I secoli bui - Un'epoca di luce

One of my favourite documentary series of all time is Michael Wood's "In Search Of...The Dark Ages" from the early 1980's. It actually inspired me to study the period at university myself. I was intrigued to see how this would measure up, but it takes a completely different approach.

This is an art history of the Dark Ages, not a political history of kings and kingdoms. Januszczak argues they were not 'dark' because they produced some splendid art, architecture and design (the Sutton Hoo treasure, the Lindisfarne Gospels, Islamic mosques, Viking ships, etc.). Some of the items are indeed splendid but we have to remember they were created for a very small, elite section of society.

There is still a century and a half of British history about which we know literally nothing (450-600AD), and there was a great deal of social, political and economic instability for the great majority of people. In spite of the beauty on display here, the Dark Ages were pretty dark for most people.