Is This Earthwork Actually Empress Matilda's Castle From The Anarchy? | Time Team | Chronicle

A peaceful waterside field beside the oldest bridge over the higher reaches of the River Thames in Oxfordshire poses the perfect setting for an assault. Time Team set out to uncover what looks like the remains of a large medieval castle buried under the grass. Could this be all that remains of a long-lost fortress built during one of the bloodiest episodes of English history?
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[@TheTenthDoctorandHisTardis]

I’m about halfway through watching and the dig is very exciting. It’s sad though that Empress Matilda is not being referred to as such. She was the true heir to the King’s throne, the legitimate crowned Queen of Germany and legitimate Queen of the Romans. While history debates whether she was the Holy Roman Empress, the fact remains, she had more legitimacy to the title of Queen than King Stephen had to call himself King. While I know history is written by victors and Stephen had the backing of priests wanting men to be King, it’s really disappointing to see Empress Matilda slighted in the 21st century when we know so much more about her and could more objectively discuss her, acknowledge her achievements, and address her properly.

[@katherinecooper6159]

And then Tony calls her the "wannabe Queen". Doesn't say much about him and his knowledge of English history.

[@robert-surcouf]

@TheTenthDoctorandHisTardis If Stephen had not legitimacy, what about Henry 1 who stole the throne to Robert corthose ?

[@TheTenthDoctorandHisTardis]

@@robert-surcouf Empress Matilda had a much stronger claim to the throne. Stephan had a lesser claim band ascended merely because he was a male. Let’s not pretend that all monarchies haven’t risen and fallen based on dubious claims throughout the centuries though. In Robert Curthouse’s are, he never even ascended the throne. William the Conqueror gave England to William Rufus and upon his death, Henry mounted a more convincing case for ascension being a direct line from a sitting King and Queen, while Robert was born before his parents ascended. To me, that’s a narrow distinction, however, their brother, William Rufus would never have named Robert as his heir. Robert spent years trying to usurp William Rufus from his inheritance. Further, Empress Matilda was Henry I’s anointed heir, therefore she should have ascended. Period. Er Crown was usurped purely out of sexism.

[@robert-surcouf]

@@TheTenthDoctorandHisTardis Henry 1 doesn't became king because he had a stronger case but because Robert hadn't return from the crusade and Henry onlu used the opportunity. If we talk about trying to usurp William, it's very likely that Henry had murdered William in New Forest (just like Robert's son Richard or William 1's second son Richard had died from "accident") For the porphyrogeniture, it was only used by the byzantine and the nupe and Henry 1 used it too because it was his only petty card but was never used before or after again in england or any western kingdom. William had already made peace with Robert in 1091 and the treaty of Caen named them each other's heir (the "never" happened" at least once) so even if the treaty was denounced in 1093, another peace and treaty could be made between the brothers. Even as Henry's anointed heir, Matilda was still a usurper's daughter and Stephen only used Henry 1 petty tactics with Matilda not there just like Robert 35 years before. Even if it's still probably bullshit, Stephen and his brother swore that Henry 1 had anointed Stephen on his last breath and take back the oath of the nobles for Matilda. Matilda was not victim of sexism but like Robert, was just at the bad place at the bad time.

[@TheTenthDoctorandHisTardis]

@@robert-surcouf we have very different viewpoints on this topic and I’m fine with that. Let’s be honest though, it’s silly to claim Empress Matilda wasn’t a victim of sexism when every historian notes that sworn oaths to her as the annointed heir of Henry I were ignored because she was a woman. Robert was NEVER named as a King for England and spent most of his life trying to usurp his father and brothers. William Rufus had no heir and as I noted previously, Henry used an obscure claim and had consolidated support and power enough to be crowned. England had no primogeniture or any other formal passing of the Crown policy set up at the time. Porphyrogeniture was used in France where Henry I spent a great deal of time so he based his claim on that. He succeeded. From my view, Robert was not granted England by his father, William the Conqueror, therefore his claim was based on his desire, not the decree of The Conquerer’s will. William Rufus WAS granted England by their father and was the annointed King. Robert continued to try and usurp his brother until his death and again, wasn’t named as the successor. Henry I was. Then Robert tried to usurp him and finally, after a lifetime of trying to claim a throne and making war with his entire family, he lost everything and died imprisoned. I understand you’re looking at this from a primogeniture regard and can respect your position. However, at that point in England’s history, it wasn’t established. Thanks for a stimulating debate!

[@ViridisGames]

This one was so exciting. Multiple eras of history clashing together at one spot makes for such a great episode and really speaks to the strategic value of the location.

[@dicostigan1449]

Strategic? I think it's got more to do with reincarnation and souls wishing to make amends for past failures, e.g. cowardice, disloyalty etc, etc. The current war in Ukraine is a re-play of WWII battles.

[@MaryAmesMitchell]

This is so much fun to watch. Over the last few months, my family has uncovered our ancestry to Empress Matilda through a fellow named Edmond Hawes who immigrated to Cape Cod Massachusetts in 1635. We are centuries later in California tracing our ancestors back to your dig there in England.

[@TheSonicdruid72]

Far out I didn’t realise how much I missed this show! My kids and I would watch it religiously when they were younger. It brings back memories big time. Phil was always our favourite. I’m going to try look up the other episodes. Thank you from making this available! We never really got the “Special’s” like the “Big Dig” etc. here in Australia? Atleast on the channels that were available. I’d love to see some of those. I had many seasons recorded on Video. Anyway thanks again. Cheers from Australia

[@caittails]

They have two official Time Team channels - one that posts full old episodes (Classics), and one with brand new episodes!

[@TheSonicdruid72]

@@caittails thank you! I’m in heaven now. Haha

[@mcburcke]

Absolutely brilliant video! This group is a British national treasure.

[@noeraldinkabam]

Yep, Mick has been gone for 10 years already but I love that he’s immortal now, here and on countless other channels that keep posting these.

[@wabisabi6875]

Time Team: greatest show ever. I say the whole team deserves an MBE!

[@bigguy8315]

Great job, watching from Florida, keep them all coming it’s great learning British History as well as American History. Also Archaeology is a passion of mine. We can all learn true history from what’s under our feet. We should all have an emergency trawl in our tool belt just in case I’m retired, but will have one just in case. We need to stop burying our History, and learn the true story from the ground up.

[@hensonlaura]

In the US, one hesitates to dig because of buried utility infrastructure. In GB, its Roman, medieval or Civil War ruins, all on top of each other! Amazing.

[@Official_King_Penguin]

Well the utility infrastructure is definitely one of the reasons in GB too! This show has proved that many times.

[@AuntieCreed]

I just love this show! It's always so fun and interesting to watch the process

[@pageribe2399]

I love Time Team! If there were more shows like this kids might get interested in education again.

[@sherryrector2275]

This was one of the best series and I’m excited so much was found and a new bit of history brought forth.

[@DeclanKerr]

Phil's bike shed quip - priceless 😂

[@margaretkerr7920]

Great episode! God bless geophys! I love this team! Always have - better and better with age!❤️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@dawnu132]

Matilda, daughter of Henry 1, grand daughter of William 1.

[@joshschneider9766]

The apple of the ole bastards eye hehehe. A play on William the first once being known as William the bastard back in France prior to the invasion

[@PeteV80]

We know

[@Tracksafe]

Adopted by Miss Honey.

[@caittails]

Yes, we all watched the video.

[@dawnarobertson9577]

Yes-she called herself Empress Maud, from her first marriage. As opposed to Stephen Blois’s wife, Mathilda of Boulogne vs. William the Conquerers’ wife, Mathilda of Flanders, or Henry I’s wife, Mathilda of Scotland, mother of Empress Maud.

[@debrah7548]

The stamping animations are very humourous!

[@katsnow9256]

So glad this show was brought back! Such a great time!

[@SilkeSaint]

The way my ears prick up when I’m distracted yet hear Phil’s trowel scrape on stone. 😂🤭

[@apace903]

I my have missed it, but I didn't hear Tony tell us Matilda was named successor by the King . I think that's very important.

[@patty4091]

One busy little plot of land! Love your animated bits showing us what may have happened, those legs! 😂

[@steve-0493]

I agree haha..funny when they show the little mock ups! With the horsey legs (with clip clop sound!) And the little ppl legs!!hahaha funny

[@bettygreenhansen]

Mathilda was the true heir. Stephen was the usurper.

[@saintjacques8137]

Beautiful documentary. Not sure it's the right niche but if anyone's very interested in the anarchy, Angevin England and English & French castles of the time, Schwerpunkt covered in impressive detail these topics.

[@d.c.8828]

Seconded, he's a great resource!

[@TheSonicdruid72]

Thank you!

[@kayethiel9912]

Love the history ❤

[@peggybrem2848]

Fantastic! Thank you!

[@claudiayamada8377]

Matilda is my bloodline great grandmother so this is very interesting.

[@davidtownsend6092]

Hers goes back to alfred the great. Her mother was of the house of wessex. It interrwines alfred with the current king.

[@DrNatemiester]

Which Matilda?

[@effieborchert985]

Not likely

[@GoBlueGirl78]

As well as everyone else who has any European ancestry. LOL

[@hensonlaura]

​@@GoBlueGirl78 Too right! I worked on my genealogy for a long time & what I discovered was, we're ALL descended from murderers & kings, and largely from the same ones - because the population used to be a lot smaller. The ancestor I was most thrilled by was longtime lady in waiting & close confidant to Queen Elizabeth I, my personal hero. I called my daughter at one AM to tell her!

[@jonathaneffemey944]

Thanks so much for posting

[@noeraldinkabam]

The inspiration for HotD’s Rhaenyra.

[@koningbolo4700]

44:58 Sick and weird, maybe but very lovely as well...

[@Miveth07]

Love these but question.... Does Mick only own 1 sweater? lol

[@meaghanwillmott3163]

Micks sweaters have always made me smile too😊 Fun to see the colors fade and see them get a bit worse for wear in the later episodes...great show!!

[@alleeum]

His wife knit the different striped sweaters for him. ❤

[@margaretlouise6200]

It's a Brit thing. Don't ask.

[@hensonlaura]

​@@margaretlouise6200 you aren't special dear, old men wear their homemade sweaters till they fall apart.

[@TheRealLadyJenn]

I first heard of Matilda in a book called The Fatal Crown. A romance novel to be sure but it definitely sparked my interest in her.

[@townview5322]

I'm intrigued by the way Victor's artwork is made to look 3D. A special camera lens? computer graphics?

[@davidnelsen5922]

Love Tony!

[@stischer47]

It sounds logical that if a site is important a series of edifices (Roman, Saxon, Norman, etc.) would be built there.

[@K1110.]

Waltzing Matilda. 👸💃

[@gina928]

When they find shards pf pots and artifacts that are not of the era that they are searching for, could the artifacts have been passed down? If you have a lovely broach that great grandma wore and left to your family, wouldn't it make sense to keep it until you lost it or it broke?

[@pedenmk]

Great program gents.All I see Tony do us talk. I think it's time you blokes put a shovel in his hands. Many thanks. You guys rock.......

[@lindadeal3344]

Love English history!

[@grandmasmagic3858]

so what happened to these digs AFTER Time Team has blown through..?? do the trenches remain open to see what else they can find or do they re-bury the trenches on the fourth day..??

[@TechGorilla1987]

I believe that most are reclaimed directly after. I also surmise that each 3 day dig runs about a week of filming. I could be wrong.

[@markuschampos5750]

No, they are only filming for 3 days. All of them has ordinary jobs to go to so they film friday- sunday.

[@josefinematildehansenvonki2384]

Wonder if someone one day continues this work🙏

[@rocksandoil2241]

Are there ever any 3 day periods it does not rain in England?

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

No. I lived in Britain for years.

[@user-ns2qp9uu1d]

Remember the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II? The weather was beautiful in London and Windsor!

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

@@user-ns2qp9uu1d But was it rain-free for 3 days straight?

[@jessiebrader2926]

I think so, I remember one, maybe 1968 or 69 in August, street parties in celebration, steak and kidney pies for everyone, even the fog blew away....those were the days!

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

A good portion of British royal family history is _exactly that_, family squabbles, that sadly often turned deadly. I'll never forget the two boys who disappeared at Windsor Castle, likely murdered b/c they were heirs to a kingdom. Court life, no matter then country involves intrigue, betrayal, murder and of course, civil war - when the pressure spills over.

[@RPcropland]

I think it’s similar to cartel families in Mexico and mafias in Italy. Basically that time period was a bunch of landowners who could afford to keep an “army”(the numbers are in the hundreds not thousand so kinda like a gang really). The castles suggest a certain domineering reclusiveness(they weren’t appreciate). The competition was similar to gangsters trying to take each-other out too. The Knights in the early period earn titles like red or black which meant they quelled “peasant rebellions,” so when people didn’t want to be extorted the knights who were willing to murdered the crap out of people in brutal ways to instill fear were renown among the family/dynasty as such. Eventually power was consolidated and legitimized and that process specifically involves forgetting this reality and trying to regain these people as heroes. So contrary to GoT and dark age/medieval history the nobles were ruthlesss cartels and by definition almost entirely not nice from the ground up. Really this form of leadership actually a lot less oppressive by standards prior to the Middle Ages since you kinda have to give up direct authority to entice people to your side meaning less slavery and a lot more charity. And the fact that piety was a form of catering to the masses as well as a method of motivating soldiers to be willing to die, since if you don’t believe in heaven you’d likely be selfish and pretty useless as a warrior.

[@carausiuscaesar5672]

Wow Matilda was one hot tamale!No wonder she got so many men to fight for her!👑

[@goodwillcriminals117]

Tony, you and I were both born in the same city in the UK.

[@michaelkamradt4700]

Who were the 'Roundheads" and did they battle the square heads?

[@judithsmith9582]

"The Roundheads were a group of people who supported Parliament & Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. They were also called 'Parliamentarians'. They fought against Charles I and the Cavaliers otherwise known as 'Royalists'. The Parliamentary army put their soldiers in red coats. The British army continued using red in later centuries. Some Puritans, but by no means all, wore their hair closely cropped round the head or flat and there was an obvious contrast between them and the men of fashion, who wore long ringlets. "Roundheads" appears to have been first used as a term of derision toward the end of 1641, when the debates in Parliament in the Clergy Act 1640 were causing riots at Westminster. According to John Rushworth the word was first used on 27 December 1641 by a disbanded officer named David Hide, who during a riot is reported to have drawn his sword and said he would "cut the throat of those round-headed dogs that bawled against bishops". A few decades later “Whigs” was the word for men of similar opinions."

[@hensonlaura]

They battled the Royalist Longhairs!

[@steve-0493]

Geo phys...lol sounds like a soft drink...geo-fizz 🥤!!😁✌️

[@susanhuntley9262]

I'd rather just watch time team, thanks😊

[@ryanchicago6028]

It feels a little bit more like Agnostic really seeing the invaders fight so much for the mainland. So, Ag-archy? Non-archy? an-Archy? But, if it wasn't, the kids would've still won today. And, that's what really matters.

[@canteventhough]

... omg it's Balderick.

[@justme.9711]

Margot Robbie's lawyers might find that thumbnail interesting.

[@bettyir4302]

Who wouldn't want a castle keep in their backyard?

[@Ypsiroselee]

At least no one also found a Bronze Age henge there as well. Imagine the an-archaeology!

[@steveschultz300]

Does anyone know what year this was filmed?

[@paulfisher8226]

Most likely 2009

[@TeamsterPhil]

2009. Season 16, episode 4

[@amityboy14mo]

Omg this is new!!!??

[@townview5322]

And what is the yellow crop in the distance?

[@NothingToNoOneInParticular]

"Wanna be Queen Matilda" she was the HEIR of Henry I....Stephan was NOT.

[@lindsaydrewe8219]

If it was a good defensible position in 1 civil war it would still be a good one 500 years later, surely?

[@robertmccoy9323]

One of Time Team's Top Ten?

[@heatherbusam9139]

Wooot!!!!

[@alexisdespland4939]

why was the norman keep tor dow.

[@Rustsamurai1]

Why the helmets?

[@philipking8497]

So Alf Farringdon was a traitor to the English cause. Isnt it ammazing how many we are finding. Make you wonder about these sorts in our time.

[@NolaGal2601]

Is it just me or does the fort outline look like a shirt? Lol

[@kylelee9474]

[@user-tn2wl6el7o]

Amenamenamen❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😂😂😂😂😂😂😢😢😢😢😢🎉🎉❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😮😮

[@speakupriseup4549]

The Sex Pistols proto-fan

[@DWalsh-bg1cu]

Are stuck lookin' at these old codgers?

[@DWalsh-bg1cu]

Where are all the -- CUTE -- undergrad co-eds, eh?

[@jimanders6750]

dont like baldrics explanation

[@pppl6664]

RIP to Pee Wee Herman, the host of this documentary.

[@direfranchement]

Disrespectful.

[@earlymorningtwilight9119]

seriously? very rude

[@maverick2161]

@@direfranchement AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH YOU SAID THE SECRET WORD

[@pppl6664]

@@direfranchementhe looks like pee wee.

[@direfranchement]

@@pppl6664 Yet you know it is not. Be respectful. A man has died who was well loved by many.

[@DrongoBongo]

"Continuity" has always been very good in Time Team, without a doubt the best show on You Tube .... BUT .. When Tony steps out of the boat he is seen rowing, at around 30 seconds in, instead of appearing to have just arrived at this landing, if you watch carefully you can see as Tony steps out of the boat, it is already tided to a stake in the river bank! Wadda Ya Mean,, *Pull Ya Head In*