In this hour-long documentary, Oxford academic Janina Ramirez tours the country in search of Anglo-Saxon art treasures. Her basic thesis - and it is a plausible one - is that we should not look upon their era as a "dark age" as compared, for example, to Roman times, but rather celebrate it as an age in which creativity flowered, especially in terms of artistic design as well as symbolism. She shows plenty of good examples, ranging from the Franks Casket to the Staffordshire Hoard, and the Lindisfarne Gospels.
Direction
Robbins lets Ramirez roam—unscripted energy beats dusty lecture.
Production
Close-ups of the Staffordshire Hoard that'll make you gasp.
Director
Andy Robbins
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ramirez filmed this during her early BBC career, before she became the network's go-to medievalist with three subsequent series.
The 2009 Staffordshire Hoard discovery—featured prominently here—transformed Anglo-Saxon studies and triggered a wave of similar 'metal detectorist' documentaries.
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