Episodes

  • Samhain: The First Halloween
    Oct 28 2024

    Halloween is a tradition that only grows in popularity each year. Yet its origins are mysterious, shrouded by myth and misconception.


    Some of its roots trace back to the Gaelic festival of Samhain. In this episode, Matt Lewis and Dr Kelly Fitzgerald explore the traditions and significance of Samhain to the people who celebrated it, and its connections to Halloween.


    Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.


    Hosted by: Matt Lewis

    Edited by: Robin McConnell

    Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Peta Stamper

    Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

    Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

    Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


    Music:

    Assassin's Creed Valhalla Main Theme by Sarah Schachner, Einar Selvik, Jesper Kyd

    Asgard Hall Of The Aesir by Sarah Schachner, Einar Selvik

    Ravensthorpe by Sarah Schachner


    If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


    Tell us your favourite episode or Assassin's Creed game at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    43 mins
  • The High King Of Ireland
    Oct 21 2024

    Viking Age Ireland was divided into many rival kingdoms. However, some men could rise to become High King of Ireland. Men like Flann Sinna. How did he become High King? Did he wield real power over the other kingdoms? When did the High Kingship come to an end?


    Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Máire Ní Mhaonaigh to explain the significance of the High Kingship and the reign of Flann Sinna, which oversaw the profound effects of the Norse arrival.


    Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.


    Hosted by: Matt Lewis

    Edited by: Robin McConnell

    Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell

    Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

    Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

    Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


    Music:

    Canaid Lia Fáil by Einar Selvik, Julie Fowlis

    Rivers and Fjords by Sarah Schachner

    New People, Old Empires by Sarah Schachner


    If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


    Tell us your favourite episode or Assassin's Creed game at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    46 mins
  • Marie Antoinette: The Cake-Loving Queen
    Oct 14 2024

    Today, we’ll study someone who was both a cause and a victim of the French Revolution: the cake-promoting queen, Marie Antoinette.


    In Assassin’s Creed Unity, we glimpse Marie Antoinette living the high-life while the poor people of Paris starve. By walking the streets of Paris, we also get an idea of the public perception of her as a detached, and even cruel, consort. Understanding her reputation helps us understand her fate, which we’ll examine closely today.


    Matt is helped Maddy and Anthony from the After Dark podcast to take us on a journey through the final days of Marie Antoinette.


    Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.


    Hosted by: Matt Lewis

    Edited by: Tomos Delargy

    Produced by: Freddy Chick, Robin McConnell

    Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

    Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

    Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


    Music:

    The Attainted One by Christ Tilton, Jesper Kyd

    The Bottle of Solitude by Christ Tilton

    Nothing Is True by Christ Tilton, Jesper Kyd


    If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


    Tell us your favourite episode or Assassin's Creed game at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    44 mins
  • The Storming Of The Bastille
    Oct 7 2024

    The Storming of the Bastille is one of the key events of the French Revolution and is known throughout the world. But it is fair to say that the name is better known than the event itself. Was it more than just a prison break? Why was it so important to the revolutionaries? And what did this event contribute to the democratic and social changes that followed?


    Matt Lewis is joined by Professor David Andress from the University of Portsmouth to reveal the events of that fateful day, the reasons behind them, and their lasting impact.


    Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.


    Hosted by: Matt Lewis

    Edited by: Robin McConnell

    Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell

    Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

    Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

    Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


    Music:

    Books of Grievances by Sarah Schachner

    Versailles for Sore Eyes by Christ Tilton

    A Leap Of Faith by Chris Tilton, Jesper Kyd


    If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


    Tell us your favourite podcast episode or Assassin's Creed game at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    49 mins
  • Napoleon: The Dictator Of Democracy
    Sep 30 2024

    Napoleon Bonaparte is a household name; a rare example of someone who is as well remembered by his supporters as by his enemies. His life is rich with dramatic irony. He was a key figure in the creation of the First French Republic, yet became a self-appointed Emperor. Surrounded by enemies, he secured peace in France through war abroad and was hated by the monarchies of Europe, who feared he would bring democracy to their lands.


    Dan Snow from Dan Snow's History Hit joins Matt Lewis to ask who exactly was this man? Where did he come from and what is his legacy for the Western world?


    Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.


    Hosted by: Matt Lewis

    Edited by: Alex Jones

    Produced by: Matt Lewis, Joseph Knight, Robin McConnell

    Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

    Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

    Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


    Music:

    Binding Loyalties by Sarah Schachner

    Breach Party by Chris Tilton

    Chase by Chase Basis by Chris Tilton

    Versailles for Sore Eyes by Chris Tilton

    The Nation, The Law, and The King by Sarah Schachner


    If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


    Tell us your favourite podcast episode or Assassin's Creed game at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    42 mins
  • George Washington: The Man Who Could Be King
    Sep 23 2024

    George Washington is perhaps the most consequential leader in the USA’s short history. Having demonstrated his leadership credentials as commander-in-chief during the American Revolutionary War, he then set a precedent for all subsequent US presidents to follow by refusing the opportunity to seize power. Yet he also craved to be part of the British Empire and ignored pleas to right other wrongs of his era.


    Alexis Coe, New York Times Bestselling author of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington, joins Matt Lewis to unpack the complexities and contradictions of History's Greatest Man.


    Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.


    Hosted by: Matt Lewis

    Edited by: Robin McConnell

    Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Joseph Knight

    Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

    Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

    Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


    Music:

    Deadly Performance Suite by Lorne Balfe

    Church Threatened by Lorne Balfe

    Epilogue by Lorne Balfe


    If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


    Tell us your favourite podcast episode or Assassin's Creed game at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    59 mins
  • Lexington & Concord: History's Unlikeliest Battlefields
    Sep 16 2024

    The shot heard ‘round the world; the start of the American Revolution. An event that would have profound consequences for world history, especially western democracy. Who’d have thought that something of such magnitude would begin in a small settlement with as many cows as people living in it?


    Don Wildman hops across the Atlantic from American History Hit to help Matt Lewis understand how two tiny towns became the spark that lit the fire of the American War of Independence.


    Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.


    Hosted by: Matt Lewis

    Edited by: Tim Arstall

    Produced by: Matt Lewis, Sophie Gee, Robin McConnell

    Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

    Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

    Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


    Music:

    Main Menu Theme by Lorne Balfe

    Burial Mound by Lorne Balfe

    The Convoy by Lorne Balfe

    Fort Attack by Lorne Balfe

    Deadly Performance by Lorne Balfe


    If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


    Tell us your favourite podcast episode or Assassin's Creed game at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    43 mins
  • The Declaration of Independence: History’s Most Influential Document?
    Sep 9 2024

    Assassin’s Creed III offers players a glimpse into the room where it happened - the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But was the Declaration more than just a document? Who wrote it? And what were the immediate and lasting impacts of making such a Declaration?


    To answer these questions and more, Matt Lewis is joined by Prof Frank Cogliano, whose latest book A Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic is available now.


    Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.


    Hosted by: Matt Lewis

    Edited by: Robin McConnell

    Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Peta Stamper

    Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

    Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

    Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett


    Music:

    Philadelphia by Lorne Balfe

    Epilogue by Lorne Balfe


    If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK


    Tell us your favourite podcast episode or Assassin's Creed game at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    42 mins