This episode explores how the Normans consolidated their power by building castles all over England. Michael Wood visits the excavation of an enormous Norman Castle mound at Mount Bures, Essex, and returns to the community big dig at Long ...See moreThis episode explores how the Normans consolidated their power by building castles all over England. Michael Wood visits the excavation of an enormous Norman Castle mound at Mount Bures, Essex, and returns to the community big dig at Long Melford to find out what life was like for the Anglo-Saxon peasantry in the decades after 1066. Going into the 12th century, the programme looks at the medieval beginnings of trade and industry in Bristol, Wales and the Black Country. Finally, Michael explores the battle for rights enshrined in Magna Carta.
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