In America, Ken Burns once said something interesting about American history. That is, he said that the history of the United States is usually told as “a series of presidential administrations punctuated by wars.” You could probably say something similar about the history of our mother country. Schoolchildren in the British Empire were once required to memorize the chronological order of the kings and queens of England. I suppose that there might have been some value in having schoolchildren memorize this stuff. As someone who studies the laws of England, I can tell you that the numerical citation of a Parliamentary law still makes reference to whichever monarch was in power at the time of its passage. Nonetheless, there’s still something to be said for the history of ordinary people as well – and I should note that some of those “ordinary” British people were my own ancestors! My mom has a real talent for family history, and so I’ve seen the names of some of my British ancestors from centuries ago. I’ve even done church work for some of them. (More about that here.) They lived through invasions, plagues, famines, and wars – and passed on their genes well enough to give me the opportunity of writing this post. Thus, this is a personal story for me, since only a few of my British ancestors were “powerful monarchs.” Most of them were ordinary peasants, like the people dramatized in the various episodes of this series.
This series tries to focus on ordinary people, rather than on the kings and queens
I still think that the lives of kings and queens may deserve a disproportionate emphasis. For good or ill, rulers do have a major influence upon the lives of their subjugated people. But, when Michael Wood was making this program, that kind of British political history had already been done for television. For example, Michael Wood himself had made “In Search of the Dark Ages,” which talks about the great invasions of what is today England, up through the Norman conquest of 1066. David Starkey had made “Monarchy,” a history of the British monarchy with both a personal and a political focus. And Simon Schama had made “A History of Britain” – a history that is primarily political, but with occasional references to certain cultural events like the Black Death. It may have been too soon after these other series to attempt another such political history of England for television. And Michael Wood had done another series called “Story of England,” which dramatizes the Leicestershire town of Kibworth – a narrower focus, which was probably intended to be more “representative” of the whole. But, unlike these other programs, this series takes time to cover the Celtic peoples of the British Isles. They cover the lesser-known story of the Cornish, whose language has practically died out. And they also cover Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (particularly Northern Ireland) – each dramatized in separate BBC series, linked to in the previous parts of this sentence. There is even some passing coverage of the Celtic languages, and of the challenging “Old English” words that are sometimes used in this series. When one looks at Old English records, one is struck by the changes in the English language since their own time. And, since I’m totally unfamiliar with any of the Celtic languages, I’m thus glad for this program’s translations of the Welsh, Irish, and Scottish Gaelic documents quoted therein. The languages themselves are an occasional topic in this series.
Some of the diverse periods that this program covers, with comments on its style
Other topics include medieval feudalism, local industries, and some other economic topics. They mention the Black Death, and they occasionally mention the role of wars. In particular, they mention the seventeenth-century “English Civil War,” which killed off 4% of the British population. This may, in fact, make it the deadliest conflict in British history – although the twentieth-century “Great War” was also quite bad. That is, World War One killed off 2% of the British population – similar to the American casualties in the American Civil War, fought in the mid-nineteenth century. Wars obviously have a catastrophic effect upon ordinary people. But this program does not delve much into the causes of these wars, except perhaps with the English Civil War. The host argues that a true democracy involving ordinary people was the invention, not of Ancient Greece, but of seventeenth-century England. As much as I like Athenian democracy, I believe that the host is probably right about this, although Athenian democracy may have laid the groundwork for these great British successes. The host shows the role of ethnic minorities, from Jews and Blacks to the more modern influence of South Asian immigrant groups in Britain. Like those groups that had previously come to the British Isles (in their case, as invaders), these groups assimilated into the local cultures, and became culturally British themselves. Michael Wood also makes an effort to depict the stories of women, whenever their writings are available. The host has ordinary people reading quotes from these times, dressed in their twenty-first-century clothing. That is, no effort is made by these people to put on period costumes, or to speak on period sets. This series also has some anachronistic theme music, including electric guitar themes. Sometimes older songs are given a more modern interpretation on contemporary instruments – to make them more “relatable” to a modern audience, I suppose. Most notably, the song “Over the Rainbow” is often used as a leitmotif, to suggest the hopes and aspirations of ordinary British people. I suppose that one could debate the merits of these aesthetic choices, but it does help to drive home the parallels between the ordinary people of the past and the present, and their dreams of a better life.
Battle of Naseby (1645), part of the English Civil War
Conclusion: A great introduction to the British people, who benefited from English liberties
In the British Isles, people still learn something about their country’s political history in the school system. This may be why Michael Wood makes little effort to give any political background – for example, on invasions, or on ruling dynasties. Thus, someone without that background (for example, most of my fellow Americans) might benefit from watching a more traditional political history before they watch this program. For example, you might try Michael Wood’s “In Search of the Dark Ages,” David Starkey’s “Monarchy,” or Simon Schama’s “A History of Britain,” if you feel like you need this kind of background. These would help you to better appreciate the effects of the “grand political forces” upon the ordinary people of Britain. You’ll be more familiar with the invasions by the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, and the Normans. And you’ll recognize certain “big names” like Alfred the Great, Henry the Eighth, or Elizabeth the First. But, if you already know something about British history (for example, if you’re a native of the British Isles), then you’ll probably get a lot out of this series. Certainly this series helps to give some insight into my own family history, which stretches back many generations into the British Isles. By itself, this kind of history might not be all that helpful. But, as a supplement to more traditional histories, it works – and there is truly something to be said for a focus upon “ordinary people.” These unheralded “commoners,” along with their overseas descendants in places like America, were the true beneficiaries of the development of “English liberties” in the British Isles. That is part of what makes this series so watchable, and why I wholeheartedly recommend it to others.
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