Gough Map Origins (01:47)

FREE PREVIEW

The Gough Map was drawn on sheepskin over 600 years ago; it is one of the oldest surviving maps of Britain. Alixe Bovey used it to retrace the country’s history back to the Middle Ages.

"Winchester Troper" (05:03)

Winchester was once a center of power and influence and the birthplace of polyphonic, as documented by a pair of thousand-year-old music manuscripts.

Glastonbury Abbey (03:43)

King Edward I encouraged the myth of King Arthur and claimed him as an ancestor. Arthurian relics began appearing and King Arthur's "body” was found; Edward attended a lavish burial ceremony.

Harberton Cider (03:05)

The Normans introduced cider to Briton; Harberton uses medieval techniques to make the cider. Hops arrived from the Netherlands in the 14th century, allowing Britons to make beer.

Leprosy Epidemic (03:55)

Leprosy terrorized Coleford, Tiverton, Exmouth, and other southwest England towns during the late Middle Ages. The disease destroyed victims’ nerve tissue while secondary infections caused bones to waste away.

Exeter Cathedral (04:50)

The cathedral would have been a bustling, noisy place around the end of the 14th century. A hidden trove of medieval wax relics was discovered as the cathedral was undergoing renovation after World War 2.

Falconry in Dartmoor (03:29)

Hunting with birds was the exclusive activity of the nobility under Norman law. An act passed at the turn of the 13th century allowed freeman to keep hawks. The type of bird that hunters used denoted social class.

Dartmouth (02:44)

The Gough Map’s creator included an inscription that reads “here Brutus landed with the Trojans.” Bovey considers why the map was made.

Credits: In Search of Medieval Britain: South West (00:26)

Credits: In Search of Medieval Britain: South West