Today, we are going to explore Empress Wu Zetian. She was the only empress of China. Over the decades she was called a callus tyrant. She was accused of bringing calamity to China. However, discoveries are shedding light on this controversial figure. Now for the first time, experts are coming together to reexamine the legacy of Wu Zetian. The run time for this documentary is 48:03.
Wu Zetian was a woman who rose from lowly concubine to Emperor of China. She was the only woman who dared to call herself Emperor. She would have been thirteen years old when she entered the Emperor’s harem. She was charming and had a zest for life. She quickly got noticed by the Emperor. She rose in influence and was a skilled politician. When the old Emperor died, she became a concubine to the new Emperor. She was eventually made Empress. However, the Emperor was a sickly man. She was the power behind the throne. When he died, she quickly seized the throne. History says that she killed her child to frame a rival. Her execution methods were particularly gruesome. She even exiled her son, eventually forcing him to commit suicide. She led China for fifty years. Historians remember her as a tyrant who brought disaster to China. New evidence is emerging that is challenging this story. Figurines were discovered, and these figurines were showing what the capital was like under Wu Zetian. Other figurines show that women could travel and would dress like men to hunt and fish. Women had a high status while Wu Zetian was Emperor. These figurines hint at a much different story. Another discovery in a tomb hint at the richness of Chinese culture during Wu Zetian’s time. It is a Phoenix Crown, one of the most valuable pieces discovered in the tombs. One historian carefully examines the headdress and talks about the craftsmanship involved in making the headdress. When it was discovered, the archeologists discovered that it belonged to a young noblewoman who had carefully taken the headdress out of the tomb. The headdress was examined and what historians discovered about the headdress shocked historians. Each gem found in the crown came from a variety of places including Afghanistan, Iran, and India. The noblewoman was not a princess, she was just a nobleman. This hints that Wu Zetian’s had a great deal of wealth. Even the tombs of the dead hint at the wealth and political influence of Wu Zetian. Ambassadors paid homage to the Emperor, Wu Zetian. She was a respected international leader at the time. Chinese society was open to foreigners. Wu Zetian preferred diplomacy to warfare. The silk trade flourished under Wu Zetian. It was a product that was as valuable as gold. The trade was under threat and she built military outposts to secure the trade routes. This would keep the silk trade going. The silk trade made China wealthy and many people traveled to China to make money. Trade brought wealth and luxury. She was able to expand the imperial palace to show that the Chinese Empire was a wealthy empire. Even the gatehouse of the palace humbled people. Wu Zetian won the support of the common people by adopting Buddhism. She rebuilt and expanded the Wild Goose Pagoda. It was an important temple that held ancient Buddhist writings. Wu Zetian grew up as a Buddhist and would have wanted to have rebuilt the temple. She would rebuild the Wild Goose Pagoda on a grand scale. The current Pagoda was damaged by another earthquake, so the building would have been even taller. It would have been the tallest building in the world and it would have been a witness to the people that Wu Zetian was supporting Buddhism. By building Buddhist temples around the empire, she would have shown the people that they had a place. She even had a Buddha carved in her own image. So what Wu Zetian the worse emperor China had? Or was her legacy misunderstood? What will the historians continue to discover about Wu Zetian? Continue to watch the rest of this episode to find out. This was an excellent documentary on Wu Zetian. You walked away feeling that she was misunderstood and that she was one of history’s losers. This would be one documentary to show in a history classroom.
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Today, we will conclude Marco Polo’s travels. The run time for this episode is 47:57. This final episode is called “The New World.”
Marco Polo arrived in Beijing and Kublai Khan was building it. Beijing would be the capital of his newly conquered Chinese Empire. He did not use Mongol plans to build the city, instead taking his inspiration from China. Even though Kublai Khan was a Mongol, he would respect Chinese traditions. He would as a Chinese emperor. Beijing would reflect this. It would have been a rich city and would have been expanded by one dynasty after another. Despite this, it would still retain its balance. However, Beijing is emerging. Old buildings are torn down and replaced with new buildings. Professor Zhao is learning more about Marco Polo in Venice. He talks about the history of Venice and how Venice continues to look back at history and ties that history into the modern world. The old neighbors in Beijing are being swept away and the new is being built. One modern architect talks about how Beijing is changing and what buildings are being built. He explores the design of a 108-story building in the shape of a vase. However, there are critics of the plans to change and rebuild the city. They fear that the balance of the city will disappear. The ancient city of Beijing is slowly being taken away. Professor Zhao reflects on how Venice has changed and how Marco Polo traveled. Polo was an envoy to Kublai Khan. He traveled freely and traveled throughout China. He even traveled to Mangi, the last Chinese stronghold to fall to the Mongols. He was the first European to record information about the grand canal. This canal was used to ship wheat through the empire. The scale of the canal impressed Marco Polo. It was the longest manmade waterway in the world. It was here that Marco Polo would learn about coal. How could such a grand canal be built? He would have been familiar with canals back in Venice. However, this was unlike what he had seen in Venice. This canal would have been built before the Canals in Venice and would have taken over four million people to build. The Chinese were forcing nature into obedience. Marco Polo traveled through the Mongol Empire for six years and discovered a city that is even more sophisticated than Venice. Hangzhou would have eclipsed everything that Marco would have seen. Here Marco Polo would have seen the printing press and paper money. When Marco saw the city at first, it would have been in the midst of its own rebirth. It would have been one of the richest cities in China. For Marco Polo, it seemed that the streets of Hangzhou were paved with gold. Anyone could have gotten rich in this city. Finally, I got through this documentary series. It was tedious and boring watching through every episode. I was thinking “I watch these documentaries so teachers do not have to.” At the start I had hoped that it would have discussed Marco Polo’s travels through Beijing, however, was bitterly disappointed because the focus of the documentary was modern Beijing. It was dumb, there really was not much about what Marco would have experienced in Beijing. There was no point to this episode so this review is a little bit shorter than normal. Honestly, there was no point in this concluding episode. It was a challenge, but I finally found a documentary that I would not recommend for showing in a classroom or for research purposes. Marco Polo: A Very Modern Journey was not a good documentary to watch. I would not recommend this series for a classroom, nor would I recommend it for research purposes. Today, we are going to continue our exploration into Marco Polo and his visits to the court of Kublai Khan. The run time for this episode is 47:58. Episode two is called Lost Worlds.
Professor Zhao continues to look into Marco Polo and he is exploring Polo’s legacy in Venice. What did Marco Polo reveal about Kublai Khan’s Court? In 1273, he reaches a set of mountains on the edge of China. He and his group climbed these mountains. At the time the people in this area would have been subjects of the Mongol Empire. He is now traveling along the Silk Road. Marco Polo will now encounter the merchants of the Silk Road. Precious stones, silk, and spices travel along the Silk Road. Marco Polo continues his journey into the heart of the Mongol Empire along the Silk Road. Along the way, he would have been looking for opportunities to trade. He continues his journey along the southern Silk Road. This place is dangerous and was known as the “sea of death.” An archeologist has been working in this desert for thirty years. As a result, he is familiar with the dangers Marco Polo would have faced. Among such dangers include running out of water, getting lost, and vanishing into thin air. However, long ago, this desert would have been a fertile home to an ancient civilization. Modern archaeologists discovered settlements. These earlier people would have come from Europe, much like Marco Polo himself. Bronze age burials were discovered and in 2006 a treasure was discovered. Archeologists discovered coffins. When the coffins were opened up, inside was discovered a mummy. The mummy was a thirty-year-old woman who looked like she had died peacefully. Marco Polo continued his way into the heart of the Mongol Empire. This heart of the Empire would have been the safest part for Marco Polo to travel to. Polo writes that the Mongols were business-like people, contrary to the famous Mongol hordes. The Mongols were ruling the biggest empire the world had ever seen. Eventually, Marco Polo arrives at the court of Kublai Khan. All the remains of the fabulous city of Kublai Khan are the walls. Arrivals would have walked through the gates of the city and would have walked past Kublai Khan’s personal guard. Professor Zhao continues his explorations in Venice to learn more about the man himself. He visits Marco Polo’s neighborhood and the house that he allegedly lived in. The old house is long gone but a plaque is in its place saying that Marco Polo lived there. Marco Polo was on a mission from the pope: the Pope wanted an alliance with the Mongols. When Marco Polo arrived, Kublai Khan would have greeted him personally. Marco Polo was impressed with the absolute power Kublai Khan had over his people. While in Venice, Professor Zhao catches up with a historian about the first time the merchant and the emperor would have met. Marco Polo was an ordinary man and Kublai Khan was a leader of men and wielded a lot of political power. Unlike the Pope, Kublai Khan never demanded conversion. Kublai Khan rejects an alliance with the Pope. Instead, Marco Polo is hired as Kublai Khan’s personal emissary. Marco Polo would have traveled throughout the empire to report back to Kublai Khan what was going on. Allegedly, Marco Polo would have helped Kublai Khan run the Mongol Empire. To learn more about Marco Polo’s travels throughout the empire continue to watch this episode to find out more! It took a couple of times to watch this episode as well as a lot of rewinding in order to review it. Episode two was really difficult to follow along with and had no flow to it. The pace for this episode was really slow and producers were still interspersing history with modern life. I wish the producers would have focused on the history as well as Marco Polo the person in this episode. It was really not necessary to go off on a tangent of a man purchasing a white horse for sheep. I will still contend that this would be one documentary to skip. Seven hundred words for this episode was quite the chore, but at least I accomplished it! Good morning, we are going to look at the story of Marco Polo over three episodes in the series Marco Polo: A Very Modern Journey. The run time for this documentary is 47:38 and is called Another World. This documentary has English subtitles.
Marco Polo journeyed the far reaches of the Mongol Empire. He started in 1271 and his journals reveal an exotic world of riches. How could he have done it? What did he learn about the east? How would his journey look today? Professor Quguang Zhao follows in Marco Polo’s footsteps. Follow the professor as he begins his journey from Venice to the East. What will the professor learn about Marco Polo? Professor Zhao begins his journey in Venice where Marco Polo lived and set out on his journey east. He was not the first professor to find the explorer in Venice. Professor Zhao is the first to explore Marco Polo in Venice from China. He has studied Marco Polo all his life, even when it was forbidden. Now today, he wants to go face to face with a man who was dead for over 700 years. Finding Marco Polo is not going to be simple. Professor Zhao meets up with another professor who is an expert in Marco Polo and a Chinese specialist. Marco was between seventeen and twenty years old when he made the journey to China. He was also the first to write about China. Professor Zhao then strolls the streets of Venice and contemplates who Marco Polo would be today. Would he be a student? A young man in Northern Italy? Who was the real Marco Polo? Marco Polo was seventeen when he traveled. The Holy War in the Middle East was winding down and coming to a bloody conclusion. However, it was the Mongol Empire that was a threat. They had made their way to Moscow and Kyiv. In doing so, they were creating the greatest land empire the world had ever seen. Eventually, they made their way to the Gates of Vienna. However, the Muslim Army put a stop to the Mongol Expansion in Jerusalem. Marco was going to the Mongol Empire with his father and uncle. The Polos had traveled to the Mongol Empire before and were making a return trip to the court of Kublai Khan. Marco sailed with his father and uncle east. They ended up in the Holy Land in the city of Acre. Acre was still holding on as a hub of the Venice trading empire. The Muslim armies were still looking to conquer the city. It was the last toehold on the Asian continent. Acre was an important place as it was the gateway between the Mediterranean and Asia. It was here they would meet the pope who gave them his blessing for the journey. Professor Zhao contemplates that Marco Polo was a teenage nobody who became somebody. He had connections between both the east and west. Marco Polo was being drawn into a mission. The Pope and the Great Khan were sending messages to each other. They had a common enemy the Muslims. Pulling off this task would be a challenge. Would the Polos be able to take on the challenge? From Jerusalem, the Polos went north and traveled through Turkey. This was territory owned by the Mongols but it was not the most direct route to Kublai Kahn’s court. The Polos would witness the sacking of Baghdad by the Mongols. The Mongols massacred the people in Baghdad. The rivers ran red with blood. The Polos continue to journey east, trying to avoid war where they could. However, Marco Polo writes that are robbers and bad characters on these roads. Professor Zhao continues his search for Marco Polo. Why did he travel east? Was he a spy? Was he a merchant? Or was he a special envoy for the Pope? Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more about the journey of Marco Polo. I am not sure how much I liked the mixing of modern life and history in this documentary. I think it would have been a better episode if the Professor and the other historians focused strictly on history. This would be one episode to skip because of the mixing of modernity and history. Waldemar Januszczak explored the world of the Dark Ages and now he explores the artist, Hans Holbein. The title of this documentary is Holbein: The Eye of the Tudors. The run time for this documentary is 59:50.
Artist Hans Holbein was one of the artists of the Tudor Era. He documented the Tudors and the Tudor Period. Waldemar Januszczak introduces Holbein using a portrait of the young Henry VIII. Henry VIII was portrayed as a young man and thin in contrast to the fat man later portraits show him as. Holbein was not limited to painting the king, he painted people from the Tudor Court. He also recorded British History and Januszczak contends he changed history. Hans Holbein was born in Bavaria, Germany. His father, Hans Holbein the Elder was a painter. He designed religious artworks including stained glass and altarpieces. The Elder trained the Younger to paint. Hans Holbein the Younger went to Basil, Switzerland, and wanted to be a book illustrator. He found work. Holbein painted Erasmus. Book and art kept Hans Holbein busy. Then Martin Luther came on the scene which would have put a dampener on religious art. The printing industry began to flounder. Should the printers print Protestant or Catholic literature? It was Erasmus who pointed Hans Holbein in a new direction. In 1526, Holbein went to England with a letter of introduction from Erasmus. Holbein would find his fortunes in England. He did not have experience in painting portraits, so he would have to learn quickly. The staircases of England were lined with ancestors, showing off their bloodlines, which forced Holbein to change direction. Holbein was introduced to Thomas More. He was one of the most influential men in Henry VIII’s court. Holbein spent his first year in More’s house. Here he would paint a group portrait of More and his large family. The original was lost in the 18th Century, the survivor is a copy. The only thing that remains of the portrait is the sketches of the people. Holbein also painted the definitive portrait of Thomas More. Holbein would have witnessed events of More life. Holbein’s work shows a Tudor cast that is present. Holbein eventually returned to Basil, Switzerland. He had to return to Basil because if he did not return he would lose his citizenship. On his return, he painted a portrait of his wife and children. Basil was not a good place to live in 1528. Eventually, Basil became a Protestant city and the iconoclast ran through the cities to smash alters and destroy Madonna’s. Holbein would witness the religious artwork being destroyed. Hans Holbein would leave Basil and go to England. This time he would be working for King Henry VIII. Hans Holbein was following the money and he was looking for peace and prosperity. He would have been witness to Henry VIII beheading his wives and taking on the pope. Holbein’s first patrons came from the merchants of England. These yards were a city within the city, created by German merchants for trade purposes. He would paint the German merchants. They had the money for their portraits to be painted. Holbein would have been at home in this part of England. Januszczak explores Holbein’s paintings from this period and the individuals that Holbein painted. Eventually, Holbein would work his way into the court of Henry VIII. He would witness the divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. He would have witnessed the dissolution of the Monasteries. Holbein would paint a portrait of the man who was behind the Dissolution of the Monasteries: Thomas Cromwell. Januszczak talks about the reassessment of how history looks at Cromwell. How will Januszczak approach Cromwell’s story, tune into the rest of this episode to find out. I did this documentary because it popped up on YouTube because of the algorithm. This would be a good documentary to show to an art class and if an art student is going to research Hans Holbein for an art class, then you could point them to this documentary. Additionally, this documentary could be mined for clips for a history class. Januszczak could get snarky at times during this documentary about Henry VIII but it was not off-putting. Good morning we are concluding our series on the Plantagenets. We will conclude the series with a look at Richard II. He was a boy king who became a tyrant. The run time for this documentary is 44:46.
Dan Jones introduces this episode from the Tower of London. A mob had descended on the Tower and they are looking for the King’s Advisors. Richard II becomes king at ten years old. He is fourteen when the rebels descend on the tower. Alongside him is his cousin Henry Bolingbroke. Henry is the son and heir to the Duke of Lancaster. The pair have to survive this crisis. Richard manages to leave the tower safely. The counselors are the target of the rebels’ rage. Henry Bolingbroke is stuck in the Tower with the evil advisors. The mob finally storms the gates and takes the King’s counselors prisoner. Henry goes into hiding. The rebels never find him. The men are dragged into the streets kicking and screaming. The men are beheaded in the street. England is on the brink of Anarchy. Richard II rides out among the mob to confront the rebel leaders of this uprising. He has been told all his life that he could do anything and now he was going to test it out. Richard meets the rebels near Smithfield. The Rebel Leader makes his demands and he asks for common ownership of the lands, no bishops, and no nobles. A scuffle breaks out and weapons are drawn. The leader is killed. Richard then steps into the fray and tells the peasants that he is their leader. He commands the rebels to lower their weapons. He will listen to their complaints but in the meantime, the rebels are to go home. The peasants go away with the belief that Richard is their King. The next week the King meets with the Rebels. The rebels believe that Richard will honor his promises. However, Richard has something else in mind. He executes so many of the rebels that there is no uprising again. The people are terrified to rise up against him. Richard learns that a king needs to be feared and not loved. Even the senior nobles are growing nervous about Richard. When he is nineteen, Richard is fed up with people telling him what to do. Even though he is married, his counselors tell him what to do and how to rule. His court is filled with young nobles, and they are unhappy with the old guard of nobles. The counselors believe him to be a child. The older counselors warn him about keeping bad company, however, Richard does not want to hear it. He makes it clear to the court that he does not care about the opinion of his counselors. Unfortunately, the split between the king and his counselors is going to grow wider. One noble missing from this court is young Henry Bolingbroke. He is busy learning the art of war and he is on the verge of inheriting the Duchy of Lancaster. The King will have to learn to deal with him because of Bolingbroke’s influence. Slowly, the King wrestles control of his counselor from the old guard by replacing them with his friends. However, a crisis hits King Richard. Richard’s new counselors prevent the latest French Crisis. The French are poised to launch an invasion. The old guard is fed up with Richard’s incompetence. They go to Parliament to get them on their side. Richard’s uncle goes and warns about the consequence of what will happen if the new counselors are not replaced. He pulls out a trump card: remember what happened to his great-grandfather King Edward II. All of Richard’s ministers are removed, and the counselors retake control of the council and the country. Richard will not take this news lying down. What will King Richard do to assert his authority? What will happen with Henry Bolingbroke? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more. Dan Jones is particularly snarky in this episode and it made his narration particularly enjoyable. I would show clips of this episode in a history class lecture or even show the full episode to an English literature class because of Shakespeare’s play Richard II. Today we will look at the rule of King Edward II and how his friendships lead to rebellions. His story is the most famous because of the way he died. The run time for this documentary is 44:27.
Edward II’s first act as king was to recall England’s most hated man: Piers Gaveston. King Edward I had exiled his best friend, believing Piers to be a bad influence on his son. Piers was the finest of knights, but he was also a man brimming with arrogance. The nobles hated him and in turn, Piers came up with rude nicknames for members of the nobility. Gaveston’s return will cause problems for England. Edward II cannot see the consequences of recalling Gaveston. Dan Jones talks about Edward II as a man who wants what he wants now, and cannot see the consequences of his actions. The next thing Edward II does was marry Isabella of France. They celebrate together in a joint coronation. However, there is one problem: Piers Gaveston. Instead of celebrating with his wife, Edward celebrates with Galveston. They only talk with each other and Gaveston walks around in imperial purple. Isabella is stoic. The French nobles are insulted and they walk out of the party. Any goodwill that this marriage was supposed to bring is gone. There is one man who is willing to stand up to the King: the Earl of Lancaster. In the first Parliament of Edward II’s reign, Lancaster called for Gaveston’s dismissal. Edward refuses. The gauntlet has been thrown down. Together Edward II and Gaveston ruin England. Lancaster fuels rumors that Gaveston has lined his pockets at England’s expenses. He gathers support from the nobles and put together Ordinances to strip the king of his power. One of the ordinances targeted Gaveston. Clause 20 cites Gaveston’s crimes and ordered his immediate exile. If Gaveston came back, he was to be treated like a traitor and will be executed if he returns to England. Edward II is happy to adopt the Ordinances, as long as the nobles drop clause 20. The nobles refuse and threaten war. Edward II then exiled Gaveston. However, three months later, Edward II calls Gaveston back. He announces to the country that Gaveston is back and that he is overturning the ordinances. This paints a target on Gaveston’s back. Edward II cannot see what happens next because he is fixated on what he wants. Gaveston is hunted down and brought to Warwick Castle. The next day, he is hauled up in front of a court and put on trial. Gaveston is declared guilty and convicted of treason. This is the political murder of the King’s best friend. Edward II wants revenge for his friend’s death. He blames Gaveston for getting caught and then eventually blames Lancaster. He had been warned about what would happen if he brought Gaveston back and he brought him back anyway. Edward II could turn things around. The Scots rose up against the English. Edward has to march north to fight them or the war will be lost. However, this turns into a disaster for Edward. The Scots massacre Edward’s army. Lancaster did not send his forces to support the King. The King suffers a historic defeat and barely escapes with his life. Now Edward wants to get revenge on Lancaster. A father-son duo makes their appearance in this story: the Despenser. They owned land in Wales and had the biggest castle in Wales. They are a ruthless pair and they are not afraid to take on anyone. They help Edward restore the royal finances and in return, they can do whatever they like. Over the next three years, they grab territory after territory in the Welsh borderlands. Despenser grabs land from one of the most powerful barons in England: Roger Mortimer. Mortimer leads a rebellion and is poised to sack London. Mortimer demands that Edward II exile Despenser. However, Mortimer finds himself under attack and he is the one sent to the Tower. Once again, Edward II cannot see how his actions and his short-sightedness is causing trouble in England. How will England survive this disastrous reign? Tune into the rest of this documentary to find out. This episode should be used for research purposes and clips. Dan had some excellent points about Edward II and how he wanted things now which would be good to use in a lecture. Good morning, we are continuing our exploration of Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty. Dan Jones is looking at the reign of Henry III and how Simon de Montfort started a Civil War. Jones explores the friendship that turns into hatred and this hatred changes England’s monarchy forever. The runtime for this documentary is 44:45.
The episode begins with Henry III coming to the throne at nine years old. He has been king for fourteen years. However, his powers are limited by the Magna Carta. Henry III looks to break free from those restrictions. He is now ruling over a smaller empire, as most of their lands in France have been lost. Henry looks to be a good king, however, to be a good King in the Middle Ages: you need to be tough, politically savvy, win wars, dispense justice fairly and evenly, and have boundless energy to rule. Unfortunately, Henry III does not have these characteristics. He lost wars against France. The Barons are no longer interested in funding war. The Magna Carta limits his ways to raise money for his wars. Instead of fighting, he raises funds to build Westminster Abbey. This abbey was supposed to demonstrate Plantagenet’s pride and glory. The Barons are unimpressed. Henry III turns to a friend: Simon de Montfort to help him take on the barons. This is a man who will change the course of Henry’s reign. He is a French nobleman with big ambitions. He wants a title back he thinks belongs to his family. He wears a hair shirt twenty-four-seven to remind him of God. He is a man who backs his belief with action. Simon’s single-mindedness is what Henry III needs. They become best friends. Simon is Henry III’s, right-hand man. Dan Jones reviews a document that has survived for eight centuries. This document reveals how ambitious Simon is. Simon uses a title that he does not have the right to use. Henry then offers his sister in marriage to Simon. Eleanor is considered a catch in the Middle Ages and should have been married off to a foreign ruler to secure an alliance. However, this marriage sews the seeds of doubt. Eleanor should have had a massive dowery to bring into the marriage, however, Henry keeps this dowry for himself. In 1239, Simon is now the Earl of Leicester. He is the King’s brother-in-law and advisor. However, Simon goes too far. He takes a loan out and names the King as guarantor. Henry III explodes in rage and threatens to throw both Simon and Eleanor into the Tower of London. This is outrageous liberty in King Henry III’s mind. Simon and Eleanor flee to France. However, this exile does not last, so he reaches out to Simon for help. Henry IIII attacks Poitou, the Plantagenet ancestral lands. This was a big mistake because now the lands belong to the French King’s brother. So Henry is chased out of France by the King’s soldiers. He humbles himself and brings Simon back. However, Simon cannot save the King from his folly. Simon explodes in rage at the King. The king is threatened with being locked up. This is the king’s third failure in France and the King needs an ally in the aristocracy. When the pair returns to England, Simon is given Kenworth Castle. While Simon is in Gascony, Henry III turns to another family. The Lusignan Family comes to England. He gives them land and titles. Slowly they begin to take control of the government. However, this family was booted out of France because they were a nasty sort. Henry III’s decision to give them power will come back to haunt him. He no longer has to rely on Simon to get the job done. The king puts Simon on trial for his treatment of Gascony’s people. Simon is shocked about the trial. However, the barons side with Simon and he is left out of the trial. This finishes off the friendship between Simon and Henry III. The end of this friendship will change England. So how does the ending of this friendship change England, tune into the rest of this episode to find out. This is a good summary of Henry III’s reign and how the foundations of Parliament were created. This is a good episode for research purposes and for clips. Good morning, we are going to explore the Plantagenet Family. This is the family that provided inspiration for Game of Thrones. They ruled England for three hundred years. Dan Jones explores the story of this dynasty. The run time for this first episode is 44:52 and is about the founder of the dynasty: King Henry II.
England is a failed state ninety years after William the Conqueror’s invasion. The rightful queen Matilda has lost the throne of England to her cousin Stephen. Henry leads an invasion force in 1153 to claim his rightful crown. He is only twenty years old. Matilda had drilled into his head that the English throne is rightfully his. He invades England and extracts a promise that he will be the rightful King after Stephen’s death. Henry II comes to the throne and is crowned the first Plantagenet King. He is a king who wants to establish law and order in England and he will work to bring the Barons to heal. One by one, the barons fall to the new king until King Henry lays siege to the castle of one of the most powerful barons: Hugh Mortimer. Henry surrounds Mortimer’s castle and Mortimer gives up. Henry then does something extraordinary: he gives Mortimer the castle back. That singles to Mortimer that he works for Henry now and anything Mortimer is given is according to his favor. Eleanor of Aquitaine, Dan Jones proposes, is the secret to Henry II’s confidence. She was duchess of Aquitaine and was a political force in her own right. She shocked the world when she divorced the King of France and then married Henry. By the time Henry became king, she had given him a son. Henry II brings the muscle and Eleanor brings the prestige. They are a powerful force to be reckoned with. The English empire stretches from England to deep into France, so ruling this size of an empire will be a challenge. Henry creates an army of clerks. These clerks are educated commoners and will do exactly what Henry II tells them to do. These clerks are the ancestors of governmental civil service. Dan then explores the archives to show the documents that demonstrate Henry II’s control over England. Henry was interested in every field and pasture in England. He establishes royal finance. His right-hand man was Thomas Becket. He is a man who makes sure that England is completely under Henry’s control. They are best mates and drinking buddies. However, there is one thing that is beyond Henry’s control: the church. The king cannot touch the priests in the church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, Henry names Thomas Beckett as the new archbishop. Henry believes that he has the church problem settled, however, Beckett changes his mind about following the king. Henry was a man who was famous for his temper and Becket threatened to set his temper off. Becket and Henry soon grow to hate each other. Henry II eventually has his son Young Henry crowned as the future king of England. However, Henry has not invited Becket to this coronation. The Archbishop of Canterbury traditionally crowned the Kings of England, so when Becket finds out he excommunicated the clerks who participated in the event. This causes Henry to utter “can nobody rid me of this troublesome priest.” Although Henry is venting, his knights go to the cathedral and murder Becket. What happens in the cathedral shocks Europe and it will be the one thing that Henry II will be remembered for. Henry II immediately goes to Ireland for the campaign. This event causes his family to turn against him. The Young Henry is ambitious and power hungry. Instead of learning about how to be a king on the campaign, Young Henry is left behind. Resentment spread through the family. When Eleanor returned to her lands in Aquitaine to each her son Richard the business of governance. Richard was supposed to take over her lands in Aquitaine. The pair learns that Henry had mortgaged part of her lands to secure an alliance. Family feelings finally explode and his family rises against him. What will happen when a family rises up against their head? Tune into the rest of this episode to find out! This one is a good episode to show in high school history classes or even mine for clips in a lecture. For Athens is a French-produced docu-drama that follows what happened to Athens and the Persians in the aftermath of the Battle of Marathon. There are subtitles in this production. This documentary is found on the YouTube Channel Odyssey and History Hit TV. If you play this documentary on YouTube, there are History Hit commercials in the documentary. The run time for this documentary is 52:54.
It has been ten years since Persia was defeated by the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon. You would think that would make the Persians pause about attacking Greece again. However, they want revenge. Even though the defeat at Marathon did not diminish the Persian Empire, Darius the Great was left with a bitter taste. It broke the myth of Darius’ invincibility. He wants that sense of invincibility back and will lead his troops once again to defeat the upstart Greeks. With Athens’ decline, will the Greeks be able to come together again to defeat the enemy? The story begins ten years ago when Darius the Great invaded Asia Minor. Athens’ hearing of the Greek Colonies’ plight in Asia Minor gives their support. The Persians are defeated at the Battle of Marathon. It is something that Darius would never forget. One year after the Battle of Marathon, the general who led the Greek troops against the Persians passed away. However, peace does not reign supreme over Greece. The Greeks live in separate city-states and oftentimes squabbled. The City-States came together to defeat the Persian Empire. The Athenians never had a good navy and were regularly bested at the sea by sailors from the Aiginai Island. It was the Aiginai Island sailors that rule the seas. However, it would be a bigger navy that would threaten Athens. One man wanted Athens to build a navy to protect Athens. A navy would be expensive, and the man who foresaw the need for a navy designed a ram to help protect the ships. This man foresaw that the Persians were the biggest threat to Athens. The Persians had a lot of ships and these ships could transport a lot of men, which made the Persian Navy so powerful. It would not take much for the Persians to invade and conquer Greece. Four years after the battle of Marathon, Darius the Great dies. He has not finalized his revenge. There have been troubles in the Persian Empire which caused the delays. His son becomes king – King Xerxes. He wants to finish what his father started. However, the Egyptians were rising up against him and they needed to be dealt with first. This campaign would be the first to cement Xerxes’ place as King. Once the Egyptians were dealt with and made an example of, Xerxes would turn his attention to Athens. In the meantime, the naval architect is perfecting his ram for the ship. The ram is powerfully built and should give the Athenians the advantages. How to pay for the fleet would be another manner. Then suddenly a seam of silver was discovered. This silver brought wealth to Athens and the citizens were flushed with money. Perhaps this was enough wealth to fund a navy. In the meantime, King Xerxes defeated the Egyptians and they are punished severely. Xerxes is becoming known as a Warrior King and has done his duty in expanding the Empire. Back in Persepolis, Xerxes makes his plans for invading Greece. He will invade overland and conqueror the Greek city-states one by one. He begins his preparations on an unprecedented scale. His plans are detailed and thorough, there will be nothing left to chance. In the meantime, the Aiginais have attacked again. The squabbling between the Greek city-states is blinding the Greeks to the real threat: the Persians. When the profits from the silver mines are distributed, these naval architects suggest that they use the profits to build a navy. He argues that the Aiginai are preventing Athenians from eating their full. He did not mention that the Persians were a threat. The ships are going to be built. Will Athens finally rule the waves? Will these ships be enough to defeat the Persians? Tune into the rest of this documentary to find out. This documentary had an old-school feel to it, and I dare say that there was plenty of green screen use in this documentary. It was still very good and would be something that I would to a classroom. |
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The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |