Inside the Medieval Mind

Season 1

In Inside the Medieval Mind, one of the world's greatest authorities on the Middle Ages, Professor Robert Bartlett of St Andrews University, investigates the intellectual landscape of the medieval world. In this series he opens up the often surprising discontinuities and similarities between the medieval age and our own as he remarks: "In many ways these were people very much like us, in terms of family, ambitions for children and the world of emotions. On the other hand, they inhabited a very different world, in which it was believed the dead visited the living, and where somewhere there lived a race of people with the heads of dogs." The series comprises four one hour programmes, each on a different aspect of medieval thinking: Belief; Sex; Power; Knowledge. During the series he visits numerous medieval locations, from Westminster Abbey to Pluscarden Abbey near Inverness, with wide use of readings from original medieval sources.

Where to Watch Season 1

4 Episodes

Knowledge
E1
KnowledgeRobert Bartlett examines the way we thought during medieval times. As the Middle Ages wore on, a world which previously seemed enchanted became a place to be mastered.
Sex
E2
SexRobert Bartlett examines the way we thought during medieval times. He unearths remarkable evidence of the complex passions of men and women during the Middle Ages.
Belief
E3
BeliefRobert Bartlett examines the way we thought during medieval times. As the church's grip on their beliefs increased, people came before religious courts and many were killed.
Power
E4
PowerRobert Bartlett lays bare the framework of the medieval class system, where inequality was part of the natural order and the life of serfs little better than those of animals.