In 1403, a rebellion broke out in England that would culminate in one of the bloodiest battles to ever take place on English soil. On 21st July 1403, King Henry IV with his son, the future Henry V, went head to head with a Northern traitor - Henry Hotspur. The Battle of Shrewsbury would pit rebel against royalist. Englishman against Englishman. At stake was the crown of England.
Now Dan Jones is teaming back up with Professor Michael Livingston and travelling from London to Northumberland and eventually to the battlefield itself together they will find out exactly how and why England tore itself apart in 1403.
Meeting with experts they will also learn about the power of the longbow - the English super weapon that would now be in the hands of both sides. And also get hands on with some medieval surgery techniques.
Find out how the Battle of Shrewsbury not only changed the history of England - but put the future Henry V on his own path towards destiny.
————————
For more information about this fascinating battle please take a look at these following links
https://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=39
You can read Michael’s brilliant paper about the wound Prince Hal sustained here
https://brill.com/display/book/9789004306455/B9789004306455_011.xml
Michael has also recently published a book on Agincourt - Henry V’s great victory - but whose DNA can be found at Shrewsbury. The opening chapters cover the Battle of Shrewsbury in great detail
https://www.ospreypublishing.com/us/agincourt-9781472855206/
Dan is finishing his own biography of Henry V shortly so keep your eyes out for that too. But in the meantime why not check out his book covering all the Plantagenets
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15811559-the-plantagenets
We were also very lucky to film at some fabulous historic locations. Warkworth Castle is a jewel in the North and well worth a visit
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/warkworth-castle-and-hermitage/
And if you are interested about the battlefield then there is a great visitor centre nearby with all the information you could need about the precise location of the clash.
https://www.battlefield1403.com/
Up Next in Shakespeare's Heroes and Villains
-
Rise of Caesar
A special film to mark the Ides of March.
Julius Caesar lived a dramatic life filled with battles, conspiracies and unparalleled ambition. He sits amongst the greatest military leaders of all time but what made him cross the Rubicon and march on his own city, Rome? This documentary reveals the t...
-
A Voice for Richard
Imagine if we could hear one of the most fascinating figures from history speak again.
In this special film, Richard III expert Matthew Lewis follows a remarkable project to give Richard III back his voice and to hear and see him speak again. Forget the words put into his mouth by Shakespeare a...
-
Rise of Cleopatra
In this film three leading Egyptologists explore how Cleopatra became one of the most influential and powerful women of the ancient world.
We trace how Cleopatra's learning and intelligence enabled her to gain control of her own Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt; skilfully and ruthlessly overcoming her...
20 Comments