1
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,440
Somewhere out there in the 1420s,

2
00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:16,280
a ship laden with war booty
made its way slowly to the shore.

3
00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,400
The great chests
were unloaded carefully

4
00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,600
and taken by cartload to London
under heavy guard.

5
00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,720
But these were no ordinary
spoils of war.

6
00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:36,200
This wasn't silver or gold,
or even prisoners for ransom.

7
00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:41,320
This was the physical theft
of a nation's culture and history.

8
00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:50,400
What was being landed was
a cargo of manuscripts -

9
00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,600
the greatest literary treasures
of the French royal family

10
00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:56,840
were now on their way
to the English court.

11
00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,320
After 80 years of war,
England was victorious

12
00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,240
and at the very heart of Europe.

13
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,560
We still have
these captured manuscripts.

14
00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,720
They are some
of the most wonderful creations

15
00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:13,280
of the late medieval period,

16
00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,520
and they show England's
ascendancy in Europe

17
00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,000
during the Hundred Years War.

18
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:24,720
They also show a period of crisis
from the 1320s to the 1450s,

19
00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,600
when English kings had to triumph
over rebellion and plague

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00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,600
to become worthy of the name "king".

21
00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,840
For this series,
I've been given unrivalled access

22
00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:40,920
to the crown jewels
of illumination -

23
00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,840
the Royal Manuscript Collection
at the British Library.

24
00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,120
These books
are miraculous survivors,

25
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,360
which few people have ever seen -
apart from monarchs.

26
00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,160
They were custom-made for kings,
they're about kings,

27
00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,080
and they were read by kings.

28
00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,920
I'll be exploring the world
which created these manuscripts.

29
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,640
I'll be going to the places
where they were made.

30
00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:19,120
And discovering what they reveal
about the centuries of conflict

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00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,800
when England was forged.

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00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:26,480
It's the story of monarchy
which spans six centuries,

33
00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,400
from the Anglo-Saxons to the Tudors.

34
00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,880
In this episode, I'm going to reveal
how manuscripts were used

35
00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,440
to create a model of kingship
that was boldly English

36
00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:42,280
and epitomised
by the soldier king, Henry V.

37
00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,720
I'm seeing where these captured
French manuscripts ended up.

38
00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,160
It's the first time
I have seen the spoils

39
00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,920
of the French royal library and
I can't wait to set eyes on them.

40
00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,680
Many of the French books
became the personal property

41
00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,160
of the English monarchy and have
stayed locked away for centuries

42
00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,440
in the Royal Manuscript Collection.

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00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,680
George II gave the collection
to the nation in 1757

44
00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,760
and now they are housed deep in the
vaults of the British Library.

45
00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:40,200
Wow, it's a massive manuscript.
Yes, it's quite heavy. Yes.

46
00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,040
There's one in particular,

47
00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,680
with an incredible history,
that I've been dying to see.

48
00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,360
This is the
Grandes Chroniques de France -

49
00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:06,160
the history of the French nation,
a stupendous manuscript

50
00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,040
written in the 1330s
with over 400 images

51
00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,520
detailing the great deeds
of the French kings.

52
00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,360
There are pictures of everything
a king should be -

53
00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,280
supreme military commander,
law-maker,

54
00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:25,080
dynast,
and arbiter of the nation's taste.

55
00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:29,360
It's a work
that deliberately tells us

56
00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,880
that only French kings
are fit to rule.

57
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,200
In contrast, these shelves
also contain

58
00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,720
the history of the kings of England

59
00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,560
by the chronicler Peter of Langtoft,

60
00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,960
written just a few years earlier,

61
00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,640
at the end of the reign
of Edward II.

62
00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,840
Like the Grandes Chroniques,
albeit in its own small way,

63
00:04:51,840 --> 00:04:56,160
it also tries to show everything
a king should be.

64
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,440
Here we see real depictions of
strong kings.

65
00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:03,920
We have, at the front, King Arthur.

66
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,320
He's wearing a golden crown,

67
00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,480
he has his shield emblazoned
with an image of the Virgin,

68
00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,960
and at his side,
the famous sword Excalibur.

69
00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:15,880
We can also see, beneath his feet,

70
00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,800
crowns representing the kingdoms
that he was the king of.

71
00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:25,200
And as we go on,
another strong English king,

72
00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:30,400
Richard the Lionheart, also holding
a sword - Excalibur again, in fact.

73
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:36,560
And as we go on, we find Edward I -
hammer of the Scots and the Welsh.

74
00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,520
But the last entry tells us
something more

75
00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:43,880
about the state
of the English monarchy.

76
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,560
Something's happened
to the manuscript -

77
00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,640
it's where the official bit of
praise would have been,

78
00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,720
honouring the king,
this has been scrubbed out,

79
00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,320
it's damaged the manuscript
quite badly, and in its place

80
00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:01,600
we have some of the most abject
words ascribed to an English king -

81
00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:09,680
"Home m'appele roys abatu,
e tout le secle me va gabaunt."

82
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,920
I'm going to discover what this
extraordinary footnote is about

83
00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,440
and what it meant
for the English crown.

84
00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:29,000
It's 1322 and the English monarchy
has been defeated,

85
00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,440
first in Scotland
and then on the Welsh border.

86
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:36,160
Even worse is the loss of English
lands in France.

87
00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,520
But the most shocking event,
at the heart of it all,

88
00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,440
is that the English King,
Edward II, has been deposed

89
00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,080
and locked up here at
Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire

90
00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,240
where he fears he will be murdered.

91
00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,200
Never before has a divinely
anointed reigning king

92
00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,840
been knocked from power in this way.

93
00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:01,480
These are dangerous times
for the English monarchy.

94
00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:15,120
This is the very cell
where Edward II was incarcerated.

95
00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,320
I can just imagine him in here,
penning the poignant lines

96
00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,120
we find at the end of
Peter of Langtoft's chronicles

97
00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,400
of the great deeds
of the English kings.

98
00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:27,320
They provide a unique window
into his soul.

99
00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:33,800
"Home m'appele roys abatu,
e tout le secle me va gabaunt."

100
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,840
"I am called the tumbledown king,
and all the world mocks me."

101
00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,800
Whether Edward II
wrote those lines himself

102
00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,400
or whether they were added by his
enemies for propaganda purposes,

103
00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,920
it's clear that the governance
of England is broken

104
00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,920
and the country
is racked with crisis.

105
00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:03,640
The running of the country has been
hijacked by Sir Roger Mortimer,

106
00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,960
the queen's lover,
and his supporters.

107
00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:08,640
And with the king incarcerated,

108
00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:13,280
the young prince, who will become
Edward III, faces a fearful future.

109
00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,760
His task will be to
rebuild the power

110
00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,520
and reputation of the English
monarchy, if he possibly can.

111
00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:24,760
But how?

112
00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,840
Long before Machiavelli,
there were manuals for princes.

113
00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:35,760
One survives in the British Library

114
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,480
that was given to the young
Edward by a noble, Walter Milmete.

115
00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:43,000
I'm looking here
at a wonderful manuscript

116
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:48,040
made around 1327
for the king-to-be, Edward III.

117
00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,560
It's called the Secretum Secretorum,
a mirror for princes.

118
00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:56,080
This work was thought
in medieval times

119
00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:00,280
to have been originally written for
Alexander the Great by his tutor,

120
00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,160
the philosopher Aristotle.

121
00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,720
It contains everything that
a prince would need to know

122
00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,640
in order to be a good ruler
and follow in the example

123
00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,400
of someone as magnificent
as Alexander the Great.

124
00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:16,800
Everything from statecraft to
history, medicine to astrology.

125
00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:20,240
It emphasises
things like Christian virtue,

126
00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,080
chivalric or knightly values.

127
00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,320
And there's also images instructing
the young king

128
00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,360
on how he should best govern,

129
00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:33,240
so here we have an enthroned king
receiving the advice of his peers -

130
00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:37,720
we've got knights
and clergymen bringing him advice.

131
00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:42,120
For me, one of the most exciting
things about seeing a book like this

132
00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,000
is the thought that
it's imparting knowledge to a king,

133
00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,480
it's telling him information
about things he needs to know about.

134
00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:54,360
To think that the young Edward III,
only a boy of 14,

135
00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,000
might have turned these very pages.

136
00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:02,920
It reveals an awful lot about
the moment at which Edward III

137
00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,720
is going to be taking on the throne.

138
00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,560
If we look at this image here,
we can see the messenger

139
00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:12,760
that's holding the book
can be identified as Edward III,

140
00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,720
he's wearing his coat-of-arms
on his buckle.

141
00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:20,360
He's there in this position,
between philosopher and great ruler,

142
00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:24,200
absorbing the knowledge
that's contained within this work.

143
00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:26,640
It really feels
like a living document,

144
00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,880
we can see these pages
remain unfinished,

145
00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:31,680
they're still being painted in,

146
00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:36,200
and there's images of warcraft,
weaponry,

147
00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,880
and over the page, we have
this very early image of a cannon.

148
00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:47,360
This was added some time after
the book was originally written.

149
00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:51,440
It's an important clue
to the young king's future mindset.

150
00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:56,280
As are the next pages,
which feature archers.

151
00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:58,400
Incomplete, but significant.

152
00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:04,640
But there's definitely
a darker side to this manuscript.

153
00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,040
As much as it's clearly intended
for the young king

154
00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,520
and it shows his
coat-of-arms throughout,

155
00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,960
there are other coats-of-arms
also depicted alongside.

156
00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:17,400
Here, those of his uncles,
and over the page,

157
00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,240
that of his mother, Queen Isabella,

158
00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,960
who, along with her lover,
Roger Mortimer and these uncles,

159
00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:29,680
were responsible for removing his
father, Edward II, from the throne.

160
00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:33,080
What this says to me is,
it's a warning, really.

161
00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,920
It's saying to the young Edward III,

162
00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:39,760
"Be careful, these same people
can depose you too."

163
00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,080
I've come to meet Ian Mortimer,

164
00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:58,640
who's a biographer of Edward III
and other late medieval kings.

165
00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,360
So what's the situation

166
00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,960
that Edward III finds himself in
at the beginning of his reign?

167
00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:10,440
If you want an image of him, picture
a 14-year-old boy on a throne

168
00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,080
clad in all the clothes of state,

169
00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:14,920
the crown, the sceptre, the orb,

170
00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:17,640
really quite terrified
about all the people around him.

171
00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:20,200
The court is populated
by his enemies,

172
00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,840
he can't stop them
elevating their friends.

173
00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:25,680
He can't stop Roger Mortimer,
for example, in 1328,

174
00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:29,320
giving up Scotland in the shameful
Treaty of Northampton.

175
00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,160
And he wants to do something
about that.

176
00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,640
He wants to re-impose
regal authority and dignity.

177
00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,080
He wants to create a new
vision of kingship.

178
00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,200
How difficult is it to be
a successful medieval king?

179
00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:44,720
Being a medieval king
is enormously difficult.

180
00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:47,600
Your basic job spec,
if you want to use that term,

181
00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:49,400
is to be a good law-giver.

182
00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:54,120
To be fair to all your leading men,
all your lords, all your bishops.

183
00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,160
You have to be strong militarily

184
00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,040
and that is not just strong against
the French or against the Scots,

185
00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,320
you've got to be strong in keeping
all the rebels under control.

186
00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:08,520
But everything's going to fail
if you aren't strong militarily.

187
00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,600
If you allow the rebels to fight and
if you're defeated by the French,

188
00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:14,920
you are going to fail
as a monarch.

189
00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:22,680
But it seems Edward
already had a plan.

190
00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:26,640
He gathered together a band
of young, loyal knights -

191
00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:31,000
a band of brothers, if you like -
men he felt he could trust.

192
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,400
They captured Mortimer
and he was brought to London,

193
00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,760
tried, and executed.

194
00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:49,560
The truth was, Edward already had
his own model of kingship in mind.

195
00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,200
I've come to the ancient city
of Winchester to see the artefact

196
00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,640
that gives witness to Edward's plan.

197
00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,480
This is the symbol of kingship

198
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:14,800
that the young Edward III
could most relate to -

199
00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,880
King Arthur and his Knights
of the Round Table.

200
00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,240
This is a 13th-century table

201
00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,720
made of English oak
by his grandfather Edward I.

202
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,360
And it's the perfect model
for the relationship

203
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,360
between the king and his noblemen.

204
00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,120
King Arthur's depicted at the top

205
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,640
and there are 24 place
settings around the edge,

206
00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:35,640
and the fact it's a circle

207
00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,720
means that there's no precedence.
Every nobleman is equal.

208
00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,360
This was certainly
a model of kingship

209
00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:45,080
that appealed to the noblemen
at the time.

210
00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,960
Coming out of the chaos
of his father's reign,

211
00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:51,720
this offered a sense of stability
to everyone.

212
00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:58,200
The symbolism of the table,
with the wise king at the head

213
00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:02,800
and all the nobles seated around
him, without order of precedence,

214
00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:07,360
was born of a collective wish that
things genuinely could be this way.

215
00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:12,040
The Arthurian model crops up
continuously in this period,

216
00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:14,080
and that's why we saw Arthur

217
00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,400
at the head of Edwards II's
lineage of kings.

218
00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,680
Although nowadays we see him
as a semi-mythological figure,

219
00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:26,440
in medieval times, Arthur was
thought to have been a real king

220
00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,320
and the architect
of the perfect polity,

221
00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,160
in which wisdom is shared

222
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:36,120
and each of the participants are
aware of their own responsibilities

223
00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,840
to each other in chivalric,
or knightly, virtue.

224
00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,720
But for Edward III, this wasn't just
a symbol of kingship,

225
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,720
he made it a reality.

226
00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:52,880
He spent lavish amounts on feasting,
jousting, and tournaments.

227
00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,800
All of this was designed to bring
the noblemen around him

228
00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,240
and create a training ground
for them.

229
00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:01,800
But the underlying reason for this

230
00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,680
was to avoid the errors
of his father's reign

231
00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:08,680
and keep potentially rebellious
factions close to hand.

232
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:20,080
A really brutal victory over
the Scots at Halidon Hill in 1333

233
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,600
and the consolidation
of peace at home

234
00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,640
shows that Edward's
new discipline is working.

235
00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,600
He is proving a tough
and wise young king.

236
00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:33,480
On the other side
of the English Channel,

237
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,080
the French also have
cause for concern.

238
00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:41,760
Their own king has died childless
and the new Valois line

239
00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,880
that has taken the French throne

240
00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,680
is aware that Edward III
has a rival claim

241
00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,520
through his mother,
Isabella of France.

242
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,200
The battle for dominance in Europe

243
00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,760
between those ancient rivals,
England and France,

244
00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,720
was now to be fought not only on the
battlefields of France,

245
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,640
but also in the pages
of heavily illuminated manuscripts.

246
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,240
That's why I'm returning
to the Grandes Chroniques,

247
00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,720
one of the captured French
manuscripts.

248
00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,360
It was made in the 1330s

249
00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:22,240
and commissioned by the heir to
the French throne, John de Valois.

250
00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,000
It has one single-minded purpose -

251
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,760
to establish the new Valois dynasty
as rightful kings of France

252
00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:33,480
over the competing claims
of Edward III.

253
00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,880
If we look at the frontispiece,

254
00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,960
here we see a gallery of monarchs

255
00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,560
whose succession
is determined not by blood,

256
00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,840
but by the right to occupy
the pedestal of kingship.

257
00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,040
It's one of the most heavily
illustrated

258
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:58,200
of all 14th-century manuscripts,
and it also tells me

259
00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:02,840
that the French, too,
are recreating the chivalric ideal.

260
00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:10,080
The book is festooned with images of
French knights

261
00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,240
following their king in battle -

262
00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:16,240
enough to overpower any English
pretensions to greatness.

263
00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:22,560
To me, this whole work
is a powerful piece of PR.

264
00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,800
It can be used as a propaganda tool

265
00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:30,080
and I can imagine it being brought
out to impress visiting dignitaries.

266
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,400
It's possible that Edward himself
was aware of this manuscript

267
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,880
and would have been very impressed
by its magnificence.

268
00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,480
Let's not forget, Edward sees his
claim to the French throne as valid,

269
00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,120
and this heritage should be his

270
00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,320
by dynastic and legal right.

271
00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,680
We think of England as very separate
from France,

272
00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:56,720
it wasn't for a very long time,

273
00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:00,120
and in fact many kings of England
had more affinity with France

274
00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:04,680
and their domains in France
than they had in England.

275
00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:09,080
So this is very natural,
looking to the continent.

276
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,920
The Channel is not...

277
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:16,120
that sort of blockade,
it's not a barrier.

278
00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:19,400
It's very much a conduit
between the two countries.

279
00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,880
So, is there a French equivalent

280
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,320
of the Arthurian myth
across the Channel?

281
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,560
Well, the Arthurian myth
has a huge appeal on both sides,

282
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:32,240
partly because
of the subject matter -

283
00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,800
it appeals to the nobility
on both sides,

284
00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:37,800
and this idea of the Round Table

285
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,800
and this sort of brotherhood
that support the king

286
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:49,120
is very critical both to Edward
and to his French counterparts.

287
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:55,800
So there's a domestic agenda in
how it applies to the own country,

288
00:19:55,800 --> 00:20:00,880
but there's also a competition
as well between them

289
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,600
as to which, in a sense,
is the real Arthur.

290
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:09,720
Absolutely.
You know, who is the equivalent.

291
00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,320
The war of words over Edward's claim
to the throne of France

292
00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:19,520
simmers for years.

293
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:23,640
In the back of his mind, he knows
that as king, he has the moral duty

294
00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:29,120
in front of all his subjects
to assert his dynastic rights.

295
00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:31,600
He will never fully consolidate
his power

296
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:33,560
over the nobles until he does so.

297
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:39,400
In 1337, a long-standing land
dispute in Gascony

298
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,160
gives Edward his opportunity,

299
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,720
and a series of campaigns
in France begins.

300
00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:52,240
But it's nine years before Edward
delivers his knockout blow.

301
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,480
It was from here,
Portchester Castle,

302
00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:01,360
that Edward III sailed
with 15,000 men in 1346.

303
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:05,120
But it wasn't Gascony he sailed for,
it was Normandy.

304
00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:08,680
He was going to challenge
the French king head on.

305
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,960
Relations between the two nations
would never be the same again,

306
00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,840
and the Channel would act as a line
of division rather than a conduit.

307
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,120
The English armies begin
a trail of destruction and pillage

308
00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:30,160
across northern France.

309
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:34,720
And when Edward meets the French
king at the Battle of Crecy,

310
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:36,800
there's a legendary victory

311
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,480
ensured by the longbows
of the English archers.

312
00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,960
He has a smaller army and he has
this very calculated thing.

313
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,800
With archers, with projectile
weaponry,

314
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,400
and with a few cannon,
he takes on this massive army

315
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,440
and wins in a very
calculated fashion,

316
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,280
and shock waves run
throughout Europe

317
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,360
and Europe's really
never been the same since.

318
00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:05,520
In the margins of the Secretum
Secretorum, there's cannons.

319
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,400
This is technology that Edward's
employing in the battle?

320
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,880
That is the earliest representation
of a cannon,

321
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:12,720
which then shot bolts in those days,

322
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,760
but Edward is the person
who changes what cannon are.

323
00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,440
He has this vision,
that a small, well-equipped,

324
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,040
well-financed army can take on
a much larger one

325
00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:24,880
and win through projectile warfare.

326
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:26,880
You don't attack people
hand-to-hand,

327
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,000
you shoot them before they get
to you. It's very simple, really.

328
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,440
One single order in 1341
is for three million arrows,

329
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,040
so it's down to him that
this technology exists.

330
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,560
It took five years
to make those three million arrows.

331
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:47,040
This is why Edward delayed so long.

332
00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,800
After all the insecurity
of his youth,

333
00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,720
he needed to make sure
there was no chance of defeat.

334
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:58,400
So he's really reached the height
of his game at this point?

335
00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,440
The height of all games!

336
00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:04,520
He has created a new example of
the heights that kingship can reach.

337
00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,400
Even 300 years later,
people were writing about Edward

338
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,960
as perhaps the greatest king
there had ever been.

339
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:20,760
With such success,

340
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,400
you would have thought that Edward's
use of the Arthurian myth

341
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:29,280
had finally solved the problem
of controlling his barons.

342
00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:31,960
Indeed, throughout his long reign,

343
00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,200
his nobles emulated him
by acquiring manuscripts

344
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,920
detailing the exploits
of Arthur's knights.

345
00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:44,200
But they also added their own pages.

346
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,120
Men like Humphrey de Bohun
liked their king powerful

347
00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:49,440
but not TOO powerful.

348
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,880
Wow, gosh!
Look at that amazing illumination.

349
00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,720
This is a copy of Lancelot du Lac,

350
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,760
it's a French manuscript
made around 1320

351
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,120
and it's later acquired
by Humphrey de Bohun,

352
00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:08,680
who's one of
the king's greatest earls,

353
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,120
and here, on this frontispiece
that he's had added,

354
00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:14,560
you can see the two
coats-of-arms -

355
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:18,280
Edward III alongside the de Bohun's
coat-of-arms,

356
00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:20,480
showing their closeness
at this stage.

357
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,200
And there's a wonderful scene
depicted here,

358
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,360
of King Arthur and Guinevere
surrounded by their noblemen,

359
00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:30,960
feasting,
holding these golden chalices

360
00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,040
and having a really great time.

361
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,520
There there's this very
intriguing little scene -

362
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,600
Arthur is obviously dealing
with some matters of state.

363
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:42,200
He's interacting with two
characters.

364
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,720
But behind him, Guinevere and
Lancelot are in a secret exchange,

365
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,280
they're whispering to one another,

366
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:50,560
and this is intriguing.

367
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:54,800
In Arthurian legend, Lancelot's
a really important figure,

368
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,040
he's one of the most trusted
by King Arthur,

369
00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:02,080
and he's probably most famous for
seducing the king's wife, Guinevere.

370
00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,360
This eventually brings about
the collapse of the Round Table

371
00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:07,800
and the demise of King Arthur.

372
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:12,240
So, in this character, Lancelot,
we see the power struggle

373
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:16,920
that's constantly taking place
between the nobility and the king.

374
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,400
It's interesting that texts
like this were so popular

375
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,440
with noble patrons
and noble readers,

376
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,400
because it shows how, in texts, the
power of the king could be tempered.

377
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,360
But Edward would have a reply
to these noble detractors.

378
00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:39,440
One they would not be able
to undermine so easily.

379
00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,840
In 1348, the homecoming from
Edward's triumphant French campaigns

380
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:52,280
was marked by the usual
great feasting and tournaments.

381
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:58,640
But a far greater menace than war
is beginning to sweep Europe -

382
00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:00,560
the Black Death.

383
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,120
By the next year,
it's raging in London

384
00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:08,320
and claiming one life in three.

385
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,000
The chronicles tell
of licentious behaviour at court

386
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,240
and, through them, we can guess

387
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,160
an apocalyptic
and deeply frightened mood.

388
00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:23,160
People think they are going to die.

389
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:25,880
The Day of Judgment has arrived.

390
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:33,520
What's notable is that
despite this great terror,

391
00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:35,920
there are no references
to the plague

392
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,400
in the Royal manuscripts
at the time.

393
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,040
It seems that the court would
only see what it wants to see

394
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,960
and what it wants to be seen.

395
00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,760
What we do know
is that in April 1349,

396
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:49,800
here in the grounds of
Windsor Castle,

397
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:53,240
Edward III organised
a great tournament,

398
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,640
while, just ten miles away
over there,

399
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:59,160
London was a charnel house
overflowing with the dead.

400
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,760
And over there,
in St George's Chapel,

401
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,160
on April 23rd, St George's Day,

402
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:09,880
he formulates a new chivalric
order, the Order of the Garter.

403
00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:25,520
Wow.

404
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,240
Following the example
of the Round Table,

405
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,480
there are 25 members
in addition to the king.

406
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:41,360
They are nearly all knights
that Edward fought with at Crecy.

407
00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:42,760
What's going on here?

408
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:50,480
To get a clue, here's Edward III
in William Bruges' Garter Book,

409
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:52,760
written some 90 years later.

410
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:57,800
Over these pages are all his
knights - his brothers-in-arms.

411
00:27:57,800 --> 00:27:59,920
But there's something new here too.

412
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,760
Here is a king invested
with almost religious authority.

413
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,800
His favourite saint,
the warrior saint, St George,

414
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:15,040
has been appropriated
into the majesty of monarchy.

415
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:19,560
The king is crowned, standing
resplendent, dressed in a tunic

416
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:23,720
composed of the Arms of England
quartered with France.

417
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:27,920
He wears a cloak emblazoned
with the cross of St George,

418
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,520
within the new Garter symbol
and motto.

419
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,520
At a single stroke,
the monarchy has been sanctified,

420
00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:38,240
purified and strengthened.

421
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,520
It's an incredibly powerful
piece of propaganda.

422
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:44,720
In one of the worst catastrophes
England's ever faced,

423
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,840
Edward seems to be saying,
"It's business as usual.

424
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,040
"I'm in command
and I'm not frightened."

425
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,560
To this day, the coats-of-arms
of the original 25 knights,

426
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:01,600
and those of their successors,

427
00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,720
are pinned to the back wall
of the chapel stalls.

428
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:19,200
And the motto to the Order of the
Garter's really enigmatic, too.

429
00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:20,840
"Honi soit qui mal y pense".

430
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:28,040
I believe it relates to Edward's
claim to the throne of France.

431
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:33,160
"Honi soit qui mal y pense" - "Shame
on him who thinks evil of it".

432
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:39,120
The Garter itself is supposed
to have been a small leather strap

433
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,600
used to join armour
by the knights at Crecy.

434
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:51,160
Edward III would reserve membership
only for those nobles

435
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,600
with the highest records of loyalty
and military prowess.

436
00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,000
Rather than the mythical figure
of Arthur

437
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,840
and his Knights of the Round Table,
this represents so much more.

438
00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:08,080
It's like Edward's saying,
"I represent religious integrity.

439
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:13,240
"My kingship is all about
down-the-line Christian orthodoxy."

440
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:18,600
In a masterstroke of image-making,

441
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,520
Edward has bolstered his position
as sanctified monarch,

442
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,520
secularised his own saint,
and last but not least,

443
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,360
consolidated his power
over the nobles.

444
00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:54,360
The king's stamp of authority wasn't
just seen in his own propaganda,

445
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:58,160
but also in the work
of his humbler subjects too.

446
00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:19,920
This is an encyclopaedia.

447
00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:21,800
It's not the first encyclopaedia,

448
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,200
but it is the first
that's arranged alphabetically.

449
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:29,240
It was written by a clerk
to King Edward III.

450
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,560
It has the delightful name
Omne Bonum - "All Good Things".

451
00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:43,640
It has over 1,350 entries
and it's illuminated throughout

452
00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:48,040
with these images to illustrate
the pieces that they accompany.

453
00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:52,840
It's the huge amount of effort
required to order

454
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,040
all these gobbets
of good information

455
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:56,760
that I find so interesting.

456
00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:00,520
So here we've got "Anetum",
that's dill.

457
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:04,000
And this figure is holding up
an image of dill.

458
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,520
And here, "Ancipiter", that's
a bird of prey, so you can see

459
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:11,280
this wonderful illumination of the
character holding up the bird.

460
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:19,680
And if we look at this
entry for "Anglia", England,

461
00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:24,920
we haven't got a map of the country,
instead we've got an image of a king

462
00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:26,840
in all his regalia.

463
00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,640
Like king and saint, king
and country are now inseparable.

464
00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:38,320
Edward III
has clearly done his job well.

465
00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:44,240
These images are really showing us

466
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,040
that mankind is at the centre
of everything,

467
00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,720
everything is made for his use,

468
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,160
and he's at the very heart
of God's creation.

469
00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:20,000
What is also happening
with Omne Bonum

470
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:23,000
is the secularisation of production.

471
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,600
Manuscripts are now not just
the preserve

472
00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,040
of royalty or religious houses.

473
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,920
Neither of these can now control
the thirst for new knowledge.

474
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,960
Soon, the floodgates will be open.

475
00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:45,760
Knowing Edward's enquiring mind,

476
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:49,600
there's every possibility that
he saw Omne Bonum being written.

477
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,280
But what would have interested him
much more

478
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,320
would have been the manuscript
output from a noble family

479
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,360
that were among the greatest
at court.

480
00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,840
This great mound is all that
now remains of one of the largest

481
00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:08,160
and most important castles
in medieval England.

482
00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:12,720
Today, not a stone remains,
but in the late 14th century

483
00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:14,560
it was the seat
of the de Bohun family,

484
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,400
one of the most powerful
noble families in the land.

485
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:21,120
But late on in Edward III's
reign, their lands were broken up.

486
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:23,400
I believe
the Royal Manuscript Collection

487
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:25,760
holds the key to the mystery
of what happened.

488
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:29,440
Within the walls of Pleshey Castle,

489
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:33,160
the family had a brilliant little
manuscript factory,

490
00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:37,160
employing scribes from the local
monastery and so far as we know,

491
00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:39,280
secular artists.

492
00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:44,280
They would be continuously
engaged in the painstaking task

493
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,320
of creating at least
a dozen stunning manuscripts,

494
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,440
known to have come from Pleshey.

495
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:56,440
The de Bohun artists
could spend years and years

496
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,480
on a single manuscript.

497
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,720
But the length of time an
illumination would take to complete

498
00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:06,400
was defined by the availability
not just of the artists,

499
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:10,360
but the supply
of its crucial ingredient - gold.

500
00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,120
SHE BREATHES OUT HEAVILY

501
00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:22,240
Patricia Lovett is one of only
a handful of illuminators

502
00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:27,640
who practise in a way virtually
unchanged since medieval times.

503
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:30,720
Patricia, can you tell me a bit more
about the illumination process?

504
00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,400
First, the design has to
be worked out very precisely.

505
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:38,280
it's not like watercolour
or oil painting,

506
00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:40,920
where you've got leeway
and you can change things.

507
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:44,600
It's a very, very carefully
thought-out procedure,

508
00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,840
because you need to know exactly
where the gold is going to go

509
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,840
before you even start, there's no
changing once you've started.

510
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:56,000
And once the design has been
transferred on to vellum,

511
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,800
then this pink compound is laid,

512
00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:03,280
and this is gesso, a mixture of
plaster of Paris and various glues.

513
00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:08,160
This is laid as a liquid,
with a quill, and allowed to dry

514
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,200
everywhere where there
is going to be gold.

515
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,000
I'm going to breathe on the gesso

516
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,720
to reactivate
the stickiness in the gesso.

517
00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,320
Then the gold leaf is applied

518
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,960
and I have three seconds
to get that gold to stick.

519
00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:27,520
And now I'm working my burnisher
over the gold leaf.

520
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:29,920
Gold was chosen for the most
precious books

521
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:32,120
because it doesn't tarnish,
unlike silver.

522
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:35,400
So there are all sorts of pluses
for having gold in your book.

523
00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:37,400
Not least that it was evidence

524
00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:39,640
that you were a wealthy enough
person to afford it.

525
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,680
To me, the thing that really
sets the illuminations apart

526
00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,320
from simple decoration
is this application of gold.

527
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:49,840
It's almost like alchemy, isn't it?
The changing of states.

528
00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:53,240
Absolutely, you've got
this pink powdery compound

529
00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:56,960
which suddenly becomes metallic
and brilliant and shiny,

530
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,520
and that's so attractive
to us as humans.

531
00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:02,000
Then the painting takes place.

532
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,320
If you can see this strip,
these are the base colours.

533
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:09,360
Then the tones and the shades
are added,

534
00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:13,040
the white little highlights, very
fine lines, and the black outlines.

535
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:14,560
And that completes it.

536
00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:18,160
So how long would it take
for a medieval scribe to execute

537
00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:20,160
something like this?

538
00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,040
This one took about a week.

539
00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:24,720
It's amazing, all the
effort that's gone into these

540
00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:29,000
and so many of the artists, their
names are lost. They're anonymous.

541
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,520
It wasn't the practice at the time
to record who did the writing

542
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:34,640
and who did the painting.

543
00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:36,520
We do have some names,

544
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:39,960
but there are some wonderful little
notes at the backs of books

545
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:43,240
where a scribe wrote that he had
done it, when and for whom.

546
00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:46,480
And some of them are,
"Thank goodness this is finished,

547
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:48,520
"now get me a drink,

548
00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:51,920
"this was the most boring text I've
ever had to write out in my life."

549
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,680
Sometime in the 1370s,
the busy manuscript factory

550
00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:18,560
at Pleshey Castle
produced this Book of Hours.

551
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:26,480
Books of hours were small,
portable manuscripts

552
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:30,560
designed to guide the individual
through the prayers of the day.

553
00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:33,640
They often contained scenes
of moral instruction

554
00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:36,800
derived from Biblical history.

555
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,920
But the de Bohun Hours may tell
a different story -

556
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:43,960
about the demise
of this most illustrious family.

557
00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,640
The de Bohun family
have chosen a fidelity story

558
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,000
from the First Book of Kings.

559
00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:56,920
In it, the future King David is a
fugitive,

560
00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:00,040
but he proves his loyalty
to a power-mad King Saul

561
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,680
by not killing him
when he had the chance.

562
00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:07,560
The first picture shows Saul
entering the cave at Ein Gedi

563
00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:09,480
in pursuit of David.

564
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:14,000
The second shows David cutting off
the end of Saul's garment

565
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,360
as he relieves himself.

566
00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:19,880
Then we see David
showing the garment to Saul.

567
00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:22,520
And finally, swearing
allegiance to him.

568
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:27,680
This is an image of loyalty,

569
00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:31,480
in which the earl assumes the David
persona in order to stress

570
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:35,280
the faithfulness
of the de Bohuns to the crown.

571
00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:39,400
But this Biblical account may mask
a terrible end to the family.

572
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:45,280
There's a story that Sir Humphrey,
the last of the de Bohun earls,

573
00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:49,960
was suspected of poisoning fellow
Garter knight the Earl of Warwick

574
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:53,600
in one of Edward's French campaigns
in 1371.

575
00:39:55,240 --> 00:39:59,080
From that time, he seems to have
been out of favour with the king.

576
00:40:00,720 --> 00:40:02,760
One of the richest men in the land,

577
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:08,400
Humphrey is now vulnerable
and his estates, a target.

578
00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:16,800
Rumour has it that Edward III had
Humphrey secretly hanged in 1373.

579
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,520
It's no coincidence
that both his lands and his books

580
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:24,280
were then shared between
the king's son and grandson

581
00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:28,480
on their respective weddings
to Humphrey's two young daughters.

582
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:35,240
The destruction
of the de Bohun dynasty

583
00:40:35,240 --> 00:40:38,080
may show Edward's ruthlessness in
disposing of a noble,

584
00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:41,360
however loyal,
with such a prize at stake.

585
00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:45,600
But that's not the end of the story.

586
00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:47,680
Humphrey's younger daughter, Mary,

587
00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:50,560
who was dragged
from a convent into marriage,

588
00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:55,240
was to be the mother of England's
great warrior king, Henry V.

589
00:40:57,240 --> 00:41:00,240
What Henry would do would eclipse
everything

590
00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:03,520
his great-grandfather Edward III
had done,

591
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:06,360
and HIS strategy is clear
from the start.

592
00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:13,240
"High and noble prince excellent,

593
00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:17,160
"my lord, the prince,
oh, lord gracious,

594
00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:22,240
"I humble servant and obedient
unto your estate high and glorious."

595
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:25,160
Gosh, this is one of the most
obsequious introductions

596
00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:27,000
I've ever read to a manuscript.

597
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,080
The year is 1410
and the young Prince of Wales,

598
00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:31,600
soon to be the great Henry V,

599
00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:37,560
is standing in for his father,
Henry IV, who was ill.

600
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:41,880
Thomas Hoccleve
is a court clerk and a poet

601
00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:43,880
and has written
this for the future king.

602
00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:46,800
It's called the Regement of Princes,

603
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:50,680
and it's a manual of instruction
for the king-in-waiting.

604
00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:54,560
Like the Secretum Secretorum
before it,

605
00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:58,760
it urges the king to rule according
to the cardinal virtues -

606
00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:02,800
justice, prudence,
wisdom and mercy.

607
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:06,640
But it's all written in English.

608
00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:10,120
Look here in the margins. There's
an image here of Geoffrey Chaucer.

609
00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:15,600
Chaucer was Hoccleve's inspiration
and he actually says in the text

610
00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:19,160
that Chaucer was "the first finder
of our fair language".

611
00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:26,200
For me, this is another stage
in the break with France

612
00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:30,200
and the forging of England's
identity as a separate nation.

613
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:34,520
It's the use of English
that's absolutely key

614
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:37,720
to understanding the significance
of this manuscript.

615
00:42:37,720 --> 00:42:38,960
By using English,

616
00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:43,200
Hoccleve is stressing the
Englishness of the Prince of Wales.

617
00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:45,640
For the first time
in three-and-a-half centuries,

618
00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:47,480
we have a claimant to the throne

619
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,920
who has all four
English-born grandparents.

620
00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:56,760
Henry V will use his Englishness

621
00:42:56,760 --> 00:43:00,680
as a rallying cry in a violent
and explosive assertion

622
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:04,480
of England's long-standing claims
to the French crown.

623
00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:13,080
In 1415, the great victory
at the Battle of Agincourt

624
00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:17,560
paved the way for the English
occupation of half of France.

625
00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:22,640
By 1420, Henry V's armies
are at the gates of Paris,

626
00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:27,240
and he forces the French king
to hand over the succession.

627
00:43:27,240 --> 00:43:31,360
But Henry delivers an even greater
blow, when the French royal palace,

628
00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:36,000
the Louvre, and its treasures,
including its library,

629
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:40,240
falls into the hands of the king's
brother, John, Duke of Bedford.

630
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:47,680
So, in the 1420s, some of Europe's
most valuable objects

631
00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:51,200
cross these waters into the hands
of the upstart nation.

632
00:44:03,880 --> 00:44:09,880
This is a very good example of the
high quality deluxe book

633
00:44:09,880 --> 00:44:12,600
that the English
were getting access to

634
00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:15,040
by their being in charge in France.

635
00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:19,080
Every single page
has these gold borders,

636
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:22,160
and then it also
has these magnificent illustrations

637
00:44:22,160 --> 00:44:25,800
which are by some of the best
artists of the time.

638
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:28,640
This is the top-end,

639
00:44:28,640 --> 00:44:34,800
this is as good as you will ever
get in a book of this nature.

640
00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:38,320
There's as much gold on this page
as you could possibly get on it.

641
00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:50,800
Here, we have one of the most
magnificent images in the book...

642
00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:55,400
Oh, gosh, yeah, that's not an
understatement! Look at the detail!

643
00:44:55,400 --> 00:44:59,760
A wonderful depiction
of the Virgin and Child,

644
00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:04,600
with these beautiful angels,
and then you've got the saint

645
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:07,400
presenting this young prince
to the Virgin,

646
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:09,680
and then this banderol joining them,

647
00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:14,360
this is their conversation, their
sacred conversation that's going on.

648
00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:20,600
God, it's heart-stopping, the
background is absolutely exquisite.

649
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:24,360
Yeah, so you have this frame
of sparkling gold

650
00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:27,280
and imagine that with candlelight
flickering

651
00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:30,200
and catching the gold
in different ways.

652
00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:34,920
So it clearly looks royal.
Who was it intended for?

653
00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:38,600
Well, this little figure
here is a young prince,

654
00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:43,120
with the Arms of England
and France ancient.

655
00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:45,840
So it looks like an English prince,

656
00:45:45,840 --> 00:45:49,840
but actually it started
as a French prince.

657
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:51,920
What has happened is

658
00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:57,520
that the artist has intruded over
the repeated Fleur de Lys,

659
00:45:57,520 --> 00:45:59,600
the Arms of England.

660
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:04,320
And so, this French prince
has become an English prince.

661
00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:09,800
The young prince is actually
an infant, the future Henry VI.

662
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:17,120
Henry V has died in 1422, leaving
his brother, John, Duke of Bedford,

663
00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:21,800
to safeguard the education of a boy
who would role both kingdoms.

664
00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:26,600
The book was made for someone
that's around eight, nine-years-old,

665
00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:30,560
and then it is transferred to
someone around the same age as this.

666
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:34,040
When we think that young aristocrats
engaged with the psalms.

667
00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:37,840
And it's also very relevant
as well that it's the psalms,

668
00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:40,160
because it's coming from King David,

669
00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:43,960
there's this kingly authority
all the way through this text.

670
00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:48,400
Yes, well, if we turn to the
beginning of the book, there he is.

671
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:53,040
There's the singer of the psalms,
as a king. As a king, yeah.

672
00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:57,520
But then, above, you've got a thing
that might have been more attractive

673
00:46:57,520 --> 00:46:59,560
to an eight or nine-year-old,

674
00:46:59,560 --> 00:47:03,040
which is this fight that's going
on up at the top,

675
00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:09,920
between David, who's really going
to whack Goliath, who's facing him.

676
00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:13,000
It would appeal to a boy!
I think so! I think it really would.

677
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:16,520
In terms of the skill
and the artistry of this,

678
00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:19,640
it seems far and away better than
anything I've seen

679
00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:21,520
coming out of England at this point.

680
00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:25,640
It's unbeatable, it's just
haute couture of its time, isn't it?

681
00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:30,840
The colours, the naturalism,
just the sheer beauty of the page.

682
00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:34,920
France has the full ascendancy
at this period and beyond.

683
00:47:34,920 --> 00:47:39,600
It's wonderful to think about these
books as treasures as well.

684
00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:41,600
That they are the treasures
of a realm.

685
00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:44,440
By John, Duke of Bedford
taking the library books,

686
00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:48,960
he's taking the treasure of that...
He's very much taking the treasures,

687
00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:55,320
and the one saving grace is that
unlike the plate and the metalwork,

688
00:47:55,320 --> 00:48:00,000
which could be boiled down
when you ran short of cash,

689
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:03,560
the manuscripts couldn't,
so they've come through as...

690
00:48:03,560 --> 00:48:09,640
They were the same level of treasure,
but you couldn't melt them down.

691
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:16,120
By the time he was nine,

692
00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:19,200
the young Prince Henry would be
reading and absorbing

693
00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:22,400
one of the great masterpieces
of medieval literature.

694
00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:27,720
Nothing reflects more England's
expectations

695
00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:30,960
at the forthcoming coronation
of Henry as King of France

696
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:32,600
than the famous Bedford Hours.

697
00:48:39,760 --> 00:48:42,120
Oh, this is a moment for me!

698
00:48:42,120 --> 00:48:43,560
Wow!

699
00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:53,320
Oh gosh, right,
I'm entering into the Bedford Hours.

700
00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:09,760
It was given to the young king

701
00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:13,640
by his aunt, Anne of Burgundy,
and his uncle, John of Bedford,

702
00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:17,240
and he received it
on Christmas Eve, 1430,

703
00:49:17,240 --> 00:49:22,160
this is just a year before
his coronation as King of France.

704
00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:26,240
This is the culmination of 80 years
of English foreign policy,

705
00:49:26,240 --> 00:49:28,880
and a hugely important event

706
00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:31,880
that's just preceded by the gift
of this manuscript.

707
00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:38,000
The Duke of Bedford has again
adapted a manuscript probably

708
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:40,040
intended for a French prince.

709
00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:45,080
But the unknown artist has,
from his Paris workshop,

710
00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:50,400
created some of the most
outstanding images of the age.

711
00:49:50,400 --> 00:49:54,040
A remarkable sequence
of full-page illuminations,

712
00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:57,200
depicting scenes
from the Book of Genesis.

713
00:50:07,240 --> 00:50:10,200
They show the creation
by an all-seeing God.

714
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:16,200
The birth of Eve from Adam.

715
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:20,520
Noah and the flood.

716
00:50:22,280 --> 00:50:25,720
This, for me, in terms
of its artistry, its skill,

717
00:50:25,720 --> 00:50:27,400
it's a work of art.

718
00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:40,600
And here's the creation of languages
in the Tower of Babel.

719
00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:43,400
These Biblical scenes
are all scenarios

720
00:50:43,400 --> 00:50:46,240
that a young Christian prince
should know.

721
00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:51,760
At great expense, the education
of the young Henry continues.

722
00:50:57,040 --> 00:51:00,880
If you look here, we have a portrait
of the Duke himself,

723
00:51:00,880 --> 00:51:03,280
kneeling before St George,

724
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:06,960
complete with an English flag
emblazoned on his chest.

725
00:51:06,960 --> 00:51:08,800
This is significant,

726
00:51:08,800 --> 00:51:11,840
at this point
England has conquered France,

727
00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:14,880
so who better for John
to be kneeling in front of

728
00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:17,320
than the warrior saint of England?

729
00:51:19,400 --> 00:51:22,800
The book also celebrates
the marriage of Duke John

730
00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:25,640
to Anne of Burgundy in 1423,

731
00:51:25,640 --> 00:51:29,520
an alliance designed
to protect the new dual monarchy.

732
00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:32,960
Really, for the first time,

733
00:51:32,960 --> 00:51:37,280
images of real people are becoming
individual and recognisable.

734
00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:42,520
The medieval framework of symbolism
is beginning to take a back seat.

735
00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:47,160
Whilst the treatment of the saint
and the Duke inside the window

736
00:51:47,160 --> 00:51:50,200
of the picture
is modern and realistic,

737
00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:52,920
the images of the sufferings
of the saint

738
00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:56,120
in the margins
are still symbolic and medieval.

739
00:51:58,920 --> 00:52:01,640
This is such a powerful present.

740
00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:05,320
The Bedford Hours is more than
just a prayer book,

741
00:52:05,320 --> 00:52:07,520
it's bursting with status

742
00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:11,920
and encapsulates the aspirations
of an entire nation.

743
00:52:14,600 --> 00:52:17,040
On his coming of age in 1437,

744
00:52:17,040 --> 00:52:21,760
England's nobility hoped King Henry
VI would do everything possible

745
00:52:21,760 --> 00:52:26,000
to protect his dual inheritance
on the battlefields of France

746
00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:28,000
against resurgent French armies.

747
00:52:30,480 --> 00:52:33,680
But Henry never goes to fight
the war in France.

748
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:43,440
I'm with the historian
John Watts to find out why.

749
00:52:44,960 --> 00:52:47,920
So John,
what do we know about Henry VI?

750
00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:50,240
Henry VI comes to the throne
at nine-months-old.

751
00:52:50,240 --> 00:52:52,400
There's then
a period of royal minority

752
00:52:52,400 --> 00:52:54,640
where the realm
is governed by a council.

753
00:52:54,640 --> 00:52:57,280
The councillors wait eagerly
for the king to take over,

754
00:52:57,280 --> 00:52:59,760
but he shows no initiative,
and they find themselves

755
00:52:59,760 --> 00:53:03,360
having to hand authority to him,
which he doesn't exercise.

756
00:53:03,360 --> 00:53:06,400
So it's hard to know exactly
what kind of a person Henry is,

757
00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:08,640
whether he was a pious figure,

758
00:53:08,640 --> 00:53:12,520
as positive legend suggests,
or whether he was simply an idiot,

759
00:53:12,520 --> 00:53:17,800
as a more negative views of
his subjects tend to imply.

760
00:53:17,800 --> 00:53:22,200
The king has to be an active
and effective individual,

761
00:53:22,200 --> 00:53:25,880
and what people don't realise is
there's good blueprints for kingship

762
00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:27,560
available in this time.

763
00:53:27,560 --> 00:53:31,600
Advice-writers like Hoccleve,
in his Regement of Princes,

764
00:53:31,600 --> 00:53:34,120
are telling kings how to govern,

765
00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:36,280
and central to Hoccleve's theory

766
00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:38,640
is an idea of the four cardinal
virtues -

767
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:42,360
so the king must be just,
he must be prudent,

768
00:53:42,360 --> 00:53:45,520
he must be wise,
and he must show mercy.

769
00:53:45,520 --> 00:53:48,880
And he must hear the advice
of his councillors

770
00:53:48,880 --> 00:53:52,760
and then take a decision
and authorise that decision fully.

771
00:53:52,760 --> 00:53:56,160
That's the blueprint for kingship,
that's all a king needs to do.

772
00:53:56,160 --> 00:53:57,840
But Henry simply doesn't.

773
00:53:57,840 --> 00:54:02,080
He doesn't show the constancy
that's involved in fortitude.

774
00:54:02,080 --> 00:54:04,120
He isn't determined to do justice.

775
00:54:04,120 --> 00:54:07,840
He won't fight to defend
his rights or his realm.

776
00:54:07,840 --> 00:54:09,800
Because he won't go to France -

777
00:54:09,800 --> 00:54:14,040
and he's the only king in this
period who doesn't fight in France -

778
00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:19,720
nobody is willing to go and the
English conquest unravels.

779
00:54:21,840 --> 00:54:25,320
The medieval mind would understand
the wheel of fortune.

780
00:54:25,320 --> 00:54:29,440
But in throwing it all away,
Henry exceeded the expectations

781
00:54:29,440 --> 00:54:32,280
of even the most pessimistic
of his nobles.

782
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:41,920
The king turned out to be one of the
worst kings England had ever had.

783
00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:52,240
In 1444, at a time his armies
are losing in France,

784
00:54:52,240 --> 00:54:55,520
Henry's bride-to-be,
Margaret of Anjou,

785
00:54:55,520 --> 00:54:58,960
was given an extraordinary
wedding present.

786
00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:03,200
This magnificent manuscript
is the Shrewsbury Book.

787
00:55:03,200 --> 00:55:06,840
It was made by the gentleman
depicted here, Sir John Talbot,

788
00:55:06,840 --> 00:55:12,320
he's the commander of the English
troops in France,

789
00:55:12,320 --> 00:55:17,160
and beside him is his symbol,
the Talbot dog, that's now extinct.

790
00:55:17,160 --> 00:55:21,360
He's handing this book
over to Margaret of Anjou,

791
00:55:21,360 --> 00:55:25,120
and this is designed
as a wedding gift for her,

792
00:55:25,120 --> 00:55:27,760
because she's going to marry
King Henry VI.

793
00:55:27,760 --> 00:55:32,840
But just opposite is what must
be one of the most intricately

794
00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:37,080
and elaborately decorated pages
of any book ever written.

795
00:55:39,760 --> 00:55:41,800
It's a powerful image that sets out

796
00:55:41,800 --> 00:55:45,440
all Henry's claims to the French
throne.

797
00:55:45,440 --> 00:55:49,720
On the left-hand side is
the long line of French monarchs.

798
00:55:54,160 --> 00:55:58,440
And on the right, there's
the genealogy of the English kings.

799
00:55:58,440 --> 00:56:02,520
They join at the bottom,
where Henry sits guarded by angels

800
00:56:02,520 --> 00:56:05,160
and the insignia of the Garter.

801
00:56:05,160 --> 00:56:10,680
And the whole edifice is propped
up by Henry's guardians in chief -

802
00:56:10,680 --> 00:56:15,280
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
and Richard, Duke of York.

803
00:56:18,200 --> 00:56:23,160
And both royal dynasties are given
a common ancestor -

804
00:56:23,160 --> 00:56:26,080
St Louis, the 13th-century
saint-king of France.

805
00:56:28,320 --> 00:56:33,600
If ever there was a solid vision of
the right of succession, this is it.

806
00:56:33,600 --> 00:56:38,280
All the kings we've seen over
the last 120 years are here -

807
00:56:38,280 --> 00:56:43,600
Henry V, the warrior king,
the great Edward III,

808
00:56:43,600 --> 00:56:49,720
and even the tumbledown king, Edward
II, has been restored to majesty.

809
00:56:51,400 --> 00:56:56,120
But never was one man's
fortune more wasted.

810
00:56:56,120 --> 00:57:00,720
Behind this elaborate
and somewhat optimistic fantasy

811
00:57:00,720 --> 00:57:05,680
was a stark reality, that there
was not a strong English king.

812
00:57:05,680 --> 00:57:09,120
Even as the book was being written,
the French,

813
00:57:09,120 --> 00:57:13,480
united under the inspiration
of their own champion, Joan of Arc,

814
00:57:13,480 --> 00:57:15,640
were reclaiming English lands.

815
00:57:19,320 --> 00:57:24,000
One by one, the remaining English
dominions begin to disappear.

816
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:30,160
Normandy is lost by 1450, followed
by Gascony three years later,

817
00:57:30,160 --> 00:57:33,600
when the English project in France
dies for ever.

818
00:57:36,160 --> 00:57:39,760
I think that what all these
manuscripts are telling us

819
00:57:39,760 --> 00:57:42,040
is that in an ever-expanding

820
00:57:42,040 --> 00:57:45,360
and ever more complex
and literary world,

821
00:57:45,360 --> 00:57:51,000
the institution of medieval kingship
must constantly reinvent itself.

822
00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:55,760
Power hinges on the strength
and personality of the king,

823
00:57:55,760 --> 00:57:59,920
and his ability to manipulate
his noblemen through propaganda.

824
00:57:59,920 --> 00:58:03,320
And the manuscripts
themselves are changing.

825
00:58:03,320 --> 00:58:07,320
On the dawn of printing, as books
are becoming more commonplace,

826
00:58:07,320 --> 00:58:11,480
manuscripts commissioned by and
for the royalty are characterised

827
00:58:11,480 --> 00:58:15,160
by being all the more elaborate
and exquisite.

828
00:58:15,160 --> 00:58:20,600
Royalty is now defined as much
by its majesty as by its divinity.

829
00:58:24,560 --> 00:58:28,160
Next time - the final flowering
of illuminated manuscripts,

830
00:58:28,160 --> 00:58:34,120
as the Tudors take over England
and its church.

831
00:58:40,760 --> 00:58:43,760
Subtitles by Evelyn Morrish,
Red Bee Media Ltd

832
00:58:43,760 --> 00:58:46,720
E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk