0:00:06 > 0:00:11Westminster Abbey has always been where religion meets royalty.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18Monarchs have been crowned on this site for nearly 1,000 years.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24Through the Royal rituals held here, the medieval world lives on,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27just as it does in this breathtaking architecture.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31But for me, the abbey's most remarkable treasure
0:00:31 > 0:00:35is something most people never get to see.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40It's hidden from everyone except the occasional scholar
0:00:40 > 0:00:42in the abbey library.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45MUSIC: "Zadok The Priest" by Handel
0:00:50 > 0:00:54This is Liber Regalis - the Book of the King.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I believe that this part of the regalia
0:00:58 > 0:01:01is just as potent a symbol of British monarchy
0:01:01 > 0:01:04as the orb, sceptre or crown.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08It's been the basis of every coronation
0:01:08 > 0:01:12since the reign of Richard II at the end of the 14th century.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Here history, art, and religion collide.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24An illuminated manuscript is always much more than a book.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27This is a powerful, even mystical object and for us,
0:01:27 > 0:01:32it can act as a portal to the lost world of the medieval monarchy.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39In this series, I'll be exploring not just the Liber Regalis,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42but also the other crown jewels of illumination.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46I've been given unrivalled access
0:01:46 > 0:01:50to the Royal Manuscript collection at the British Library.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Few people have seen these miraculous survivors,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57except the monarchs who owned them.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01They were custom made for kings. They were about kings.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03And they were read by kings.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09I'll be exploring the world which created these manuscripts.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I'll be going to the places where they were made...
0:02:17 > 0:02:20..and discovering what they reveal about the centuries of conflict
0:02:20 > 0:02:22when England was forged.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28It's a story of monarchy
0:02:28 > 0:02:31which spans six centuries from the Anglo Saxons to the Tudors.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38In this episode,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42I'm starting my journey with the first kings to unite England.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I'll reveal how manuscripts gave them divine authority,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49even when the reality was rather more human.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Edgar isn't the complete goody-goody that you might think he would be.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54If Henry had seen some of the things
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Paris was writing, he would be absolutely appalled.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02I'll see for myself the unlikely origins of these beautiful objects.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07Now, the finest manuscripts came from the urine of the abbot.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11And I'll discover
0:03:11 > 0:03:16how the ideal of an English monarchy even survived the Norman Conquest.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33When the British Library began life in the 18th century,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37some of its very first books were donations from the Royal Family.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Among them were some 2,000 illuminated manuscripts,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48amassed by the monarchy over several centuries.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52The most precious of these are hidden from public view
0:03:52 > 0:03:56in a highly secure bunker, deep in the bowels of the building.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Even for an art historian like me,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10this inner sanctum is normally off limits.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15I've spent my working life poring over individual manuscripts,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20but to be allowed in here, in the heart of the British Library,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22it's almost overwhelming.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27These volumes can give us unique insights
0:04:27 > 0:04:29into the monarchs of the past,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31from how they ran their courts,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33to how they raised their children.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37To discover their royal secrets, however,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41you often have to dig deeper than the book's professed subject.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49Take, for example, this monumental biography of Julius Caesar,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51created for Edward IV in 1479.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Gosh.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00I'm touching something that, more than 500 years ago,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02was made for a king.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07As I turn the pages,
0:05:07 > 0:05:12I can imagine the hands of Edward IV himself turning them.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16The book's subject matter
0:05:16 > 0:05:20tells us something about this particular king's interests.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25He was one of the greatest generals during the Wars of the Roses,
0:05:25 > 0:05:26so would have identified
0:05:26 > 0:05:29with its accounts of Caesar's military career.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Edward saw his father and his brother killed in battle
0:05:34 > 0:05:37and he saw his grandfather and another brother
0:05:37 > 0:05:39executed for treason.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44The illustrations here mirror the turmoil
0:05:44 > 0:05:47which was often part of a medieval king's life.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Because although this is a book about the ancient world,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56it also reflects the era when it was made.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01It says here that the manuscript is "fait a Bruges..."
0:06:01 > 0:06:05made in Bruges, at the commandment
0:06:05 > 0:06:09of the most excellent and victorious prince, the King Edward IV.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15So Edward hasn't just bought this, he's commissioned it,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17he's ordered it to be made.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22It's entirely bespoke, like a Savile Row suit.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23He can be certain
0:06:23 > 0:06:27that there's not another book like this anywhere in the world.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31He would have paid some 3,000 Flemish groats for it -
0:06:31 > 0:06:35hundreds of thousands of pounds in today's terms.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40It would have taken a scribe six months to handwrite the 359 pages.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44And more than one artist was employed
0:06:44 > 0:06:46to paint the 40 illustrations here.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50These images are not just pleasing to the eye,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52they're full of information
0:06:52 > 0:06:55and I think they can often speak louder than the words.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Take a look at this one.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00It's the first image we encounter in the manuscript.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05The subject here is the birth of Caesar, which took place in 100BC.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08But the people don't look like ancient Romans,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11they're wearing 15th-century costume.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Images like this are hugely useful. We can look at it
0:07:16 > 0:07:22and determine what was fashionable during the time of Edward IV.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24The dress of the doctor for example.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27The sleeves on some of the female attendants,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30even these hooks at the front of the headdresses
0:07:30 > 0:07:33that were used to keep them balanced, to keep them up.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36These are all really important pieces of information
0:07:36 > 0:07:40for the historian trying to recreate Edward IV's court.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47But for the artist, including some of these contemporary details
0:07:47 > 0:07:48allowed them to do something else -
0:07:48 > 0:07:52to blur the boundary between the ancient past
0:07:52 > 0:07:53and the medieval present.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00In the border framing the story, we see Edward's coat of arms
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and symbols of the house of York that he belonged to.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Edward was very aware that there were rival claimants to his throne,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12so he needed to establish his lineage and his legitimacy.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17I think there are elements within this image that do that for him.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Growing out from the crown,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24these roses represent a stylised family tree.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30If you follow the line upwards, it leads directly to the infant Caesar.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37This vertical line dominates the page.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41You could say, it's a line of succession.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46There's so much here about royal blood.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50We even have this bowl of blood here sat on the table.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55It's the result of young Julius' Caesarean birth.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59The red is sprinkled with gold to show it's imperial blood.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04The eye connects this with all the red and gold in Edward's heraldry,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08encouraging the mind to connect the two men.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10So I think what this image is showing
0:09:10 > 0:09:13is that there's a direct link
0:09:13 > 0:09:16between one of the greatest emperors of the ancient world
0:09:16 > 0:09:21and Edward IV, this medieval King of England.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Edward offers just one example
0:09:28 > 0:09:30of how monarchs made use of manuscripts.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Long before HIS reign,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37kings were using books to prove their legitimacy,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40define their image and assert their power.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48The story begins in the courts of Anglo Saxon rulers.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55This was an era
0:09:55 > 0:09:58when the greatest power in the British Isles was the Church
0:09:58 > 0:10:00and when most illuminated manuscripts
0:10:00 > 0:10:02were made in monastic settings.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10These sacred artefacts radiated divine power
0:10:10 > 0:10:15which would prove invaluable to the first kings of England.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20This is the earliest English manuscript
0:10:20 > 0:10:23in the Royal Collection at the British Library.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26We can date this book - from the script
0:10:26 > 0:10:28and from the remarkable decoration -
0:10:28 > 0:10:31to the first half of the 8th century,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34so firmly in the Anglo Saxon period,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38this great period of production of manuscripts
0:10:38 > 0:10:42and particularly of what we have here - the four Gospels in Latin.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45I can see you're handling it without gloves.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- Now that's official British Library policy, isn't it?- It is.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53You see, as I turn the pages, I have a very good sense, feedback,
0:10:53 > 0:10:58from the end of my fingers as to how hard to press on the pages,
0:10:58 > 0:11:04what speed to do it at. It gives me much greater sense of control.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07The book is very important to the Christian religion, isn't it?
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Yes.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13The early Christian church is a sort of powerhouse for creating books.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Every church, every religious house
0:11:16 > 0:11:19would have had at least a copy of the Gospels
0:11:19 > 0:11:22and other parts of the Bible.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27But a book like this would rarely ever been seen
0:11:27 > 0:11:30by the average person during this period.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32And if they saw it at all,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36they would make nothing of the script because they couldn't read.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39What's the Royal connection with this manuscript?
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Well, the Royal connection comes, if I turn another page here,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47we continue the biblical text, so this is Matthew's Gospel,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50but we also have, at the foot of the left hand column,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53this inscription which relates to King Athelstan
0:11:53 > 0:11:57who was crowned in 925.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59And the inscription says,
0:11:59 > 0:12:05"Athelstan the King freed Eadhelm forthwith
0:12:05 > 0:12:10"as he was crowned King."
0:12:10 > 0:12:14So it seems to be that this was an important statement
0:12:14 > 0:12:16that he was doing this, if you like,
0:12:16 > 0:12:21an act of kingly generosity right from the start of his reign.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25And that's captured, it's recorded in a Biblical manuscript.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27This is interesting, isn't it?
0:12:27 > 0:12:29We've got this reference to kingship
0:12:29 > 0:12:34in what's otherwise a functional Gospel book, isn't it?
0:12:34 > 0:12:40It is. The context gives authority, links the two together.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42And it's recorded for all time now.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51The appearance of a king's name and deeds
0:12:51 > 0:12:55in something as valued as a Gospel book is evidence of his power.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01And Athelstan is a king who deserves to be remembered.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04He changed the course of this island's history.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08In the centuries before Athelstan's reign,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12there had been a number of different Anglo Saxon kingdoms.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Through a mixture of diplomacy and war,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Athelstan united them all into a single entity.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26The place he treated as capital of his new kingdom was near its centre.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27Malmesbury.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36These days there's little to suggest
0:13:36 > 0:13:41that the Cotswolds town was once such a significant place.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48But there's one big clue to its past glory -
0:13:48 > 0:13:51its vast, half-ruined abbey.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00This site has been used for Christian worship since 676.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10As well as being a mighty warrior,
0:14:10 > 0:14:16Athelstan was famously pious and he was a generous patron of this abbey.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24It's also where he was buried in 939AD,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28though the statue on his tomb is more recent, from the 15th century.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Amazingly though, there is an image that survives from his own lifetime.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36And apart from the faces on coins,
0:14:36 > 0:14:41it's the earliest surviving portrait of an English king.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46He's pictured showing his devotion
0:14:46 > 0:14:49to the great Northumbrian saint Cuthbert.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53This image is found at the front of a religious manuscript
0:14:53 > 0:14:56which Athelstan gave to a northern monastery.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01I get goosebumps when I look at this image.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04I'm actually looking at the face of King Athelstan.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07And he's holding a book.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11So here we have a book within a book. It's setting up this idea
0:15:11 > 0:15:16that there's a close association between kings and manuscripts.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Whether he's depicted with them, donating them,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23or having deeds recorded in them,
0:15:23 > 0:15:28it seems the first King of all England needs manuscripts.
0:15:30 > 0:15:31Back in the library,
0:15:31 > 0:15:36another survivor from Athelstan's reign gives us more insights.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41This Gospel book is again over 1,000 years old,
0:15:41 > 0:15:46though its pages have been remounted more recently.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49It was damaged by fire in 1731 -
0:15:49 > 0:15:53you can see how it's all singed around the edges.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57It acts as a reminder of how vulnerable these things are
0:15:57 > 0:16:00and how lucky we are that any manuscripts survive at all.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Yet what's MOST striking is not the damage,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08but how vivid and impressive this work of art still is.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Despite everything this manuscript's been through
0:16:18 > 0:16:20and the passage of centuries,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24the gold still really shines out of the page.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Literally illuminates.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30And I suppose that's the advantage
0:16:30 > 0:16:33of the pages being kept out of the light
0:16:33 > 0:16:35and shut within covers all this time.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43And here's the name of Athelstan.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45It says he's "Anglorum basyleos",
0:16:45 > 0:16:50ruler of the English and ruler of all of Britain.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53This is a reminder of why he's so important.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59But what reveals most about Athelstan is not the words here,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01but the pictures.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06The human figures are relatively realistic.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10There's even some basic use of perspective.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13At the time, English artists didn't work in this style,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16which means this book must have come from the European mainland,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20most likely the Low Countries.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23I find the presence of this great Continental artwork
0:17:23 > 0:17:27in English Royal hands a really inspiring thought.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30It shows that the British Isles weren't some backwater,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33disconnected from the rest of Europe.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Athelstan's court was welcoming
0:17:35 > 0:17:38international scholars and artists with open arms.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41The King's reach clearly extended
0:17:41 > 0:17:43beyond the borders of the new England.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49On another page, there's evidence of his foreign policy.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Here's another inscription -
0:17:52 > 0:17:56"Odda Rex". Definitely not the name of an English king.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00He is what would now be known as a German, Otto I.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Athelstan had many sisters and half-sisters,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07and he used them as diplomatic tools,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11marrying them into the different royal families across Europe.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Apparently he sent two to Otto so he could have a choice,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17and he, of course, chose the most beautiful of the sisters.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23What Athelstan got in return was international prestige and influence
0:18:23 > 0:18:28and, most likely, he also got this manuscript as a wedding gift.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33It's proof that there was more value to a manuscript
0:18:33 > 0:18:37than just its contents. It could also act as a kind of currency.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Some time after Otto gave him this manuscript,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Athelstan passes it on to the monks of Christ Church in Canterbury.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50He's spreading Christian learning throughout the country.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56In return, the grateful monks add a poem to the Gospel book
0:18:56 > 0:19:01which praises devout King Athelstan, renowned through the wide world.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Manuscripts clearly enhanced Athelstan's status.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18And a strong reputation
0:19:18 > 0:19:22gave him more power over his newly-formed kingdom.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Greater territory brings a lot of responsibilities.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30Hand-in-hand with that, we see Athelstan using a more judicial,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34bureaucratic type of kingship because he's got more to administer.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37And we see him setting up an obligatory assembly
0:19:37 > 0:19:41and every noble from across the entire country
0:19:41 > 0:19:43has got to attend his court regularly.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48We see him trying to run the economy effectively by controlling coinage,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51so it really is a concerted effort
0:19:51 > 0:19:54to make England function as a country as a whole.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Yes, that's definitely the impression I get
0:19:57 > 0:20:00from looking at Athelstan and the manuscripts surrounding him.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03He's harnessing all the language and the imagery of power.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06If you're concerned for your image,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10if you're concerned for the sort of reputation of your kingship,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14as Athelstan was, you have a scribe to talk up your kingship,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18to try to elevate and create a sense of a king
0:20:18 > 0:20:21who's more than the sort of king you used to have in England.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- It's an amazing propaganda machine, isn't it?- It is a propaganda...
0:20:24 > 0:20:27You've got everything working together -
0:20:27 > 0:20:30law, imagery, language all building him up.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35One could argue it's no accident that we have the first image of a king
0:20:35 > 0:20:37being the image of Athelstan
0:20:37 > 0:20:40when he was a king who was so concerned for his image
0:20:40 > 0:20:44and had to be because he was pushing forward the frontiers of kingship.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53When Athelstan died in 939AD,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56he left not just a united England,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00but a model for how manuscripts could enhance royal image.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05His successors would build on that legacy.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14Just 20 years later, when Edgar the Peaceful takes the throne,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18the role of King of England had evolved further.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Like his Great Uncle Athelstan,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Edgar lives on in manuscripts held by the British Library.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33One is a Royal charter,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36which shows clearly just how powerful a figure Edgar was,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40and where he got his power from - the Church.
0:21:43 > 0:21:44Gosh.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Wow. Well, we're clearly dealing
0:21:49 > 0:21:53with something quite different to what we've seen before.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Every page is written in gold.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01It just glistens off the vellum there.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06You can only imagine what it must have been worth.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08It shows me that this text
0:22:08 > 0:22:12is about something, and someone, very important.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17It was created by the monks of Winchester's New Minster.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20At the front, they included a flattering portrait of Edgar.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24And what have we here?
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Another book,
0:22:26 > 0:22:31held in the hand of the King, a gold book, probably this book itself.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34And again we have this connection
0:22:34 > 0:22:37between an English monarch and manuscripts,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39the giving of manuscripts.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45The book is doing the same job as the crown in this image.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48It too is now a symbol of royal power.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52This charter was created to commemorate
0:22:52 > 0:22:55a major reform of England's monasteries in 964
0:22:55 > 0:22:59in which Edgar gave more power and land to the Benedictine order.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04In return, the artist of the charter
0:23:04 > 0:23:08seems to have elevated the King to a near-divine status.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12There's some potent symbolism going on here.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14This is the first time
0:23:14 > 0:23:18we've seen an English king inserted so prominently in a spiritual scene.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22He's there in the centre
0:23:22 > 0:23:26and, in terms of scale, he seems to be the largest figure.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31And then coming after that very regal frontispiece,
0:23:31 > 0:23:36we see the name of the king himself, "Edgar Rex". King Edgar.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40And it's on the facing page to this Kairo,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43the name of the King of Kings Christ.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47So Edgar and Christ paired up alongside one another.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54His image is one of pious perfection.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58The reality was rather different.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Edgar made his capital in Winchester.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17The city was also one of the centres of the English Church
0:24:17 > 0:24:19in the 10th century.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Near where the cathedral now stands,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33the scribes at the New Minster produced Edgar's golden charter,
0:24:33 > 0:24:38along with many other great illuminated manuscripts of the era.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45In this city, the relationship between church and state
0:24:45 > 0:24:48could not have been closer.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Well, there'd be an amazing collection of buildings here.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54We're actually walking over the Old Minster
0:24:54 > 0:24:57which was the Anglo Saxon cathedral.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Over there is the New Minster of the charter,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04the Royal Nunnery back there and, ahead of us, the Royal Palace.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08- Winchester's an important place, isn't it?- It is.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13London might be a trading centre but this is really the ritual
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and the religious centre of Edgar's England.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20We know from the New Minster charter that Edgar's very involved
0:25:20 > 0:25:23with church affairs here in Winchester. Why might that be?
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Bishop Aethelwold of Winchester was actually Edgar's tutor,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30so he's been indoctrinated from a young age
0:25:30 > 0:25:33about his duty towards the Church.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36But Edgar isn't the goody-goody that you might think he would be.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39He has got a reputation as a womaniser.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43Yes, and it's all sorts of women, isn't it, including nuns
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and chasing them into sewers and things.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Yes, it's not the sort of relationship with nuns
0:25:48 > 0:25:50that Aethelwold was anticipating!
0:25:52 > 0:25:55But later stories do associate him with attempts to seduce a nun.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58- Uh-huh!- Though, admittedly, he wanted to marry her,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02but when she turned him down and ran away from him,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04he did agree to marry her cousin instead.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08So we could look at the frontispiece as propaganda for the King's image?
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Yes, that is the public view that you're being given of Edgar.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14He is Christ's representative on Earth
0:26:14 > 0:26:18and a figure that is bolstered by these religious connections.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24In return for cleaning up his image,
0:26:24 > 0:26:28the King gave the church large donations of money and land.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35This mutual back-scratching is suggested by an image of Edgar
0:26:35 > 0:26:38where he's literally bound together with his clergy
0:26:38 > 0:26:41by another Winchester manuscript.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45The boundaries between divine authority and earthly power
0:26:45 > 0:26:47are increasingly blurred.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52It was very much in all their interests to work together.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56The kings protect the monasteries, the monasteries protect the king
0:26:56 > 0:26:58but also, of course, promote his image.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Yes, that's strong here, isn't it?
0:27:00 > 0:27:05Yes, very much you see here, with the King wearing that imperial crown.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08And, of course, there is this parallel
0:27:08 > 0:27:12between the King on Earth and Christ in heaven.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16It's a really big statement about just how important the King is
0:27:16 > 0:27:19and how different he is from other laymen
0:27:19 > 0:27:21or indeed other rulers in other parts of Britain.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24So in texts like this and the New Minster charter,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Edgar's taking a new position, isn't he?
0:27:26 > 0:27:29He's referring to himself as the Vicar of Christ.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32This is quite an unusual change in the idea of kingship, isn't it?
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Yeah, I think there's a much more self-conscious use
0:27:35 > 0:27:40of the religious role of kings. The Church is really trying to show here
0:27:40 > 0:27:44that kingship is almost a sort of clerical office.
0:27:44 > 0:27:51They're moving it away from the, you know, the king as a war leader.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Although the imagery of monarchy was becoming more defined,
0:27:59 > 0:28:05no king at this time was entirely secure in his position.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07The threat from challengers to the throne
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and enemies to the kingdom was constant.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20Just 40 years later, a Dane was ruling England.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Yet unlike other invaders,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Cnut is not remembered now as a violent conqueror.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32Quite how he managed to integrate himself into English history
0:28:32 > 0:28:35is partly explained in the pages of another book
0:28:35 > 0:28:38produced at Winchester's New Minster.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42This is a list of Anglo Saxon names
0:28:42 > 0:28:46that's clearly been added to throughout the centuries.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48We've got Leofric,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Alfric...and down here Godwin.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54At its simplest,
0:28:54 > 0:28:56this is a membership register
0:28:56 > 0:29:00of people associated with the brotherhood at the New Minster.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04But it's also a list of names that are going to be prayed for.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08If your name was written into these pages,
0:29:08 > 0:29:12it was believed you'd go to the front of the queue for heaven.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Because this is no ordinary manuscript.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18It's the Liber Vitae, the Book of Life.
0:29:20 > 0:29:21It's the earthly draft
0:29:21 > 0:29:25of the register Christ will call from on the Day of Judgement.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29It shows where those in the Church's good books
0:29:29 > 0:29:31can hope to spend eternity.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36And underneath is where you'd end up if your name's not on the list.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50Given pride of place in this sacred artefact of the English church,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53however, is a foreigner. Cnut.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56These days Cnut's best known
0:29:56 > 0:29:58for that story about turning back the waves.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00But the makers of this image
0:30:00 > 0:30:02knew him more as a fearsome Danish warrior
0:30:02 > 0:30:05who'd conquered their country through a series of bloody battles.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14Even in this scene of pious harmony, he's still drawing his sword.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18But keeping hold of the throne would call for more than military power.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22What Cnut really needs to do to maintain power
0:30:22 > 0:30:24is to establish his legitimacy.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26And looking at this image,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29I can see a number of ways in which he's trying to do that.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32He's got this crown coming down from heaven to begin with.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35But he's also got this other figure pictured alongside him.
0:30:35 > 0:30:41And the inscription reads, "Aelfgifu Regina" - Queen Aelfgifu.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Aelfgifu was married to Ethelred the Unready,
0:30:44 > 0:30:46one of Cnut's Anglo-Saxon predecessors.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50By marrying her, he's bringing the two nations together,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52and this image is really emphasising that.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55she's put in this position of prominence
0:30:55 > 0:31:00on the right hand of the father, beneath the feet of the virgin.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03This is a hugely significant image for me.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05Other than religious figures,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08there are virtually no women in manuscripts of this period.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12It's also proof of just how badly
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Cnut needed some Anglo-Saxon pedigree.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19The other figures almost literally supporting his kingship here
0:31:19 > 0:31:22are the monks of the New Minster.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24In order to keep a grip on his throne,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Cnut needed the support and the political backing of the Church.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32So he tries to ingratiate himself with particular establishments,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36like New Minster in Winchester. And how does he do that?
0:31:36 > 0:31:38He gives donations and gifts.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Here we see a magnificent golden cross
0:31:41 > 0:31:43that he's placing on the altar.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49Crucifix and manuscript would have been displayed side by side.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54In today's cathedral, there's a similar arrangement.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58People looking at this image
0:31:58 > 0:32:01will see the same gold cross on the altar.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06Like a picture by Escher, it's an endlessly repeating image,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08where the real and the imagined are blended.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15And there's a further dimension at work here.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18The cross is pictured on the Day of Judgement,
0:32:18 > 0:32:22which means it also exists at the end of time.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26The medieval imagination had little difficulty
0:32:26 > 0:32:29moving between the now and the eternal.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31And so this cross in the manuscript
0:32:31 > 0:32:35is acting like a portal between earth and heaven.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46The other book on the altar in Cnut's day
0:32:46 > 0:32:48would have been King Edgar's charter.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52The two images side by side would have further reinforced
0:32:52 > 0:32:55the idea that Cnut was Edgar's rightful successor.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03All Cnut's efforts to write himself into England's Royal story
0:33:03 > 0:33:08eventually paid off. He remains to this day at Winchester,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11in one of the cathedral's ancient mortuary chests.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16He clearly made the grade in the eyes of the Church.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19The image of kingship that Cnut was to create
0:33:19 > 0:33:23has withstood the tides of time for almost a thousand years.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35The manuscript was such a powerful object a thousand years ago,
0:33:35 > 0:33:37it seemed almost alive.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40It's a quality referred to in a poem of the period.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44So I've got an Anglo-Saxon riddle for you.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46SHE SPEAKS IN OLD ENGLISH
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Have you guessed what it is yet? No?
0:34:04 > 0:34:10The answer to the riddle and the voice we hear in the poem is vellum.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Paper doesn't reach northern Europe until the 14th century.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17All manuscripts created here before then are written on
0:34:17 > 0:34:21the treated skins of calves and other beasts.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24The Anglo-Saxons would have been very aware
0:34:24 > 0:34:26that their precious manuscripts
0:34:26 > 0:34:30had their origins in the living creatures around them.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Amazingly, vellum is still being made today,
0:34:38 > 0:34:42in much the same way as the Anglo-Saxon poet describes.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47William Cowley in Buckinghamshire are one of just a handful of firms
0:34:47 > 0:34:51in the world keeping the tradition alive.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58- So here we are, this is our storeroom.- Wow.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01The raw material, as we say.
0:35:01 > 0:35:02- Animal skins.- Animal skins.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04- Nice and smelly. - Lots and lots of animal skins.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06It does smell, yeah. Oh!
0:35:06 > 0:35:09So we have calf here, we have goat over there,
0:35:09 > 0:35:11- and in the box there would be sheep. - Wow.
0:35:11 > 0:35:12Every skin in here
0:35:12 > 0:35:15- has been hand-selected from the abattoir.- What do you look for?
0:35:15 > 0:35:19We'll be looking for if there's any marks from barbed wire,
0:35:19 > 0:35:21from thorns, even insects.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23A tick will get well into the skin
0:35:23 > 0:35:26- and can leave quite a hole. - Oh, I've seen manuscripts
0:35:26 > 0:35:29with these large holes which have been written around.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33If you pick the wrong skins, you'll end up with a duff manuscript.
0:35:33 > 0:35:34Right, so what happens next, then?
0:35:34 > 0:35:37- Well, from here, we'll take the skins...- Right.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41- ..and we then have to soak them.- OK.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Ooh, it smells like rotting flesh.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45Well, yeah, you're not that far away.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48What we've done is we've now got it soaking in a lime bath.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52- OK.- Now, bear in mind, if you go back far enough,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55- it was urine and dog faeces, and everything.- Ugh, yeah.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Cos what you're looking to do,
0:35:57 > 0:36:00you're looking to get the skin to start to break down.
0:36:00 > 0:36:05The finest manuscripts came from the urine of the Abbot.
0:36:05 > 0:36:06The Abbot's diet was so much better
0:36:06 > 0:36:09- than that of an average monk... - Ah, there you go.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11..so his urine was said to be of better quality
0:36:11 > 0:36:13when producing parchment and vellum.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16So there's all these different things you can adapt
0:36:16 > 0:36:18- to get the absolute best quality. - Yeah.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21- You haven't got Abbot's wee today? - No, no.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29- So here we have what we call the grain with the hair on it.- Yeah.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31We're looking to get this off...
0:36:31 > 0:36:35- Right, right, right.- ..without marking the writing surface.- Ah.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38This is going to be the writing surface.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41And if you feel, you can already feel how soft that is.
0:36:41 > 0:36:42Wow, yeah.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47'I've handled plenty of vellum over the years,
0:36:47 > 0:36:49'but never at this stage of its life.'
0:36:49 > 0:36:52- A real parchment maker's apron.- Wow.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Right, so here we go.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56- Here's our knife.- Mmm-hmm.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00- Just lean over, two hands on the knife...- Yep.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- ..and just push down. There you go. - Oh, wow, it's actually...
0:37:03 > 0:37:06- Yeah, I'm hardly putting much pressure on there.- No.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10Gosh, this process is just like the one that I've read about.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13There's an Old English riddle that describes
0:37:13 > 0:37:16the process of making a manuscript and it says...
0:37:16 > 0:37:18SHE SPEAKS IN OLD ENGLISH
0:37:25 > 0:37:27And it's talking about precisely this bit.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31- Yes.- Scraping, shaping the skin.- Yep.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35And it's so evocative, I really feel like that poem's coming to life
0:37:35 > 0:37:37while I'm doing this.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Manufacturing vellum is both labour and time-intensive.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50After the fat is scraped off, the skin takes several weeks to dry.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57From abattoir to finished sheet can take up to three months -
0:37:57 > 0:38:00one reason why vellum has always been a luxury good.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07Some of the stock in this room will go on to be Acts of Parliament.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Today's Royal Family are customers too.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12The marriage certificate for William and Kate
0:38:12 > 0:38:14was written on vellum made here.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- So here we have the finished product now.- Amazing.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22All that effort and energy and this is what you end up with.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25- Feel that lovely smooth surface. - Absolutely amazing.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27This is so exciting for me,
0:38:27 > 0:38:30because I'm used to seeing finished manuscripts
0:38:30 > 0:38:32with their ink and their illuminations,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35and yet to see it like this - just pure and white and new -
0:38:35 > 0:38:36it is just fantastic.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41I really feel there's this passage of time taking place.
0:38:41 > 0:38:42It's come from a life, from a calf,
0:38:42 > 0:38:45- and it's going onto something else, isn't it?- Absolutely.
0:38:45 > 0:38:50Long after everyone else is gone, this will still be here.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01This is vellum as I'm used to encountering it.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04And despite the fact it's a thousand years old,
0:39:04 > 0:39:08you still get the sense that this was once a living creature.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12You can feel the hair side underneath your fingertips.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14And what's really remarkable is that,
0:39:14 > 0:39:18despite the fact it's been used for centuries,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21it's still so well preserved.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25There's something extraordinary
0:39:25 > 0:39:28about the contents of this manuscript too.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31This time the key figure is not a king, but a queen.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36It's Cnut's wife, Aelfgifu, or Emma.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39And this book was made after Cnut's death.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44It's a highly flattering biography of her and her husband,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47and like the other manuscripts I've looked at,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50there's a sense in which image is being manipulated here,
0:39:50 > 0:39:54because Emma has commissioned it herself.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57Cnut's death caused a power struggle.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00The throne passed not to one of Emma's children,
0:40:00 > 0:40:05pictured with her here, but to his son by a previous marriage.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Emma's clearly learnt the power of manuscripts
0:40:09 > 0:40:12from her Royal relatives. This is her version of history,
0:40:12 > 0:40:14and she's had it written
0:40:14 > 0:40:17to ensure she and Cnut remain at the heart of it.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Their reign is described here as one of peace and prosperity,
0:40:23 > 0:40:27in contrast to the bloody turmoil which ensued afterwards.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31This text does everything it can to prove Emma's sons
0:40:31 > 0:40:34are the rightful heirs to the throne.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40In the end, both her sons did rule England.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43But in this image, it's not the boys that are on the throne -
0:40:43 > 0:40:45it's Emma herself.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49It really strikes me what an important historical figure she is -
0:40:49 > 0:40:52married to two kings and mother to two kings.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58But it was another of Emma's relatives
0:40:58 > 0:41:01who was to have the most dramatic effect on English history.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03Emma had grown up in Normandy
0:41:03 > 0:41:06and her great-nephew was called William.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14The most famous imagery of the Norman Conquest, of course,
0:41:14 > 0:41:16isn't on vellum, but on fabric.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22The story told by the Bayeux Tapestry
0:41:22 > 0:41:25not only spelt the end of the Anglo-Saxon Royal line,
0:41:25 > 0:41:29but also caused a deep rupture in the story of England.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32For generations to come,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35this would prove a challenge to the makers of Royal manuscripts.
0:41:35 > 0:41:40How do you present the Royal line as legitimate when its power was won
0:41:40 > 0:41:44through such widespread cultural and political upheaval?
0:41:55 > 0:41:59'This is one solution - the genealogical chronicle.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06'Once the descendants of the Norman invaders had put down roots here,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08'they wanted to prove that they too
0:42:08 > 0:42:11'had their place in the Royal family tree.'
0:42:16 > 0:42:19The artist that's worked on this genealogical roll
0:42:19 > 0:42:22has come up with a number of different strategies to show
0:42:22 > 0:42:27a continuity throughout the history of the English kings.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32The language used for the manuscripts may now be French,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34but the roll includes all the familiar names
0:42:34 > 0:42:38of the Anglo-Saxon era, such as Edgar and Athelstan.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Around that most famous of dates, 1066,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46the roll gets a little bit more confusing.
0:42:46 > 0:42:51The last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, who died at Hastings,
0:42:51 > 0:42:53is shown in isolation.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57For the Normans, he had no legitimate claim to be king.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01In contrast, we see here William the Bastard.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03This is William The Conqueror.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07And there's been a huge amount of effort made to connect him
0:43:07 > 0:43:09to the other kings on the roll.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14So we have this stand-alone section here showing William's heritage.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18He's come from a strong line of Dukes of Normandy.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21And following on from him,
0:43:21 > 0:43:25we see this line coming out of his descendants
0:43:25 > 0:43:27and connecting into future kings.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31So here we have Henry, the first of the Plantagenet kings.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33And there's been an attempt made to link him back
0:43:33 > 0:43:38to the Anglo-Saxon monarchy, through his wife here, Queen Maud.
0:43:38 > 0:43:43And if we follow this long blue line past the Normans,
0:43:43 > 0:43:45past Cnut and Harthacnut,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49we get back to this character - St Margaret,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53a descendent of the Anglo-Saxon king Edmund Ironside.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00This particular roll is almost five metres long,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03and features 32 successive kings of England.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08Dozens of other Royal family trees survive
0:44:08 > 0:44:11from the 13th and 14th centuries.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14Though they were made by a variety of scribes across England,
0:44:14 > 0:44:16they all follow a common template,
0:44:16 > 0:44:18using this graphic style
0:44:18 > 0:44:21of depicting each of the monarchs as if on a coin.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25And, unusually for this period,
0:44:25 > 0:44:27we actually know the name of the artist
0:44:27 > 0:44:30who first came up with this much-copied design.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37Matthew Paris. He even left us this self-portrait.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40As the haircut suggests, he was a monk.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44He lived during the reign of Henry III
0:44:44 > 0:44:48and exemplifies the confident Anglo-French culture of the era.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54And he produced various kinds of chronicles,
0:44:54 > 0:44:56including this, his Historia Anglorum.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03Matthew Paris has been involved
0:45:03 > 0:45:06in all aspects of creating this manuscript.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Not only is he the author - he's actually composed this text -
0:45:09 > 0:45:13but this is his handwriting, so he's acting as scribe as well.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15And then he's gone through
0:45:15 > 0:45:18and illuminated and illustrated throughout.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23There's some really lovely detailing where he's painted it too.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25It's quite an exceptional feat for one man.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31Among the illustrations are a hospital, and a man threshing.
0:45:31 > 0:45:36They're clearly drawn from the contemporary world around him,
0:45:36 > 0:45:38as is much of the text.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42The majority of the work concerns Paris' own lifetime
0:45:42 > 0:45:45and the king who ruled over him - Henry.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50As we get towards the end,
0:45:50 > 0:45:54Paris is writing about events almost as they're happening,
0:45:54 > 0:45:57and he's also offering opinions on them.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00So what we seem to be dealing with here is less like history
0:46:00 > 0:46:02and more like journalism.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06As a result, this work offers a view of monarchy
0:46:06 > 0:46:09quite unlike anything that's gone before.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13There are a number of points in this manuscript
0:46:13 > 0:46:17where Paris is openly critical of Henry and his family. Here's one.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21He's describing John, Henry's father,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25and the taxation that he's imposing on the English people,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and he refers to him here as "tyrannus" - "tyrant".
0:46:28 > 0:46:32That's pretty strong criticism of the king's father.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34And it's seems it's so strong, perhaps,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37that Paris has returned to the manuscript later,
0:46:37 > 0:46:39and added this note,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41"vacat" - "disregard".
0:46:43 > 0:46:47Does this suggest that Paris knew he'd gone too far?
0:46:49 > 0:46:51And look at this image here.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55In its composition, it's saying something really telling
0:46:55 > 0:46:58about the relationship between the Church and the King.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00So you can see the Bishop,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03the representative of the Church, is on a really stable footing.
0:47:03 > 0:47:08And yet the King, King Henry, is teetering on the edge.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11He's very contorted and unstable-looking.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13It's not a very flattering image of him.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17In many ways, it's a bit like a satirical cartoon.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21Frankly, Paris reads less like a medieval scribe
0:47:21 > 0:47:24and more like a modern author.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28But how could this startlingly independent approach
0:47:28 > 0:47:30have arisen in 13th-century Britain?
0:47:36 > 0:47:40Matthew Paris lived and worked for most of his life
0:47:40 > 0:47:43in St Albans Abbey, now the foundations of the town's cathedral.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52On its walls are some 13th-century paintings.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57Paris would have seen these.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04In Medieval times, the abbey was a major site of pilgrimage.
0:48:07 > 0:48:12And chief among the devout visitors was Henry III himself.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18I think Matthew Paris is an absolutely unique chronicler
0:48:18 > 0:48:20because of his relationship with the King.
0:48:20 > 0:48:26He knows Henry III intimately. Henry III comes here, he meets Paris.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30It's a curious relationship because, on the one hand,
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Henry III says to Paris, "Write this, write that,"
0:48:33 > 0:48:35cos Henry III has this huge desire
0:48:35 > 0:48:37to have the events of his reign recorded
0:48:37 > 0:48:41and have his own great deeds recorded, and Paris does that.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43On the other hand, if Henry had seen some of the things
0:48:43 > 0:48:47Paris was writing, he would have been absolutely appalled.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50Absolutely, yes. It is the most critical text we've had to date
0:48:50 > 0:48:52of someone writing about a king,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55and so there's this strange ambiguity and tension.
0:48:55 > 0:49:00I think with Paris it's that God is working his purpose out in history,
0:49:00 > 0:49:04and Paris feels it's absolutely obligatory on him
0:49:04 > 0:49:07- to actually say what is good and what is bad.- Yes.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10Because in God's history, some things are good and some are bad.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14And I wonder, you know, whether at St Albans itself,
0:49:14 > 0:49:16there was a party within the monks,
0:49:16 > 0:49:22perhaps the Abbot himself, who deeply worried about Paris' tone.
0:49:22 > 0:49:23And I think, in the end,
0:49:23 > 0:49:26this may help to explain the extraordinary way
0:49:26 > 0:49:28in which, very late in life,
0:49:28 > 0:49:32Paris went through the work and excised a great deal.
0:49:32 > 0:49:33Did it in a funny sort of way,
0:49:33 > 0:49:35- because sometimes he stuck bits of paper...- Yes.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37..over what he'd excised,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40- so actually you can still lift it up...- And find the criticisms.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42So, you know, you lift...
0:49:42 > 0:49:45On the top, it says, "The venerable archbishop Boniface came
0:49:45 > 0:49:47"and behaved in a dignified way,"
0:49:47 > 0:49:51and underneath it says, "The appalling archbishop Boniface
0:49:51 > 0:49:53"took all our horses," and everything.
0:49:56 > 0:50:01The volume I've seen was perhaps intended as a first draft,
0:50:01 > 0:50:04to be copied again later without the offending passages.
0:50:07 > 0:50:12And in his major portraits of the kings, Paris is much less critical.
0:50:12 > 0:50:17They're imbued with the spirituality of their divine calling.
0:50:19 > 0:50:24And Henry is glorified by his greatest act of piety -
0:50:24 > 0:50:27the reconstruction of Westminster Abbey.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40The greatest of Anglo-Saxon cathedrals had remained the centre
0:50:40 > 0:50:43for Royal ritual, despite the Norman conquest of England.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50Now it was assuming a grander, more awe-inspiring form,
0:50:50 > 0:50:52much like the monarchy itself.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01This must have been a really vibrant and stimulating place
0:51:01 > 0:51:03in the mid-13th century.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07Under Henry III, there was masses of building work taking place.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09And alongside architecture,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12there were other artistic activities based right here in Westminster.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25The best English manuscript art was now being produced in London,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28rather than in Winchester or Northumbria.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37Some of the most stunning illustrations of this era
0:51:37 > 0:51:38appear in psalters -
0:51:38 > 0:51:43small, personal prayer books made from the Book of Psalms.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50These had a particular relevance for Royal readers,
0:51:50 > 0:51:54because they centred on a model of monarchy from the Bible.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57King David combined two of the qualities of kingship
0:51:57 > 0:51:59which Medieval England most valued.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05Psalters were the perfect learning tool for a young prince,
0:52:05 > 0:52:07because they could teach them
0:52:07 > 0:52:09how to be pious rulers and valiant soldiers.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11I've got one here that was custom-made
0:52:11 > 0:52:13for an heir to the English throne.
0:52:15 > 0:52:20It's a shining example of the 13th-century Westminster style.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23The difference between this manuscript
0:52:23 > 0:52:25and the other ones I've encountered
0:52:25 > 0:52:28is that this one has been designed throughout
0:52:28 > 0:52:31for the personal use of one individual Royal.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37This psalter was commissioned as a wedding gift.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42In 1284, King Edward I was preparing to celebrate
0:52:42 > 0:52:44the marriage of his young son and heir,
0:52:44 > 0:52:48the exotically-named Prince Alphonso.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51He was engaged to a countess from Holland,
0:52:51 > 0:52:54so next to England's coat of arms is her Dutch heraldry.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59As was often the case at this time,
0:52:59 > 0:53:03the groom was a boy of just ten years old.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07And that's why the margins of this book are full of images
0:53:07 > 0:53:09that would have appealed to a young prince,
0:53:09 > 0:53:13like a man wrestling with a lion.
0:53:15 > 0:53:16Compared to a typical psalter,
0:53:16 > 0:53:20the images of battle here are fantastical.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24At times, it's like a high-class comic book.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27There are also images of fertility in here,
0:53:27 > 0:53:29like a mermaid suckling her young.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32These were seen as perfect for a wedding gift,
0:53:32 > 0:53:34but are perhaps a little strange
0:53:34 > 0:53:38when you remember that the groom is a prepubescent boy.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43Other illustrations are probably references
0:53:43 > 0:53:47to the opulent lifestyle of the Royal household.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51Queen Eleanor kept lions in her menagerie,
0:53:51 > 0:53:53while the aviary may have provided models
0:53:53 > 0:53:56for these exquisitely delicate birds.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02This really is one of the most beautiful manuscripts I've seen.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05This use of gold and bright colours
0:54:05 > 0:54:10is really in keeping with the fashion at court for lavish display.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13Like any manuscript, many months of labour
0:54:13 > 0:54:17would have gone into creating this exquisite work.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25But the marriage that all this work was done for never took place.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28Just months before the wedding day, the young prince died,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31aged just ten years old,
0:54:31 > 0:54:33and work on the psalter ceased.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40The margins, so richly decorated in the early pages,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43are suddenly left painfully blank.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50Yet an unlikely set of circumstances
0:54:50 > 0:54:54meant that this book did eventually have a second life.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56Some 15 years later,
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Alphonso's sister became engaged to his fiancee's brother.
0:55:00 > 0:55:05The arms of Holland and England that feature in this beautiful book
0:55:05 > 0:55:07would finally be united.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12It's proof of just how valuable these objects were,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15that someone was keen to make use of all the work
0:55:15 > 0:55:17which had already been done.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26Alphonso, meanwhile,
0:55:26 > 0:55:30rests to this day in the most sacred chapel of Westminster Abbey,
0:55:30 > 0:55:34near both his father Edward and his grandfather Henry III.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40By the time this part of the Abbey was built in the late 13th century,
0:55:40 > 0:55:44the English monarchy seemed permanent and assured.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50Set in stone, in fact, and brass.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56It had come a long way since Athelstan began to define
0:55:56 > 0:55:58what a king of England could be.
0:55:58 > 0:56:03One English monarch had even been elevated to sainthood -
0:56:03 > 0:56:06Edward the Confessor's shrine was the centrepiece
0:56:06 > 0:56:08of the new Westminster.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14Religious and Royal power remained intertwined
0:56:14 > 0:56:17in the architecture and the rituals of the Abbey,
0:56:17 > 0:56:20and in its manuscripts.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Above all, in the coronation book.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29We've got so much going on here in terms of the centuries
0:56:29 > 0:56:35of manipulating kingly imagery that we've seen in earlier manuscripts.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38Here we have a joint coronation going on.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39In this instance,
0:56:39 > 0:56:43we're looking at Richard the II and his wife Anne of Bohemia.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46The King and the Queen have all this regalia.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49They have these enormous crowns on their heads,
0:56:49 > 0:56:53and the whole composition is really showing
0:56:53 > 0:56:56the sanctification of the King and Queen.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58You can see there are these archbishops -
0:56:58 > 0:57:01the archbishops of York and Canterbury -
0:57:01 > 0:57:03framing the King and his queen,
0:57:03 > 0:57:09making them seem divine, even. And anyone looking at this image
0:57:09 > 0:57:10would call to mind the coronation
0:57:10 > 0:57:13of Edward the Confessor, the saintly king.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18He was crowned by both the archbishops of York and Canterbury,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21so all future coronations are harking back to this earlier one,
0:57:21 > 0:57:22this ideal one.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26And the use of gold -
0:57:26 > 0:57:31it's just absolutely absorbing them into this divinity,
0:57:31 > 0:57:36this wealth, this absolute image of power.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46The manuscripts of the English monarchy
0:57:46 > 0:57:51did so much more than just record knowledge and bequeath us portraits.
0:57:51 > 0:57:57Over the centuries, when England was first formed, then conquered,
0:57:57 > 0:58:01they gave legitimacy and continuity to a succession of rulers.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Manuscripts defined the image of the English monarchy.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10They shaped its role, and they communicated its meaning.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14They did that in ways which formed this kingdom in their lifetimes...
0:58:16 > 0:58:18..and which are still with us today.
0:58:26 > 0:58:27Next time...
0:58:27 > 0:58:30In an age of plague, rebellion,
0:58:30 > 0:58:35and a Hundred Years' War with France -
0:58:35 > 0:58:38how manuscripts taught kings the tools of their trade.
0:58:58 > 0:59:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd