Podcast Episodes | The British History Podcast · Jamie Jeffers

Saint Anselm

·32 min·2 clips

Anselm taunts Gunnhild to lie with her dead husband's worms, revealing the Church's dangerously insane rhetoric.

This episode focuses on Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury and two shocking letters he wrote to Gunnhild, a daughter of the defeated King Harold Godwinson. Host Jamie uses this personal correspondence to illustrate a major ideological shift within the medieval Church. The episode connects this private drama to the larger forces that enabled the Norman Conquest and would soon launch the Crusades. Jamie sets the scene in late 1093, just before the First Crusade, as radical churchmen were redefining violence in service of God as redemptive. The letters concern Gunnhild, who had been living at Wilton Abbey but eloped with the powerful Breton lord Alan Rufus. Anselm’s first letter insists Gunnhild was spiritually a nun, despite her lack of formal vows, and graphically warns her about carnal pleasures. Alan Rufus then died suddenly and unexpectedly. Gunnhild subsequently associated with his brother and heir, Alan the Black. Anselm’s second letter is even more vicious, telling Gunnhild to embrace her dead husband’s worm-ridden corpse and suggesting God killed Alan to stop their wicked plans. He explicitly threatens that God may kill Alan the Black next if she stays with him. A key insight is how this personal vendetta reflects the Church’s new radicalism, where figures like Anselm could use spiritual threats for political ends. The episode argues Alan Rufus’s death was likely an assassination, given the context of Anselm’s threats and King William Rufus’s opposition to the marriage. Jamie posits that periods of "high contingency," like post-Conquest England, allow fringe ideologies and ambitious individuals to seize power. The letters reveal Anselm as a ruthless political operator, contradicting his humble saintly image. This case shows the Church’s violent ideology wasn’t confined to foreign crusades but destabilized English society directly. The tone is conversational and analytical, blending historical narrative with sharp, often darkly humorous commentary on the source material. Jamie’s style is educational but deeply engaged, clearly outraged by Anselm’s actions while explaining their broader historical significance. Listeners who enjoy deep dives into medieval primary sources, political intrigue, and re-evaluations of saintly figures will love this episode. Those seeking a straightforward chronological narrative of kings and battles might find the detour into personal "gossip" less compelling.

As heard by us

Anselm's letters turn a dynastic elopement, with possible murder in the air, into a sharp slice of England's politics.

Saint Anselm leans into dynastic trouble: rare letters from Anselm to Gunnhild, Harold Godwinson's youngest daughter, and the elopement that follows when Alan Rufus takes an interest in a woman with royal blood and a potential claim.

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Why you'd press play

You get medieval gossip, a reckless elopement, and Saint Anselm's letters with real consequences.

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