- This topic has 4 voices and 4 replies.
-
Posts
-
I recorded this recently and just watched it last night. I thought it was pretty good, given its major constraint – covering about 6 centuries in 2 hours (more like 1:40 skipping the commercials). They spent a fair amount of time on the fall of Rome, Justinian, Charles “the hammer” – grandfather of Charlemagne, who was also given a good chunk of time -, the Moors and the Vikings, though the Vikings were covered mostly in the British Isles (raids, invasion and then Alfred the Great's success against them). They obviously had to give only brief mention to many figures and a lot were completely left out. For example, they made it sound as if Alfred ran off the Vikings and that was the end of it and didn't even mention Rollo in Normandy. Other than the Moors crossing Spain to attach the Franks, Spain was not mentioned.One thing that stood out in this show is that they gave the Roman Catholic Church a lot more credit for preserving knowledge and providing a basis for unity through the period. A lot of their shows tend to emphasize more of the negative aspects of the Church's influence in the period (to be fair, there was a lot of both). They covered the church trying to intervene in the behavior of knights serving local lords by establishing the "Peace of God" and "Truce of God" then explaining them to the knights while showing them relics of saints who would be displeased (an odd tactic; it seemed like they were preying on the fears of ghosts, but for a good cause) if they were not followed.
I recorded this recently and just watched it last night. I thought it was pretty good, given its major constraint - covering about 6 centuries in 2 hours (more like 1:40 skipping the commercials). They spent a fair amount of time on the fall of Rome, Justinian, Charles "the hammer" - grandfather of Charlemagne, who was also given a good chunk of time -, the Moors and the Vikings, though the Vikings were covered mostly in the British Isles (raids, invasion and then Alfred the Great's success against them). They obviously had to give only brief mention to many figures and a lot were completely left out. For example, they made it sound as if Alfred ran off the Vikings and that was the end of it and didn't even mention Rollo in Normandy. Other than the Moors crossing Spain to attach the Franks, Spain was not mentioned.
I think it's just a result of the way historians have compartmentalized history that the "Dark Ages" covers so many centuries of history. Think about it - when we think of ancient Greece, we're generally talking about less than 300 years. The High Middle Ages covers roughly 400 years, the Renaissance about 200 years, the Enlightenment about 150 years. I suppose that Roman history generally covers about 700-800 years, but aside from that, the Dark Ages takes up the most time of history.
One thing that stood out in this show is that they gave the Roman Catholic Church a lot more credit for preserving knowledge and providing a basis for unity through the period. A lot of their shows tend to emphasize more of the negative aspects of the Church's influence in the period (to be fair, there was a lot of both). They covered the church trying to intervene in the behavior of knights serving local lords by establishing the "Peace of God" and "Truce of God" then explaining them to the knights while showing them relics of saints who would be displeased (an odd tactic; it seemed like they were preying on the fears of ghosts, but for a good cause) if they were not followed.
I think because of the fundamental influence that the Catholic Church had on key Western institutions, it's quite important to consider the formative relationships between Church and society. I don't know if they talked about it on the show, but the Church laid down laws about marriage in the early Middle Ages (combining the better aspects of both Roman and barbarian marital rights) and I think that that original vision has guided the Western view of marriage through the millennia. But it sounds like it was an interesting show. Too bad they don't seem to post many History Channel video's on their web site.
I get confused between History Channel and History Channel International also, and they have different websites. But mostly they have short teasers like the battle stuff I linked to in the “Greek history paper” thread. One thing that is nice since the advent of the DVR is that I no longer channel surf; I surf by theme to see what shows are coming up in the next week or so and mark things that look like they might be interesting to record. With Time Warner, you have to look at “Learning” and “History”, which are both under “Lifestyles”. Their tagging seems to be hit or miss; there will be some history shows in Learning that are not in History and visa versa. I watch some science shows as well, so it doesn' bother me too much to look at both. Whenever I get a chance to watch something, I just scroll through the list and pick one out. 3 speeds of fast forward make short work of commercials and if I don't get a chance to watch it all at one sitting it remembers exactly where I left off for the next time. This is a major feature in our house with the kids needing homework help or wanting to watch one of their shows. I didn't mean for this to sound like a cable commercial (I still think they charge way too much!), but I get a lot more out of it since we got a DVR.
I liked it a fair amount but generally I am skeptical watching anything the History Channel puts out.. this programme talks a fair amount about a lot of the major events that took place but I think it could have been better than it was.
I liked it a fair amount but generally I am skeptical watching anything the History Channel puts out.. this programme talks a fair amount about a lot of the major events that took place but I think it could have been better than it was.
I love watching a good historical documentary, and at least for me, the History Channel has done a great job at putting these together. In fact, I would say that the History Channel did a lot for me in terms of bringing me back into a historical field for my profession. It reminded me how interesting it was to look back on what happened throughout history, and how much I would be missing if I was not studying history.While I do enjoy shows like "Pawn Stars" or "American Pickers", I'd rather they not show those programs all the time. Sometimes I'd rather just watch a documentary at the end of the day than a reality show.
The History Channel does some pretty good stuff once and a while. But it is obviously censored. We are given bits of new information from time to time, but it seems like they've 'OK'd' it for the public. It's obviously controlled like our media and Hollywood are controlled. Sometimes the History Channel covers controversial stuff. Episodes like the 'Dark Ages' leave out key elements like the language and religion of the barbarians, etc. Many points are never looked into.
