King and Conqueror

Indeed

Thanks, Maw. I was going to have a look at it later but I don’t think I’ll bother now.

I found the trailers muddling. I thought James Norton, being clean shaven, was playing William not Harold.

I could happily watch James Norton reading the phone book but had to concentrate hard to know who was who in the gloom. I live I hope that episode two will make things clearer since there are eight episodes in all.

I gave up after five minutes. DH who is a historian felt that without background knowledge it could be difficult to follow. Lots of names as OP said. “ Here comes the King” Which king ? Expecting it to be the King of England , it turns out to be the King of France. Additionally Edward the Confessor was portrayed negatively whereas he was apparently a much more honourable character. Does it matter? Yes. There should be some authenticity even in a TV drama. Thumbs down !

Oh dear, this is on DH’s want to watch list best make sure I have a good book to read.

Thanks for your summary Greenfinch. I won't waste my time on it now.

Harold and William looked too similar,especially in the gloom.
Did'nt Wiliam , in reality have one of those Norman haircuts?
That would have helped.
But I will keep watching.
Looked at the Snows Battlefield Britain BBC4 at 10pm on the Battle of Hastings.Fact based and easy to follow.Different battle next week.

Hmmm, we watched it and yes, unless you had a fair understanding of the history it was a bit confusing. Will persevere.

I had a few too many glasses of wine last night, so fell asleep during the programme. From the comments above, I won't be catching up with it.

Was looking forward to watching this, however I found it very disappointing, the sound and mumbling was dreadful, why do they shoot theses programmes in the dark?
I give up, might try episode 2 to see if any improvement.
I usually like James Norton in anything, but don't think this role suits him sadly.

I watched it and was no wiser at the end than at the beginning. It's not a historical period I know much about, so was looking forward to watching, but I don't think I'll bother with the rest of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, except that William was rather too nice, apparently to appease Macron. He was not.
There is an extremely readable book, The year of the Conquest by Anthony Howarth which explains the families and their inter-related background as the events unfold during 1066, but it is probably out of print as it is British history, which has little place in today's curriculum.

The criticism in today’s paper gave it two stars, and a dire review!
Not sure I’ll bother watching, though I love James Norton.
Yes, I understand that Edward was a very pious and honourable man, and Harold’s claim to the English throne was very tenuous indeed, so perhaps the Norman conquest was inevitable.

eazybee

I thoroughly enjoyed it, except that William was rather too nice, apparently to appease Macron. He was not.
There is an extremely readable book, The year of the Conquest by Anthony Howarth which explains the families and their inter-related background as the events unfold during 1066, but it is probably out of print as it is British history, which has little place in today's curriculum.

Thank you for the recommendation. If it's this one (David Howarth) then it's not out of print. In fact it's available in hardback, paperback and audio versions.

www.amazon.co.uk/s?ref=nb_sb_ss_mvt-t11-ranker_2_24&crid=1QI0PUQTUP2HS&sprefix=The+year+of+the+conquest%2Caps%2C246&k=1066+the+year+of+the+conquest+david+howarth&tag=gransnetforum-21

Also, the Battle of Hastings does have a place on today's curriculum.
The Battle of Hastings is a standard topic within the National Curriculum for England, taught at the Key Stage 2 (KS2) level as part of the Norman Conquest and medieval British history. Although not a specific mandatory topic itself, it serves as a key example of a significant turning point in British history, allowing schools to teach the events of 1066.

We had to put on the subtitles and have Google open to work out what was going on. DH was happy watching as he'll watch anything with fighting.
He pointed out that it was Harry v William and today's press would've had a field day.
We watched 2 episodes on iPlayer and may binge the rest. Not brilliant but passes the time.

I felt somewhat bewildered as I realised I know very little about that part of our history. I have just ordered a paper back of David Howarth’s the year of the Conquest. Price 6. From Amazon. I know the tv drama is fiction but worth a watch if I understand more.

Totally befuddled by it - not helped by the gloom and the mumbling
(Incidentally, recently watched a Miss Marple from the 1980s - brightly lit and dialogue as clear as a bell)

Thank you Doodledog and Lovetopaint; I do hope you enjoy the book. I am re-reading my copy again so I know who Sweyn, Emma, Edith and Father are, (not so sure about the unfortunate Guy de Brionne.)
Good to know 1066 and all that (!) is on the national Curriculum; it was when I retired 14 years ago but was regularly ignored as not being a specific mandatory topic they would concentrate on the Vikings instead.

Switched it on, because 1066 is an incredibly important date in English history and well James Norton is in it, how could I resist The dialogue was clunky, I don't think it's going to be well received by the critics somehow it all came across as very in authentic. A shame because James Norton is in it it's about time drama focused on other kings/queens aside from Henry Vlll, similar to the works of Jane Austen how many times do we have to see yet another version of what has already been dramatised again and again.

That’s an hour I’ll never get back.
So disappointed.
Whoever wrote that script needs shooting. I can’t believe brilliant actors signed up after they had read the script.
I can only assume times are hard and they need the money.

Indeed

There's an excellent podcast series on BBC Sounds called The Rest is History.There were 3 or 4 episodes fairly recently about the build up to and the actual Norman Invasion which really helped me to understand more about the events surrounding the Battle of Hastings.We haven't watched last lifts episode yet but will wait and watch a few together if it improves.

We watched the first 2 episodes last night but we are not bothered about continuing. Too dark, somewhat confusing, all the men are dirty, women and children are clean! S shame as I was looking forward to it. None of the reviews are much good.

And we have the back story, aka the Bayeux Tapestry to admire when it comes to the British Museum later this year.