Samuel Stephen Chronicles

Samuel Stephen Chronicles

A podcast exploring how documentation shapes power across history—from medieval manorial rolls to Hollywood contracts. Each episode examines how archives become weapons, and how people throughout history have resisted erasure through paperwork. Hosted by Samuel Stephen, novelist and historian. samuelstephenchronicles.substack.com

Episodes

  1. 10 FEB

    Episode 3 — Æthelstan and the Architecture of Power

    Episode 3 — Æthelstan and the Architecture of Power In this episode, we examine the most consequential succession crisis in early medieval England — and the quiet political machinery that resolved it. After the death of Edward the Elder, England does not pass smoothly to a single heir. Instead, the nobility of Mercia makes a radical choice: they proclaim Æthelstan king — not of Mercia, and not of Wessex, but of all the English. What follows is not immediate unity, but resistance. Wessex hesitates. Rival claimants emerge. Æthelstan’s legitimacy is questioned. His coronation is delayed tellingly — by more than a year. This episode explores why that delay matters. We look at: Why Mercia acted first — and alone How political legitimacy was constructed before coronation The difference between ruling Wessex and ruling England How administrative consensus, not force, made unification durable Æthelstan does not inherit a kingdom. He is installed into one — by institutions learning, for the first time, how to think nationally. This is not a story about conquest.It is a story about systems. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit samuelstephenchronicles.substack.com

    23 min
  2. Administrative Violence in History

    22 JAN

    Administrative Violence in History

    A podcast exploring how documentation shapes power across history—from medieval manorial rolls to Hollywood contracts. Each episode examines how archives become weapons, and how people throughout history have resisted erasure through paperwork. Hosted by Samuel Stephen, novelist and historian. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit samuelstephenchronicles.substack.com

    11 min
  • 2 Episodes

About

A podcast exploring how documentation shapes power across history—from medieval manorial rolls to Hollywood contracts. Each episode examines how archives become weapons, and how people throughout history have resisted erasure through paperwork. Hosted by Samuel Stephen, novelist and historian. samuelstephenchronicles.substack.com

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