The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time when the close friendship or petty feuding between monarchs could determine the course of history. The Capetians of France and the Angevins of England waged war, made peace, and intermarried. The lands under English control once reached to within a few miles of Paris, and those ruled by the French, at their peak, crossed the Channel and encompassed London itself. Influential women of the two royal families - including Eleanor of Aquitaine and Blanche of Castille - helped create the familial bonds that shaped the fate of the two countries.

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis talks with Dr. Catherine Hanley to trace the great clashes and occasional friendships of two intertwined dynasties that shaped the present and the future of England and France.

The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie, the Producer is Rob Weinberg. Edited and Mixed by Seyi Adaobi.

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England & France: Two Houses, Two Kingdoms

Gone Medieval