TV The Normans

[Raven]

BBC iPlayer - The Normans: Men from the North

Episode 2/3 was on tonight, an utterly brilliant BBC historical program. More of this please BBC, less stupid shows about some shitty panto.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Cheers for the heads up. Knew nothing about this. She Who Must Be Adored will be very interested to see this.

 

[Maeloch]

Aye it's great TV. I was at a loose end last weekend and on the back of seeing the first one took the train down to Eastbourne cycled over to Pevensey and followed the invasion route on my bike over to Battle and back.

I stopped at a campsite on Pevensey Beach where they landed, or so i thought, but in reality the bay has silted up and it would have been a couple of miles out to sea. Nice idea anyhow.

 

[cHodAX]

Loved the first one, fingers crossed for the next two.

 

[Turamber]

It is an excellent series, really enjoyed it thus far. When the presenter pointed out that animals in the field, covered in mud are named in English - but on the plate, cooked and presented are named in French - must say it made me titter.

The Byzantines will get a mention next week as the Normans expanded into Italy and kicked out the few remaining Byzantine kingdoms and then into Sicily where they used Byzantine artists and craftsman to make some of the most beautiful churches of the medieval era.

The Normans also made a move on Constantinople and fought against Anglo Saxons who had left England and enrolled in the armies of Alexius Comnenus. I have a feeling the programme might gloss over those events and concentrate on the Norman role in the crusades in the next generation.

 

[Maeloch]

The Normans also made a move on Constantinople and fought against Anglo Saxons who had left England and enrolled in the armies of Alexius Comnenus.

The Vangarian Guard, it's quite interesting

 

[Turamber]

The Varangian Guard was originally made up of Rus Vikings, then Vikings from further afield. Later on it was made up of Anglo Saxon warriors given leave to depart England by William, and then their descendants.

When the fourth crusade took Constantinople in 1204 the fiercest and bravest warriors defending the walls were the Anglo Saxons, fighting with their trademark two handed axes.

Some of the ex-pat Anglo Saxons settled north of the Black Sea around Cherson. I'd love to visit the area and see if there are any signs of the Anglo Saxons ... you know fish and chip shops, betting shops and the like

 

[cHodAX]

Some of the ex-pat Anglo Saxons settled north of the Black Sea around Cherson. I'd love to visit the area and see if there are any signs of the Anglo Saxons ... you know fish and chip shops, betting shops and the like

I hear the chavs are rampant.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Watched the first one last night with She Who Must Be Adored. It was quite good but didn't really present anything new.

She Who Must Be Adored point out that Prof Bartlett completely missed a lot of relevant stuff to do with the Scandanavian raid in September 1066 in the north of England though my take was that Prof B was focusing purely on Bill the Bastard and anything directly related to his goings on, and didn't want to get sidetracked in some shenanigans that affected Harold's decisions but were maybe a step removed from the focus of the TV programme.

Some beautiful aerial shots in this proggy. Really looking forward to seeing the second

 

[Raven]

I really want the soundtrack.

 

[Turamber]

She Who Must Be Adored point out that Prof Bartlett completely missed a lot of relevant stuff to do with the Scandanavian raid in September 1066 in the north of England

Raid? That was a full blown invasion! Nothing to see there now, it is quite sad really. I'd love to know who the single Viking watchman was who held the entire English army at bay over the bridge whilst the rest of the Vikings tried to shake their hangovers and get dressed

I think he glossed it over as it didn't directly pertain to the Norman invasion, and I think he'll gloss over the Norman invasion of Byzantium as they ultimately lost. Fully expect a lot of detail about the Italy and Sicily invasions though.

 

[Raven]

He can only cover so much in 3 x 1 hour programs, what he does cover is presented in a really good way imo.

 

[Turamber]

Left the best till last! Excellent series, really enjoyed his explanation of what the Normans achieved in Sicily. Would have liked some more details on the clash between Robert Guiscard and Alexius in Albania and Greece, but as Raven said he could only cover so much in an hour.

I feel very much like visiting Sicily now...