In our fourth and final session, we see how the Middle Ages came to a close. We start off with a global pandemic that ripped through the world, from east to west, devastating populations, reshaping economies and changing the way that people thought about the world around them. Then we see how the world was rebuilt. We meet the geniuses of the Renaissance, and travel alongside the great navigators who struck out in search of new worlds – and found them. Last of all, we see how shifting religious dogma, allied to new communication technology, brought about the Protestant Reformation – an upheaval which brought the curtain down on ‘the middle age’.
Dan Jones is the author of numerous internationally bestselling books about medieval history, including Crusaders, The Plantagenets, The Hollow Crown, The Templars and Magna Carta. He co-authored The Colour of Time with Marina Amaral. Dan has written and presented documentary series including Secrets of Great British Castles and Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty: The Plantagenets. His new book is Powers and Thrones, out now.