Season 4 | 4. Simon Says

Crusading fever is in the air again, and Henry III decides it’s his turn to give it a try. This is only the beginning of a series of calamitous royal decisions, including a hair-brained scheme to conquer Sicily. Soon, his barons, led by Simon de Montfort, have had enough. They de ...  Show more

When Queen Eleanor makes a move to restore Plantagenet power, the barons launch into all out war. Simon de Montfort assembles a small but powerful army to take on Henry and his family on a hillside in Southern England. The future of the entire Plantagenet dynasty hangs in the bal ...  Show more

The Black Prince has gained lands in Aquitaine and Gascony through his brutal and thorough attacks. But faced with financial difficulties, sickness, and a notable family death, can he retain his territories? Listen to Tom and Dominic as they conclude this epic four-part series on ...  Show more

Dynastic turmoil, inconvenient treaties with Scotland, tales of knights, longbows and the golden age of chivalry. In a time of chaos across Europe, England, a minor power of the time, takes on the mighty kingdom of France. Join Tom and Dominic to learn how the Hundred Years' War ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the years of bloody conflict that saw Simon de Montfort (1205-65) become the most powerful man in England, with Henry III as his prisoner. With others, he had toppled Henry in 1258 in a secret, bloodless coup and established provisions for more par ...  Show more

Back in the early 15th century, as the English King, Henry VI, tried to assert his supremacy in the Kingdom of France, an unlikely teenage hero came to the aid of her nation.

A king-maker, seemingly blessed with the gift of prophecy whom many in France also believed had ...