Medieval Realms

Programme Outline

00.35 - 08.43 The Conquest and its after-effects

Footage

Early Norman buildings including:

  • Battle Abbey
  • The Tower of London
  • Early motte and bailey castles
  • The first Norman cathedrals

Commentary

  • The coming of the Normans
  • The earliest castles
  • Domesday Book
  • Building the cathedrals

 

08.43 - 16.54 Defending a castle

Footage

Examples of particular castles, their location and defensive features, including:

  • Warkworth Castle, Northumberland
  • Caelaverock Castle, Dumfries

 

Commentary

  • The castle and its community
  • Different kinds of castles
  • Border castles

 

16.54 -19.09 The role of the monasteries

Footage

Monastic buildings including:

  • St Michael's Mount, Cornwall
  • Fountain's Abbey
  • The Great Coxwell Barn

Commentary

  • The growing wealth of the church
  • The monastic orders and their influence on agriculture

 

19.09 - 28.50 Everyday life

Footage

Archaeological evidence from medieval Britain, including:

  • A reconstruction of a medieval village
  • Traces of strip farming
  • Different types of village and their development

Commentary

  • Surviving evidence from the Middle Ages
  • The Black Death and its consequences
  • The decline of the castle
 


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