There's no such thing as the Dark Ages

There's no such thing as the Dark Ages

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There's no such thing as the Dark Ages
  • Finding the Lost Battlefield of Brunanburh

    The Battle of Brunanburh was one of the bloodiest and biggest battles of early medieval history. Fought 1100 years ago, Athelstan - the king of the English - opposed a coalition of Irish, Scots, Northumbrians and Vikings and won a decisive victory. The enemy shield wall was penetrated. Their troo...

  • Conquest: From Hereward the Wake to Brexit

    Laurence Brockliss talks to us about the Norman Conquest and how the events of 1066 impacted on Britain's EU referendum. Discussing Hereward the Wake and his resistance to the Normans, what can we learn about the flow of modern politics from the actions of this rogue?

  • Battle of Hastings: The English Camp

    Dan Snow visits the Saxon camp at the Battle of Hastings reenactment where the Anglo Saxons are preparing for battle.

  • The Black Death 1: Bring Out Your Dead

    Dan Snow uncovers the shocking story of the Black Death.

  • Medieval Pleasures

    1 season

  • The Vikings in the Vicarage

    The Viking dig in the grounds of St Wystan Church in Repton is one of the most important Viking sites of modern times. Recently new research has brought to light new information which further elevates the significance of the site and redefines our knowledge of the Great Heathen Army. The Great He...

  • King Arthur: Legend and Legacy

    The familiar medieval Arthurian myths of a noble King ruling over his kingdom from camelot, supported by his Round Table of loyal and brave knights who seek for the Holy Grail and slay dragons, is a legend that has been engaged with by English kings ever since the 13th Century. By the 14th Centur...

  • The Dead of Winter: Medieval Ghost Stories

    This winter, Dr Eleanor Janega leads us into the darker corners of the medieval imagination - a world where the boundary between the living and the dead was dangerously thin.

    Drawing on medieval chronicles, religious monuments, and Icelandic sagas, we learn why people believed the dead could ret...

  • Going Medieval

    1 season

    Life in the Medieval period looked like lots of different things to lots of different people. Your place in society could dictate everything. From what food you ate, where you could go, how educated you were and even how long you were likely to live for. Across this series, discover what life was...

  • Whitefriars: The Lost Priory of Gloucester

    In July 2021, the remains of a 13th Century Carmelite friary, also known as Whitefriars, were recently found by archaeologists beneath a demolished multi-storey car park in Gloucester city centre.

    Historians knew roughly where Whitefriars had stood, but its exact location was a mystery. The dig,...

  • Medieval Winter

    Matt Lewis and Eleanor Janega make a hands-on journey into the depths of medieval winter - was it a time of feast or famine; a season of cold, dark and hunger or the time of year when medieval folk could kick back and enjoy seasonal celebrations? From food to cosy fashions and fireside tales, His...

  • Rebels: Owain Glyndŵr

    In the second part of his new series, conflict analyst Professor Michael Livingston is continuing his journey across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom on the trail of some of Britain’s best known rebels.

    In this episode Michael is heading to Wales to discover the astonishing story of ...

  • 24 Hours in Medieval Armour

    Luke Tomes undertakes a series of challenges around England's capital wearing 14th century full-plate armour.

    In this video, you'll find out what life was like for medieval knights in battle and on crusade, how they trained for combat, how much their armour cost them and most importantly, how th...

  • Temple Church and William the Marshal

    Just east of where the Strand turns into Fleet Street in London, there is a small stone archway. Walking through it, one stumbles across a hidden world – one that is leafy, serene and historic. Most of the people who wind their way here don’t realise that the whole area was actually the stronghol...

  • Uncovering The Bayeux Tapestry

    One of the world's most famous and well-preserved pieces of medieval embroidery, the 70-metre-wide Bayeux Tapestry depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, culminating in the Battle of ...

  • Conquest 1066: Told By the Teacher You Wish You'd Had

    If you went to school in the UK, chances are you spent hours of class time learning about 1066. Whether they're fond memories or times you'd rather forget, revisit the Norman Conquest with us now. Enjoy an entertaining lesson, featuring exciting reconstructions, with Martyn Whittock, the teacher ...

  • The Galloway Hoard

    A real treat for History Hit, this is an exceptional private view of a unique discovery, a glittering hoard of beautifully crafted objects in silver, gold and crystal, buried in the ground and forgotten 1100 years ago.

    The Galloway Hoard opens an extraordinary window into the Viking Age, a time...

  • The History of Westminster Abbey

    Sir David Cannadine shows Dan around the iconic Westminster Abbey, in the heart of London. With an unrivalled arrange of monuments - ranging from grand royal tombs to the grave of The Unknown Warrior - and spectacular architecture spanning nearly 1,000 years, join the two historians as they explo...

  • Battle of Bosworth - Battlefield Detective

    Matt Lewis travels to the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre in Leicestershire to meet Richard Mackinder, an archaeologist who has spent the last two decades scouring the earth around the site where King Richard III and Henry Tudor clashed in one of the most famous battles in English history.
    ...

  • Rollo the Viking: From Exile to Conqueror

    You’re probably familiar with Rollo, a main character of the series Vikings. But did you know that he is based on a real-life Viking leader: Rollo?

    After years of inquiry, based on a manuscript, you’ll discover, thanks to experts and re-enactments, the epic tale of this forgotten hero, ancestor ...

  • Unpacking the Myths of King Arthur with Eleanor Janega

    King Arthur. Merlin. The Knights of the Round Table and the Sword in the Stone. We think we know these stories but they've changed a lot since they were first told...

    In this episode of History Hit's After Dark podcast, Maddy and Anthony are joined by Dr. Eleanor Janega, host of the Gone Mediev...

  • Rebellion in the North

    1 season

    Since the Roman occupation, England has mostly been dominated by a power-base ruling from the South of the country, principally centred on the great City of London. Yet the northern regions of England, remote and culturally disinct from the South, were, for much of recorded history, staunchly ind...

  • Who Killed the Princes in the Tower?

    In 1483, the twelve-year-old King Edward V and his younger brother were put in the Tower of London by their uncle, Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. Weeks later, Richard pronounced himself King. The boys were never seen again.

    For more than 500 years it has been assumed that Richard III killed hi...

  • King Arthur's Round Table Revealed

    The mystery and legend of King Arthur has fascinated mankind for centuries. Was there really a fifth-century warrior king at war with the Angles and Saxons? Did he have a round table of knights? Where was Camelot? Now, twenty-first century forensic archaeology allows us to suggest new answers to ...