1066 Collection

1066 Collection

A collection of documentaries, podcasts and interviews on the Norman Conquest of 1066 and beyond.

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1066 Collection
  • 1066: The Year of Conquest

    1066 - one of the most famous years in English history. In a succession crisis like no other three warlords separated by hundreds of miles and savage seas vied for control of the English throne in a series of bloody battles. From Harald Hardrada's crowning victory at Fulford to the renowned Battl...

  • A History of England: Part One

    England is a country stuffed full of history. From the Stone Age to the Nuclear Age there are thousands of inspirational sites that have helped to shape the past and present.

    Join Dan Snow on an epic road trip, from Stonehenge in Wiltshire to the Cold War Bunker in York. He’ll be racing across ...

  • Uncovering The Bayeux Tapestry

    One of the world's most famous and well-preserved pieces of medieval embroidery, the 70-metre-wide Bayeux Tapestry depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, culminating in the Battle of ...

  • Ray Mears, The Bow: From Survival to Conquest

    The oldest known evidence of the use of the bow comes from South Africa, where microliths, believed to be arrowheads dating from around 70,000 years ago, have been found.

    Evidence of humans' use of the bow can be found all over the world, from cave art in Algeria that shows a man shooting a slig...

  • Castles That Made Britain - Bamburgh Castle

    Castles have loomed over the landscape of Britain for centuries. They hold the keys to unlocking some of the greatest stories of our past.

    Join History Hit's medieval expert, Matt Lewis, in this new series as he explores some of Britain’s most iconic castles. It is a spectacular journey to some...

  • Rebellion in the North: The Harrying of the North

    In the winter of 1069–70, William the Conqueror waged a series of military campaigns to subjugate northern England, where the presence of the last Wessex claimant, Edgar Atheling, had encouraged Anglo-Danish rebellions.

    In Part 1 of this three part series, Daniel Gray explores the context behind...

  • Securing his Kingdom - Castles

    As soon as William entered England, he started to build the ultimate tool of control: castles. These symbolic powerhouses display how William stamped his authority on England. In this episode, Jack visits Buckenham Castle to gain a better understanding of a typical Norman castle.

  • Securing his Kingdom - Marcher Earldoms

    The Welsh presented problems for the Anglo-Saxons; William wanted to further strengthen this border, so created the Marcher Earldoms. In this episode, Jack visits a castle in Herefordshire, still displaying signs of its construction in 1067.

  • Securing his Kingdom - Dealing with Resistance

    The north of England still shows signs of the infamous Harrying of the North. In this episode, Jack explores the reasons why it happened, situated between two villages listed to have been scorched by Norman soldiers.

  • Securing his Kingdom - Revolt of the Earls

    Three earls in 1075 decided to rebel against William, but this was not like the revolts before. In this episode, Jack visits Norwich to show explores the reasons why it happened, situated between two villages listed to have been scorched by Norman soldiers.

  • Securing his Kingdom - Normanisation of the Church

    It wasn’t just castles that William built to stamp his mark on England. The Normans were Christian: this sees a complete restructuring of the English church as well as new Romanesque architecture. In this episode, Jack visits St Albans Abbey, one of the Cathedrals built under William I.

  • 🎧 The Normans

    The Norman conquest of England in 1066 was one of the great milestones of English history but there were in fact many Norman invasions and their influence reached from Northern Europe through the Mediterranean and into the Middle East and North Africa. They were a phenomenon emerging in the tenth...

  • 🎧 1066: Year of Invasions

    Emily Ward and Pragya Vohra talk about the history of the Viking invasion of 1066.

  • 🎧 1066: Battle of Hastings with Marc Morris

    The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 miles (11 kilometres) northwest of Hasting...

  • 🎧 1066 Revisited: The Battle of Hastings with Marc Morris

    For the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, we revisit Marc Morris' brilliantly constructed narrative of the Battle of Hastings, and all of the build-up. Taking us from the sources of William, Harold and Harold's claims to the throne all the way to William's rule, Marc's account is as comprehe...

  • 🎧 On the Battlefield of Hastings with Marc Morris

    Marc Morris shows me around the Battlefield of Hastings.