0:00:09 > 0:00:12Savagery and piety.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Conquest and colonisation.
0:00:23 > 0:00:31The Normans used every weapon in their armoury to reshape northern France and the British Isles.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38They were powerful rulers and state-builders.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44And their legacy can be seen all around us.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49But this wasn't just a French and British story.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56The Normans' explosive ambition and Christian fervour
0:00:56 > 0:01:00also took them south to the Mediterranean and beyond.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05All the way to the Holy Land.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19In the summer of 1099, an international force of 12,000 Christian soldiers
0:01:19 > 0:01:22stormed through the streets of Jerusalem.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28This would be the most divisive part of the Norman inheritance -
0:01:28 > 0:01:31the First Crusade.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Among their leaders were Norman knights,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38including the son of William the Conqueror.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47As the Crusaders tore through the Holy City they cut down thousands of Muslims.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53According to one chronicler, "the slaughter was so great that men waded in blood up to their ankles."
0:01:53 > 0:01:57This was a massacre so terrible that Islam never forgot nor forgave.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01It permanently deepened the divide between Christians and Muslims.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08The Norman Conquests in Italy, Sicily and the Middle East
0:02:08 > 0:02:11were bloody and destructive,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15but the Normans of the South went on to create powerful
0:02:15 > 0:02:19states and kingdoms, where different cultures and religions mixed
0:02:19 > 0:02:23in an atmosphere of relative tolerance.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30The result was an extraordinary flourishing of art,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32architecture, science and learning.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40The Norman legacy in England is widely known,
0:02:40 > 0:02:46but their impact in the South was just as powerful and long lasting.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56These great Norman campaigns in the Mediterranean and the Middle East
0:02:56 > 0:02:58were their most ambitious ventures of all.
0:02:58 > 0:03:05Their influence spread far beyond the borders of duchy of Normandy and these Norman Conquests
0:03:05 > 0:03:12left a political, cultural and religious legacy, with consequences that are still felt to this day.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36In 1017, a group of pilgrim knights came here to worship at
0:03:36 > 0:03:43the shrine of the Archangel Michael in Monte Gargano, south-east Italy.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48SINGING
0:03:51 > 0:03:53The chronicler, William of Apulia,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58records that they were known as, "Normans - men of the north wind."
0:04:07 > 0:04:10The Normans were fervent Christians
0:04:10 > 0:04:15and the shrine here at Monte Gargano was of especial importance to them.
0:04:15 > 0:04:21It was here that the Archangel Michael was said to have first appeared in western Europe
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and Michael was the Normans' favourite saint.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29As a warrior saint he was the perfect combination of holiness
0:04:29 > 0:04:34and military prowess for a race of warriors.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42A thousand years later, pilgrims are still coming here.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Like the Normans before them, they descend these steps and touch
0:04:48 > 0:04:50the door to the shrine,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54which is said to represent the entrance to heaven.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07The shrine itself is built into a cave.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11You can feel that the rock surface has been rubbed smooth
0:05:11 > 0:05:14by the hands of thousands of pilgrims touching the rock
0:05:14 > 0:05:18on which the Archangel stood when he appeared here,
0:05:18 > 0:05:23and beneath that statue are said to be the footprints of the Archangel himself.
0:05:30 > 0:05:36The Norman knights who came here in 1017 weren't driven by Christian piety alone.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41There were also plenty of opportunities for plunder and conquest.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Southern Italy was the meeting place of three competing civilisations.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54The old Roman empire had split into two.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57The western half was divided into barbarian kingdoms
0:05:57 > 0:06:00with the Pope ruling over the western Christian church.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04The eastern half was the Byzantine empire
0:06:04 > 0:06:08with its own Christian leaders. Its inhabitants spoke Greek,
0:06:08 > 0:06:13but they preserved the traditions of imperial Rome.
0:06:13 > 0:06:19The empire stretched from southern Italy in the west to the borders of Armenia in the east.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23The southern Mediterranean was dominated by Muslims
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and as these three groups fought for supremacy,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31southern Italy was torn apart by war.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41This volatile situation was a golden opportunity for the Normans.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44The knights visiting Monte Gargano were soon approached
0:06:44 > 0:06:49by a local noble who asked them to serve him as mercenaries.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53The chronicler, William of Apulia, records that they agreed
0:06:53 > 0:06:57and then returned home to recruit a greater force amongst the knights
0:06:57 > 0:07:00of Normandy, stirring up their minds to come to Italy,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04they were all united in their lust for gain.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17In the years ahead, hundreds of Normans returned
0:07:17 > 0:07:23to fight as mercenaries in wars between the Italians, the Byzantines, and the Muslims.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31These independent knights weren't fighting in the name of Normandy but for their own private gain.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38The Norman knights were enticed south partly by a display
0:07:38 > 0:07:44of what the exotic Mediterranean had to offer - lemons,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46almonds,
0:07:46 > 0:07:51elaborate objects decorated in gold, clothes fit for an emperor,
0:07:51 > 0:07:56even, it's said, an elephant's tooth and a griffon's claw,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00but what the Normans were really hungry for was territory
0:08:00 > 0:08:02and the fertile plains of southern Italy
0:08:02 > 0:08:05must have presented a tempting sight.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Southern Italy was a promised land, ripe for the picking.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18According to one chronicler, the Normans joined battle
0:08:18 > 0:08:24against the Byzantines and "performed great feats of war and knighthood."
0:08:28 > 0:08:30They were richly rewarded.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36An independent Norman settlement was established here in 1030,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and this was only the start.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Within a century, a few hundred migrant Norman knights
0:08:45 > 0:08:48were to become the most powerful force in southern Italy.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58Among the new arrivals from Normandy were the sons of a landowner called Tancred de Hauteville.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03His estate in Normandy was too small to support his 12 sons,
0:09:03 > 0:09:08so they roamed across Europe looking for new territories.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13'By all accounts, the de Hauteville boys were very successful.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16'This single family of warriors
0:09:16 > 0:09:20'would lead the Norman conquests of Italy.'
0:09:21 > 0:09:26One of Tancred's sons, Robert, arrived in 1046 and made his home
0:09:26 > 0:09:31here at Scribla, in the poor, mountainous region of Calabria.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38These towers are all that's left of his desolate castle.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Robert struggled to survive here.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48The chronicler Amatus wrote, "His knights were few, he was poor
0:09:48 > 0:09:53"in the things necessary for life, he lacked money in his purse."
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Indeed he lacked everything, although he had plenty of meat.
0:09:57 > 0:10:04As the children of Israel survived in the desert, so Robert lived on his hilltop.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07But Robert was a true Norman.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12He lived as a bandit chief, terrorising the countryside
0:10:12 > 0:10:17and ruthlessly plundering Byzantine towns across the region.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20According to the Byzantine historian, Anna Comnena,
0:10:20 > 0:10:25Robert had a heart full of passion and anger, and among his enemies
0:10:25 > 0:10:31he expected that either he would drive through his opponent with a spear or else himself be destroyed.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38Robert was a fighter, but he was also a clever strategist.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42He eventually earned the nickname "Guiscard," meaning "the crafty."
0:10:44 > 0:10:50William of Apulia tells how Robert came up with a cunning strategy to breach the defences of one city.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Robert commanded the Normans to say that one of his men had died
0:10:57 > 0:11:03and he then requested the monastery inside the city to arrange a funeral service for the dead man.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08But once safely inside the church, the man they were about to bury
0:11:08 > 0:11:10suddenly jumped out of the coffin.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Hidden beneath him were swords.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15The fake mourners then grabbed the swords,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17set about the men in the city and captured it.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Seven years after Robert Guiscard arrived in Italy,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33the Byzantines were still living in constant fear of Norman attack.
0:11:35 > 0:11:42In desperation, they turned for help to the Normans' own spiritual chief, Pope Leo IX.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49In 1053, the Byzantines sent envoys to Leo
0:11:49 > 0:11:51to complain about the Normans.
0:11:51 > 0:11:58They begged him, in the words of William of Apulia, "to liberate Italy, that now lacked its freedom,
0:11:58 > 0:12:03"and to force that wicked people, who were pressing Apulia under their yoke, to leave."
0:12:03 > 0:12:08Pope Leo was angered by the Normans' plundering, by their burning of churches
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and the slaughtering of civilians, and so he enthusiastically entered
0:12:12 > 0:12:14into an alliance with the Byzantines.
0:12:17 > 0:12:25Pope Leo IX was a German aristocrat and the powerful secular ruler of central Italy.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28He gathered troops from across southern Italy,
0:12:28 > 0:12:33but also brought in Swabian mercenaries from his native Germany
0:12:33 > 0:12:35to help sort out the Norman problem.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42They were fierce warriors, who fought with long, sharp swords
0:12:42 > 0:12:45and could cut a man in half at a stroke.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Pope Leo led the army himself.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55A contemporary noted with astonishment that he was the first
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Pope since the time of St Peter
0:12:57 > 0:13:00to go to war with a body of armed troops.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04The Normans were facing a formidable enemy.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Just a few decades after they'd first come to Italy,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11it looked as though they might well have to retreat back to Normandy.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21But the Normans weren't going to give up so easily.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27They mustered all their forces, including 3,000 mounted knights
0:13:27 > 0:13:31under the command of Robert Guiscard and the other Norman leaders.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36As the Pope marched south to meet his Byzantine allies,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40the Normans intercepted him here at the old Roman city of Civitate.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44'They were ready for battle, as ever.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50'But this time they were struggling with a dilemma.'
0:13:52 > 0:13:56As fervent Christians, the Normans were reluctant to fight their spiritual leader.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59They tried to sue for peace, declaring that they were willing
0:13:59 > 0:14:04to obey the Pope, but the Swabians mocked them and told the Pope
0:14:04 > 0:14:06to "command the Normans to leave the land of Italy,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10"to lay down their arms and return to their own country."
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Battle was now inevitable.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18The Normans climbed this hill to gauge the size of the enemy camp.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23The Swabian troops were drawn up down there on the left hand side.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Opposite them were Robert Guiscard's men.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28On the right hand side were the Italians.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39The battle began with a Norman cavalry charge.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50According to William of Apulia, the Italians fled in all directions.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02Now it was time for the Normans to confront the Swabians.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05First they launched their spears.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Then, Robert Guiscard led another cavalry charge.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Robert was unhorsed three times,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21but three times he climbed back up again
0:15:21 > 0:15:23and returned more fiercely to the fray.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27William of Apulia writes that, "he cut off the feet and hands of some,
0:15:27 > 0:15:32"decapitated others, pierced belly and chest."
0:15:37 > 0:15:41The Swabian troops were wiped out.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49And Pope Leo fled back to Civitate, pursued by the Normans.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57But they weren't after the Pope's head. They wanted his forgiveness.
0:15:57 > 0:16:03It's said that the Normans prostrated themselves before him, kissing his feet and begging pardon.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07The Pope reprimanded them but blessed them.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11But once they'd been pardoned, the Normans held Pope Leo hostage
0:16:11 > 0:16:16for nine months, until he acknowledged their conquests in Calabria and Apulia.
0:16:16 > 0:16:22The Normans' Christianity rarely got in the way of their driving ambition.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32Robert Guiscard's enemies in Calabria and Apulia had been defeated,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36and Pope Leo died soon after the Normans released him from captivity.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Robert now went on to conquer town after town.
0:16:44 > 0:16:51In 1071, he finally captured the last Byzantine stronghold, the city of Bari.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Southern Italy belonged to the Normans.
0:17:10 > 0:17:16Robert Guiscard was quickly becoming one of the richest and most powerful Normans leaders in Europe,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20and he was already looking beyond the shores of Italy to Sicily,
0:17:20 > 0:17:27the wealthy island just three kilometres away across the Straits of Messina.
0:17:27 > 0:17:34Robert's territorial ambitions would bring a new type of conflict to southern Italy -
0:17:34 > 0:17:35Holy War.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45This narrow strait was the frontier of Christian civilisation.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50Sicily was a Muslim stronghold, conquered by Islamic armies 250 years earlier.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Pope Nicholas II wanted to reclaim Sicily for Christianity
0:17:56 > 0:18:01and he saw the Normans as the perfect force to crush the Muslims.
0:18:05 > 0:18:11In 1059, Robert Guiscard agreed to swear an oath of allegiance to the Pope.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18If successful in battle, power over Sicily would be his reward.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29The papal oath launched Robert into a Holy War against the Muslims of Sicily.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36The Normans would receive a Papal banner in recognition of the special
0:18:36 > 0:18:40religious nature of this war and it's said that in one battle,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43St George himself appeared on the Norman's side,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48mounted on a white horse and carrying a flag and the cross.
0:18:58 > 0:19:04For three years, the Normans fought and plundered their way across the island in the name of Christ.
0:19:06 > 0:19:12But even with St George on their side, Muslim Sicily was a difficult island to conquer.
0:19:23 > 0:19:30'Finally in 1064, they reached the outskirts of the Sicilian capital,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33'the great Muslim city of Palermo.'
0:19:37 > 0:19:41The army made camp on a rock outside the city.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46This turned out to be a terrible mistake.
0:19:49 > 0:19:55The hill would later be called Monte Tarantino because it was crawling with tarantulas.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58The chronicler Geoffrey of Malaterra describes them,
0:19:58 > 0:20:03"the tarantula is a spider-like creature with a poisonous sting.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06"Those who are stung swell with poisonous wind
0:20:06 > 0:20:10"and they are in such an agony that they cannot prevent themselves
0:20:10 > 0:20:14"expelling the wind from their anus with a disgusting sound."
0:20:14 > 0:20:18It's said that unless a hot pan or some object is applied immediately,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21they are in danger of their life.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Faced with these ferocious insects and with fierce resistance
0:20:27 > 0:20:31from the Islamic garrison, the Normans were forced to retreat.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44The Normans were more successful in 1068, when they met the Muslim
0:20:44 > 0:20:48forces at Misilmeri, just 12 kilometres outside Palermo.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56They were lead by Roger, a younger brother of Robert Guiscard,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59yet another of the successful de Hauteville brothers
0:20:59 > 0:21:01who came south from Normandy.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07He was described as a powerful man and a fierce soldier.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14'In the terrible battle that followed,
0:21:14 > 0:21:15'the Muslims were defeated.'
0:21:22 > 0:21:24The Muslim army used homing pigeons
0:21:24 > 0:21:27to send messages back from the front.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30As the people of Palermo waited anxiously,
0:21:30 > 0:21:36the Normans used the old tactic of spreading terror to demoralise them.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Roger came up with a dark plan.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44He knew the women and children were waiting for news in Palermo.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48He had accounts of the Norman victory attached to the pigeons.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Accounts that were written in the blood of the dead Muslims.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55The birds were then released
0:21:55 > 0:21:57to fly back to the city.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10The chronicler Geoffrey of Malaterra
0:22:10 > 0:22:13describes how the whole city was shaken.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16The sorrowful voices of the women and children
0:22:16 > 0:22:18were raised up to heaven.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Roger was a merciless warrior
0:22:30 > 0:22:35and Palermo finally fell to the Normans in 1072.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Six years after William the Conqueror had taken England,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44the Normans ruled over another new realm.
0:22:53 > 0:22:59Sicily was a wealthy and powerful state, right at the heart of Mediterranean trade routes.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Greeks, Italians and Muslims had all settled here.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Under the Muslim rulers, different cultures and religions lived side by side,
0:23:14 > 0:23:19but Sicily was now under the Christian rule of the Normans.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26Would Roger enforce his religion and banish the non-Christians?
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Quite the contrary. He was magnanimous in victory.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33All the peoples of Sicily were treated with tolerance.
0:23:33 > 0:23:39The Muslims were allowed to continue to practise their religion and some even joined Roger's army.
0:23:39 > 0:23:45Geoffrey of Malaterra describes him as "prudent in organising the things that needed to be done,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47"cheerful and friendly to everyone,"
0:23:47 > 0:23:49because of these qualities, in a short time
0:23:49 > 0:23:52he won the favour of all.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Under Roger's rule, the Normans in Sicily adapted and assimilated
0:24:05 > 0:24:11into the local population, just as they had done with great success in France and England.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20In 1130, 100 years after they first arrived,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23the Normans united southern Italy and Sicily
0:24:23 > 0:24:27into a single powerful state.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29It would last over 700 years.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36The Pope decreed that Roger's son
0:24:36 > 0:24:39should be rewarded in return for his loyalty.
0:24:39 > 0:24:45He was crowned Roger II, King of Sicily.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53This was a remarkable achievement for a man whose grandfather had been
0:24:53 > 0:24:59a poor Norman knight, worried about how to provide for his many sons.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04Here in the church of La Martorana, in Palermo, is a spectacular mosaic
0:25:04 > 0:25:08of Roger's coronation on Christmas Day 1130.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Above him is the inscription in Greek letters,
0:25:15 > 0:25:20"Rogerios Rex," King Roger.
0:25:23 > 0:25:30And one of the most striking things about this mosaic is that Roger is being crowned, not by the Pope,
0:25:30 > 0:25:31but by Christ himself.
0:25:36 > 0:25:3964 years after the Battle of Hastings,
0:25:39 > 0:25:44God had given this warrior race yet another new kingdom to rule.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58And this was no ordinary kingdom.
0:26:00 > 0:26:06It was ruled by a Norman, but its inhabitants spoke three different languages
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and came from three different religious traditions.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15This illustration by a contemporary poet, Peter of Eboli,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18shows the variety of peoples in Sicily.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22The Greeks, who made up the majority of the population
0:26:22 > 0:26:28in the east of the island, can be recognised by their dark beards.
0:26:28 > 0:26:34In the centre, are the Saracens, as the medieval Christians called Muslims,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36with neat beards and turbans.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44And, on the right, are the western Christians, clean-shaven and with uncovered heads.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49All the faiths lived in relative harmony.
0:27:02 > 0:27:09Like the Normans in northern France and England, Roger built spectacular monuments to display his power.
0:27:10 > 0:27:17He commissioned his palace chapel, the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, to celebrate his monarchy.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36But it's also a great symbol of multi-cultural co-operation.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43Craftsmen of three different religious traditions worked alongside each other here.
0:27:52 > 0:27:58These marble pavements were created by western Christian craftsmen from across Italy.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07Up in the dome, there is a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator,
0:28:07 > 0:28:13Christ ruler of the universe, surrounded by a garland of winged angels.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17That was produced by the finest Greek craftsmen.
0:28:21 > 0:28:27And there is a wonderful wooden stalactite ceiling produced by Muslim craftsmen.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55It shows scenes from paradise, with people riding camels,
0:28:55 > 0:28:57ladies in carriages...
0:28:59 > 0:29:02..and mythological beasts.
0:29:26 > 0:29:32'Sicily became a great centre of culture and learning.'
0:29:32 > 0:29:38Western, Greek and Muslim intellectuals flocked to the court of King Roger.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42In 1139, a Muslim scholar arrived from north Africa.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46His name was Abdullah Mohammed al Idrisi.
0:29:46 > 0:29:52Roger commissioned him to create one of the most remarkable works of medieval geography.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00For 15 years, al Idrisi questioned sailors and travellers in Sicily's
0:30:00 > 0:30:03many ports about their knowledge of other parts of the world.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08The results of his researches are in this book.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11It's known as The Book of Roger
0:30:11 > 0:30:15and it's a combination of 70 maps of the regions of the world
0:30:15 > 0:30:19combined with a description of the whole known world.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22The Book of Roger is a powerful testament
0:30:22 > 0:30:24to the Normans' curiosity and vision.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31When put together, the 70 maps show their huge geographical knowledge.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38From the Canary Islands and Spain in the west,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41to India and China in the east.
0:30:41 > 0:30:47From Britain and Scandinavia in the north, to Africa in the south.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53This was the most accurate map of the medieval world
0:30:53 > 0:30:57and it would remain so for the next three centuries.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03The Book of Roger also collects together everything that was known
0:31:03 > 0:31:05about the world's geography and culture.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13And it's truly global in its scope, containing accounts
0:31:13 > 0:31:17of the caste system of India, rice cultivation in China
0:31:17 > 0:31:21and even a not unrecognisable account of England.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26"England is the shape of the head of an ostrich.
0:31:30 > 0:31:36"It is very fertile. Its inhabitants are brave, active and enterprising,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39"but all is in the grip of perpetual winter."
0:31:42 > 0:31:48The book is a symbol of the intense cultural ambition of Roger's Sicily.
0:31:48 > 0:31:53The King himself had copies of these maps engraved on a silver disc
0:31:53 > 0:31:55weighing 400 kilos.
0:31:57 > 0:32:05King Roger was establishing himself as one of the great medieval patrons of art, architecture and learning.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Collaboration and assimilation had allowed the descendents
0:32:10 > 0:32:15of Tancred de Hauteville to build one of the most powerful kingdoms in Europe.
0:32:24 > 0:32:30But events in the Middle East provoked the more aggressive side of the Norman character.
0:32:32 > 0:32:38The flame of Holy War was about to ignite beyond Europe,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42and the Normans would be at the heart of it.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Christendom was under attack.
0:32:52 > 0:33:00In the 1060s, the Seljuk Turks burst into the Middle East, defeating the Byzantines in their eastern empire.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06In 1071, they captured Jerusalem and its Christian holy places.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Atrocity stories spread about the fate of Christian pilgrims.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19Robert the Monk, the chronicler, says, "the Seljuks Turks pierced
0:33:19 > 0:33:23"their navels, pulled out their entrails and nailed them to a tree,
0:33:23 > 0:33:29"then whipped the pilgrims round the tree until their intestines came out and they collapsed."
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Christendom felt under siege.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43In 1095, Pope Urban II confronted the crisis
0:33:43 > 0:33:46at a council at Clermont in France.
0:33:50 > 0:33:57Before a huge crowd, the Pope announced the launch of a holy war between Christendom and Islam.
0:33:57 > 0:34:02In an impassioned speech, he urged all good Christians, rich and poor,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04"Take the road to the Holy Sepulchre,
0:34:04 > 0:34:08"wrest that land from the wicked race and subject it to yourselves."
0:34:08 > 0:34:10And for those died on the expedition,
0:34:10 > 0:34:13the Pope held out a special promise,
0:34:13 > 0:34:17"All who die, on land or sea, or in battle with the pagans,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20"will earn immediate remission of sins."
0:34:20 > 0:34:25The crowd responded ecstatically, "God wills it! God wills it!"
0:34:25 > 0:34:27The First Crusade had begun.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33The Christians would present the First Crusade
0:34:33 > 0:34:38as a tournament between heaven and hell.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40Here was the perfect opportunity
0:34:40 > 0:34:45for the Normans to combine piety and conquest.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror,
0:34:48 > 0:34:52marched his men to war from northern France.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Robert would prove a true son of his father.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02During one fierce battle, the Normans were on the point of retreating
0:35:02 > 0:35:06when Duke Robert rallied them shouting out the war cry,
0:35:06 > 0:35:10"Normandy!" and pushing back his helmet to reveal his face, just as
0:35:10 > 0:35:14his father, William the Conqueror, had done at the Battle of Hastings.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23The Pope's message also stirred up the Normans in southern Italy.
0:35:23 > 0:35:29One of the most enthusiastic supporters of the Crusade was the eldest son of Robert Guiscard.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31His name was Bohemond.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38Like most Normans, Bohemond wasn't inspired by religion alone.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42Despite being the eldest son, he had not inherited his father's lands.
0:35:42 > 0:35:50He was eager to take new territory in the east and set off on the long march to Jerusalem.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56Bohemond was joined by another fierce warrior.
0:35:56 > 0:36:02His nephew, Tancred, also left south Italy to go on the First Crusade.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05But Tancred had more religious qualms than his uncle.
0:36:05 > 0:36:12He was deeply worried that warfare might be in conflict with Jesus' command to turn the other cheek,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15but the Pope's message from Clermont reassured him.
0:36:29 > 0:36:35On their way to Jerusalem, the Crusaders arrived in the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42Constantinople was one of the greatest cities of the medieval world.
0:36:50 > 0:36:55Strategically situated on the borders of Europe and Asia,
0:36:55 > 0:36:58successive emperors had strengthened its defences...
0:37:01 > 0:37:05..and the Normans weren't welcome here.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Constantinople was a Christian city.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13At its heart was the magnificent church of Aya Sophia, the holy wisdom.
0:37:17 > 0:37:23So why didn't the Byzantines welcome the Christian Normans fresh from their conquest of Muslim Sicily?
0:37:25 > 0:37:29The problem was the Normans had been enemies of the Byzantines
0:37:29 > 0:37:31ever since their first arrival in southern Italy.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38And Bohemond himself was particularly unwelcome.
0:37:40 > 0:37:45A decade before the Crusade, he'd inflicted a humiliating defeat
0:37:45 > 0:37:50on the elite troops of the Byzantine Empire, the Varangian guard.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58This had been a bitter confrontation between old enemies.
0:38:03 > 0:38:09Many of the Varangian guard were Anglo-Saxons who'd fled England after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13Since Bohemond's assault on Byzantine Empire took place
0:38:13 > 0:38:17only 15 years later, it's likely that amongst the guard
0:38:17 > 0:38:20were warriors who had fought at the Battle of Hastings.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23It must have been a curious replay of that earlier battle against
0:38:23 > 0:38:26the Normans and with the same outcome -
0:38:26 > 0:38:28the Normans were triumphant.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Now the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius,
0:38:39 > 0:38:42found tens of thousands of westerners
0:38:42 > 0:38:47pouring into his capital, among them many Normans.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51He needed their help in the battle against the Seljuk Turks,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54but he was determined to keep them under control.
0:38:57 > 0:39:03Alexius made the Crusade leaders, including Bohemond, swear an oath of allegiance to him.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06They all had to promise to return to his empire
0:39:06 > 0:39:10any former Byzantine towns they managed to liberate from the Muslims.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13This was a condition for his support of the Crusade.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18The whole episode was recorded by the Emperor's teenage daughter
0:39:18 > 0:39:22Anna Comnena, the first female historian
0:39:22 > 0:39:25whose work has come down to us.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30She seems to have been fascinated by this strange warrior from the North.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Anna notes how Bohemond, "wore his hair in the Norman fashion -
0:39:34 > 0:39:38"no beard and hair razor-cut to the ear."
0:39:38 > 0:39:45She also describes his "broad shoulders, deep chest and powerful arms."
0:39:46 > 0:39:50This teenage girl had mixed feelings about the Norman warrior.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54"It's true", she wrote, "that there was something appealing about the man,"
0:39:54 > 0:39:57but this was outweighed by his terrifying qualities.
0:39:57 > 0:40:03"His whole being was harsh and brutal. Even his laugh sounded like a snort of rage."
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Anna was well aware that the Normans were not to be trusted.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13She records Bohemond's reputation for treachery.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17It was said that he had perjury in his blood,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19and it would be a miracle if he kept his oath.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27The Crusaders fought their way south across Anatolia, modern Turkey.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32In October 1097, they reached Antioch,
0:40:32 > 0:40:37one of the great Holy cities of the Christian world.
0:40:37 > 0:40:44St Peter himself was said to have become the first ever bishop here.
0:40:44 > 0:40:51Antioch had been a major prize in warfare between Christians and Muslims since the 7th Century.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56Just ten years before the Crusade, the city had been captured by the Seljuk Turks.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03It must have been a spectacular sight.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07The huge walls carried 400 towers.
0:41:07 > 0:41:14They climbed up the steep slopes of a mountain to a citadel 1,000 feet above the town.
0:41:21 > 0:41:26The Crusaders now had to capture this great fortress.
0:41:26 > 0:41:31Thousands of knights laid siege to the city walls,
0:41:31 > 0:41:35but they faced a formidable Muslim defence.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42After a few months, the Crusaders had eaten all their supplies of food.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47Horses died by the thousand and the Christian army was riddled with disease.
0:41:47 > 0:41:53Earthquakes and strange lights in the sky were interpreted as signs of coming doom.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58Some of the Crusaders, including several of the leaders, simply crept away.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02The first Crusade was close to collapse.
0:42:06 > 0:42:13Bohemond saw his chance to win valuable territory and decided it was time to act.
0:42:14 > 0:42:20He summoned a council of the Crusade leaders and proposed a plan of action.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25If any one of us can gain possession of the city by any stratagem,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28let us unanimously grant him the city.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32The council rejected Bohemond's offer of leadership,
0:42:32 > 0:42:35but when news arrived that a huge Muslim army was on its way
0:42:35 > 0:42:38to relieve Antioch, they changed their tune.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41If Bohemond can gain possession of the city,
0:42:41 > 0:42:47by himself or with others, we grant it to him freely and unanimously.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52The council didn't know that Bohemond had a secret agent inside the city,
0:42:52 > 0:42:56Firouz, one of the commanders of the city's defences.
0:42:56 > 0:43:02He was willing to betray the Muslim garrison by leaving a tower undefended.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06Bohemond's troops prepared to attack.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Bohemond told them, "Go with confidence
0:43:09 > 0:43:11"and climb the ladder into Antioch,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14"which we will quickly have in our possession, if it pleases God."
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Just before dawn on June 3rd 1098,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23they arrived at the Tower of the Two Sisters.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32One of Bohemond's knights reports, "They came to a ladder which was
0:43:32 > 0:43:37"securely fastened to the city walls and about 60 of our men went up it."
0:43:41 > 0:43:47They quickly seized the tower and then opened the great gates of the city to the Crusader army.
0:43:59 > 0:44:06After a siege lasting seven months, the Crusaders had finally taken Antioch
0:44:06 > 0:44:09and the Normans were triumphant.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21Bohemond had outwitted the other Crusaders.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24He raised his standard alongside the citadel
0:44:24 > 0:44:26and took control of the city.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30Ignoring his oath of allegiance to the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34he set himself up as an independent Christian prince.
0:44:34 > 0:44:39Bohemond established a new Norman state, the principality of Antioch.
0:44:52 > 0:44:58Having conquered with terror, Bohemond followed the well established Norman strategy.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03Assimilation and adaptation.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12Like Sicily, this was an ethnically mixed state
0:45:12 > 0:45:16and it would flourish under Norman rule for the next 200 years.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23As Bohemond began to consolidate power in Antioch,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27his nephew Tancred marched on with the army of Crusaders...
0:45:27 > 0:45:29to Jerusalem.
0:45:48 > 0:45:55Jerusalem is one of the most holy cities in the world, the meeting place of three great religions.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58For Christians, it's the site of Christ's resurrection,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01the Holy Sepulchre, the most sacred place in Christendom.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05The Crusaders had come to take it back from the Muslims.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10But Jerusalem was strongly fortified.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14To the east, the city was protected by ravines.
0:46:14 > 0:46:19To the west, by a great fortress, the Tower of David.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28The Muslims were prepared for the coming of the Crusaders.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30They had driven off all flocks of sheep,
0:46:30 > 0:46:32which could have been slaughtered for food
0:46:32 > 0:46:34and poisoned the wells near the city.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36Thirst was the great menace.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39One Norman knight records how the Crusaders had to
0:46:39 > 0:46:44"sew up the skins of oxen and buffalo and carry water six miles.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47"We drank the stinking water from these containers.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49"We suffered great affliction every day."
0:47:03 > 0:47:09On June 13th 1099, Tancred led the first assault on the city walls.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22But the Crusaders were easily driven back.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34The Crusade was saved by the arrival of six Genoese ships in the port of Jaffa.
0:47:34 > 0:47:41They provided timbers to construct siege towers and ladders to scale the walls of Jerusalem.
0:47:50 > 0:47:55A month after the siege had begun, the Crusaders made plans for a final assault.
0:47:55 > 0:48:00In preparation, they fasted and went in barefoot procession around the city.
0:48:00 > 0:48:05As they did so, the Muslim defenders mocked and jeered at them from the walls.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18On the night of July 13th 1099, the Crusaders attacked in force
0:48:18 > 0:48:23from both north and south, using battering rams and siege towers.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25For two days the conflict hung in the balance.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28Then the Crusaders broke into the city.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30Tancred was amongst the leaders.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Pillage and massacre followed.
0:48:38 > 0:48:44The Crusaders rampaged through the city, seizing gold and silver as they went.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53The slaughter of the Muslims was savage.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Chroniclers record that thousands were killed,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00piles of hands, feet and heads could be seen in the streets.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08The Normans rushed to take possession of the sacred site
0:49:08 > 0:49:12of Christ's burial and resurrection, the Holy Sepulchre.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27One observer recorded that "they rejoiced and cried for joy
0:49:27 > 0:49:31"to worship at the sepulchre of our Saviour Jesus."
0:49:41 > 0:49:46After the slaughter, the Crusaders established a Christian kingdom here
0:49:46 > 0:49:48and divided up the land they had conquered.
0:49:53 > 0:49:59Tancred, the grandson of Robert Guiscard, became Prince of Galilee.
0:50:02 > 0:50:08Norman power was now firmly established far beyond the borders of Europe,
0:50:08 > 0:50:12but this military triumph in the east would deepen
0:50:12 > 0:50:16one of the world's greatest political and cultural divides
0:50:16 > 0:50:21and its impact is still being felt to this day.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27The bloody conquest of Jerusalem left a deep rift between Christians and Muslims.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31The Normans had taken part in a slaughter that would never be forgiven.
0:50:31 > 0:50:36Even today, Islamic fundamentalists refer to their enemies in the West
0:50:36 > 0:50:38as "the Crusaders."
0:50:55 > 0:51:002,000 kilometres away across the Mediterranean, in Sicily,
0:51:00 > 0:51:04the Normans were still bringing Muslims and Christians together.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09This encouraged an astonishing exchange of ideas and learning.
0:51:14 > 0:51:21In the court of King Roger II, multi-lingual scholars shared and translated ancient works,
0:51:21 > 0:51:25which had been lost to western Europe for centuries in the chaos
0:51:25 > 0:51:28that followed the fall of the Roman Empire.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33Among them was one of the most influential scientific works in history,
0:51:33 > 0:51:35Ptolemy's Almagest.
0:51:37 > 0:51:42Written in Greek in the 2nd Century, the Almagest was made up of 13 books
0:51:42 > 0:51:49containing the most advanced mathematical and astronomical discoveries of the Classical world.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52It had been preserved in the libraries of Constantinople.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59In the 12th Century, an anonymous author in Norman Sicily,
0:51:59 > 0:52:03translated a copy of the Greek text into Latin.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07The Almagest is the most important work of ancient Greek astronomy,
0:52:07 > 0:52:09allowing scientists to predict
0:52:09 > 0:52:14the patterns of the planets and to chart the night skies.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17In books six and seven, there are charts of the fixed stars,
0:52:17 > 0:52:21explaining their different patterns over the course of the year.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29The arrival of this knowledge into western Europe
0:52:29 > 0:52:34transformed the study of mathematics, astronomy and navigation.
0:52:34 > 0:52:40It remained a huge influence on European thought throughout the Middle Ages and beyond.
0:52:50 > 0:52:55Under Roger, Sicily grew into a kingdom more prosperous than Norman England.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04He conquered Malta, moved into northern Africa and invaded Greece
0:53:05 > 0:53:09and the Norman dynasty continued for many generations.
0:53:11 > 0:53:19This great cathedral at Monreale outside Palermo was built by Roger's grandson in the late 12th Century.
0:53:20 > 0:53:27Like the Norman cathedrals of northern Europe, Monreale is spectacular in scale.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43It marks the high point of the marriage between
0:53:43 > 0:53:47Norman Romanesque architecture and Byzantine craftsmanship.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57The Byzantine mosaics are among the most magnificent in the world.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32The inside of the cathedral is overwhelming.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36There are two acres of mosaic decoration and it's been calculated
0:54:36 > 0:54:41that something like 2,200 kilograms of gold were used here.
0:54:41 > 0:54:47One of the jewels of the island is this huge image of Christ Pantocrator.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55This striking image celebrating Christ's omnipotence
0:54:55 > 0:54:58is a powerful assertion of the Normans' Christian faith.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10But the cathedral at Monreale is also a magnificent symbol of this
0:55:10 > 0:55:16multi-cultural society that would become a legend in Italian history.
0:55:16 > 0:55:23When Italian historians talk about Il Regno, The Kingdom, it is always clear what is meant.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28Sicily, one of the most powerful kingdoms of the medieval world.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48For 300 years, the Normans
0:55:48 > 0:55:52were among the most dynamic forces in Europe.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56They colonised countries,
0:55:56 > 0:56:00and created new states and kingdoms.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04They became patrons of art and learning.
0:56:09 > 0:56:14And they transformed the landscape with magnificent cathedrals and castles.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21But the age of the Normans wouldn't last forever.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29In England, the Norman dynasty founded by William the Conqueror
0:56:29 > 0:56:32gave way to the Plantagenets in 1154.
0:56:37 > 0:56:4140 years later, the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI,
0:56:41 > 0:56:43conquered the Kingdom of Sicily.
0:56:50 > 0:56:56After 300 years of Norman rule, Normandy itself was lost to the French King.
0:56:59 > 0:57:06And finally, in 1268, Antioch, Bohemond's great eastern prize...
0:57:07 > 0:57:10..was recaptured by the Muslims.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21The Normans simply disappeared. This might sound like failure,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24but in fact it was the key to their success.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27They weren't interested in the purity of their blood.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30They came, they saw, they conquered.
0:57:30 > 0:57:36Then they married the locals, learnt the language and assimilated themselves out of existence.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38But their legacy lived on.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41The Normans created a medieval blueprint
0:57:41 > 0:57:46for aggressive colonialism, but they also showed that sometimes
0:57:46 > 0:57:52people of different languages and different religions can live side by side.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04If you'd like to walk in the steps of the Normans,
0:58:04 > 0:58:08you can download maps of Norman walks all over the UK at -
0:58:19 > 0:58:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:21 > 0:58:23E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk