0:00:02 > 0:00:04BELLS CHIME
0:00:12 > 0:00:14For almost 1,000 years,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19Norman cathedrals and castles have dominated the British landscape.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24But this Norman legacy has eclipsed another culture.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33A golden treasure trove of their art remained buried in the countryside.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41The lost art of a people the Normans conquered.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45The art of the Anglo-Saxons.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50The discovery of these golden hoards
0:00:50 > 0:00:54would radically alter our interpretation of the Anglo-Saxons.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03They used materials and techniques that brought together
0:01:03 > 0:01:06the ideas and beliefs of Scandinavia,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09mainland Europe and the Middle East.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18The Anglo-Saxons developed a complex artistic language
0:01:18 > 0:01:23which combined both their pagan past and their Christian future.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33They created a world of codes and messages
0:01:33 > 0:01:38that revealed the inner workings of the Anglo-Saxon mind, much of which
0:01:38 > 0:01:41has remained hidden until now.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Surprisingly, much of the Anglo-Saxon art in British museums
0:02:06 > 0:02:09was actually discovered less than a century ago.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14In the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, among its array
0:02:14 > 0:02:16of priceless artefacts,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18is one of the most comprehensive collections
0:02:18 > 0:02:20of Anglo-Saxon gold work.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32When I used to come here as a student, I was mesmerised
0:02:32 > 0:02:36by the beauty and intricacy of these glittering artworks.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40The craftsmanship and the detail of each one captivated me.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Over the years, many archaeologists and historians
0:02:48 > 0:02:53have studied virtually every aspect of these Anglo-Saxon hoards.
0:02:53 > 0:02:59But I'm the first art historian to try and take a fresh look at them.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12The early Anglo-Saxons were violent warriors
0:03:12 > 0:03:16who carried with them an amazing wealth of personal art.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Jewellery they would wear into battle.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27When I look at them, it's amazing to think that
0:03:27 > 0:03:32these are all over 1,000 years old and each one tells their own story.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50The story of the Anglo-Saxons begins at the start of the 4th century.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52They were not a single tribe,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55they were a combination of different tribes.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58They came from what is now the Netherlands,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01northern Germany and Denmark.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Their art is full of symbols and messages
0:04:10 > 0:04:13that refer to Norse myth and legend.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Images of Odin with his horned helmet,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and other animals
0:04:19 > 0:04:22like these serpents that slither over the artwork.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27But by the end of the Anglo-Saxon period, in the 11th century,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32they developed one of the most complex visual languages on earth.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40This Dark Age artistic movement was stopped pretty much dead
0:04:40 > 0:04:42in its tracks by the Normans,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and their artistic goals could not have been more different.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05One of the first things the Normans did, after defeating
0:05:05 > 0:05:11the Anglo-Saxons in 1066, was to build the mighty Durham Cathedral.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The architecture is one of occupation.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20The Normans were all about building
0:05:20 > 0:05:24permanent, public art, unlike the early Anglo-Saxons
0:05:24 > 0:05:29whose warrior culture demanded smaller, portable, personal art.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44When the Normans took over,
0:05:44 > 0:05:49they set about remaking much of Anglo-Saxon culture into their own.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57However, some remnants of the old Anglo-Saxon world would endure
0:05:57 > 0:06:01this Norman cultural onslaught.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10In ancient libraries like this,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15a few precious Anglo-Saxon stories and poems did survive.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18They have enthralled me ever since I was a schoolgirl.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24The world of the early Anglo-Saxons is mainly one of the spoken word.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27There are virtually no written records, but we catch glimpses
0:06:27 > 0:06:31of their vivid culture from the poetry and riddles written down
0:06:31 > 0:06:32by monks in later centuries.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35For example, the epic poem The Wanderer
0:06:35 > 0:06:38tells of a warrior far from the life of the hall.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42SHE READS IN OLD ENGLISH
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Although the Normans brought their own language with them,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15some words spoken by the Anglo-Saxons still survive today.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20Mother and father, Monday and Tuesday, he and she, all these words
0:07:20 > 0:07:24come from the Anglo-Saxons, but aside from these words and poems,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26there's a lack of written evidence.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28As a result, the popular conception
0:07:28 > 0:07:33for centuries was that the Dark Ages were precisely that, dark.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42With it comes to the very early Anglo-Saxon treasures,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45these only survived because
0:07:45 > 0:07:48they were buried in the ground long before the Normans came.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52We are still finding more of this golden art today.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56The biggest haul of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered
0:07:56 > 0:07:59has been found in a field in Staffordshire.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03It is astonishing. I never in my career thought I'd be holding
0:08:03 > 0:08:04this kind of treasure.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07The footage of the dig is extraordinary.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10It just didn't seem to stop.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- Unbelievable.- It's the sort of thing you dream of.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18This has lain underground for more than 1,300 years.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28At a cost of some £3.5 million, the Staffordshire hoard
0:08:28 > 0:08:30has now been bought for the nation.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- Hello, Dave.- Hello. Welcome to Birmingham.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41'The archaeologist who oversaw the initial find, Dave Simmons,
0:08:41 > 0:08:47'has been busy cataloguing some of the 3,500 pieces found in the hoard.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51'I'm most keen to see the processional cross which remains
0:08:51 > 0:08:55'twisted from the day it was grabbed by an Anglo-Saxon warrior.'
0:08:55 > 0:08:57This is actually the largest
0:08:57 > 0:08:59single piece in the hoard.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It's about 140 grams of gold staring you in the face there.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Gosh! Can we look at it close up?
0:09:04 > 0:09:05Yes, we can.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10What we have here is probably a processional cross of some kind.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12It's amazing to see it like this.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14It's a pretty remarkable piece.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16If you look at the reconstruction,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18you can see there are these three little holes.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21This thing would originally have been fastened to
0:09:21 > 0:09:24the top of a pole and carried as a processional cross.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Probably to make it fit in the hoard, it's been folded up.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31If I turn it over, you can see
0:09:31 > 0:09:34the arms have just been folded in on itself
0:09:34 > 0:09:36and that's actually the bottom.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38You can see the three little holes.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42In the 7th century, this could have been a military weapon.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45This is your secret weapon, your religion into battle on your side.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48So I presume you think it's war booty, then?
0:09:48 > 0:09:54I find it hard to understand how you acquire the bits from 90 plus swords
0:09:54 > 0:09:56without it being something connected with war.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58This is warrior bling.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01This is people wearing really dramatic, really elaborate
0:10:01 > 0:10:05gold decoration to their swords, to their equipment.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Everything about the way these things are cut and designed is about
0:10:09 > 0:10:11the effect on a battlefield.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15The phrase that I like is the idea of the psychopathic peacock.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18This is a man who will chop you in half with his sword,
0:10:18 > 0:10:19without thinking twice about it
0:10:19 > 0:10:23and because he's that kind of person, he's valued by the king.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25People have looked at a lot of the things here
0:10:25 > 0:10:29and said, surely they're made for parade, they're not for real battle.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Yes, they are. You're in that battle looking as magnificent
0:10:32 > 0:10:36as you can because that tells everybody how important you are.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46The Staffordshire hoard is one of the most significant discoveries
0:10:46 > 0:10:49of Anglo-Saxon art ever made.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54It's staggering to think
0:10:54 > 0:10:59that this is all war booty, taken from the bodies of fallen warriors
0:10:59 > 0:11:04after a battle that ended more than 1,200 years ago.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18Looking at the intricate design and beautiful craftsmanship,
0:11:18 > 0:11:23it's a sobering thought that in order to see this detail clearly,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26you'd have to get very close indeed to the man wearing it.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31It would probably be the last thing
0:11:31 > 0:11:36you ever saw, given their fearsome reputation for chopping people up.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41But why did these beautifully jewelled pagan warriors
0:11:41 > 0:11:43come to Britain in the first place?
0:11:50 > 0:11:54The simple answer is there were no Roman soldiers here to stop them.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01The Romans quite liked building walls.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04In fact, they built one right across the entire country
0:12:04 > 0:12:09to stop the barbaric Picts and Scots from attacking Roman Britain.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13They did a good job of keeping out not just the Picts and Scots,
0:12:13 > 0:12:19but also invaders from Northern Europe, ancestors of Anglo-Saxons.
0:12:30 > 0:12:35By the start of the 4th century, the Roman Empire was in decline.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39And the provinces first to go
0:12:39 > 0:12:42would be the ones furthest from Rome.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48In 410, the Emperor Honorius wrote to
0:12:48 > 0:12:53the local authorities in Britain with news they must have dreaded.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Rome would no longer be able to send reinforcements to help defend them
0:12:57 > 0:12:59against barbarian attacks.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04The British monk Gildas, writing some 150 years after this event,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08imaginatively described it as the groan of the Britons.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14According to Gildas, initially three boatloads
0:13:14 > 0:13:18of Saxon warriors arrived to defend against the Picts in the North.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23They might have been mercenaries,
0:13:23 > 0:13:28invited over by Vortigern, a legendary Ancient British warlord.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34However, they soon rebelled,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and as more of their fellow tribesmen arrived,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39they began to take over.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46With no way of knowing how much of this is true, the Romano-British
0:13:46 > 0:13:50certainly defended themselves, but the Anglo-Saxons were here to stay.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08By the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons had taken over
0:14:08 > 0:14:11most of the eastern half of England.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17This is Finglesham in Kent,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21and here on the village sign, you can see a little figure.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Odin, the Norse God.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28A central character in all the early Anglo-Saxon pagan beliefs.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34And they've put him on the village sign, not because the inhabitants are pagan - well, they might be -
0:14:34 > 0:14:36but because near here, an archaeological dig
0:14:36 > 0:14:40unearthed a golden belt buckle with a depiction of Odin.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43It's now known as the Finglesham buckle
0:14:43 > 0:14:47and it's one of the most famous Anglo-Saxon artworks found in Kent.
0:14:52 > 0:14:58The Finglesham buckle was unearthed in 1934 on the Northbourne estate.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04At the time, Lord Northbourne was a small boy.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08He remembers the discovery of an Anglo-Saxon grave
0:15:08 > 0:15:11that aroused the interest of some local archaeologists.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18If you look at this mess out here, which was a chalk quarry,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22somebody noticed that there was what was obviously a grave in it.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27And Mr Stebbing, who was the Mayor of Sandwich,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30and a friend of his who was also an archaeologist, came out here,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34had a look at it, decided there must be something interesting behind this
0:15:34 > 0:15:39and they excavated the first 10 or 15 graves, I think, up here.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42These lovely finds that were coming out of your land
0:15:42 > 0:15:44ended up in your possession?
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Well, that was the law in those days,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51and actually what happened was about half of them went to local museums.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54And the other half, my father retained.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01The family still have the treasures and Lord Northbourne took me
0:16:01 > 0:16:03to his son's house to see them.
0:16:03 > 0:16:04This is my son, Charles.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06- Lovely to meet you. - Pleased to meet you.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08You're going to show me the treasures?
0:16:08 > 0:16:12- I have the treasures here. - Wonderful.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16- My goodness.- So I'm going to show you the buckle here.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18This is the famous Finglesham buckle,
0:16:18 > 0:16:19which I'll put down for you here.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Oh, my gosh.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25- My goodness, can I pick it up? - Yes, absolutely.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Wow.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31It's a solid piece of metal, isn't it?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33So it's gilded
0:16:33 > 0:16:35with a silver back plate.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37I mean, everything about it,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39it's so golden and bright,
0:16:39 > 0:16:44it would have looked so amazing on a military attire.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48If we have a look at the figure, we know it's Odin, of course,
0:16:48 > 0:16:50because of this teardrop-shaped head
0:16:50 > 0:16:55and these hook-beaked birds coming out from the prow of the helmet.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58And then he's wearing his own version of the buckle
0:16:58 > 0:17:00around his middle.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05I'm very excited, sorry, I'm getting a bit hot and excited at this!
0:17:05 > 0:17:09It's interesting that he's naked, because this was one of the things
0:17:09 > 0:17:12that set apart the early so-called barbarian warriors,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16that they would run into battle naked, wielding their weapons.
0:17:16 > 0:17:17I get an overwhelming
0:17:17 > 0:17:21sense of excitement holding such an amazing piece of art like this.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23It is a national treasure,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27something hugely important to our art history.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43All of these finds from Finglesham really give us
0:17:43 > 0:17:48a vivid picture of 5th-century Anglo-Saxon England.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51These are Germanic pieces, pagan pieces,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55full of imagery that's coming out of the pagan belief system.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Birds, Odin with his spears.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18So what do we know about Odin
0:18:18 > 0:18:20and the pagan beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons?
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Well, Odin was the chief god in Norse mythology.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31Ruler of Asgard, the location of Valhalla, which was the great hall
0:18:31 > 0:18:34where dead warriors believed they would go to in the afterlife
0:18:34 > 0:18:37to feast and drink for all eternity.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47Snakes, boars, bears, wolves and ravens, all these animals
0:18:47 > 0:18:52appear in Anglo-Saxon art and each is tied to a specific Norse legend.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56Warriors believed they could transform into these animals.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It was these pagan beliefs that fostered the idea
0:19:01 > 0:19:04that the Anglo-Saxons were primitive.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17For a long time, historians thought that very early Anglo-Saxon kings
0:19:17 > 0:19:21were barbarians, not nearly as sophisticated as the Christian
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Romano-Britons they'd conquered.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26And the archaeological evidence seemed to support this,
0:19:26 > 0:19:32suggesting they lived in simple wooden structures like this hovel.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34However, the truth was very different.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37And it wasn't until Britain was faced with another Germanic invasion
0:19:37 > 0:19:40that an archaeological discovery was made that would
0:19:40 > 0:19:44transform our understanding of the Anglo-Saxon world forever.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59In 1939, as Britain prepared for war, a team of archaeologists
0:19:59 > 0:20:02were preparing to excavate an Anglo-Saxon burial site
0:20:02 > 0:20:04at Sutton Hoo in East Anglia.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11What they found astonished them.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15It was a longboat, 18 metres from stem to stern.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19And inside, it was full of precious artefacts,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22the like of which no-one had seen before.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26There was so much treasure,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29a man with this wealth couldn't have lived in a hovel.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36The archaeologist concluded that this had to be the grave of a king.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39'This is easily the most magnificent collection
0:20:39 > 0:20:41'of Saxon jewellery ever found.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44'Probably the finest piece artistically
0:20:44 > 0:20:48'is the great gold buckle, over 14 ounces of solid gold.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50'Sliding latches on the back plate
0:20:50 > 0:20:54'allow it to open and show how it was attached to the leather belt.'
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Today, the Sutton Hoo treasures
0:21:13 > 0:21:18have pride of place in the British Museum's Anglo-Saxon collection.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25The finds from Sutton Hoo would literally rewrite the history books.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35If you look at some of the details, it's clear these objects are coming
0:21:35 > 0:21:37straight out of Scandinavia.
0:21:37 > 0:21:43Here is the raven of Odin, the beast of battle, its beak curling round.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51And these amazing long claws curving in on themselves.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55This is Odin's bird,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58ready to crawl over the bodies of the deceased on the battlefield.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03And the helmet, very Scandinavian.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06It must have made quite an impression on the battlefield.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Here coming up the front we have two dragons,
0:22:10 > 0:22:15big snarling teeth meeting in the middle and protecting the crown.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18And then over the eyebrows, two boars, their eyes
0:22:18 > 0:22:21picked out in glistening garnets.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Boars were very potent symbols to Anglo-Saxon warriors.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Let me explain why.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40In the pagan beliefs of the early Anglo-Saxons,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43the boar symbolised fertility.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47The goddess Freya rode one called Hildesvini into battle,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50that is when she wasn't riding her cat-drawn chariot.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56This was one of the few times when saying someone is a BOAR in bed
0:22:56 > 0:22:59was actually a compliment.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12But birds and boars weren't the only animal symbols depicted
0:23:12 > 0:23:14on the Sutton Hoo treasures.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17There are also snakes, lots of snakes.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22You can see them writhing over the surface of the golden belt buckle.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Here, two intertwine around one another
0:23:28 > 0:23:31in this beautiful, interlaced pattern.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34But why the fascination with snakes?
0:23:47 > 0:23:51The snakes are in fact Jormungandr,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54or the world serpent from Norse mythology.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Legend has it that he was the son of another god that Odin tossed
0:23:58 > 0:24:02into the sea, where he grew into a serpent.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09A serpent large enough to surround the entire world
0:24:09 > 0:24:12and grab his own tail.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15It was literally the worm that turned the world.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17And the Anglo-Saxons believed that
0:24:17 > 0:24:22if the snake or worm ever let go of its tail, then the world would end.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36And this is my absolute favourite piece.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40The Sutton Hoo shoulder clasps. And you can see that serpents
0:24:40 > 0:24:42writhe all over it.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47They interlace down the sides here, along the bottom and winding up here
0:24:47 > 0:24:49in this intricate pattern.
0:24:57 > 0:24:58And then there are the boars.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01There's two of them at each end of the shoulder clasp.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03They're quite difficult to make out.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07If I isolate just one, you can see the snout with the tusk here
0:25:07 > 0:25:12and you follow the shape of the head up to the ear
0:25:12 > 0:25:16and round below the face with the spine coming all the way down here.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19And then the little trotter at the back.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30These pieces show us just how sophisticated and international
0:25:30 > 0:25:32the Anglo-Saxons were.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Glass from Italy, garnet from India,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39and these delicate chequerboard patterns.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Some of them are only a millimetre wide.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It's amazing craftsmanship
0:25:46 > 0:25:50and something only a few elite jewellers could reproduce today.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Garrard's are one of the most famous jewellers in the world.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10The craftsmen create some of the most exclusive jewellery.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19With pieces ranging upwards of a quarter of a million pounds,
0:26:19 > 0:26:24their jewellery adorns billionaires, pop stars and royalty.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30The way we're looking at it there, and then we see the side...
0:26:30 > 0:26:33'Designer Stephen Webster, the man in charge, believes
0:26:33 > 0:26:37'the techniques the Anglo-Saxon smiths used to make shoulder clasps
0:26:37 > 0:26:40'are the same ones still in use today.'
0:26:44 > 0:26:48This is where the jewellery manufacturing process
0:26:48 > 0:26:51has really not moved on the way that
0:26:51 > 0:26:56you might have thought over 1,600 years, 1,500 years or something.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59There's a lot of small hand tools
0:26:59 > 0:27:05and even though they would have been cruder, these are very, very similar.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08So we've got a ring here that's for a customer in Las Vegas.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12- So the best way to go about that is to carve this in wax.- Right.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15So this is the first technique that's the same.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16He's carving in wax and...
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Do you want to show us some of the tools that you use for carving?
0:27:20 > 0:27:24Yeah, I'm just using sculpers and a scraper.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27So these are just sharp steel tools.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30- Again, they don't look particularly modern.- They're not!
0:27:30 > 0:27:34There's nothing modern on his bench, not even his lunch!
0:27:36 > 0:27:39To make the hundreds of garnet inserts, the Anglo-Saxons
0:27:39 > 0:27:42would have glued them to sticks like this
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and cut them to size on a grinding stone.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53I couldn't resist the opportunity to have a go myself.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- Oh, my God.- Are you nervous?
0:27:55 > 0:27:57Yes, I'm really nervous.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01- I don't want to...- The thing to do is to hold it firm but go in
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and feel it so you feel it bite.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08- That's it and then you just keep it like that.- Oh, wow. OK.
0:28:12 > 0:28:13Wow.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Oh, I can see it's wearing down.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18We have lift-off.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- Wow.- Well, anyway, you get the gist of it.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25The rest is just time.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Well, I've certainly worn a little bit down.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30But that must take ages to cut that whole shape out.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35It gives you an idea. We've got a modern tool, we've got electricity
0:28:35 > 0:28:37so they're just going to work it
0:28:37 > 0:28:39- with whatever they had. - It puts it into perspective.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44A minute of doing that and it's barely scratched the gem
0:28:44 > 0:28:46and yet they'd have to do that over and over...
0:28:46 > 0:28:50- All of them. A lot of work. - Have I done it well?
0:28:50 > 0:28:53- You did it well.- Fantastic.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56So I guess the million-dollar question is,
0:28:56 > 0:29:01to make that pair of Sutton Hoo shoulder clasps, how much?
0:29:01 > 0:29:06- We think it would be just shy of £200,000.- Right.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09And it would take how long, do you think?
0:29:09 > 0:29:13Well, we figured on something close to four weeks each.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18You know, there's not that many short cuts. We've got better tools
0:29:18 > 0:29:21and better things available but it's still a lot of handwork.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26200 grand and two months, you'd end up with shoulder clasps.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28- Absolutely.- Thank you.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37To the Anglo-Saxons, the smiths who created their jewellery
0:29:37 > 0:29:40must have seemed like magicians.
0:29:40 > 0:29:45In fact, they even made one smith a god.
0:29:45 > 0:29:51And his story is an epic tale of enchanting jewels, rape and murder.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05The tale of Weyland is one of my favourite Norse legends.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08Weyland the smith was a happily married man
0:30:08 > 0:30:10who made fantastic swords and jewellery.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12One night in his sleep
0:30:12 > 0:30:15he was captured by the cruel King Nidud.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22The king imprisoned Weyland on an island and forced him
0:30:22 > 0:30:24to make jewellery for him.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28To make sure he couldn't escape, the king ordered him to be hamstrung.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Crippled, knowing he wouldn't see his wife again,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Weyland exacted a terrible revenge.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44He murdered the king's sons, fashioned goblets from their skulls,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47jewels from their eyes and a brooch from their teeth.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53Weyland then took back his wedding ring from the king's daughter
0:30:53 > 0:30:59before raping her, fathering a son and escaping on a pair of wings.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10A truly grim fairy-tale, but one that might actually
0:31:10 > 0:31:12contain a grain of truth.
0:31:15 > 0:31:20Many of the Anglo-Saxon smiths may well have been slaves like Weyland.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25The golden treasures found at Sutton Hoo had made historians question
0:31:25 > 0:31:30whether Anglo-Saxon kings really had lived in small, wooden hovels.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35It couldn't have been in places like this.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45After the Second World War, archaeologists discovered evidence
0:31:45 > 0:31:50that Anglo-Saxon kings lived in giant wooden palaces.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57We now think that Anglo-Saxon kings lived in huge halls like this.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Digs at Yavering in Northumbria unearthed a hall
0:32:00 > 0:32:04twice the size of this one with an auditorium that seated over 300 people.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17These halls feature in Old English poems like the epic Beowulf
0:32:17 > 0:32:21which, for me, gives the most evocative idea of life in the hall.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23Indeed, the poem opens with the command "Hwaet!",
0:32:23 > 0:32:28"Listen!", which you can imagine being shouted across a crowded hall
0:32:28 > 0:32:29of drunken warriors.
0:32:33 > 0:32:38SHE READS IN OLD ENGLISH
0:33:03 > 0:33:07This replica hall was built by the Regia Anglorum society.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10The 700 members devote their weekends
0:33:10 > 0:33:15to recreating Anglo-Saxon life in Kent.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20We wanted somewhere where we could do practical archaeology
0:33:20 > 0:33:25and to recreate things which we know exist in the archaeological record
0:33:25 > 0:33:29in the environment in which they had originally been used.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31- So it's like living research. - That's right.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35It is somewhere where we can trace the footprints of our ancestors.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38We feel very strongly that
0:33:38 > 0:33:41if we can trace their footprints in time, we can see what they saw.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46You think the interior of these halls would have been brightly decorated and coloured?
0:33:46 > 0:33:47Very much so.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50We know our Anglo-Saxon ancestors enjoyed bright colours
0:33:50 > 0:33:53because they lived in a fairly drab world.
0:33:53 > 0:33:58The apex of our porch has some very pretty colours on there.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02Yes, because it's a very bright use of blues and reds and golds.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05- Absolutely.- And very regal as well.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09Yeah, you might even say it looked like a Chinese restaurant!
0:34:19 > 0:34:24In 597, a man came across the sea with an idea that would transform
0:34:24 > 0:34:26the art of the Anglo-Saxons.
0:34:27 > 0:34:32St Augustine was on a mission from God and Pope Gregory.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37He stepped off his boat right here.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Well, just over there, close to what is now St Augustine's golf course.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Legend has it that Pope Gregory's decision
0:34:55 > 0:35:00to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons came about thanks to a papal pun.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05On seeing some Angles in a Roman slave market, he asked,
0:35:05 > 0:35:06"Where are they from?"
0:35:06 > 0:35:08Hearing that they are Angles,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12he said, "They are not Angles, but Angels."
0:35:14 > 0:35:18So the Pope decided the Angle-Angels were so beautiful,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20they had to be Christian.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25He dispatched St Augustine to ensure that all the British Isles
0:35:25 > 0:35:30would now follow him and God, not Odin and lots of pagan gods.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37So what was life like in these newly converted kingdoms?
0:35:38 > 0:35:40It was quite nice, actually.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51According to Bede, a monk writing some time later,
0:35:51 > 0:35:53in Edwin's Northumbria, it was completely safe
0:35:53 > 0:35:59for a woman and child to walk from one end of his lands to the other.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01And when times were tough
0:36:01 > 0:36:06and peasants turned up at Edwin's Great Hall in search of food,
0:36:06 > 0:36:11he not only gave them his dinner but the silver plate it was on, too.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13What a nice man!
0:36:16 > 0:36:18It sounds like a peaceful time.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20It wasn't always quite like that
0:36:20 > 0:36:24but it was a time when pagan and Christian beliefs did co-exist,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27and this was reflected in the art.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Mama.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32CLOCK CHIMES
0:36:32 > 0:36:34Here, in the British Museum,
0:36:34 > 0:36:38is one of the best examples that shows how readily the Anglo-Saxons
0:36:38 > 0:36:42were prepared to follow both Christ and Odin.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57This is one of my favourite pieces -
0:36:57 > 0:37:02the silver and gilt belt buckle from Crundale, in Kent.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05This is a serious piece of double-edged art...literally.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Look at how these symbols sit alongside each other.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13Knotted pagan snakes and a Christian fish.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19This piece clearly shows it was made at a time when the Anglo-Saxons
0:37:19 > 0:37:21were hedging their bets,
0:37:21 > 0:37:25embracing Christianity and keeping hold of their pagan heritage.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33Looking at it now, you can imagine the sort of man who commissioned it.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36One week he's fasting for Easter,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39the next he's feasting for the goddess Aostra.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50For about a century,
0:37:50 > 0:37:55the Anglo-Saxons continued to flip between paganism and Christianity.
0:37:55 > 0:38:00And some time in the 7th century, one piece of art was created
0:38:00 > 0:38:04that perfectly encapsulated this eclectic view of the world.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13In 1857, Victorian collector Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks
0:38:13 > 0:38:15was on a shopping trip to Paris
0:38:15 > 0:38:19in pursuit of his famous pastime - buying antiques.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26He heard about a rather unusual item a dealer had for sale.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29It had lain hidden for nearly 1,000 years.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34And eventually, it wound up in a Parisian antique shop.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37When Wollaston Franks saw it, he couldn't resist.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Today, it's known as the Franks casket.
0:38:47 > 0:38:52Carved out of whalebone, it's an amazing visual representation
0:38:52 > 0:38:56of the early Anglo-Saxons' view of the history of the world.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02It's well over 1,200 years old now
0:39:02 > 0:39:05and it has to be kept in a climate-controlled case.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11It's far too delicate to be handled.
0:39:11 > 0:39:16So the British Museum had this replica made, which I can hold.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19And this means I can show you that the Franks casket is a truly
0:39:19 > 0:39:24three-dimensional art object. It's like an Anglo-Saxon Rubik's Cube.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29If we start at the front, where the key would enter the lock, missing...
0:39:29 > 0:39:32We've got two very enigmatic scenes.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38We've the legendary Germanic story of Weyland the smith.
0:39:40 > 0:39:46Weyland has killed the king's son and is offering a drugged goblet
0:39:46 > 0:39:50made from his skull to the daughter.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53And to the side of this are three figures,
0:39:53 > 0:39:58the Three Magi, approaching two figures here.
0:40:00 > 0:40:05Mary and Jesus have been abbreviated to teardrop-shaped heads.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11A scene from Germanic myth alongside a Christian image.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15But if we turn it round to the left, something else enters the equation.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19A scene from Roman legend.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21Here we've got a very unusual version
0:40:21 > 0:40:23of Romulus and Remus
0:40:23 > 0:40:24being nursed by the wolf.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Typically,
0:40:26 > 0:40:28they are shown as children underneath the wolf,
0:40:28 > 0:40:30but the Anglo-Saxons
0:40:30 > 0:40:35have shown them as full-grown adults lying out prostate on the ground.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42With this upside-down wolf here.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49But I love this object because it captures that moment
0:40:49 > 0:40:54when the Anglo-Saxons are moving from paganism to Christianity.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58And in this one piece we've got so many of the legends and so much
0:40:58 > 0:41:02of the imagery that had previously dominated Anglo-Saxon art.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21A century after St Augustine had landed,
0:41:21 > 0:41:23stone symbols of the Christian faith
0:41:23 > 0:41:26began to dominate the British landscape.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34In the wooden world of the Anglo-Saxons,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37stone crosses made a big impact.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41This proved to be an effective advertising campaign,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43one that definitely said
0:41:43 > 0:41:47paganism was fading away and Christianity was here to stay.
0:41:54 > 0:41:59New churches and abbeys sprung up throughout the Anglo-Saxon lands.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08In 674, Abbot Benedict Biscop founded a monastery here.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11Very few Anglo-Saxon buildings survive,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14but inside, the entire chancel is original.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30In its day, this place was an island of Mediterranean culture
0:42:30 > 0:42:32in a sea of barbarism.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41The abbot, Biscop, was a well-travelled man.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44In his lifetime, he made many trips to Rome, and I think
0:42:44 > 0:42:46he fell in love with the place.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57So much so that he decided to create a little bit of Rome
0:42:57 > 0:43:00here in the Northeast of England.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09The chancery he built is now one of the oldest buildings in Britain.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13But working in stone wasn't the only idea Biscop brought back
0:43:13 > 0:43:15from his travels.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19Biscop introduced another new concept, one the Anglo-Saxons
0:43:19 > 0:43:23had never seen before and one that we couldn't live without today...
0:43:23 > 0:43:25glazed windows.
0:43:25 > 0:43:31This is it, one of the earliest stained-glass windows in Britain.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38But Jarrow wasn't to be remembered for its stonework and glass.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42There was another art form that it was to become world famous for.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44Manuscripts.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55Although the whole country was now Christian, the Church
0:43:55 > 0:43:57was effectively split in two.
0:43:59 > 0:44:04On the one side were the newly converted Anglo-Saxons in England.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08On the other were the Celtic churches in the rest of the country.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15The easiest way to understand their artistic and spiritual differences
0:44:15 > 0:44:18is to look at how they both drew people.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23This is the Mac Durnan Gospel.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26It's typical of the style of manuscript produced
0:44:26 > 0:44:30by the very early Christians in the Celtic parts of Britain and Ireland.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34It's small because it was designed to be carried by the clergymen
0:44:34 > 0:44:36as they travelled around the land preaching.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43The depiction of the figure is very stylised.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46It's almost a cartoon.
0:44:46 > 0:44:51If you look at the feet, they're cloven, not at all realistic.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53Some scholars have speculated
0:44:53 > 0:44:57it comes from a belief that only God can create the true image of man.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05The Anglo-Saxons, who took their ideas directly from St Augustine
0:45:05 > 0:45:12and Rome, had no problem drawing man, and his feet, naturalistically.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16This is the Durham Cassiodorus. A fantastic Anglo-Saxon manuscript.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19Take a look at the figure here.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23It's far more naturalistic and realistic.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26And the treatment of the feet, no cloven hooves here.
0:45:26 > 0:45:30The artist has even included tiny little toenails.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33It's far more in keeping with the classical tradition of art
0:45:33 > 0:45:35that's coming out of Rome.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41The Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Christians couldn't agree
0:45:41 > 0:45:44when to celebrate Easter.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47And although these different approaches to drawing feet
0:45:47 > 0:45:50may seem trivial to us now, at the time they represented
0:45:50 > 0:45:55a real fundamental difference between the two Christian camps.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00These two artistic styles may seem irreconcilable, but one man's life
0:46:00 > 0:46:04was to inspire an artwork that would bring the two together.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15His name was St Cuthbert and he spent most of his life
0:46:15 > 0:46:18on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
0:46:27 > 0:46:32St Cuthbert was one of Lindisfarne's earliest bishops.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34The most remarkable thing about Cuthbert
0:46:34 > 0:46:36was he was all things to all men.
0:46:36 > 0:46:41He was a nobleman, a hermit, a monk and a bishop.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43And in death, he was to become
0:46:43 > 0:46:47one of the Anglo-Saxons' most treasured saints.
0:46:53 > 0:46:58In 687, Cuthbert died and was buried here.
0:46:58 > 0:47:0211 years later, the monks of Lindisfarne opened his coffin
0:47:02 > 0:47:04and made an amazing discovery.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06Cuthbert didn't rot.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Because of this, he was declared a saint
0:47:09 > 0:47:11and a cult would grow up around him.
0:47:18 > 0:47:23In death, Cuthbert managed one final miraculous act,
0:47:23 > 0:47:28and it would reconcile the artistic differences between the Anglo-Saxon
0:47:28 > 0:47:30and Celtic churches.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36He inspired another bishop of Lindisfarne, Eadfrith,
0:47:36 > 0:47:38to create a manuscript of such beauty
0:47:38 > 0:47:43it would become one of the pinnacles of Anglo-Saxon artistic achievement.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48This is it. This is the Lindisfarne Gospels,
0:47:48 > 0:47:52the finest piece of art from the Dark Ages, and a national treasure.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56Well, this isn't actually it. The original is in the British Library.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58But this one manuscript
0:47:58 > 0:48:02is the culmination of centuries of Anglo-Saxon artistic endeavour.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06Not only that, it manages to resolve the stylistic differences
0:48:06 > 0:48:09of the two Christian factions.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Let's look at it in a little more detail.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Here we have an image
0:48:25 > 0:48:28of Matthew the Evangelist, writing in his gospel book.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32And if you look at details like the feet,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35you can see the same sort of imagery
0:48:35 > 0:48:37that we saw in the Durham Cassiodorus.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40That naturalistic treatment of the figure
0:48:40 > 0:48:43that's coming directly from Rome with St Augustine.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00And alongside this, we get these full-page illuminations
0:49:00 > 0:49:01called carpet pages,
0:49:01 > 0:49:07where the swirls move the eye from image into text.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10But look at this carpet page in detail.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13Here we've got Celtic whorls and spirals,
0:49:13 > 0:49:18just like we saw in the Mac Durnan Gospels, here in the borders.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21They knot along the edges, here.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29And then we've also got Anglo-Saxon animal interlace,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32just like we saw on the Sutton Hoo belt buckle,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36where the serpents and beasts wound into one another.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46And if you look at this carpet page,
0:49:46 > 0:49:50it's the same imagery we've seen on the Sutton Hoo shoulder clasps.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54Look at the centre, the exact same geometric patterning.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02It's no accident that they're called carpet pages.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05They certainly resemble Islamic prayer rugs,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09and it's possible that Eadfrith had seen a Middle Eastern carpet.
0:50:09 > 0:50:14He certainly had an encyclopaedic knowledge of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon
0:50:14 > 0:50:16and Christian art of Rome.
0:50:19 > 0:50:23Today, the Lindisfarne Gospels are considered
0:50:23 > 0:50:25one of the world's greatest artworks,
0:50:25 > 0:50:28but less than a century after they were made,
0:50:28 > 0:50:30they were nearly destroyed
0:50:30 > 0:50:35by a new wave of violent, bloodthirsty pagan invaders.
0:50:42 > 0:50:47In 793, the Vikings sacked Lindisfarne,
0:50:47 > 0:50:51slaughtering their monks and plundering their treasures.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04By 871, nearly all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
0:51:04 > 0:51:09had been defeated and ravaged by the marauding Vikings.
0:51:16 > 0:51:21Only the newly-crowned King of Wessex stood against them.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27His name was Alfred - Alfred the Great.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30And Winchester was his capital city.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Under Alfred,
0:51:38 > 0:51:43Winchester became the very model of Anglo-Saxon civilisation,
0:51:43 > 0:51:46a place where art and culture would flourish.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54During his reign, Alfred introduced many concepts we take for granted,
0:51:54 > 0:51:59like taxes to pay for the defence of his cities.
0:52:03 > 0:52:08However, he would never decisively defeat the Vikings.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11But he did stop them from conquering England completely.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24Winchester Cathedral was built by the people that did ultimately
0:52:24 > 0:52:27conquer Anglo-Saxon England, the Normans.
0:52:27 > 0:52:32But beneath it lies the remains of a great Anglo-Saxon cathedral.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55During his 28 years on the throne,
0:52:55 > 0:53:00Alfred made the building of new churches and monasteries a priority.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11The Church, and his faith, were very important to Alfred.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14He believed the reason that the Vikings had come to rape
0:53:14 > 0:53:16and pillage his land was simple.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18His people were not pious enough.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27To atone for this lack of piety, Alfred made the production of art
0:53:27 > 0:53:31dedicated to the glory of God his mission.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35And this is his legacy.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39It became known as the Winchester School and it shows how the artistry
0:53:39 > 0:53:44and creativity of the Anglo-Saxons developed in later centuries.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54There's still loads of Anglo-Saxon motifs here.
0:53:54 > 0:53:59The bold use of colour, the gold, this interlacing knotwork here.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02And as we move on to later works,
0:54:02 > 0:54:06you see even more naturalism and movement in pieces like this.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18Look at the treatment of the figure.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21And the drapery here.
0:54:25 > 0:54:30There's an increasing freedom of expression in pieces like this,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34where the characters are filling the space
0:54:34 > 0:54:37and pouring out across the illumination.
0:54:40 > 0:54:45And looking at this, you can really see why Anglo-Saxon manuscripts
0:54:45 > 0:54:48became such highly-prized artworks throughout Europe.
0:55:01 > 0:55:06The freedom and expressiveness of the late Anglo-Saxon period
0:55:06 > 0:55:08was not limited to manuscripts.
0:55:08 > 0:55:13There was one piece of jewellery that when it was found,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16looked so fresh and was in such good condition
0:55:16 > 0:55:18the British Museum thought it was fake.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29Of all the works produced in the late Anglo-Saxon period, for me,
0:55:29 > 0:55:33this, the Fuller brooch, represents most clearly
0:55:33 > 0:55:37both where Anglo-Saxon art has come from and where it's heading to.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46It's personal, it's portable, and shiny,
0:55:46 > 0:55:50just like the other early Anglo-Saxon warrior bling.
0:55:50 > 0:55:56But the animals and pagan symbols have now virtually gone.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59It represents the five senses
0:55:59 > 0:56:01and the four stages of life around the edge.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06The most important thing is the treatment of the figures.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09You can see that there's very little naturalism.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13Take a look at this central character. The eyes are so enlarged
0:56:13 > 0:56:17and the face has been reduced just to the basic features.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20Then you have these figures around the side.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22Their bodies are elongated.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26Their gowns are turned into abstract patterns.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30And they're surrounded by these shapes and arrows.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33All of this treatment of figural depiction
0:56:33 > 0:56:35was to disappear for another 1,000 years.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38That is, until Picasso.
0:56:42 > 0:56:47But of course, the Anglo-Saxons never did get as far as Picasso.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of their defeat.
0:56:59 > 0:57:04At the Battle of Hastings, the Anglo-Saxons were the losers.
0:57:04 > 0:57:09And history, even art history, is always written by the winners.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17After their victory in 1066, this is one of the first works of art
0:57:17 > 0:57:19the Normans commissioned.
0:57:19 > 0:57:24For me, the Bayeux Tapestry lacks the sort of imagination
0:57:24 > 0:57:28and artistic freedom that made the Anglo-Saxons so special.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35As I look at this replica now, how it follows step-by-step
0:57:35 > 0:57:40the story of the Norman victory, I can't help but wonder how different
0:57:40 > 0:57:44the story of Anglo-Saxon art would have been were they not defeated
0:57:44 > 0:57:47and so many of their treasures lost.
0:57:52 > 0:57:57But maybe this is one of the beauties of Anglo-Saxon art.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59The fact that so much of it
0:57:59 > 0:58:02was buried for 1,000 years in the British countryside
0:58:02 > 0:58:07means that today, we can see it with truly fresh eyes.
0:58:07 > 0:58:11And with every new discovery, our understanding of the Anglo-Saxons
0:58:11 > 0:58:16will keep changing and shine a new light on the Dark Ages.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23MACHINE BEEPS
0:58:24 > 0:58:27BEEPS GET FASTER
0:58:44 > 0:58:45Oh. Rubbish.
0:58:45 > 0:58:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd