View Full Version : 1066 docu-drama
There's going to be a 1066 docu-drama shown in the UK - probably between Christmas and the New Year. I don't have the date yet, but my re-enactment group, Regia Anglorum has been filming pieces for it all this summer. I thought I'd post a link so that you can see some of the group on set. These aren't official location photos, but just taken by group members during filming duty.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/564125679VlhkVa?start=0 Can't wait!
Alaric
09-06-2008, 12:51 PM
Oh, I hope it gets released on DVD or shown here.
The events of 1066 are utterly fascinating.
Melisende
09-06-2008, 01:13 PM
I agree Alaric!
Thanks for bringing that to our attention - and please keep us posted, Elizabeth!
chuck
09-06-2008, 01:53 PM
Thanks EC for the update....I hope the History Channel will buy the rights to show on their channel....I've have always been interested in 1066, especially from the Saxon side of it.....
I think it will head for other countries because for a TV feature it has been fairly big budget from what I've gathered - so they'll be looking to maximise worldwide sales. The guys in my society have had a blast doing the filming. I'm looking forward to it so that I can spot the extras.:)
Mind you, authenticity is still an issue. One of our chaps had the job of pushing a cartload of dead rabbits to market to suit the script - and Dutch ones at that. When he told his wife when he returned from filming, she had a fit and told him he should have refused. So, in the final cut, if you see some chap with a beard pushing this cart of inauthentic rabbits, that's T. our Nottingham group leader! I think about 8 of our Notts branch were involved all told from a cast of about 50 extras drawn from Regia groups nationwide. Not me, but I can still get a vicarious thrill!
I'll let everyone know about UK dates as and when.
One of our chaps had the job of pushing a cartload of dead rabbits to market to suit the script - and Dutch ones at that. When he told his wife when he returned from filming, she had a fit and told him he should have refused. So, in the final cut, if you see some chap with a beard pushing this cart of inauthentic rabbits, that's T. our Nottingham group leader!
Why would she have wanted him to refuse? Was she vegetarian or something??
Alaric
09-06-2008, 04:07 PM
I think it will head for other countries because for a TV feature it has been fairly big budget from what I've gathered - so they'll be looking to maximise worldwide sales.
Fingers crossed. :)
SBS does usually show these sorts of things, albeit a couple of years later most of the time. I just hope it isn't on our ABC as I got horrible reception up where I live.
Why would she have wanted him to refuse? Was she vegetarian or something??
'Cos he was portraying a Saxon and they didn't have rabbits in England in 1066. Rabbits arrived with the Normans and were farmed in special little enclosures called coney garths. They gradually escaped into the wild but it took them several hundred years to get established.
Alaric
09-06-2008, 04:22 PM
Maybe they were supposed to be substitutes for hares? I'm fairly certain there were hares in England before 1066.
Maybe they were supposed to be substitutes for hares? I'm fairly certain there were hares in England before 1066.
I reckon that's what we'll claim - although a Dutch Rabbit isn't exactly hare-like and actually having a cartload of hares to bring to market would take some catching, especially for a peasant. His dogs must have been knackered!;)
Alaric
09-06-2008, 04:37 PM
Haha, yes. Almost all Dutch rabbits have lop ears, the best substitute for a hare would have been what I had until she died - a New Zealand. They're like bigger hares and they do have stand-up ears.
Spitfire
09-06-2008, 04:49 PM
'Cos he was portraying a Saxon and they didn't have rabbits in England in 1066. Rabbits arrived with the Normans and were farmed in special little enclosures called coney garths. They gradually escaped into the wild but it took them several hundred years to get established.
That is so interresting. Thanks for the history lesson! Now I really want to see this production!:)
'Cos he was portraying a Saxon and they didn't have rabbits in England in 1066. Rabbits arrived with the Normans and were farmed in special little enclosures called coney garths. They gradually escaped into the wild but it took them several hundred years to get established.
Duh!! How embarassing! That one went way over my head! :o
But the Ecologist in me finds that a fascinating bit about the rabbits. I had no idea they weren't indigenous to England. You learn something new everyday! Even on weekends! :D Where did they come from originally? Mainland Europe?
SonjaMarie
09-06-2008, 05:52 PM
Slightly OT. The first time I heard the word "knackered" I was talking to a friend online in the UK. I thought she was saying she was drunk! Of course it turns out it meant she was tired.
I hope this airs over here as well or that I can find it to download eventually.
SM
sweetpotatoboy
09-06-2008, 10:44 PM
I presume this has no connection to the planned movie called 1066 (based on Helen Hollick's novel on Harold)...? Not sure when that will finally come out.
I presume this has no connection to the planned movie called 1066 (based on Helen Hollick's novel on Harold)...? Not sure when that will finally come out.
No, it's not connected at all as far as I know. This is one is for TV. It was supposed to be going out in the UK at Xmas, but I think it might be a bit afterwards now.
Duh!! How embarassing! That one went way over my head! :o
But the Ecologist in me finds that a fascinating bit about the rabbits. I had no idea they weren't indigenous to England. You learn something new everyday! Even on weekends! :D Where did they come from originally? Mainland Europe?
Spain definitely, but probably other parts of Europe too (but don't quote me) The Romans apparently brought them to Britain but they didn't survive - none have been found in an archaeological context anyway and even the Roman finds are few and far between. There are no finds (as far as I know) in an Anglo Saxon context.
Slightly OT. The first time I heard the word "knackered" I was talking to a friend online in the UK. I thought she was saying she was drunk! Of course it turns out it meant she was tired.
I hope this airs over here as well or that I can find it to download eventually.
SM
We've even got the cockney rhyming slang version - cream-crackered!:)
Spitfire
09-07-2008, 12:40 AM
Slightly OT. The first time I heard the word "knackered" I was talking to a friend online in the UK. I thought she was saying she was drunk! Of course it turns out it meant she was tired.
SM
OMG, that is so funny! :D We always called animals testicles knackers, and to get knackered is usually to get kicked there very hard. I wonder how some of these terms get twisted and changed over time.
annis
09-07-2008, 02:22 AM
On the origin of the word "knackered", I found this article quite entertaining so I'll add it here (http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/nadgers.htm).
LoveHistory
09-07-2008, 04:33 PM
I love 1066! All that Saxon violence. ;) Netflix better come through on this one.
Lady Macbeth
07-25-2009, 09:20 PM
I just found this thread lurking at the bottom of the TV board. Is the Docudrama you're referring to here 1066 - Battle for Middle Earth and, if so, did any of you watch it?
I did and loved it - it's the conquest told largely from the Saxon point of view which is fairly rare. It was a bit heavy on the Lord of the Rings analogy but utterly compelling despite this. I have to confess going a bit weak at the knees at some of the Vikings but was completely in tears by the end esp when Edith Swanneck recognises Harold's dismembered body by the marks on his chest.http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y149/cccat/sad201.gif EC - will you ever write their story?
Anyway, if you've not seen this, I would highly recommend it.
I just found this thread lurking at the bottom of the TV board. Is the Docudrama you're referring to here 1066 - Battle for Middle Earth and, if so, did any of you watch it?
I did and loved it - it's the conquest told largely from the Saxon point of view which is fairly rare. It was a bit heavy on the Lord of the Rings analogy but utterly compelling despite this. I have to confess going a bit weak at the knees at some of the Vikings but was completely in tears by the end esp when Edith Swanneck recognises Harold's dismembered body by the marks on his chest.http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y149/cccat/sad201.gif EC - will you ever write their story?
Anyway, if you've not seen this, I would highly recommend it.
I enjoyed the programme on the whole. I thought there were things they could have done better, but they would have needed an entire week to film all the complexities! I am proud that Regia Anglorum provided the extras and many of the props. I spent quite a bit of the time watching out for people I knew. Trevor, our Nottingham group leader will be forever membered for a shot of him vomiting as the troops ran for the south of England after Stamford Bridge - LOL!
Would I write about it? Answer is yes. Once I've completed my Empress Matilda and Queen Adeliza novel (she has suddenly demanded to share the credits!) I will be working back to the women of the Norman Conquest and that will include Edith. I've already done some preliminary work on her.
I don't know if you've read it, but you could try Harold the King by Helen Hollick. Also, if you can get them from the library or second hand, try Valerie Anand's Gildenford series for the story of how it all pans out over this period. :) Oh, forgot to mention and not sure if it's upthread or not, but there are some shots of the 1066 filming here at our National Organiser's webshots.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/564125679VlhkVa
Lady Macbeth
07-25-2009, 09:47 PM
Thanks EC - great pictures. I have read Harold the King (and it's prequel of sorts A Hollow Crown) and very much enjoyed them. Very excited to hear that you'll be venturing back to the Conquest some time soon. :)
Thanks EC - great pictures. I have read Harold the King (and it's prequel of sorts A Hollow Crown) and very much enjoyed them. Very excited to hear that you'll be venturing back to the Conquest some time soon. :)
Ummm....not [I]that /I] soon :eek: I'm due to start writing the next one (Empress) in September for handing in around December of 2010, so it'll be 2011 + before the Hastings babes get their outing!
annis
07-25-2009, 09:56 PM
Parke Godwin's "Lord of Sunset" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Sunset-Parke-Godwin/dp/0380726750) is one of my favourite novels about the build-up to the Norman Conquest- written from multiple POV. The voices of the different characters are woven together, but the focus is on Edith Swan-neck and Harold Godwinson. It's a poignant story.
I am hanging out for EC's take on he story of Harold and Edith, though :)
Tanzanite
07-26-2009, 06:52 PM
Parke Godwin's "Lord of Sunset" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Sunset-Parke-Godwin/dp/0380726750) is one of my favourite novels about the build-up to the Norman Conquest- written from multiple POV. The voices of the different characters are woven together, but the focus is on Edith Swan-neck and Harold Godwinson. It's a poignant story.
I am hanging out for EC's take on he story of Harold and Edith, though :)
I'll have to check this one out. Other than Hollick's Harold the King, I haven't read many books about this event that I've really liked.
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