This program provides an introduction to medieval Europe by showing surviving traces to provide a feel of medieval style and practice and by tracing the roots of the fall of civilization and the onset of darkness. Much that is medieval survives, sometimes in unlikely places: in a feudal community in sub-Saharan Africa, where an absolute ruler holds court surrounded by ministers, courtiers, and hangers-on, with paladins in mail and mercenaries who,...

From within her own brief life to the present day, Joan of Arc's mystique has been appropriated by many groups and causes. This program, filmed in Orleans and Joan's native village of Domremy, allows her to speak for herself through voice-over readings of her letters and her responses before the Inquisition, as well as testimony from the minutes of her rehabilitation trial. Leading scholars discuss Joan's timeless appeal, the growth and uses of her...

Until 1348, people in Sienna and Florence enjoyed the richest, safest, and most comfortable lives in their history. But almost overnight, their certainty of life-and even any hope of a good death-was gone. This program assesses the aftermath of the ferocious damage unleashed by the bubonic plague on the two city-states. Historians Alexander Nagel and Nicholas Terpstra, from the University of Toronto, and professional artisans-chief among them, sculptor...

Outlining the provincial causes and ravaging effects of Europe's Thirty Years' War, this program illustrates the ability of religious fervor to inflame nationalism and drive the quest for power. With background on Martin Luther's split with the Catholic Church and the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Dr. Helmut Neuhaus of Friedrich Alexander University offers detailed analysis of the Hapsburg-Bohemian conflict, the shifting alliances of Catholics and...

This program discusses papal reactions to church dissidents. Thirteenth-century fragmentation of religious orders into various sects is examined. Discussions include St. Francis of Assisi; the French Albigenses sect and the Albigensean Crusade; the fall of Albi; the Cathars and their extermination by the Inquisition; Pope Innocent III; the founding of the Dominican order; and the Ecumenical Council of 1215.

This animated program centers on a small New England community similar to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where Samuel Slater established America's first textile mill. Live action hosted by David Macaulay, takes viewers from Manchester, England, to Lowell, Massachusetts, explaining technological changes that transformed the making of textiles, a key component of the Industrial Revolution that swept across Europe and America in the late 18th century.

Writers write so that the future may learn, a 5th-century French monk once inscribed in a diligent hand. This program is a concise history of the illuminated manuscript and book production. The everyday lives of the writers, scribes, and illustrators are revealed, and honor is paid to the best known: Einhard, biographer of Charlemagne; Gerald of Wales; the Abbot of Wearmouth Jarrow; the poor miscreant scribe, Raulinus; and Jean Mielot, scribe of the...

This program tells the story of Granada, which is the history of Spain encapsulated: the Moorish conquest and the Moorish presence-art, technology, military might, wealth, religious devotion, indecipherable inscriptions, all somewhat mysterious to the non-Islamic eye; and the Reconquista-an 800-year-long war that is seen here only in its after-effects, ruins and a sense of something ineffable, inexpressible, unattainable lost forever.

For centuries, the Battle of Agincourt has been a classic symbol of England's national heroism in the face of impossible odds. This program tells a different story. Based on firsthand accounts of the illustrious French knights Gilbert de Lannoy and the Duke of Brabant; Davy Gam, personal bodyguard to Henry V; two Lancashire archers; and an English army chaplain, the program uses vivid re-creations supported by expert commentary to provide a new perspective...

The illuminated psalm book of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell is a priceless treasure, containing beautiful calligraphy and extremely fine illustrations. Packed with scenes from the Bible and from everyday life-plus all manner of creatures, including bizarre monsters called babewyns-the book provides a mysterious glimpse of life during the Middle Ages. Section one of this charming program discusses how the psalter was made and decorated, focusing on what the...