0:00:26 > 0:00:28The Middle Ages.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34A time of faith and a time of fear.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35GATE CLANGS
0:00:35 > 0:00:40In Hereford, monks created a work of art
0:00:40 > 0:00:43designed to make sense of the unknown.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56This is Mappa Mundi,
0:00:56 > 0:01:01a map of the world as it was known around 1300.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06It's not the kind of map you'd want to use if you were going on a journey,
0:01:06 > 0:01:07because it's completely distorted.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10For instance, down here,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14England, Wales, Ireland crammed down there.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Scotland.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Then you go across Germany to Italy.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24There's Rome rather grandly shown there.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29But it's not just that kind of physical map.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34What it's actually about is faith and superstition,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38religion and romance.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43Religion because at the heart is Jerusalem.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Then there are things from the Bible. There's Noah's Ark.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51The Tower of Babel.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55And above, the Day of Judgement.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59But also, these strange, mythical creatures.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Bodies with eyes set in their chests.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10Frightening and weird creepy-crawly things.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22The most astonishing picture of things that were known
0:02:22 > 0:02:25and things that were imagined at the time.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33It's the whole of life as it was seen.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36A work of art
0:02:36 > 0:02:41which opens the door to the world of the Middle Ages.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09BELL TOLLS
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Medieval life was controlled by two great forces -
0:03:19 > 0:03:23the Crown and the Church.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29In the 12th century, a power struggle broke out between them.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35It came to a head with a shocking murder.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46On 29 December, 1170, a cold winter's night,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50the archbishop, Thomas Becket, was at home here in Canterbury.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53He was already one of the most powerful men in the kingdom,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57some said more powerful than the king himself.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And that was his downfall.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05Four knights loyal to the king came here to Canterbury
0:04:05 > 0:04:07to rid him of the man
0:04:07 > 0:04:11that he'd complained was treating him with shameful contempt.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14The archbishop's staff hustled him into the cathedral
0:04:14 > 0:04:18hoping that here, at least, he'd find sanctuary.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37This was sacred ground,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40but that didn't deter the king's knights.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Nor did they care that their victim was Archbishop of Canterbury,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48head of the English Church.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53They were determined to show the king's power was supreme.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02It's said they found Becket standing here calmly waiting for them.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07"Here I am, no king's traitor but a priest.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10"Why do you seek me?"
0:05:10 > 0:05:12And one of the knights replied,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15taunting him, and striking the cap off his head,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19said, "Fly! You are a dead man."
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The other assassins piled in with their swords,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25struck him blows on the head till he fell to the ground,
0:05:25 > 0:05:32cut open his skull and let the brains flow out over the floor.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37They thought they'd solved a problem for the king
0:05:37 > 0:05:41but his troubles were only just beginning.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55The murder met with outrage across the Christian world.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58The king tried to make amends,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02walking barefoot through the streets of Canterbury
0:06:02 > 0:06:04and being flogged by monks in the cathedral.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12It was round one to the Church.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22With Becket declared a saint by the pope,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Canterbury became an important place of pilgrimage.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33People came from all over Europe to worship at his shrine.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Cathedral as a snowstorm.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Model of the cathedral with sparkles on top.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Archbishop.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Crosses.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55An archbishop teddy bear.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Rowan Williams, the present Archbishop of Canterbury,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01looking slightly manic.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06Well, you might think that souvenirs are a kind of new thing.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Not at all.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24These are badges,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26all of Thomas a Becket,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30that were sold here in the 1300s.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33They're made of a very soft pewter, a mixture of tin and lead.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36And they were made in moulds in stone,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38so there were lots and lots and lots of them produced.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41I think, in a way, this is the liveliest one.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46This is Becket on a ship
0:07:46 > 0:07:49coming back across the Channel from the Continent
0:07:49 > 0:07:53to Canterbury just a month or so before he was murdered.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56So Becket's in the middle with his hand up in a blessing,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58as he is always seen,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and what's really interesting, though, is the ship.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04You can see all the planking here,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07the sailor pulling on the ropes,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10and if you go to the bow, there's the anchor hanging down
0:08:10 > 0:08:16and a soldier on the forecastle with his sword and shield.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21In one sense, these are more than just badges, though,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24because they would be taken to the tomb of Thomas at Canterbury
0:08:24 > 0:08:27and touched against the side
0:08:27 > 0:08:30so they became what was called a touch relic,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and when you took them home and touched the badge,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36you were in effect touching the tomb of Thomas
0:08:36 > 0:08:38that you'd come to worship at.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Just come and have a look.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49These are souvenirs from 1300.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Oh, wow! Aren't they extraordinary?
0:08:52 > 0:08:54They're pretty amazing. Have a close look.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58And it's Thomas a Becket coming on his ship from France.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00They're so detailed. That's what's so interesting.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Yes. Beautifully done. Amazing.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05They're made of lead. Yeah.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08They were found in the mud on the banks of the Thames.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Can you imagine the excitement on a Sunday morning at low tide
0:09:11 > 0:09:14going along with your metal detector and coming up with this?
0:09:14 > 0:09:16So where are they normally kept?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19They're in a museum in London. They've been brought here.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21This is the first time they've been here for 700 years.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24They were sold here 700 years ago.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27And they're not for sale today. ALL LAUGH
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Over the decades, the pilgrims and the money they brought with them
0:09:39 > 0:09:44transformed this cathedral into a memorial to Becket.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52The climax of the pilgrimage was to come up these steps.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56You can see that the stone itself is worn away.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58They probably approached kneeling.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00And what they were coming to do
0:10:00 > 0:10:05was kneel at the shrine of Thomas a Becket...
0:10:06 > 0:10:11..which was placed here in the centre, where the candle now burns.
0:10:12 > 0:10:18By all accounts, it was a huge, gilded, brilliant construction
0:10:18 > 0:10:20encrusted with precious jewels.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25When Henry VIII split with the Pope, he ordered it to be destroyed.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29So there's just a candle to show where it once was.
0:10:30 > 0:10:36What was left, though, were 12 glorious windows
0:10:36 > 0:10:40gleaming in blue and yellow and green,
0:10:40 > 0:10:46that show the miracles that Thomas performed after his death.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12Stained glass is far and away the most powerful, vivid art
0:11:12 > 0:11:14of the Middle Ages.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17You have to look at this glass
0:11:17 > 0:11:19as though you were somebody from that time
0:11:19 > 0:11:21looking at it for the first time.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24No television, no film, you've never seen anything like that,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and you're presented with this.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29The brilliance of the colour,
0:11:29 > 0:11:34the great beauty and animation of the figures telling these stories.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40And the light streaming in at you,
0:11:40 > 0:11:45almost as though God was illuminating the cathedral.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52And the stories themselves... so wonderfully told.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Children being cured of their diseases.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01People being cured of leprosy,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04of plague...
0:12:05 > 0:12:06..of lameness...
0:12:08 > 0:12:10..of blindness.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18Wonderful stories, with Thomas appearing from time to time
0:12:18 > 0:12:23because one of the purposes of this glass was to praise Thomas
0:12:23 > 0:12:27but also to give comfort and inspiration
0:12:27 > 0:12:30to the people who looked at them.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34There could be no better insight into the beliefs
0:12:34 > 0:12:38and the way of thinking of the Middle Ages.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06The artists who worked with stained glass
0:13:06 > 0:13:10were among the finest craftsmen of the age.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15We look at this through the microscope all the time
0:13:15 > 0:13:17and we do not find mistakes.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19They are painted perfectly.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21They don't scratch them out.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23They don't repaint a line that went a little bit shaky.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27The only place where you find repairs or alterations
0:13:27 > 0:13:29are in the inscriptions,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33and that tells me that the painters were probably illiterate
0:13:33 > 0:13:35and they were just copying something they didn't understand.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39The colour is really vivid, isn't it? This yellow,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42and the red of their stockings.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46How did they get this intensity? I mean, these blues...
0:13:46 > 0:13:51Well, cobalt, for instance, makes blue. Copper makes red.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Gold makes a beautiful pink.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55This colour? Yes.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Can you show me the techniques? Yeah, sure.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02So you pick your piece of glass that is round about the right size
0:14:02 > 0:14:03for the shape you want to cut,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07and then with some lime wash, you mark exactly the shape
0:14:07 > 0:14:11and then you use something called a grozing iron
0:14:11 > 0:14:14to nibble away at the edges of the glass, hopefully without breaking it.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17I bet I will break it.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20That's it. Yeah, you got it.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23You see why you have to wear goggles for this.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Is that right? Will that fit in?
0:14:25 > 0:14:27That's amazing. Yes, that's very good.
0:14:27 > 0:14:28Fit it in. That'll be perfect.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30So this goes in up here.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Yeah. And now we need to paint it, of course.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35And we do that with this oxide paint
0:14:35 > 0:14:37which is essentially very finely ground glass.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39What are you going to mix it with now?
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Now I'm adding vinegar to make it paintable, into a paste, really.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45Is that what they would have used?
0:14:45 > 0:14:48No, they would have used urine in the Middle Ages.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Urine? Well...
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Cow's urine? Horse's urine?
0:14:53 > 0:14:54No, actually, the best urine
0:14:54 > 0:14:57would have been that of a prepubescent red-haired boy.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59What's with the red hair?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01LAUGHS: I don't know.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Personal pre... Extraordinary idea.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Personal taste. Right.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10But it does actually work extremely well. I have tried it.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12What, with urine? You have tried it?
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Is it better than vinegar? Yes.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18I'm not going to offer. SHE LAUGHS
0:15:18 > 0:15:20What am I going to do? Copy this? Yes, if you will.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22I'll try.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27It's really nice, isn't it? I mean, it goes on very, very smoothly.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31I can see how you can do great folds and things, yes.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34And then it's put into place. Yeah.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Bob's your uncle. Like that.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52These days, the Church no longer dominates our lives.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57But back in the Middle Ages, religion was everything.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00It gave purpose and structure to daily life.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04It helped protect the sick and the poor.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09But at the same time, it sought to control people's thoughts
0:16:09 > 0:16:11and deeds.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Right, you've got to put your feet there and there.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22That's good.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26You have to take a bit of trouble to see
0:16:26 > 0:16:31the lengths to which the Church went to get its message across.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34How does that feel? Any better? It feels all right.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35Certainly looks good.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37BOTH LAUGH
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Mountaineering was never my passion.
0:16:53 > 0:16:5540 feet above ground,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58on the chancel arch of Holy Trinity,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01is a rare survival from the age.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09I can't look down because I'll be sick.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14HE GROANS
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Try and get a foot round.
0:17:26 > 0:17:32This is a picture of the end of the world.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38When it was first painted, it would have been absolutely brilliant.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41You'd have seen all the detail.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46The whole scene is a kind of chaos, a jumble of people.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51The dead being awakened for the Day of Judgement.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53And over there on the left-hand side
0:17:53 > 0:17:55people going up to paradise,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59coming out of their coffins and ascending into heaven.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17But it's this side that's so vivid,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21this powerful picture of the fate that awaits the sinner.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29There are little demons everywhere. There's a demon down here by my foot.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33And then there are demons all through it.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40Those women there, the alewives, as they're called,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43women who watered down the beer
0:18:43 > 0:18:48and then got people to buy it by displaying their physical charms,
0:18:48 > 0:18:49such as they are.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57This is particularly strong, the great jaws of hell here
0:18:57 > 0:18:59with the flames devouring the sinners
0:18:59 > 0:19:02and the eyes of the beast of hell with his claws
0:19:02 > 0:19:05and a figure falling down into it.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15If you were looking at this, you would know
0:19:15 > 0:19:18that the Day of Judgement would come for everybody.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21You could be sealed in a tomb but you wouldn't be allowed to stay there
0:19:21 > 0:19:23because at the Day of Judgement you'd be brought out.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26You'd either come to this side or to that.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31And therefore, you'd better watch your behaviour
0:19:31 > 0:19:34otherwise this is the fate that awaits you.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47BLOWS WHISTLE
0:20:01 > 0:20:04For centuries, the great art of Europe
0:20:04 > 0:20:08had been produced mainly by monks working in monasteries.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14But now craftsmen were realising their talents could be marketed.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18To be an artist was becoming a profession.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22There were masons,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24painters...
0:20:26 > 0:20:29..and sculptors,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32each striving to produce work
0:20:32 > 0:20:38which would astonish their patrons with its skill and its beauty.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40HORN BLOWS
0:21:01 > 0:21:04The Parker Library in Cambridge
0:21:04 > 0:21:09contains some of the most valuable medieval books and manuscripts,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12and interestingly, that's where you also find
0:21:12 > 0:21:14the best examples of medieval painting -
0:21:14 > 0:21:17in those books and those manuscripts.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20And this is probably the finest.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22The Bury Bible.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28It's illustrated by one of the greatest of all craftsmen.
0:21:28 > 0:21:29He was called Master Hugo,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33and he was somebody who'd travelled all over Europe to get his ideas
0:21:33 > 0:21:36and this was the result.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44What's most striking is how vivid the colours are
0:21:44 > 0:21:46after nearly 900 years.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50These reds and blues and beautiful green.
0:21:50 > 0:21:56And the reason is, this is paint that was made with white of egg,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59which gives it a sort of thick consistency
0:21:59 > 0:22:01which makes it last on the page.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04And then the detail
0:22:04 > 0:22:08of all the usual flowers and gold decoration
0:22:08 > 0:22:10that you see in earlier manuscripts.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14But here, all kinds of bits of life going on.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17A mermaid with two fish.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Monkeys there.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24A centaur - half horse, half man - with a banner.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27And then, if we go on,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30this is a picture of Moses
0:22:30 > 0:22:33with his tablets from the mountain top,
0:22:33 > 0:22:38his brother Aaron on the right here with his rod,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41and down at the bottom, Aaron counting
0:22:41 > 0:22:44the numbers of the people of Israel.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47But the technique is very interesting.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Firstly, this use of the material
0:22:51 > 0:22:53to show the shape of the body.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57It's called damp-fold, as though your clothes were damp on you
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and touching the body at the knee and the thigh,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04so that it brings the characters alive,
0:23:04 > 0:23:09which was a technique that he had learnt from Byzantine art.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13The other thing is the very expressive faces.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Look at Moses' face.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26And the face here of these figures looking slightly bewildered,
0:23:26 > 0:23:27slightly subservient.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39This work is far more human, far more emotional,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41than anything you see
0:23:41 > 0:23:47in the older monks' illustrations and illuminations of the Bible.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52What's happening here is that the artist is taking over,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55not as illustrator but as interpreter
0:23:55 > 0:23:59of the meaning of the story of the Bible.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29As the Middle Ages unfolded, a new way of seeing the world emerged
0:24:29 > 0:24:32that would unite Church and Crown.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38It was inspired by heroic tales and ancient legends.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42They called it chivalry.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Chivalry was a code of behaviour for knights
0:25:03 > 0:25:06which prized particular virtues -
0:25:06 > 0:25:10courage, prowess in battle, loyalty, a sense of honour.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13It took much of its inspiration from the stories of King Arthur
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and the Knights of the Round Table.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Whether they were mythical
0:25:18 > 0:25:21or whether they were based on some former British king,
0:25:21 > 0:25:22we don't know.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25But they were so compelling, these stories,
0:25:25 > 0:25:27so full of romance and adventure,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29that they led to the creation
0:25:29 > 0:25:32of one of the most striking objects of the Middle Ages.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42It was designed for ceremonial use
0:25:42 > 0:25:46at a royal tournament in the reign of Edward I.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57It looks like a giant dartboard
0:25:57 > 0:26:01hanging in the Great Hall of Winchester Castle,
0:26:01 > 0:26:02the old royal palace.
0:26:02 > 0:26:08In fact, it's an 18-foot-wide solid oak table.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11And the game's given away by the words in the centre -
0:26:11 > 0:26:16"This is the round table of King Arthur
0:26:16 > 0:26:19"and 24 of his named knights."
0:26:19 > 0:26:23It was a re-creation of the table of Arthur.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27It's got the names of the knights at the top. You can see some of them.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot there. Sir Gawain.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34And in the middle is King Arthur himself.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41But the interesting thing about this
0:26:41 > 0:26:44is that the power of chivalry was so great
0:26:44 > 0:26:47it turns up not just here on this table
0:26:47 > 0:26:50but all through our art at the time.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Some of the finest work was inspired
0:27:01 > 0:27:04by the overriding ambition of medieval knights
0:27:04 > 0:27:08to recapture the Holy Land for Christianity -
0:27:08 > 0:27:10the Crusades.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20One order of crusading knights, the Knights Templar,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24had their own church in London, where they honoured the fallen.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46They built their church round...
0:27:48 > 0:27:53..to look like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,
0:27:53 > 0:27:55where Christ was said to be buried,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58so that when they came here to their church in London,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01they were coming to Jerusalem.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04And this is where they too chose to be buried.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11These are the tombs of some of the knights.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16They look ravaged by age,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18the stone all worn.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23Bu not at all - it was an incendiary bomb in the Second World War
0:28:23 > 0:28:25that fell through the roof here
0:28:25 > 0:28:30and destroyed what up till then were perfect replicas of the knights.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34Luckily, some still survive.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51This is a family - father and two of his three sons,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Earls of Pembroke.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57And the interesting thing is, Father died in his 70s,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59this one died in his 40s
0:28:59 > 0:29:03and yet they all look young, and there's a reason for it.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07If we have a close look at this one, it explains exactly why.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12He's got his helmet, chain mail,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16this tunic with beautiful folds in it...
0:29:18 > 0:29:20..his hand on his sword,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23pulling his sword from its scabbard.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30His legs aren't crossed in repose, like someone asleep, someone dead.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34They're moving. He's almost about to get up.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37And when you look at his face,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39the eyes are actually open.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43And it's the face of a young man,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46a warrior in his prime,
0:29:46 > 0:29:50not lying dead, but waiting to arise again
0:29:50 > 0:29:52and fight for Christendom.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01BIRDSONG
0:30:13 > 0:30:18It wasn't enough for a knight to be a brave warrior in battle.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23The code of chivalry expected him to be a devoted lover as well.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31One of the greatest romances of the age
0:30:31 > 0:30:36was between Edward I and his queen, Eleanor of Castile.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43When she died, away from London, in 1290,
0:30:43 > 0:30:47the grief-struck king determined to commemorate their love.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56The village of Geddington in Northamptonshire
0:30:56 > 0:30:58used to be the site of a royal hunting lodge
0:30:58 > 0:31:02and this was one of the places that Eleanor's funeral procession stopped
0:31:02 > 0:31:05on its way from Lincoln to London.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08There were 12 stopping places in all
0:31:08 > 0:31:12and at each one, Edward had built a monument to his wife.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16And this one at Geddington is far and away the best preserved.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23We're used to seeing old monuments eroded by time.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27We love them for it, for this golden patina,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31for the feeling of something that's stood here for centuries.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34It's difficult to think what they were like
0:31:34 > 0:31:35when they were first put up.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37They weren't like this at all.
0:31:37 > 0:31:44This monument would have been painted in positively garish colours,
0:31:44 > 0:31:45probably with gilding
0:31:45 > 0:31:48and certainly set with pieces of glass.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52It was a kind of striking image - nothing like what it looks now.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56Beautifully done, with all these flowers and leaves.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01And then the three statues of Eleanor herself,
0:32:01 > 0:32:05facing the three roads that come into the village.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16It's striking how similar the statue of Eleanor is
0:32:16 > 0:32:18to a statue of the Virgin Mary.
0:32:18 > 0:32:19And that's no coincidence.
0:32:19 > 0:32:24It fits in with the medieval idea of woman, the perfect woman -
0:32:24 > 0:32:27pure and chaste, the woman as mother,
0:32:27 > 0:32:31the woman literally put on a pedestal, out of reach.
0:32:45 > 0:32:46Seven centuries on,
0:32:46 > 0:32:52the Eleanor monument still serves as an inspiration to the village.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Well, I've lived here since I was two,
0:32:54 > 0:32:56so I've lived here for 82 years,
0:32:56 > 0:33:02so the cross has always been a centre of a lot of activities.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05This is a sort of monument - it's rather romantic, isn't it? - to love.
0:33:05 > 0:33:06Indeed, yes.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Eleanor and Edward... Beautiful. Yes.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Bert and Margaret. BOTH LAUGH
0:33:14 > 0:33:17Has your life been as romantic as theirs was?
0:33:17 > 0:33:19Oh, yes, I think so. Yes.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Do you see her as pure and chaste
0:33:22 > 0:33:24like the Virgin Mary, like Eleanor?
0:33:24 > 0:33:26BERT LAUGHS
0:33:26 > 0:33:28Yes, I'm sure he does. Yes, definitely
0:33:28 > 0:33:33Yes. We've never sort of had any flings or anything of that sort.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36We've been loyal and loving to each other, haven't we?
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Yes. Yes. For almost 60 years.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40Does he put you on a pedestal?
0:33:40 > 0:33:42No, I don't think...
0:33:42 > 0:33:47I don't think Bert would build me a cross like this.
0:33:47 > 0:33:48Would you?
0:33:48 > 0:33:50I would if I had the means, yes.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52ALL LAUGH
0:34:12 > 0:34:18All the notions of chivalry came together at Windsor in the 1340s.
0:34:21 > 0:34:28Here, Edward III created a home for a new order of English knights.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Within the walls of Windsor is a remarkable survival
0:34:40 > 0:34:43of Edward's chivalric vision.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50This is something very special.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52I can uncover it...
0:34:59 > 0:35:03Obviously, a long, long sword.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07It's very nearly 7 foot.
0:35:07 > 0:35:106 foot 8 inches long of solid steel.
0:35:10 > 0:35:15The hilt, covered with leather and a steel pommel here.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20And this blade of steel, it's been polished and beaten into shape.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29And what's special about it is that this sword belonged to Edward III.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35This is not an ornamental sword. There's no decoration on it.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38This is a practical fighting sword.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43And it's thought that Edward III would have used it in tournament.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46It's certainly a sword that could kill -
0:35:46 > 0:35:49light and very sharp at the end.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52But this sword is important for another reason,
0:35:52 > 0:35:54not just because it was Edward III's.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58In 1348, Edward formed a group of knights,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01the Knights of the Garter,
0:36:01 > 0:36:05and this very sword was given up by Edward at that point
0:36:05 > 0:36:08and taken to the chapel of the Order of the Knights
0:36:08 > 0:36:12and hung above his stall in the chapel.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14It was a great symbolic moment.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17This sword designed for battle
0:36:17 > 0:36:20had become a sword designed to represent faith.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24And warfare and faith were the two great elements
0:36:24 > 0:36:26of the concept of chivalry.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39St George's Chapel, Windsor,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43is still the home of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45And just like Arthur's Round Table,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49there are only 24 knights at any one time.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57The walls of the choir where the knights sit
0:36:57 > 0:36:59are beautiful dark oak...
0:37:01 > 0:37:04..but gleaming with brass plates.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13They're the plates of the Garter Knights -
0:37:13 > 0:37:17800 or so out of the 1,000 there have been.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25They're like a whole history of Britain.
0:37:25 > 0:37:31The oldest one of all is up here at the back,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33different from all the others,
0:37:33 > 0:37:37and it belongs to Ralph Bassett.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40And here's his coat of arms.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42First of all, the family crest -
0:37:42 > 0:37:44a black boar in heavy enamel
0:37:44 > 0:37:51with gold tusks, a gold eye and a gold crown round his neck.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Here's the shield, with its three red stripes,
0:37:55 > 0:38:00and five tails of ermine on this square.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04And then what's called a roundel, another sort of shield,
0:38:04 > 0:38:05in red and blue
0:38:05 > 0:38:08with fleur-de-lis on.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12The technicalities of heraldry all sound very complex
0:38:12 > 0:38:14and they're a thing for the experts, really,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16but in the Middle Ages, what they allowed you to do
0:38:16 > 0:38:20was to instantly recognise in battle
0:38:20 > 0:38:23where various knights and their followers were.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25So you'd see a banner flying and you'd say, "Ah,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28"that's old Ralph Bassett down there.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30"He's doing all right on the right flank. What's happening on the left?"
0:38:30 > 0:38:33And you'd know for certain you'd picked the right man.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37So these are not just a symbol of the pride and courage of a knight,
0:38:37 > 0:38:41they're also intensely practical as a way of identifying him.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57So-called Military Knights who serve the Order of the Garter
0:38:57 > 0:38:59still live within the castle walls.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02JAZZY DOORBELL CHIME
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Good morning. I like the tune.
0:39:07 > 0:39:08Do come in.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10How do you decide which bell to use? This one...
0:39:10 > 0:39:13My friends use the tuneful one. PIERCING DOORBELL
0:39:13 > 0:39:15That's better. BOTH LAUGH
0:39:15 > 0:39:16I see.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19LAUGHS
0:39:19 > 0:39:20Must drive you mad after a bit.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23MAN LAUGHS
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Uniform's very smart.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28Very heavy. Heavy, is it?
0:39:28 > 0:39:29Yeah, it's very heavy. It looks great.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33It was built, I think, to stop musket balls
0:39:33 > 0:39:35at a range of about 30 yards.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37DAVID LAUGHS
0:39:37 > 0:39:39What's your job, as a knight?
0:39:39 > 0:39:46Well, I'm a Military Knight, yes, and our job is primarily prayer.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Prayer? Oh, really? Prayer.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50To pray for the Sovereign
0:39:50 > 0:39:52and the Companions, living and departed,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55of the Most Honourable and Noble Order of the Garter.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58So what are the characteristics of a chivalrous knight?
0:39:58 > 0:40:04Being gentle, kind, considerate and very tough.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07What does it mean now, do you think?
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Here you are, wonderfully dressed up in scarlet,
0:40:09 > 0:40:13with gold epaulettes and white sash
0:40:13 > 0:40:15and gold badges and buttons and all that.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18But does it actually mean anything still in the modern day
0:40:18 > 0:40:19or is it just a sort of anachronism?
0:40:19 > 0:40:22It certainly means quite a lot to me, yes.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25I think it's a bit of show. And why not?
0:40:25 > 0:40:27A bit of theatre.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Bits drop off the uniforms occasionally.
0:40:30 > 0:40:31Do they? LAUGHS: Yes.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33What drops off?
0:40:33 > 0:40:36The badges off the epaulettes. They're only pinned on.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39And it has been known for an entire epaulette
0:40:39 > 0:40:41to suddenly leave the shoulder.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Garter Knights leaving a trail of badges of honour...
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Accoutrements. It looks as if they're retreating.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54The ideal of chivalry and its practice
0:40:54 > 0:40:57were not always quite the same thing.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05In the second half of the 14th century,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07ferocious wars against France
0:41:07 > 0:41:10brought about a new style of warfare.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19Leading the onslaught was Edward III's son,
0:41:19 > 0:41:25inspired less by faith than an appetite for power and glory.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36This is the Tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38We have to climb up to see it properly
0:41:38 > 0:41:40because of the railings that rather obscure it.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45The Black Prince, who was the eldest son of Edward III,
0:41:45 > 0:41:50who never succeeded to the throne, a man of arms fighting the French,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54with a reputation for hardness, determination, even cruelty.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57It's said that he killed women and children
0:41:57 > 0:41:59in one of the sieges of a town he undertook.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05But he had an eye also for what would happen after his death.
0:42:05 > 0:42:10Money could buy you the route to heaven
0:42:10 > 0:42:13and he specified exactly how he should be buried.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23It is absolutely astonishing.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26600 years old. Over 600 years old.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28It's made of bronze and gilded.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35His tunic, with lions emblazoned on it.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42And the belt, the sword belt, with lions on it as well.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48His feet, with the spurs resting on his dog.
0:42:54 > 0:42:59His hands, he was particularly keen, should be in a position of prayer.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07Interestingly, the Victorians took this idea of the Black Prince so seriously
0:43:07 > 0:43:11that they actually painted it black.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13It was only in the 1930s
0:43:13 > 0:43:16that somebody scraping away discovered underneath
0:43:16 > 0:43:22this glorious figure, resplendent in gilded bronze.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44The Black Prince died before he could become king,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48but his craving for glory was inherited by his son.
0:43:49 > 0:43:55King Richard II wanted the crown itself to be an object of worship.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00His vanity and his ambition created an era of magnificence,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03the artistic pinnacle of the Middle Ages.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27Munich is home to a unique survival of Richard's reign.
0:44:29 > 0:44:36Most of his treasure was melted down in the English Civil War of the 1600s.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41But by good fortune, one precious object was preserved.
0:44:45 > 0:44:51It's kept in the Residenz Palace, once home to the kings of Bavaria.
0:45:35 > 0:45:40This is the only surviving English crown from the Middle Ages.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Everything else was destroyed.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49This crown was in Richard II's treasury.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52It was worn by his first wife.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58It came to Germany on the marriage of a royal princess a few years later.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06It is an object of indescribable beauty.
0:46:08 > 0:46:13A circle of 12 free-standing lilies in gold...
0:46:15 > 0:46:20..set on a hinged ring at the bottom here
0:46:20 > 0:46:24and each lily set with precious stones -
0:46:24 > 0:46:28rubies, sapphires cut like boiled sweets.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31"Cabochon", they call it.
0:46:31 > 0:46:32Pearls...
0:46:34 > 0:46:35..emeralds
0:46:35 > 0:46:37and diamonds.
0:46:44 > 0:46:50And you think, if this was the crown that the queen wore,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53what would the king's crown have been like?
0:46:53 > 0:46:56Richard II, after all, was the king who, for the first time,
0:46:56 > 0:47:00insisted on being called Royal Majesty.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06And for him, the crown would have been a symbol of that majesty,
0:47:06 > 0:47:07of his right to be king,
0:47:07 > 0:47:13of something almost godlike about his role.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34In London, Richard created a superb setting
0:47:34 > 0:47:36for his new style of monarchy.
0:47:42 > 0:47:47Today, Westminster Hall is dwarfed by the Houses of Parliament.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52Back then, it was a wonder of the medieval world.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31This roof, when it was built,
0:48:31 > 0:48:36was the widest unsupported roof in the whole of Europe -
0:48:36 > 0:48:38a quite astonishing achievement.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39And it was all Richard II's.
0:48:45 > 0:48:4726 carved angels,
0:48:47 > 0:48:53each holding the coat of arms of the king.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58This hall had stood here for 300 years
0:48:58 > 0:48:59when he came to the throne
0:48:59 > 0:49:05but he raised the walls, he put in the ceiling,
0:49:05 > 0:49:09he stamped it with his own image all the way round.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11There are white hart, his own personal symbol,
0:49:11 > 0:49:15right the way around the hall, right down there, across,
0:49:15 > 0:49:18and right along there.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22And what's really interesting about this is he used the best carpenters,
0:49:22 > 0:49:24the best masons,
0:49:24 > 0:49:26he used English oak, English carvers.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30He was taking a French style and transforming it
0:49:30 > 0:49:32into an English style,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36saying, "Not only am I Richard II, the King,
0:49:36 > 0:49:38"but I am going to show the way
0:49:38 > 0:49:40"for a new kind of England,
0:49:40 > 0:49:44"where art supports me as the monarch."
0:49:53 > 0:49:56Richard encouraged all the arts.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02It was for his court that The Canterbury Tales was written.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09This epic work tells of a band of pilgrims
0:50:09 > 0:50:12on their way to Becket's tomb at Canterbury.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16There are memorable portraits -
0:50:16 > 0:50:20the drunken miller,
0:50:20 > 0:50:24the unholy holy man
0:50:24 > 0:50:26and the much-married wife of Bath.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32It was the work of the first great writer in the English language,
0:50:32 > 0:50:36Richard's court poet, Geoffrey Chaucer.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39This painting is unique -
0:50:39 > 0:50:43it's the only portrait of Chaucer,
0:50:43 > 0:50:47reading his poetry to the court of Richard II.
0:50:55 > 0:51:00It's a very finely painted picture
0:51:00 > 0:51:02that drips in gold.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05Absolutely right too, because it's showing his court
0:51:05 > 0:51:07and all the women have gold headdresses,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10the men have cloaks with gold and jewels on.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17And they're sitting absolutely enraptured
0:51:17 > 0:51:20as Chaucer, in a little pulpit, with a cloth in front
0:51:20 > 0:51:22reads his poetry.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30They would have been used to listening to poetry
0:51:30 > 0:51:32read to them in French.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35French was the language of the educated classes,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38had been ever since the Norman Conquest.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41What Chaucer did was almost perverse.
0:51:41 > 0:51:46He turned to the vulgar language, the language of the common people,
0:51:46 > 0:51:47English,
0:51:47 > 0:51:49and used that for his poetry,
0:51:49 > 0:51:54and in so doing, he unleashed the strength of the imagery of English.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Just read me a bit. What is this from?
0:52:00 > 0:52:02OK, this is the description
0:52:02 > 0:52:05of the wife of Bath from the General Prologue.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08READS: "A good wif was ther, of biside Bathe..."
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Wait a minute, wait a minute. A good what?
0:52:10 > 0:52:12"A good wif." That's "wife". That's "wife".
0:52:12 > 0:52:14When you read it on the page, you have to imagine it being written
0:52:14 > 0:52:16by a friend of yours who can't spell.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Oh, right. Then it becomes very easy.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23If you think of the spelling being very, very peculiar and archaic,
0:52:23 > 0:52:24then it's difficult.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26So you mustn't be embarrassed, really.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28Just think of it as being bad spelling
0:52:28 > 0:52:30and a great deal of it becomes extremely straightforward.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32So let me just try this bit.
0:52:32 > 0:52:37"She was a worthy womman al hir..." What's that?
0:52:37 > 0:52:39"Lyve". "Life". ..al hir lyve.
0:52:39 > 0:52:40"All her life". Yes.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44Al hir lyve. She'd outlived all her five husbands.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47She's a professional wife and a professional widow.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49"But therof..."
0:52:49 > 0:52:53"But therof nedeth nat to speke as nowthe..."
0:52:53 > 0:52:55There'd been this other company when she was young
0:52:55 > 0:52:57but we needn't talk about that now.
0:52:57 > 0:53:02But he's clearly saying she was a... she had an eye for the men.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05He's implying that. He's certainly saying she had an eye for the men.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07OK, I'll have a go.
0:53:07 > 0:53:08Right. You tell me how I do.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12"She was a worthy womman al hir lyve.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15"Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyve.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18"Withouthen oother compaignye in youthe.
0:53:18 > 0:53:23"But therof nedeth nat to speke as nowthe."
0:53:23 > 0:53:26That's wonderful, especially the confidence.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28The confidence! That's what matters.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31The confidence is misplaced. That's what makes it convincing.
0:53:47 > 0:53:53Under King Richard II, English art acquired a national identity.
0:53:54 > 0:54:00This new spirit inspired the masterpiece of the age -
0:54:00 > 0:54:03one of the wonders of the National Gallery.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11These are the rooms of medieval painting
0:54:11 > 0:54:13in the National Gallery in London.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16We're surrounded by stupendous pictures
0:54:16 > 0:54:18that gleam from the walls,
0:54:18 > 0:54:19most of them Italian.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22But here is the jewel of this collection
0:54:22 > 0:54:25and this is English.
0:54:28 > 0:54:33It's an altarpiece made for Richard II.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35It was designed to go wherever he wants
0:54:35 > 0:54:38so it could be opened up for him to pray before it.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43And it shows Richard here, with his crown, on his knees on one side
0:54:43 > 0:54:48with three saints behind him.
0:54:48 > 0:54:54The first one with the arrow, St Edmund, English king, beatified,
0:54:54 > 0:54:57Edward the Confessor, also a saint,
0:54:57 > 0:55:00who Richard was always harking back to,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03and John the Baptist,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07who was, in a way, Richard II's protector,
0:55:07 > 0:55:10with his lamb and his hand around Richard.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15Richard on his knees, with his hands like that,
0:55:15 > 0:55:17apparently about to receive something.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20And what he's about to receive is explained here.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23This side is heaven.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28It shows the Virgin with Jesus in her arms.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31Around her, these angels,
0:55:31 > 0:55:36and the angels each have a little badge, or favour,
0:55:36 > 0:55:40of the white hart - Richard II's white hart.
0:55:40 > 0:55:46So all the angels are showing their allegiance to Richard down here.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49And the Christ child appears to be
0:55:49 > 0:55:52presenting something to Richard, which he is receiving,
0:55:52 > 0:55:57and what it is is this standard of the Resurrection.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00And this is a detail they only discovered recently
0:56:00 > 0:56:02and it's absolutely extraordinary.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05You have to use a magnifying glass to see it at all.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08At the very top of the staff is an orb.
0:56:09 > 0:56:14And you can just see, even though it's very tarnished,
0:56:14 > 0:56:16silver leaf.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19You can just see that it's a painting of an island
0:56:19 > 0:56:22with a castle, a white castle,
0:56:22 > 0:56:24and a tiny white sailing boat.
0:56:26 > 0:56:31This sceptred isle set in a silver sea.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35It's England.
0:56:35 > 0:56:40And the Virgin and Christ, they're in effect presenting England
0:56:40 > 0:56:43to Richard II.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53The whole thing is a celebration of Richard's kingship,
0:56:53 > 0:56:55of Richard's divine right to rule.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58Saintly kings behind him to whom he's appealing,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01angels wearing his badge
0:57:01 > 0:57:04and Christ presenting England to him.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07There could be no finer demonstration
0:57:07 > 0:57:10of what Richard II believed his role on Earth to be.
0:57:19 > 0:57:24Our story began with a king humiliated by the Church.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27It ends here.
0:57:27 > 0:57:32Art was now firmly in the hands of the Crown.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46In the next stage
0:57:46 > 0:57:48a royal tyrant,
0:57:48 > 0:57:50a virgin queen.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54Voyages of exploration, plundered booty,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58the triumph of the English language.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03Britain in the age of power.
0:58:37 > 0:58:40Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd