In Search of the Dark Ages
tv show
8 total episodes
-
2 seasons
First Aired January 02, 1979
Genres:
Overview
In Search of the Dark Ages was a television series, written and presented by Michael Wood, and first shown in 1979. It is also the title of a book written by Wood to support the series, which was published in 1981. The television series consisted of a series of separate programmes, hence the collective title is often written as In Search of ... The Dark Ages. It began with In Search of Offa, recorded in 1978 by BBC Manchester, and shown on 2 January 1979. Subsequent programmes in the first series were on Boadicea, King Arthur and Alfred the Great, shown with a re-run of Offa over successive nights in March 1980. The first series was such a success when shown in an off-peak slot on BBC Two that a second series was broadcast in 1981, with subjects including William the Conqueror, Ethelred the Unready, Athelstan and Eric Bloodaxe.
In Search of Ethelred the Unready
Season 2 - Episode 3 - 0h 0m
Air Date
April 02, 1981
Overview
AD1001: In this year there were constant hostilities in England because of the Danish army and they harried and burned almost everywhere. And they went about at will encountering no resistance. No fleet by sea, nor levies on land, dared approach them however far inland they went. Time after time, the more urgent a thing was, the greater was the delay from one hour to the next, and all the while the King and his counsellors were allowing the strength of their enemies to increase. In the end, our naval and land preparations were a complete failure and succeeded only in adding to the distress of the people, wasting money and encouraging their enemy. In every way, it was a hard time, for they never ceased from their evil deeds.