1
00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:12,640
Savagery and piety.

2
00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,960
Conquest and colonisation.

3
00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:31,480
The Normans used every weapon in
their armoury to reshape northern
France and the British Isles.

4
00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:38,640
They were powerful rulers
and state-builders.

5
00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,040
And their legacy
can be seen all around us.

6
00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,640
But this wasn't just a
French and British story.

7
00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,120
The Normans' explosive ambition
and Christian fervour

8
00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,520
also took them south
to the Mediterranean and beyond.

9
00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,960
All the way to the Holy Land.

10
00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:19,720
In the summer of 1099,
an international force
of 12,000 Christian soldiers

11
00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,040
stormed through the streets
of Jerusalem.

12
00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:28,600
This would be the most divisive part
of the Norman inheritance -

13
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,280
the First Crusade.

14
00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:35,160
Among their leaders
were Norman knights,

15
00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,360
including the son
of William the Conqueror.

16
00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:47,000
As the Crusaders tore
through the Holy City
they cut down thousands of Muslims.

17
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:53,240
According to one chronicler,
"the slaughter was so great that men
waded in blood up to their ankles."

18
00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:57,760
This was a massacre so terrible
that Islam never forgot nor forgave.

19
00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,440
It permanently deepened the divide
between Christians and Muslims.

20
00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,560
The Norman Conquests in Italy,
Sicily and the Middle East

21
00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,440
were bloody and destructive,

22
00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,240
but the Normans of the South
went on to create powerful

23
00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,840
states and kingdoms, where different
cultures and religions mixed

24
00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,240
in an atmosphere
of relative tolerance.

25
00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,120
The result was an
extraordinary flourishing of art,

26
00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,920
architecture, science and learning.

27
00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,760
The Norman legacy in England
is widely known,

28
00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:46,520
but their impact in the South was
just as powerful and long lasting.

29
00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,200
These great Norman campaigns in the
Mediterranean and the Middle East

30
00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,760
were their most
ambitious ventures of all.

31
00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:05,160
Their influence spread far beyond
the borders of duchy of Normandy
and these Norman Conquests

32
00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:12,760
left a political, cultural and
religious legacy, with consequences
that are still felt to this day.

33
00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:36,400
In 1017, a group of pilgrim
knights came here to worship at

34
00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:43,400
the shrine of the Archangel Michael
in Monte Gargano, south-east Italy.

35
00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,880
SINGING

36
00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:53,160
The chronicler, William of Apulia,

37
00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:58,920
records that they were known as,
"Normans - men of the north wind."

38
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,040
The Normans were fervent Christians

39
00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:15,160
and the shrine here at Monte Gargano
was of especial importance to them.

40
00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:21,400
It was here that the Archangel
Michael was said to have
first appeared in western Europe

41
00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:25,040
and Michael
was the Normans' favourite saint.

42
00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:29,600
As a warrior saint he was the
perfect combination of holiness

43
00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:34,240
and military prowess
for a race of warriors.

44
00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,960
A thousand years later,
pilgrims are still coming here.

45
00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,960
Like the Normans before them,
they descend these steps and touch

46
00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:50,200
the door to the shrine,

47
00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:54,400
which is said to represent
the entrance to heaven.

48
00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,000
The shrine itself
is built into a cave.

49
00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,080
You can feel that the rock surface
has been rubbed smooth

50
00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,320
by the hands of thousands of
pilgrims touching the rock

51
00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,280
on which the Archangel stood
when he appeared here,

52
00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:23,480
and beneath that statue
are said to be the footprints
of the Archangel himself.

53
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:36,200
The Norman knights who came
here in 1017 weren't driven
by Christian piety alone.

54
00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:41,200
There were also plenty
of opportunities
for plunder and conquest.

55
00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:49,600
Southern Italy was the meeting place
of three competing civilisations.

56
00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,080
The old Roman empire
had split into two.

57
00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,480
The western half
was divided into barbarian kingdoms

58
00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,880
with the Pope ruling over
the western Christian church.

59
00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:04,920
The eastern half
was the Byzantine empire

60
00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,440
with its own Christian leaders.
Its inhabitants spoke Greek,

61
00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:13,640
but they preserved the traditions
of imperial Rome.

62
00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:19,200
The empire stretched from
southern Italy in the west to the
borders of Armenia in the east.

63
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,600
The southern Mediterranean
was dominated by Muslims

64
00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,040
and as these three groups
fought for supremacy,

65
00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,640
southern Italy was
torn apart by war.

66
00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:41,200
This volatile situation was a
golden opportunity for the Normans.

67
00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,560
The knights visiting Monte Gargano
were soon approached

68
00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:49,040
by a local noble who asked them
to serve him as mercenaries.

69
00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,520
The chronicler, William of Apulia,
records that they agreed

70
00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,360
and then returned home to recruit a
greater force amongst the knights

71
00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:00,880
of Normandy, stirring up their minds
to come to Italy,

72
00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,800
they were all united in their lust
for gain.

73
00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,000
In the years ahead,
hundreds of Normans returned

74
00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:23,000
to fight as mercenaries in wars
between the Italians, the
Byzantines, and the Muslims.

75
00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:31,800
These independent knights weren't
fighting in the name of Normandy
but for their own private gain.

76
00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,720
The Norman knights were enticed
south partly by a display

77
00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:44,240
of what the exotic Mediterranean
had to offer - lemons,

78
00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:46,680
almonds,

79
00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:51,280
elaborate objects decorated in gold,
clothes fit for an emperor,

80
00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:56,080
even, it's said, an elephant's tooth
and a griffon's claw,

81
00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:00,040
but what the Normans were
really hungry for was territory

82
00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,440
and the fertile plains
of southern Italy

83
00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,840
must have presented
a tempting sight.

84
00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:14,400
Southern Italy was a promised land,
ripe for the picking.

85
00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,640
According to one chronicler,
the Normans joined battle

86
00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:24,000
against the Byzantines
and "performed great feats
of war and knighthood."

87
00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,360
They were richly rewarded.

88
00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:36,000
An independent Norman settlement
was established here in 1030,

89
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,640
and this was only the start.

90
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,440
Within a century,
a few hundred migrant Norman knights

91
00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,880
were to become the most
powerful force in southern Italy.

92
00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:58,320
Among the new arrivals from Normandy
were the sons of a landowner
called Tancred de Hauteville.

93
00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:03,920
His estate in Normandy was too small
to support his 12 sons,

94
00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:08,680
so they roamed across Europe
looking for new territories.

95
00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:13,440
'By all accounts, the de Hauteville
boys were very successful.

96
00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,120
'This single family of warriors

97
00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:20,040
'would lead the Norman conquests
of Italy.'

98
00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:26,760
One of Tancred's sons, Robert,
arrived in 1046 and made his home

99
00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:31,440
here at Scribla, in the poor,
mountainous region of Calabria.

100
00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,160
These towers are all that's left
of his desolate castle.

101
00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,040
Robert struggled to survive here.

102
00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:48,920
The chronicler Amatus wrote,
"His knights were few, he was poor

103
00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:53,400
"in the things necessary for life,
he lacked money in his purse."

104
00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,720
Indeed he lacked everything,
although he had plenty of meat.

105
00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:04,160
As the children of Israel
survived in the desert,
so Robert lived on his hilltop.

106
00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:07,960
But Robert was a true Norman.

107
00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:12,280
He lived as a bandit chief,
terrorising the countryside

108
00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:17,360
and ruthlessly plundering
Byzantine towns across the region.

109
00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,520
According to the Byzantine
historian, Anna Comnena,

110
00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:25,200
Robert had a heart full of passion
and anger, and among his enemies

111
00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:31,600
he expected that either he would
drive through his opponent with a
spear or else himself be destroyed.

112
00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:38,000
Robert was a fighter,
but he was also a clever strategist.

113
00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,880
He eventually earned the nickname
"Guiscard," meaning "the crafty."

114
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:50,920
William of Apulia tells how Robert
came up with a cunning strategy
to breach the defences of one city.

115
00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,400
Robert commanded the Normans to
say that one of his men had died

116
00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:03,440
and he then requested the monastery
inside the city to arrange a
funeral service for the dead man.

117
00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:08,000
But once safely inside the church,
the man they were about to bury

118
00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,000
suddenly jumped out of the coffin.

119
00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,400
Hidden beneath him were swords.

120
00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,160
The fake mourners then grabbed
the swords,

121
00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:17,880
set about the men in the city
and captured it.

122
00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,000
Seven years after Robert Guiscard
arrived in Italy,

123
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:33,160
the Byzantines were still living
in constant fear of Norman attack.

124
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:42,960
In desperation, they turned for help
to the Normans' own spiritual chief,
Pope Leo IX.

125
00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,680
In 1053, the Byzantines
sent envoys to Leo

126
00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:51,320
to complain about the Normans.

127
00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:58,080
They begged him, in the words of
William of Apulia, "to liberate
Italy, that now lacked its freedom,

128
00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:03,560
"and to force that wicked people,
who were pressing Apulia
under their yoke, to leave."

129
00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:08,320
Pope Leo was angered by
the Normans' plundering,
by their burning of churches

130
00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,440
and the slaughtering of civilians,
and so he enthusiastically entered

131
00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:14,680
into an alliance
with the Byzantines.

132
00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:25,000
Pope Leo IX was a German aristocrat
and the powerful secular ruler
of central Italy.

133
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,680
He gathered troops from
across southern Italy,

134
00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:33,120
but also brought in Swabian
mercenaries from his native Germany

135
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,840
to help sort out the Norman problem.

136
00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:42,120
They were fierce warriors,
who fought with long, sharp swords

137
00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:45,040
and could cut a man in half
at a stroke.

138
00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,760
Pope Leo led
the army himself.

139
00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,480
A contemporary noted with
astonishment that he was the first

140
00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,520
Pope since the time of St Peter

141
00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,920
to go to war with a body
of armed troops.

142
00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:04,160
The Normans
were facing a formidable enemy.

143
00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,560
Just a few decades after
they'd first come to Italy,

144
00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:11,760
it looked as though they might well
have to retreat back to Normandy.

145
00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,240
But the Normans weren't
going to give up so easily.

146
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:27,680
They mustered all their forces,
including 3,000 mounted knights

147
00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:31,080
under the command of Robert Guiscard
and the other Norman leaders.

148
00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:36,000
As the Pope marched south
to meet his Byzantine allies,

149
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,960
the Normans intercepted him here
at the old Roman city of Civitate.

150
00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,600
'They were ready for battle,
as ever.

151
00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:50,240
'But this time they were
struggling with a dilemma.'

152
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:56,600
As fervent Christians,
the Normans were reluctant
to fight their spiritual leader.

153
00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,760
They tried to sue for peace,
declaring that they were willing

154
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,000
to obey the Pope, but the Swabians
mocked them and told the Pope

155
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,760
to "command the Normans
to leave the land of Italy,

156
00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,720
"to lay down their arms
and return to their own country."

157
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,680
Battle was now inevitable.

158
00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:18,920
The Normans climbed this hill
to gauge the size of the enemy camp.

159
00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:23,440
The Swabian troops were drawn up
down there on the left hand side.

160
00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:26,360
Opposite them
were Robert Guiscard's men.

161
00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:28,840
On the right hand side
were the Italians.

162
00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,000
The battle began
with a Norman cavalry charge.

163
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:50,840
According to William of Apulia,
the Italians fled in all directions.

164
00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:02,880
Now it was time for the
Normans to confront the Swabians.

165
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:05,880
First they launched their spears.

166
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,800
Then, Robert Guiscard
led another cavalry charge.

167
00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,480
Robert was unhorsed three times,

168
00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:21,480
but three times
he climbed back up again

169
00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:23,680
and returned more
fiercely to the fray.

170
00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:27,680
William of Apulia writes that, "he
cut off the feet and hands of some,

171
00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:32,600
"decapitated others,
pierced belly and chest."

172
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,120
The Swabian troops were wiped out.

173
00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:49,440
And Pope Leo fled back to Civitate,
pursued by the Normans.

174
00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,840
But they weren't after the Pope's
head. They wanted his forgiveness.

175
00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:03,760
It's said that the Normans
prostrated themselves before him,
kissing his feet and begging pardon.

176
00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,280
The Pope reprimanded them
but blessed them.

177
00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,240
But once they'd been pardoned,
the Normans held Pope Leo hostage

178
00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:16,880
for nine months, until he
acknowledged their conquests
in Calabria and Apulia.

179
00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:22,360
The Normans' Christianity
rarely got in the way
of their driving ambition.

180
00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:32,360
Robert Guiscard's enemies
in Calabria and Apulia
had been defeated,

181
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,840
and Pope Leo died soon after the
Normans released him from captivity.

182
00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:43,240
Robert now went on to
conquer town after town.

183
00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:51,360
In 1071, he finally captured
the last Byzantine stronghold,
the city of Bari.

184
00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,720
Southern Italy
belonged to the Normans.

185
00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:16,840
Robert Guiscard was quickly becoming
one of the richest and most
powerful Normans leaders in Europe,

186
00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:20,880
and he was already looking beyond
the shores of Italy to Sicily,

187
00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:27,360
the wealthy island just
three kilometres away across
the Straits of Messina.

188
00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:34,200
Robert's territorial ambitions
would bring a new type of conflict
to southern Italy -

189
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:35,960
Holy War.

190
00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:45,040
This narrow strait was the frontier
of Christian civilisation.

191
00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:50,880
Sicily was a Muslim stronghold,
conquered by Islamic armies
250 years earlier.

192
00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:56,960
Pope Nicholas II wanted to
reclaim Sicily for Christianity

193
00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:01,640
and he saw the Normans as the
perfect force to crush the Muslims.

194
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:11,040
In 1059, Robert Guiscard
agreed to swear an oath
of allegiance to the Pope.

195
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:18,240
If successful in battle, power
over Sicily would be his reward.

196
00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:29,760
The papal oath launched Robert
into a Holy War against
the Muslims of Sicily.

197
00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:36,160
The Normans would receive a Papal
banner in recognition of the special

198
00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:40,440
religious nature of this war
and it's said that in one battle,

199
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,720
St George himself appeared
on the Norman's side,

200
00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:48,080
mounted on a white horse
and carrying a flag and the cross.

201
00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:04,720
For three years, the Normans fought
and plundered their way across
the island in the name of Christ.

202
00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:12,240
But even with St George on
their side, Muslim Sicily
was a difficult island to conquer.

203
00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:30,440
'Finally in 1064, they reached the
outskirts of the Sicilian capital,

204
00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,560
'the great Muslim city of Palermo.'

205
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:41,600
The army made camp
on a rock outside the city.

206
00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:46,760
This turned out
to be a terrible mistake.

207
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:55,680
The hill would later be called
Monte Tarantino because it
was crawling with tarantulas.

208
00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,840
The chronicler Geoffrey of Malaterra
describes them,

209
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:03,400
"the tarantula is a spider-like
creature with a poisonous sting.

210
00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:06,920
"Those who are stung swell
with poisonous wind

211
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,280
"and they are in such an agony that
they cannot prevent themselves

212
00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:14,440
"expelling the wind from their anus
with a disgusting sound."

213
00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:18,840
It's said that unless a hot pan or
some object is applied immediately,

214
00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:21,200
they are in danger of their life.

215
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:27,120
Faced with these ferocious insects
and with fierce resistance

216
00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:31,560
from the Islamic garrison,
the Normans were forced to retreat.

217
00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:44,360
The Normans were more successful
in 1068, when they met the Muslim

218
00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:48,920
forces at Misilmeri,
just 12 kilometres outside Palermo.

219
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:56,080
They were lead by Roger, a younger
brother of Robert Guiscard,

220
00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,560
yet another of the successful
de Hauteville brothers

221
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:01,840
who came south from Normandy.

222
00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:07,760
He was described as a
powerful man and a fierce soldier.

223
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,120
'In the terrible battle
that followed,

224
00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:15,840
'the Muslims were defeated.'

225
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,760
The Muslim army used homing pigeons

226
00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,000
to send messages back
from the front.

227
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,680
As the people of Palermo
waited anxiously,

228
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:36,960
the Normans used the old tactic of
spreading terror to demoralise them.

229
00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,840
Roger came up with a dark plan.

230
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,400
He knew the women and children
were waiting for news in Palermo.

231
00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,080
He had accounts of the Norman
victory attached to the pigeons.

232
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:52,120
Accounts that were written in
the blood of the dead Muslims.

233
00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:55,400
The birds were then released

234
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,400
to fly back to the city.

235
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:10,760
The chronicler Geoffrey of Malaterra

236
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,400
describes how the whole
city was shaken.

237
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,000
The sorrowful voices of the women
and children

238
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,120
were raised up to heaven.

239
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,680
Roger was a merciless warrior

240
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:35,520
and Palermo finally fell
to the Normans in 1072.

241
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,360
Six years after William the
Conqueror had taken England,

242
00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:44,880
the Normans ruled over
another new realm.

243
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:59,680
Sicily was a wealthy and powerful
state, right at the heart of
Mediterranean trade routes.

244
00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,440
Greeks, Italians and Muslims
had all settled here.

245
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:14,840
Under the Muslim rulers,
different cultures and
religions lived side by side,

246
00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:19,480
but Sicily was now under the
Christian rule of the Normans.

247
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:26,600
Would Roger enforce his religion
and banish the non-Christians?

248
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,800
Quite the contrary.
He was magnanimous in victory.

249
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,240
All the peoples of Sicily
were treated with tolerance.

250
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:39,160
The Muslims were allowed to
continue to practise their religion
and some even joined Roger's army.

251
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:45,200
Geoffrey of Malaterra describes him
as "prudent in organising the things
that needed to be done,

252
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:47,320
"cheerful and friendly to everyone,"

253
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,680
because of these qualities,
in a short time

254
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,320
he won the favour of all.

255
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,720
Under Roger's rule, the Normans
in Sicily adapted and assimilated

256
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:11,880
into the local population,
just as they had done with great
success in France and England.

257
00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:20,240
In 1130, 100 years after
they first arrived,

258
00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,360
the Normans united southern Italy
and Sicily

259
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:27,000
into a single powerful state.

260
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,840
It would last over 700 years.

261
00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,160
The Pope decreed that Roger's son

262
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,880
should be rewarded in return
for his loyalty.

263
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:45,560
He was crowned Roger II,
King of Sicily.

264
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,880
This was a remarkable achievement
for a man whose grandfather had been

265
00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:59,160
a poor Norman knight, worried about
how to provide for his many sons.

266
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:04,280
Here in the church of La Martorana,
in Palermo, is a spectacular mosaic

267
00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:08,080
of Roger's coronation
on Christmas Day 1130.

268
00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:15,320
Above him is the inscription
in Greek letters,

269
00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:20,080
"Rogerios Rex," King Roger.

270
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:30,040
And one of the most striking things
about this mosaic is that Roger
is being crowned, not by the Pope,

271
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:31,920
but by Christ himself.

272
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,440
64 years after
the Battle of Hastings,

273
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:44,320
God had given this warrior race yet
another new kingdom to rule.

274
00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:58,800
And this was no ordinary kingdom.

275
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:06,240
It was ruled by a Norman,
but its inhabitants spoke
three different languages

276
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,160
and came from three
different religious traditions.

277
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:15,360
This illustration by a
contemporary poet, Peter of Eboli,

278
00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:18,360
shows the variety
of peoples in Sicily.

279
00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,800
The Greeks, who made up the majority
of the population

280
00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:28,360
in the east of the island,
can be recognised
by their dark beards.

281
00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:34,440
In the centre,
are the Saracens, as the medieval
Christians called Muslims,

282
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,960
with neat beards and turbans.

283
00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:44,920
And, on the right, are the western
Christians, clean-shaven and
with uncovered heads.

284
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,560
All the faiths
lived in relative harmony.

285
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:09,320
Like the Normans in northern France
and England, Roger built spectacular
monuments to display his power.

286
00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:17,840
He commissioned his palace chapel,
the Cappella Palatina in Palermo,
to celebrate his monarchy.

287
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:36,440
But it's also a great symbol
of multi-cultural co-operation.

288
00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:43,800
Craftsmen of three different
religious traditions
worked alongside each other here.

289
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:58,320
These marble pavements
were created by western Christian
craftsmen from across Italy.

290
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:07,800
Up in the dome, there is a mosaic
of Christ Pantocrator,

291
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:13,320
Christ ruler of the universe,
surrounded by a garland
of winged angels.

292
00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,840
That was produced
by the finest Greek craftsmen.

293
00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:27,200
And there is a wonderful
wooden stalactite ceiling
produced by Muslim craftsmen.

294
00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:55,400
It shows scenes from paradise,
with people riding camels,

295
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,400
ladies in carriages...

296
00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,120
..and mythological beasts.

297
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:32,000
'Sicily became a great centre
of culture and learning.'

298
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:38,680
Western, Greek
and Muslim intellectuals
flocked to the court of King Roger.

299
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,920
In 1139, a Muslim scholar
arrived from north Africa.

300
00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:46,640
His name was
Abdullah Mohammed al Idrisi.

301
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:52,760
Roger commissioned him
to create one of the most remarkable
works of medieval geography.

302
00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:00,280
For 15 years, al Idrisi questioned
sailors and travellers in Sicily's

303
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:03,640
many ports about their knowledge
of other parts of the world.

304
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:08,240
The results of his researches
are in this book.

305
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,160
It's known as The Book of Roger

306
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,880
and it's a combination of 70 maps
of the regions of the world

307
00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:19,600
combined with a description
of the whole known world.

308
00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:22,560
The Book of Roger is
a powerful testament

309
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:24,960
to the Normans' curiosity
and vision.

310
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:31,600
When put together, the 70 maps show
their huge geographical knowledge.

311
00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:38,440
From the Canary Islands
and Spain in the west,

312
00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,760
to India and China in the east.

313
00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:47,000
From Britain and Scandinavia in
the north, to Africa in the south.

314
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:53,640
This was the most accurate map
of the medieval world

315
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:57,160
and it would remain so
for the next three centuries.

316
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:03,120
The Book of Roger also collects
together everything that was known

317
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,400
about the world's
geography and culture.

318
00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:13,320
And it's truly global in its scope,
containing accounts

319
00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,480
of the caste system of India,
rice cultivation in China

320
00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:21,240
and even a not unrecognisable
account of England.

321
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,800
"England is the shape
of the head of an ostrich.

322
00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:36,360
"It is very fertile. Its inhabitants
are brave, active and enterprising,

323
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,840
"but all is in the grip
of perpetual winter."

324
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:48,160
The book is a symbol of the intense
cultural ambition of Roger's Sicily.

325
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:53,160
The King himself had copies of these
maps engraved on a silver disc

326
00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:55,000
weighing 400 kilos.

327
00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:05,400
King Roger was establishing himself
as one of the great medieval patrons
of art, architecture and learning.

328
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:10,680
Collaboration and assimilation
had allowed the descendents

329
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:15,960
of Tancred de Hauteville to build
one of the most powerful kingdoms
in Europe.

330
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:30,080
But events in the Middle East
provoked the more aggressive side
of the Norman character.

331
00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:38,640
The flame of Holy War
was about to ignite beyond Europe,

332
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:42,040
and the Normans
would be at the heart of it.

333
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:52,680
Christendom was under attack.

334
00:32:52,680 --> 00:33:00,600
In the 1060s, the Seljuk Turks burst
into the Middle East, defeating the
Byzantines in their eastern empire.

335
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:06,160
In 1071, they captured Jerusalem
and its Christian holy places.

336
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:15,000
Atrocity stories spread about
the fate of Christian pilgrims.

337
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:19,360
Robert the Monk, the chronicler,
says, "the Seljuks Turks pierced

338
00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:23,520
"their navels, pulled out their
entrails and nailed them to a tree,

339
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:29,160
"then whipped the pilgrims round the
tree until their intestines came out
and they collapsed."

340
00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:39,200
Christendom felt under siege.

341
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:43,480
In 1095, Pope Urban II
confronted the crisis

342
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,640
at a council at Clermont in France.

343
00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:57,520
Before a huge crowd, the Pope
announced the launch of a holy war
between Christendom and Islam.

344
00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:02,200
In an impassioned speech, he urged
all good Christians, rich and poor,

345
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,160
"Take the road to
the Holy Sepulchre,

346
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:08,480
"wrest that land from the wicked
race and subject it to yourselves."

347
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:10,680
And for those died
on the expedition,

348
00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,120
the Pope held out a special promise,

349
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:17,000
"All who die, on land or sea,
or in battle with the pagans,

350
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,320
"will earn immediate remission
of sins."

351
00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:25,440
The crowd responded ecstatically,
"God wills it! God wills it!"

352
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,880
The First Crusade had begun.

353
00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:33,920
The Christians would present
the First Crusade

354
00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:38,200
as a tournament between heaven
and hell.

355
00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:40,640
Here was the perfect opportunity

356
00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:45,200
for the Normans to combine piety
and conquest.

357
00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:48,720
Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son
of William the Conqueror,

358
00:34:48,720 --> 00:34:52,200
marched his men to war
from northern France.

359
00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:58,600
Robert would prove a
true son of his father.

360
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,680
During one fierce battle,
the Normans were on the point
of retreating

361
00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:06,000
when Duke Robert rallied them
shouting out the war cry,

362
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:10,640
"Normandy!" and pushing back his
helmet to reveal his face, just as

363
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,200
his father, William the Conqueror,
had done at the Battle of Hastings.

364
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:23,480
The Pope's message also stirred
up the Normans in southern Italy.

365
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:29,480
One of the most enthusiastic
supporters of the Crusade was the
eldest son of Robert Guiscard.

366
00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:31,680
His name was Bohemond.

367
00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:38,200
Like most Normans, Bohemond
wasn't inspired by religion alone.

368
00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:42,880
Despite being the eldest son,
he had not inherited
his father's lands.

369
00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:50,560
He was eager to take new
territory in the east and set off
on the long march to Jerusalem.

370
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,760
Bohemond was joined by
another fierce warrior.

371
00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:02,240
His nephew, Tancred, also left south
Italy to go on the First Crusade.

372
00:36:02,240 --> 00:36:05,640
But Tancred had more
religious qualms than his uncle.

373
00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:12,560
He was deeply worried that warfare
might be in conflict with Jesus'
command to turn the other cheek,

374
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,840
but the Pope's message from Clermont
reassured him.

375
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:35,400
On their way to Jerusalem,
the Crusaders arrived in the capital
of the Byzantine Empire.

376
00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:42,760
Constantinople
was one of the greatest cities
of the medieval world.

377
00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:55,440
Strategically situated
on the borders of Europe and Asia,

378
00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:58,800
successive emperors had
strengthened its defences...

379
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:05,600
..and the Normans
weren't welcome here.

380
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,280
Constantinople was a Christian city.

381
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:13,040
At its heart was the magnificent
church of Aya Sophia,
the holy wisdom.

382
00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:23,880
So why didn't the Byzantines welcome
the Christian Normans fresh from
their conquest of Muslim Sicily?

383
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,080
The problem was the Normans had
been enemies of the Byzantines

384
00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:31,640
ever since their first
arrival in southern Italy.

385
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,520
And Bohemond himself
was particularly unwelcome.

386
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:45,280
A decade before the Crusade,
he'd inflicted a humiliating defeat

387
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:50,000
on the elite troops of the Byzantine
Empire, the Varangian guard.

388
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:58,440
This had been a bitter confrontation
between old enemies.

389
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:09,440
Many of the Varangian guard were
Anglo-Saxons who'd fled England
after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

390
00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:13,400
Since Bohemond's assault
on Byzantine Empire took place

391
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:17,360
only 15 years later, it's likely
that amongst the guard

392
00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:20,280
were warriors who had fought
at the Battle of Hastings.

393
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,840
It must have been a curious replay
of that earlier battle against

394
00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:26,440
the Normans and with
the same outcome -

395
00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:28,400
the Normans were triumphant.

396
00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:39,720
Now the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius,

397
00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:42,640
found tens of thousands
of westerners

398
00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:47,160
pouring into his capital,
among them many Normans.

399
00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:51,280
He needed their help in the
battle against the Seljuk Turks,

400
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:54,440
but he was determined to
keep them under control.

401
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:03,360
Alexius made the Crusade leaders,
including Bohemond, swear an
oath of allegiance to him.

402
00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:06,160
They all had to promise
to return to his empire

403
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,080
any former Byzantine towns
they managed to liberate
from the Muslims.

404
00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:13,040
This was a condition
for his support of the Crusade.

405
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,840
The whole episode was recorded by
the Emperor's teenage daughter

406
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:22,760
Anna Comnena, the first
female historian

407
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:25,320
whose work has come down to us.

408
00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:30,200
She seems to have been fascinated by
this strange warrior from the North.

409
00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:34,280
Anna notes how Bohemond, "wore his
hair in the Norman fashion -

410
00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:38,840
"no beard and hair
razor-cut to the ear."

411
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:45,280
She also describes his
"broad shoulders, deep chest
and powerful arms."

412
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:50,760
This teenage girl had mixed
feelings about the Norman warrior.

413
00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:54,560
"It's true", she wrote,
"that there was something
appealing about the man,"

414
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,760
but this was outweighed
by his terrifying qualities.

415
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:03,800
"His whole being was harsh
and brutal. Even his laugh
sounded like a snort of rage."

416
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:10,760
Anna was well aware that the
Normans were not to be trusted.

417
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,960
She records Bohemond's
reputation for treachery.

418
00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:17,000
It was said that he had perjury
in his blood,

419
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,160
and it would be a miracle
if he kept his oath.

420
00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:27,440
The Crusaders fought their way
south across Anatolia,
modern Turkey.

421
00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:32,960
In October 1097,
they reached Antioch,

422
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:37,280
one of the great Holy cities
of the Christian world.

423
00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:44,160
St Peter himself was said to have
become the first ever bishop here.

424
00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:51,360
Antioch had been a major prize in
warfare between Christians and
Muslims since the 7th Century.

425
00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:56,920
Just ten years before the Crusade,
the city had been captured
by the Seljuk Turks.

426
00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:03,360
It must have been a
spectacular sight.

427
00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:07,840
The huge walls carried 400 towers.

428
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:14,040
They climbed up the steep slopes
of a mountain to a citadel
1,000 feet above the town.

429
00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:26,960
The Crusaders now had to capture
this great fortress.

430
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:31,400
Thousands of knights
laid siege to the city walls,

431
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,080
but they faced a formidable
Muslim defence.

432
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:42,560
After a few months,
the Crusaders had eaten all
their supplies of food.

433
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:47,720
Horses died by the thousand
and the Christian army
was riddled with disease.

434
00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:53,840
Earthquakes and strange lights
in the sky were interpreted
as signs of coming doom.

435
00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:58,760
Some of the Crusaders, including
several of the leaders,
simply crept away.

436
00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:02,720
The first Crusade
was close to collapse.

437
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:13,080
Bohemond saw his chance to
win valuable territory
and decided it was time to act.

438
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:20,400
He summoned a council
of the Crusade leaders and
proposed a plan of action.

439
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:25,560
If any one of us can gain possession
of the city by any stratagem,

440
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:28,760
let us unanimously
grant him the city.

441
00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:32,040
The council rejected
Bohemond's offer of leadership,

442
00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:35,640
but when news arrived that a huge
Muslim army was on its way

443
00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:38,440
to relieve Antioch,
they changed their tune.

444
00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:41,520
If Bohemond can gain possession
of the city,

445
00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:47,800
by himself or with others, we grant
it to him freely and unanimously.

446
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:52,720
The council didn't know
that Bohemond had a secret agent
inside the city,

447
00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:56,640
Firouz, one of the commanders
of the city's defences.

448
00:42:56,640 --> 00:43:02,880
He was willing to betray
the Muslim garrison
by leaving a tower undefended.

449
00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:06,560
Bohemond's troops prepared
to attack.

450
00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:09,080
Bohemond told them,
"Go with confidence

451
00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:11,120
"and climb the ladder into Antioch,

452
00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:14,720
"which we will quickly have in our
possession, if it pleases God."

453
00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:20,600
Just before dawn on June 3rd 1098,

454
00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:23,960
they arrived at the Tower
of the Two Sisters.

455
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:32,480
One of Bohemond's knights reports,
"They came to a ladder which was

456
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:37,160
"securely fastened to the city walls
and about 60 of our men went up it."

457
00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:47,480
They quickly seized the tower
and then opened the great gates
of the city to the Crusader army.

458
00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:06,040
After a siege lasting seven months,
the Crusaders had
finally taken Antioch

459
00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:09,440
and the Normans were triumphant.

460
00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:21,920
Bohemond had outwitted
the other Crusaders.

461
00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:24,320
He raised his standard
alongside the citadel

462
00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:26,200
and took control of the city.

463
00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:30,360
Ignoring his oath of allegiance
to the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius,

464
00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:34,120
he set himself up
as an independent Christian prince.

465
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:39,600
Bohemond established a new Norman
state, the principality of Antioch.

466
00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:58,200
Having conquered with terror,
Bohemond followed the well
established Norman strategy.

467
00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:03,120
Assimilation and adaptation.

468
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:12,400
Like Sicily,
this was an ethnically mixed state

469
00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:16,640
and it would flourish under
Norman rule for the next 200 years.

470
00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:23,080
As Bohemond began to consolidate
power in Antioch,

471
00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:27,880
his nephew Tancred marched on
with the army of Crusaders...

472
00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:29,480
to Jerusalem.

473
00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:55,080
Jerusalem is one of the most holy
cities in the world, the meeting
place of three great religions.

474
00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:58,120
For Christians, it's the site of
Christ's resurrection,

475
00:45:58,120 --> 00:46:01,320
the Holy Sepulchre,
the most sacred place in
Christendom.

476
00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:05,400
The Crusaders had come
to take it back from the Muslims.

477
00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:10,480
But Jerusalem was strongly
fortified.

478
00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:14,880
To the east,
the city was protected by ravines.

479
00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:19,760
To the west, by a great fortress,
the Tower of David.

480
00:46:24,560 --> 00:46:28,200
The Muslims were prepared for
the coming of the Crusaders.

481
00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:30,320
They had driven off all
flocks of sheep,

482
00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:32,520
which could have been
slaughtered for food

483
00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:34,440
and poisoned the wells
near the city.

484
00:46:34,440 --> 00:46:36,800
Thirst was the great menace.

485
00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:39,600
One Norman knight records
how the Crusaders had to

486
00:46:39,600 --> 00:46:44,160
"sew up the skins of oxen and
buffalo and carry water six miles.

487
00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:47,240
"We drank the stinking
water from these containers.

488
00:46:47,240 --> 00:46:49,760
"We suffered great affliction
every day."

489
00:47:03,240 --> 00:47:09,920
On June 13th 1099, Tancred led
the first assault on the city walls.

490
00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:22,240
But the Crusaders
were easily driven back.

491
00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:34,800
The Crusade was saved
by the arrival of six Genoese
ships in the port of Jaffa.

492
00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:41,600
They provided timbers to construct
siege towers and ladders to scale
the walls of Jerusalem.

493
00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:55,120
A month after the siege had begun,
the Crusaders made plans
for a final assault.

494
00:47:55,120 --> 00:48:00,200
In preparation, they fasted
and went in barefoot
procession around the city.

495
00:48:00,200 --> 00:48:05,000
As they did so,
the Muslim defenders mocked
and jeered at them from the walls.

496
00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:18,960
On the night of July 13th 1099,
the Crusaders attacked in force

497
00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:23,000
from both north and south, using
battering rams and siege towers.

498
00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:25,760
For two days the conflict
hung in the balance.

499
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:28,160
Then the Crusaders
broke into the city.

500
00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:30,240
Tancred was amongst the leaders.

501
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:37,120
Pillage and massacre followed.

502
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:44,400
The Crusaders rampaged through
the city, seizing gold and silver
as they went.

503
00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:53,280
The slaughter of the
Muslims was savage.

504
00:48:53,280 --> 00:48:56,080
Chroniclers record
that thousands were killed,

505
00:48:56,080 --> 00:49:00,760
piles of hands, feet and heads
could be seen in the streets.

506
00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:08,400
The Normans rushed to take
possession of the sacred site

507
00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:12,640
of Christ's burial and resurrection,
the Holy Sepulchre.

508
00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:27,560
One observer recorded that
"they rejoiced and cried for joy

509
00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:31,880
"to worship at the sepulchre
of our Saviour Jesus."

510
00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:46,000
After the slaughter, the Crusaders
established a Christian kingdom here

511
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:48,880
and divided up
the land they had conquered.

512
00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:59,320
Tancred, the grandson of Robert
Guiscard, became Prince of Galilee.

513
00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:08,760
Norman power was now firmly
established far beyond
the borders of Europe,

514
00:50:08,760 --> 00:50:12,480
but this military triumph
in the east would deepen

515
00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:16,560
one of the world's greatest
political and cultural divides

516
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:21,120
and its impact is still being felt
to this day.

517
00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:27,760
The bloody conquest of Jerusalem
left a deep rift between
Christians and Muslims.

518
00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:31,720
The Normans
had taken part in a slaughter
that would never be forgiven.

519
00:50:31,720 --> 00:50:36,000
Even today, Islamic fundamentalists
refer to their enemies in the West

520
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:38,240
as "the Crusaders."

521
00:50:55,600 --> 00:51:00,280
2,000 kilometres away across
the Mediterranean, in Sicily,

522
00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:04,320
the Normans were still bringing
Muslims and Christians together.

523
00:51:04,320 --> 00:51:09,280
This encouraged an astonishing
exchange of ideas and learning.

524
00:51:14,920 --> 00:51:21,680
In the court of King Roger II,
multi-lingual scholars
shared and translated ancient works,

525
00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:25,000
which had been lost to western
Europe for centuries in the chaos

526
00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:28,560
that followed the fall
of the Roman Empire.

527
00:51:28,560 --> 00:51:33,760
Among them was one of the most
influential scientific works
in history,

528
00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:35,960
Ptolemy's Almagest.

529
00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:42,440
Written in Greek in the 2nd Century,
the Almagest was made up of 13 books

530
00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:49,440
containing the most advanced
mathematical and astronomical
discoveries of the Classical world.

531
00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:52,960
It had been preserved
in the libraries of Constantinople.

532
00:51:56,560 --> 00:51:59,640
In the 12th Century, an anonymous
author in Norman Sicily,

533
00:51:59,640 --> 00:52:03,520
translated a copy of the Greek text
into Latin.

534
00:52:03,520 --> 00:52:07,640
The Almagest is the most important
work of ancient Greek astronomy,

535
00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:09,960
allowing scientists to predict

536
00:52:09,960 --> 00:52:14,240
the patterns of the planets
and to chart the night skies.

537
00:52:14,240 --> 00:52:17,720
In books six and seven,
there are charts of the fixed stars,

538
00:52:17,720 --> 00:52:21,480
explaining their different patterns
over the course of the year.

539
00:52:26,840 --> 00:52:29,720
The arrival of this
knowledge into western Europe

540
00:52:29,720 --> 00:52:34,920
transformed the study
of mathematics, astronomy
and navigation.

541
00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:40,960
It remained a huge influence
on European thought throughout
the Middle Ages and beyond.

542
00:52:50,200 --> 00:52:55,560
Under Roger,
Sicily grew into a kingdom
more prosperous than Norman England.

543
00:52:59,000 --> 00:53:04,120
He conquered Malta, moved into
northern Africa and invaded Greece

544
00:53:05,720 --> 00:53:09,960
and the Norman dynasty
continued for many generations.

545
00:53:11,480 --> 00:53:19,280
This great cathedral at Monreale
outside Palermo was built by Roger's
grandson in the late 12th Century.

546
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:27,360
Like the Norman cathedrals
of northern Europe,
Monreale is spectacular in scale.

547
00:53:40,080 --> 00:53:43,160
It marks the high point
of the marriage between

548
00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:47,640
Norman Romanesque architecture
and Byzantine craftsmanship.

549
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:57,880
The Byzantine mosaics are among
the most magnificent in the world.

550
00:54:29,320 --> 00:54:32,080
The inside of the cathedral
is overwhelming.

551
00:54:32,080 --> 00:54:36,880
There are two acres of mosaic
decoration and it's been calculated

552
00:54:36,880 --> 00:54:41,440
that something like 2,200 kilograms
of gold were used here.

553
00:54:41,440 --> 00:54:47,160
One of the jewels of the island
is this huge image
of Christ Pantocrator.

554
00:54:52,160 --> 00:54:55,360
This striking image
celebrating Christ's omnipotence

555
00:54:55,360 --> 00:54:58,720
is a powerful assertion
of the Normans' Christian faith.

556
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:10,720
But the cathedral at Monreale
is also a magnificent symbol of this

557
00:55:10,720 --> 00:55:16,520
multi-cultural society that would
become a legend in Italian history.

558
00:55:16,520 --> 00:55:23,080
When Italian historians talk
about Il Regno, The Kingdom,
it is always clear what is meant.

559
00:55:23,080 --> 00:55:28,200
Sicily, one of the most powerful
kingdoms of the medieval world.

560
00:55:45,920 --> 00:55:48,600
For 300 years, the Normans

561
00:55:48,600 --> 00:55:52,720
were among the most dynamic forces
in Europe.

562
00:55:52,720 --> 00:55:56,240
They colonised countries,

563
00:55:56,240 --> 00:56:00,680
and created new states and kingdoms.

564
00:56:00,680 --> 00:56:04,360
They became patrons
of art and learning.

565
00:56:09,160 --> 00:56:14,440
And they transformed the landscape
with magnificent
cathedrals and castles.

566
00:56:17,760 --> 00:56:21,720
But the age of the Normans
wouldn't last forever.

567
00:56:25,720 --> 00:56:29,400
In England, the Norman dynasty
founded by William the Conqueror

568
00:56:29,400 --> 00:56:32,880
gave way to the Plantagenets
in 1154.

569
00:56:37,240 --> 00:56:41,000
40 years later,
the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI,

570
00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:43,200
conquered the Kingdom of Sicily.

571
00:56:50,280 --> 00:56:56,920
After 300 years of Norman rule,
Normandy itself was lost
to the French King.

572
00:56:59,640 --> 00:57:06,120
And finally, in 1268, Antioch,
Bohemond's great eastern prize...

573
00:57:07,640 --> 00:57:10,360
..was recaptured by the Muslims.

574
00:57:17,880 --> 00:57:21,360
The Normans simply disappeared.
This might sound like failure,

575
00:57:21,360 --> 00:57:24,560
but in fact it was the key
to their success.

576
00:57:24,560 --> 00:57:27,520
They weren't interested in
the purity of their blood.

577
00:57:27,520 --> 00:57:30,680
They came, they saw, they conquered.

578
00:57:30,680 --> 00:57:36,560
Then they married the locals,
learnt the language and assimilated
themselves out of existence.

579
00:57:36,560 --> 00:57:38,800
But their legacy lived on.

580
00:57:38,800 --> 00:57:41,760
The Normans created a
medieval blueprint

581
00:57:41,760 --> 00:57:46,880
for aggressive colonialism, but
they also showed that sometimes

582
00:57:46,880 --> 00:57:52,040
people of different languages
and different religions
can live side by side.

583
00:58:01,760 --> 00:58:04,960
If you'd like to walk in
the steps of the Normans,

584
00:58:04,960 --> 00:58:08,800
you can download maps of
Norman walks all over the UK at -

585
00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:21,240
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

586
00:58:21,240 --> 00:58:23,360
E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk