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EPISODE · Jan 30, 2026 · 53 MIN

The Parliament of Bats: Plantagenets at War

from Gone Medieval

How could England be ruled when the king was just a baby? When Henry VI came to the throne at nine months old, the hunger for power among his Plantagenet uncles spilled into violence. 600 years ago, in February 1426, parliament even moved to Leicester to avoid mob violence in London. Even so, MPs armed themselves with wooden bats and clubs. What happened next?Matt Lewis and Dr. Hannes Kleineke explore one of the most explosive parliaments in English history and an episode that presaged the Wars of the Roses.MORE:How Parliament Came to WestminsterListen on AppleListen on SpotifyHenry V with Dan JonesListen on AppleListen on SpotifyGone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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