The Making of King Arthur
Simon Armitage traces the evolution of the Arthurian legend through the literature of the medieval age and reveals that King Arthur is not the great national hero we think he is.
Poet Simon Armitage traces the evolution of the Arthurian legend through the literature of the medieval age and reveals that King Arthur is not the great national hero he is usually considered to be. He's a fickle and transitory character who was appropriated by the Normans to justify their conquest, he was cuckolded when French writers began adapting the story, and it took Thomas Malory's masterpiece of English literature, Le Mort d'Arthur, to restore his dignity and reclaim him as the national hero we know today.
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Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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00:55Max Richter
Shadow Journal
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Simon Armitage |
| Writer | Simon Armitage |
| Executive Producer | Jonty Claypole |
| Producer | Matt Hill |
| Director | Matt Hill |
Broadcasts
- Tue 17 Aug 2010 21:00
- Wed 18 Aug 2010 03:00
- Wed 18 Aug 2010 23:30
- Sun 22 Aug 2010 02:50
- Thu 10 Jan 2013 00:00
- Thu 10 Jan 2013 03:00
Sun 11 Aug 2013 15:55- Wed 20 Jan 2016 02:00
- Wed 19 Oct 2016 00:30
- Sun 10 Sep 2017 19:00
- Tue 17 Mar 2020 00:00
- Wed 23 Jun 2021 23:00
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The Story of the British Isles
The history of the British Isles, from the Romans to the twentieth century.
