2012 was a good year for medieval media and castles in general. The year started off with the fantastic documentary series Battle Castles hosted by Dan Snow, followed by a book of the same name written by Dan Snow. If that wasn’t enough there is now a Battle Castle app. While the documentary and book…
On your marks, get set and go to Dover Castle for Medieval Olympics on special dates throughout July, when King Henry II and the bravest champions assemble to put on 12th century style games. Families are welcome to come and try their hands at skills which made a fighting man – or woman – of…
Battle Castle, the outstanding castle documentary series, explores the medieval history of six castles. Today we have an interview with Sean F. White, the Director of Photography for Battle Castle. I talk with Sean about filming the castles and the siege engines in action. We also cover how the re-enactments were filmed. In this episode…
This week we travel with host Dan Snow to visit the impressive Dover Castle. Perched high atop the white chalky cliffs, Dover Castle has been a military installation for over 800 years. Dover’s last major military role was during WWII. In this episode of Battle Castle we see the construction set forth by Henry II…
Battle Castle, the outstanding castle documentary series, explores the medieval history of six castles. Today we have an interview with Nicole Tomlinson, writer for Battle Castle. I talk to Nicole about writing for the series and how she approached the research process. We also cover how the castles were picked, castles that were left out,…
Last week we reviewed Crac des Chevaliers, the premiere episode of Battle Castle. Although the series isn’t airing in the U.S. yet the kind folks at Battle Castle sent over an advanced copy of episode 2: Chateau Gaillard. Does it hold up to the quality of the Crac des Chevaliers episode? Let’s find out… The…
This Thursday Battle Castle Episode 2: Chateau Gaillard premieres. Take a look at the trailer and the incredible web comic they released. Then tune into the History Channel Canada at 2100 ET to watch the episode.
Battle Castle a new series by Parallax Film Productions (Blowdown, Ancient Megastructures) is set to debut tomorrow night on History Television (Canada). There are numerous posts on this site highlighting the media released leading up to the premiere. Like the medieval recipes they released (I recommend the Cherry Soup!) and the 3D pictures of the…
The underground remains of Northampton Castle could be brought to the surface under new proposals to regenerate a historic area of the town. Dr Marie Dickie, a member of the Friends of Northampton Castle (FONC), believes exposing some of the remains of the medieval site would bring both social and economic benefits to the town….
Monks at an Isle of Wight monastery say they are hopeful of saving medieval abbey ruins, after they were recognised in an international heritage survey. The Cistercian Abbey of St Mary’s at Quarr is among 67 “most at-risk” sites listed by the World Monuments Fund (WMF). The monks say the listing will make it easier…
An order of Cistercian monks in rural northern California lives a quiet life of prayer, contemplation and work. One of their projects is to reconstruct a medieval monastery, also called a chapter house, that dates back to 12th century Spain. The Abbey of New Clairvaux is using original stones carved for the Santa Maria de…
Conservationists have begun a campaign to preserve Rochester Castle. The Restore Rochester Castle Campaign wants to save the walls, floor and roof of the 12th Century building. A section of the outer wall of the castle had to be rebuilt last month after collapsing because of heavy rainfall. Campaigner Jon O’Donnell said the medieval castle…
The culmination of a pioneering international project which has uncovered new insights on Norman England is to be celebrated on Wednesday 10th November at 3.30pm at the University of Leicester. A new study of early medieval manuscripts written in the English language has revealed that the Normans, who conquered England in 1066, were not the…
A site which may house Britain’s earliest known hospital has been uncovered by archaeologists. Radio carbon analysis at the former Leper Hospital at St Mary Magdalen in Winchester, Hampshire, has provided a date range of AD 960-1030 for a series of burials, many exhibiting evidence of leprosy, on the site. A number of other artefacts,…
This year’s archaeological digs at the Perperikon site yielded fewer unique finds, but provided more proof of the continued importance of the rock city in southern Bulgaria during the transition from late antiquity to the early medieval times, the head of excavations, Prof. Nikolai Ovcharov said on October 18. The new finds establish the continuity…
