Welcome to the British History Podcast.

My name is Jamie and this is Episode 302.

King Eddryt.

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Alright, where were we?

With all this focus on culture, it's been a little bit since we last talked about the

political situation in Britain.

So let's remind ourselves of where things were politically when we left off.

Well King Atholstann had died and he died childless, which possibly was the result of

an agreement that he had with the West Saxon nobility who had opposed his ascension to

the throne.

And while Atholstann's childlessness had avoided a potential civil war and provided a clear

line of succession, it also robbed the House of West Saxon political power.

You see Atholstann was practically an emperor, he was pretty much all-powerful, but the massive

royal clan that he had been born into had been steadily disappearing.

Until finally, at the end of his life, that line had dwindled to simply Atholstann, Edmund,

and Edred.

And sure, he did have some extended family members that were descendants of his great

uncle, King Atholred.

...