Clash of the Cousins is a six-part historical podcast created and presented by Dr. Annette Lynton as the inaugural series on her Strands of Time podcast channel. Dr. Lynton examines the events which ushered in the First Age of Hycath, pivoting off the English succession crisis of the 1130s which led to the titular clash between Empress Matilda, a Hycatha and the rightful heir, and her cousin, Stephen of Blois, who usurped her.
Part 1: Two Religions in One Bed
The story of Maud Beauclerc, later Empress Matilda, and how she progressed from child bride to Queen of the Romans to defender of her own right of succession.
Part 2: The Legacy of the Past
The largely unsung tale of Alice Eymor, posthumous Duchess of West Mercia, who journeyed around England recruiting Hycathae and Hycathi alike to Maud’s cause and fulfilling a family destiny.
Part 3: The Forging of the Future
The gripping odyssey of Roosmarijn Doolaard, Duchess of Chiltern, and her (mostly) solo expedition to beyond Eastern Europe to rally powerful Nyridiae to Maud’s and the Hycath’s cause.
Part 4: A Calling is a Calling
The bittersweet tale of Aurélie Paquet, Duchess of Hastings, and how it feels to be ripped right out of your comfort zone at a young age.
Part 5: The One Who Would be Immortal
The shocking fable of Lucy Bolingbroke, Countess of Chester, and a cautionary tale to all those Hycathae who become a little bit too obsessed with their own power.
Part 6: Love, Fear, and Destiny
The sixth and last episode concludes the First Hycath War with the story of Gabriella Fitzwalter, First Duchess of East Mercia and the final clash at the Battle of Lincoln.
CREDITS
Cast
Episode 1
Dr. Annette Lynton – RUTH LASS
Dr. Joseph Rake – RICHARD HODDER
Maud Beauclerc – TALLULAH BOND
Margaret – PAIGE ALENA
Cristina – KAT CARSON
Edith – ALLIE DENISON
Zosimus – DONAL GRAY
Henry I – JOHN L. SHORTT
Henry V – MIKE SPENCE
Robert of Gloucester – GREGORY SMITH
Young Cristina – KIRI STANDING
Stephen of Blois – NIGEL THOMAS
New in Episode 2
Dr. Christopher Aldridge – STEVE NEWMAN
Alice Eymor – HAZEL YOUNG
Young Meredith Eymor – PAIGE ALENA
Gwendolen Read – KAT CARSON
Meredith Eymor – JANET FULLERLOVE
The Octal – VICTORIA HOWELL
Elspeth Sherman – HANNAH LAPWORTH
Lucy of Bolingbroke – SAKUNTALA RAMANEE
Mered Eymor – ROISON RANKIN
Sibyl Hart – KIRI STANDING
New in Episode 3
Dr. Victoria Flood – MAGGIE SCOTT
Roosmarijn Doolaard – RACHEL AUGUST
Nuray of Aktau – LAILA ALJ
Elmira of Aktau – RITA SIGMOND
New in Episode 4
“Professor” Tessa Golding – KAT CARSON
Adeliza of Louvain – JANET FULLERLOVE
Aurélie Paquet – HEIKE PRIWITZER
New in Episode 5
Melanie Howe – NAOMI BOWMAN
Ranulf le Meschin – CHRISTOPHER DUKES
Roger de Roumare – DONAL GRAY
Tricapita – VICTORIA HOWELL
William – NATHAN GOLO
New in Episode 6
Prof. Gilbert Arlin – LESLIE DAVIDOFF
Gabriella Fitzwalter – KATE STAFFORD
Margaret Loxley – VICTORIA HOWELL
William of Ypres – RICHARD HODDER
Production Team
Executive Producer
ANNE DE KORTE
Co-Executive Producers
VICTORIA HOWELL
SARAH LASHEEN
Bonus Show Producer
ALISON WEAVERDYCK
Directors
ANNE DE KORTE
VICTORIA HOWELL
MICHAEL SPENCE
Director’s Assistant
SARAH LASHEEN
Writers
STEPHEN GOSS
VICTORIA HOWELL
Casting
STEPHEN GOSS
VICTORIA HOWELL
ANNE DE KORTE
SARAH LASHEEN
Sound Design
MELANDRIE BOSHOFF
Composers
FEDERICO GASPARINI
OMER AKDAG
