5/19/2023 0 Comments Dark woods tv series![]() Finally at Bremenium and Carlisle he finds hints that Arthur may have lived and died further north than legend states.įriday, 14 March 1980 ( ) at 7.50pm on BBC2 At the British Library he consults the Harleian genealogies, but finds little that is reliable. The reoccupation of hillforts, such as Cadbury Castle, led to the successful indigenous defence at the Battle of Badon. ![]() At Wroxeter Roman City, Cirencester and Withington he finds evidence of the decline of organised urban life, and the expansion of rural life. Citing William of Malmesbury's uncertainty, he travels to Portchester seeking traces of the Anglo-Saxon influx and the ebbing of Romano-British identity. Wood begins his search for King Arthur at Glastonbury Abbey, where the fabricated mythology of medieval times flourished. He traces the revolt from vaults of the Temple of Claudius, to Londinium, Watling Street, Manduessedum (the likely battle site), Lunt Roman Fort and Venta Icenorum. ![]() At Colchester he looks at colonial life and the increased threat of revolt. At Jesus College, Oxford, he examines a manuscript by Tacitus revealing some of the background to the revolt. Starting with the Iceni presence around present day Norfolk, he finds little evidence of their settlements but much more of their metalworking. He describes the bloody and destructive revolt she led. Starting at a Victorian statue of Boadicea and Her Daughters, Wood seeks evidence of Boudica, Queen of the Iceni. Back at the dyke, new research suggests the defensive method of the structure, while at Bedford Offa's supposed tomb is now lost to the waters of River Great Ouse. In winter Offa would return to his capital at Tamworth, but contemporary evidence of his great hall is scant. He follows Offa throughout his kingdom seeking evidence of his reign - from Repton to Sutton Walls, Hereford, London, Irthlingborough, Gumley, Brixworth, and Worcester Cathedral. At Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, he seeks clues about Offa of Mercia, a man who was King of Mercia for nearly 40 years, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Wood begins the show by marvelling at Offa's Dyke. The effect was enhanced by Wood often appearing on-screen, instead of being merely a voice-over, thereby giving the viewer an impression of journalistic immediacy. This "popular and serious style of history programming" was becoming increasingly prevalent at that time. ![]() The films were mostly composed of visits to battlefields, cathedrals and other early medieval sites in England to view the actual places where the great events of history occurred. Wood's concept was that the entire production should occur in the actual places associated with the historical events on which he was reporting. The programmes were filmed entirely on location with no studio-based scenes. The series was so well received that a second series was soon commissioned. The series first aired on BBC Two in March 1980, beginning with Boadicea and including a repeat showing of the original Offa programme. When its reception was regarded as favourable, three further programmes were filmed in 1979. It began with a one-off pilot programme called In Search of Offa, filmed in 1978, and first broadcast in January 1979. Each programme, except the finale, ran between 35 and 45 minutes. The Dark Ages (originally it was known simply as In Search of.). It consists of eight separate programmes, and the collective title is often written as In Search of. The series was made by BBC Manchester and narrated by Wood, who was at that time a lecturer (and, eventually, Professor of History) at Manchester University. It is also the title of a book written by Wood to support the series, that was first published in 1981. It comprises eight short films across two series, each focusing on a particular character from the history of England prior to the Norman Conquest, a period popularly known as the Dark Ages. In Search of the Dark Ages is a BBC television documentary series, written and presented by historian Michael Wood, first shown between 19.
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