII had gained control of most of Northern Italy in less than three months. It will take him 9 months to lose it all again. How did he go from bringer of peace and justice and all out savior of Italy to brutal conqueror and godless tyrant? Let’s find out.
Episode 146 – The Return of the King
Henry, the new king of the Romans, just 30 years of age, tall and blond, every inch his forebearer the great Charlemagne had a one track mind. There was one thing he wanted and that was the imperial crown. It is now 60 years since there last had been a crowned emperor. We had such…
Episode 145 – How to make Friends and Influence People
Henry, the new king of the Romans, just 30 years of age, tall and blond, every inch his forebearer the great Charlemagne had a one track mind. There was one thing he wanted and that was the imperial crown. It is now 60 years since there last had been a crowned emperor. We had such…
Season 8: From the Interregnum to the Golden Bull
Most histories of the German Middle Ages cut off with the fall of the Hohenstaufen. That would be a mistake. The Holy Roman Empire is still enormous, stretching from the gates of Rome to Hamburg and from Rostock to Arles. Its cities are still thriving and its peasants are bringing in rich harvests.
But by the time King Richard of Cornwall dies in 1272, the empire as a political construct had suffered from 50 years of neglect, of rulers disinterested or disengaged. The resources of the office, the imperial regalia and castles and estates are lost. When Henry the Fowler took on the kingdom of East Francia, it was a hospital pass, but that still looks like a lottery ticket compared to becoming King of the Romans in 1273.
Still, this next crop of rulers, often derided as “minor kings” were in fact much more successful than their more glamorous predecessors. The first will lay the foundation for a family fortune that at its hights grows into an empire where the sun never sets. Another will finally break the hold of the papacy over the empire and again another will create one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful medieval capital the world has and will ever see.
That is what this coming season is all about, the 100 years from the Interregnum to the Golden Bull of 1356 or how the medieval empire becomes the Holy Roman empire with its prince-electors, its imperial diets, courts and ceremonies. An empire often derided as ineffective and antiquated, but that survived for centuries, and bestowed a legacy of regional cultural centres that are some of the greatest attractions of modern Germany.
And around them the high balcony was full
Friedrich von Schiller; The Count of Habsburg (1803)
Of people cheerfully massing together,
The sound of trombones rang out loud amidst
The rejoicing cheers of the crowd.
For the long, pernicious struggle had come to an end,
That awful time with no emperor,
There was a judge on earth again now.
The iron spear no longer reigned supreme,
The weak and peace-loving no longer feared
Falling prey to the powerful.
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The History of the Germans Podcast has been advertising free since the very beginning and will remain so. The point of the exercise is not to make me rich (there are many smarter ways to do that), but to make the whole of German history more accessible, in particular to English speakers. But Podcasting is hard work. Each episode takes me about 2- 2.5 working days to prepare and record. So if I want to keep the podcast ad-free and keep my marriage going, I need to make this economically viable. And that is where you fine people come in. If you feel the urge to support this endeavour, are in need for some heartfelt gratitude or just want to have some great extra HotG stuff, choose a membership level that suits your wallet – please!
Reichsritter/Edelfrau
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A Reichsritter (Imperial Knight) protects the poor, defends the church and serves the emperor freely and truly. He does not expect anything in return, apart from honour and respect. Nor does an Edelfrau (Dame) debase herself to barter for goods in return for her generosity.
Only an exchange of gifts is suitable for such august personalities, so please receive the occasional bonus episode as a token of the Podcast’s appreciation.
- Heartfelt Gratitude
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- Posing questions in the Q&A sessions at the end of each season
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As Peer of the Realm your great privilege is a seat in the Reichstag where you can deliberate the affairs of the day and advise on future policy. The peers of the ream included not just counts and dukes, but also bishops and mighty abbesses
- Sincere and Heartfelt Gratitude
- Bonus Episodes about German Art, Architecture and Literature
- Having your (first) name called out at the start of an episode
- Posing questions in the Q&A sessions at the end of each season
- You can suggest specific topics to be included into an episode
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The noblest of rights of a Prince Elector is to choose. The History of the Germans Podcasts offers you the opportunity here to choose to be even more generous than Imperial Knights/Dames and Peers of the Realm.
The Empire being impecunious ever since your ancestors have broken central power during the Investiture Conflict, there is sadly not much in added benefit that can be offered. We hope you recognise your good fortune and give according to your might.
- Eternal, Sincere and Heartfelt Gratitude
- Bonus Episodes about German Art, Architecture and Literature
- Having your (first) name called out at the start of an episode
- Posing questions in the Q&A sessions at the end of each season
- You can suggest specific topics to be included into an episode
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Hard to believe the Hanseatic League season is over now – thought now would be a good time to leave a comment. I saw this podcast on a friend’s social media back in January and caught up on it over a few months (to be up to date once the north-east focused episodes started coming out), and wanted to say thanks so much for all your work.
Having been under quite a lot of stress earlier this year, I found that going for walks very early in the morning while listening to this podcast (as well as a couple of other history ones, though I’d say yours is comfortably the best) did wonders for keeping my mental state much more in balance than it would have been otherwise in the midst of university study. Additionally I’ve had a somewhat rough couple of months recently and the regular release of episodes has continually provided something to look forward to each week. I would be in a worse place if this didn’t exist.
I’ve really enjoyed all the seasons so far – some of my personal favourite episodes would be 101 (on Gottschalk and Adalbert), 124 Decline and Fall Part 2 (loved the tragedy format) and 126 on Bremen (talking about the cathedral, statue and guildhall in the square tied together the aspects of history brilliantly), and I could definitely say the same about many of the older episodes but haven’t listened to them as recently. Really looking forward to the next season!
(not sure if this comment went through the first time – ignore if so)
Hard to believe the Hanseatic League season is over now – thought now would be a good time to leave a comment. I saw this podcast on a friend’s social media back in January and caught up on it over a few months (to be up to date once the north-east focused episodes started coming out), and wanted to say thanks so much for all your work.
Having been under quite a lot of stress earlier this year, I found that going for walks very early in the morning while listening to this podcast (as well as a couple of other history ones, though I’d say yours is comfortably the best) did wonders for keeping my mental state much more in balance than it would have been otherwise in the midst of university study. Additionally I’ve had a somewhat rough couple of months recently and the regular release of episodes has continually provided something to look forward to each week. I would be in a worse place if this didn’t exist.
I’ve really enjoyed all the seasons so far – some of my personal favourite episodes would be 101 (on Gottschalk and Adalbert), 124 Decline and Fall Part 2 (loved the tragedy format) and 126 on Bremen (talking about the cathedral, statue and guildhall in the square tied together the aspects of history brilliantly), and I could definitely say the same about many of the older episodes but haven’t listened to them as recently. Really looking forward to the next season!
Just discovered this podcast and it has become part of my morning workout. I also joined on Patreon, so it doesn’t just suddenly end, like The History of Russia podcast did after Peter the Great.
You have some excellent content. Thank you. It has been valuable in my research of the migration of the Grail from the Aragonese Kings to the court of Thuringia, the direct descent of which gives us the Reformation and Rosicrucians of Germany. Hint: Constance of Aragon, wife of Frederick II, is “Herzeloyde” as per Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzifal.
Very interesting and entertaining stuff. Is this content also available in German language, so I could spare translating it to other readers?
I am afraid not. But if you run it through something like Deepl it comes out quite decent…
Do you have a good resource for historical sites and buildings to see in Germany? We are going this summer. I remember a few from listening to the podcast, but thought a curated list would be wonderful to have.
Thank you
Hi Daniel, unfortunately I don‘t. I may do this at some point. There are however excellent guide books about Germany available. If you can read German, I find the DuMont guides are often very thoughtful and well informed. Enjoy the trip!
Hi Dirk, I’m a listener of your podcast and I just came to hear your interesting series about the Hanseatic League. What interests me, and I could not find in the series, is a possible connection between the Hanseatic League and the development of Ashkenazi Judaism, which also came from Germany (the cities of the SchUM), engaged in trade, spread eastward, and conducted its life in Yiddish, which is a German language. all of this more or less at the same time as the Hanseatic League . Did you come across a connection between them?
Hi Yishay, I am no expert on Jewish history, so I am not well qualified to answer this. However, my understanding of the ay the Hanse merchants operated would have made it unlikely they were admitting Jewish members. It was very much a network of people who shared in the same language, culture and to a degree religion. The only prominent mention of Jewish people in the story came in the history of Hamburg. Hamburg had deviated from the other Hanse city in so far as they freely admitted merchants from other places. In particular jews expelled from Iberia found a home in Hamburg. But Hamburg was very much the exception.
It is my understanding that the Jewish expansion eastwards was at least in part at the invitation of Casimir III of Poland who was rebuilding his kingdom after centuries of division and civil war.
Does anyone in the HotGPod community have better infor?