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