Introduction

Despite earlier promises to pass his crown to one of his Flemish, Viking, or Norman relatives, English King Edward the Confessor dies in 1066, leaving his crown to Anglo-Saxon Harold Godwinson, causing a bloody succession war.

Outline (General)

1066: The Battle for Middle Earth is a two-part British television documentary series. In this blend of historical drama and original source material, Channel 4 re-imagines the story of this decisive year of the Norman conquest of England, not from the saddles of kings and conquerors, but through the eyes of ordinary people caught up in its events.

The documentary was narrated by actor Sir Ian Holm.

The series focuses on the Sussex village of Crowhurst, which Director Justin Hardy learned about from the Domesday Book, England’s earliest surviving public record. Located between the coast and Hastings, the little village was, according to the book, “laid to waste” in 1066. In the series, it serves as the hometown for the fictional peasant soldiers Tofi, Leofric, and Ordgar, whose names are actual Anglo-Saxon names from the period.

Viewers may assume that the programme’s title refers to The Lord of the Rings books, but Hardy chose “Middle Earth” because Anglo-Saxons frequently used the term to describe their world. He notes that J. R. R. Tolkien, an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon, used it, along with other Anglo-Saxon words, for the same reasons.

Outline of Series 01, Episode 01

Crowhurst newlywed Tofi and his farmer friend Leofric are torn from their Sussex homes by the English warrior Ordgar and summoned to defend the English coast from invasion. But while the army of King Harold waits in the south, fierce Vikings set sail from the fjords of the north. The Vikings land in Cleveland – and annihilate the men of Yorkshire at the Battle of Fulford. Hearing of this surprise invasion, our English fighters are ordered to march 280 miles north to repel the invaders. After an epic trek they meet the Vikings at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. But the Vikings have divided their force – and the English triumph. It’s the end of the Viking age, and Ordgar, Tofi and Leofric have survived. But news soon reaches them that the Normans have landed in Sussex. Their own homes are under attack, so they must run all the way south again to save all that they love.

1066: The Battle for Middle Earth Series

• Episode 01.
• Episode 02.

Production & Filming Details

• Creator: Justin Hardy.
• Producers: Lucy Bassnett-McGuire and Susan Horth.
• Writer: Peter Harness.
• Music: Richard Blair-Oliphant.
• Production: Hardy Pictures.
• Distributor: Channel 4.
• Released Date: 18 May 2009 (UK).
• Running time: 150 minutes (total running time).
• Country: UK.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link