The Normans - The Complete Epic Saga

Until a few years ago, I was largely ignorant of the Middle Ages, assuming that the civilized world went into a hiatus with the fall of Rome. Then I started reading about the Byzantine Empire, and many of the other empires of which the Normans were one.What this video illustrates is that while the Normans were fierce warriors, they were also tolerant overlords who allowed their captive peoples to retain their own religions and social orders. In a relatively short period of time, they were assimilated into these captive peoples, and disappeared. The most interesting of these assimilations was that into the Catholic Church, which this program describes quite well.As other reviewers have observed, this program is divided into three stand-alone parts, each excellent in its own way: (1) the early Norman conquests, from their Viking roots to their conquest of Britain at the Battle of Hastings, (2) their expansion throughout the Mediterranean, especially in southern Italy and Sicily, which at that time was a world power, and (3) their involvement in the Crusades (a nice discussion of Eleanor of Aquitaine here) and ultimately their full assimilation.For me, the best segment was the second, when they were at the peak of their power, which included intelligent commentary by John Julius Norwich, author of a fine three-volume history of the Byzantine Empire  Byzantium: The Early Centuries .Unfortunately, the commentary is otherwise limited and quite prosaic. There is a French academic who renders some eminently forgettable comments, which are dutifully translated using subtitles. In this regard the program is not up to the History Channel standard.One error deserves comment. In the second segment it is stated that Sicily was the only place in Europe where Christians, Jews and Muslims lived in relative harmony. That was also true of Moorish Spain at roughly the same time.  Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain If you like this video, you may enjoy  The Teaching Company: The Vikings DVD series (The Teaching Company Great Courses Number 3910., Set of 6 DVDs with the course guide book)

My so far brief reading and knowledge about Normans made me to get a copy of this 3-part documentary. What did I miss? The trilogy begins with the Battle of Hastings (invasion of England in 1066 by William the conqueror) and its immediate causes, but I was expecting a closer look into the previous origins of Normans. While it was not new for me, the second part dedicated to the Normans in southern Italy is quite interesting. Finally, I would say the few words about Richard the lion heart were a bit surprising to me (part 3). Overall then, I would recommend this documentary set as it is well done, with nice photography and entertaining narrative. While no subtitles are provided, the narrative and interviews are spoken in very clear English. Almost forgot, the medieval music used is really nice.

This is a decent documentary except it moves too fast at the beginning. They cover the founding of Normandy up to the battle of Hastings in the first episode and they barely cover the fact that Rolo was a Viking. I think the pacing would have been better had they spent most of the first episode discussing the viking raids that lead up to Rolo becoming the first ruler of Normandy then had the Hastings battle in epsiode 2. Perhaps it had to be only three episodes but had it been four I probably would be giving it five stars.

This documentary is 2.5 hours long , thorough, & very well presented. Its style is similar or even better than many "BBC style" documentaries. It has an English narrator who is both sober, objective and very informative in his narration . There are plenty of beautiful film shots (inside & out) of Norman castles, cathedrals, monuments & landscapes. There are also many quality & informative interviews with authors and professors regarding the battles of the Normans & their establishment of rule in both England as well as other parts of Europe. Also , another thing that sets this Norman historical documentary apart from others I have seen is that it really goes into the Norman history in other parts of Europe, not just in Britain and France. We see how they expanded in Italy and onto their crusades to the Middle East. The price for this documentary is reasonable considering the quality of its content.

Very informative. Loved every minute of it. These are the sort of introductory history DVDs that should be shown in schools before teaching anything about the Norman conquests to get a good overall grasp of the situation. It also begs the question are the English really English or would it be better to refer to them as Viking-Saxons? Historians have already established the presence of a Celtic-Viking nation in and around the Irish Sea! In short, especially if we consider that Beowulf was a Goth from present day Sweden, I am getting to the point where I see Britain as more of an extension of Scandanavia then of Europe. Interestingly enough despite 21st century enlightenment the same feudal systems still prevail in Scandanavia i.e. monarchies :)).

I thought this was a great trip through Norman culture, heretofore a very arcane subject now brilliantly illuminated. The photography was exceptional and really keeps the viewer coming back. Although there were a few points to quibble, such as the lack of anything on Henry I, the story line was very good. The episode into Italy and Sicily was like a trip to another planet and really illuminated on the true contributions of the Normans. The authors drew some excellent conclusions, especially some fresh material on Norman contributions as a whole. The dvds were good to own and great to watch, and should stir up some real conversations, even in academic circles.

I am a medieval historical reenactor and I learned some things I did not know. ITs especially fun for me as I am a hobbyist genealogist (I look several classes in college) and I am descended from several Normans so its especially fun for that as well. well done.

Really nice portrayal of the Normans. I agree with the other reviewers about the great medieval music that runs through this documentary. Those beautiful cathedrals that they built with the stained glass windows seem to show that even though they had Viking origins (i.e. rape, pillage, and burn) they still could be very civilized. Now whenever I see movies about the Normans fighting Vikings and other barbarians I usually think that I am seeing descendants of the Vikings fighting other Vikings. They still kept their militaristic tendencies as they still kept conquering lands even after they became civilized and inter married with the French population. Anyway, I really enjoyed this dvd, great content and visuals.

This video presents the tremendous impact made on European history, primarily in the eleventh century, by the warriors of Scandanavian origin known in history as the Normans. The first hour is a brilliant account of the well-known conqeust of England. The second narrates the Norman rule of southern Italy and Sicily, along with the influence on the Papacy and the mingling with Arab culture in Sicily. The final section touches on the fading of the Norman identity from history. The narrative is presented against beautiful visuals of the art and architecture associated with Norman rule. My enjoyment of this video made it well worth the cost.

fascinating info but they could have left out a silly reenactment of the battle of Hastings done by 20 or so, some rather corpulent, guys swinging their swords in the air and yelling at each other.

excellent history of Norman advancement.and British/French history.

ok