1. Murder on Chesil Beach
3/10/202650 min
The Vikings are here. A cold-blooded murder in seaside Dorset marks the beginning of the Viking Age in the British Isles. Scandinavian warriors with no fear of death set sail across the North Sea, targeting riches a-plenty. A construction project in 2008 unearths an astonishing boat burial in Estonia. And in 793, a community of monks on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne brace themselves, as dragon-shaped prows appear on the horizon…
A Noiser podcast production. Narrated by Iain Glen.
Featuring Eleanor Barraclough, Stefan Brink, Lars Brownworth, Ben Raffield, Levi Roach, Elizabeth Rowe, Pragya Vohra, Davide Zo...
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First 90 secondsIain Glen· Host0:00
[birds squawking] [people chattering] The year is 789 AD. It's market day in the town of Dornwaraceaster, Dorchester as it's known today, in England's southwest. Dense clouds sweep in from the east, gathering mass. The air grows oppressive beneath them. Situated on the banks of the River Frome in the ancient kingdom of Wessex, Dorchester is an important settlement. It has royal connections. The West Saxon king has a winter residence here. A man patrols the market stalls with a watchful eye. There's a haughty swagger to his walk as he taps his staff on the cobbles. Traders touch their forelocks respectfully. This is not a man you want to cross. His woolen clothes are of quality, revealing his high status. Meet Beadahard. He's the reeve, an official responsible for ensuring that the king's laws are upheld. The market is a honeypot for ne'er-do-wells, drunks, pickpockets, cheats, and it's Beadahard's job to police and punish every kind of criminality. There's one rule above all others that he's determined to enforce,