PBS America TV Guide — Saturday, 29 August 2026

Professor Robert Bartlett travels from Britain to Jerusalem via Sicily, examining the expansion and unchecked ambition of the Norman empire, and how its impact still resonates in today's culture and politics. He discovers how, under the leadership of Scandinavian raider Rollo, these descendants of the Vikings first established themselves in northern France and became an unstoppable force of Christian knights and warriors

Professor Robert Bartlett examines the impact of the conquest of Britain and Ireland, and learns how William the Conqueror built scores of castles and cathedrals to impose his control and intimidate the population. The ruler also commissioned the Domesday Book to survey the wealth of the land and raise revenue, and set in motion the linguistic and cultural transformation of England. The Normans blended well in Scotland, but faced fierce opposition in Wales, and promoted divisions in Ireland which some claim still exist to this day

Professor Robert Bartlett examines the Normans' expansion towards southern Europe and the Middle East in the 11th century. Southern Italy and Sicily were conquered and a prosperous kingdom flourished on the island, which became an important centre of medieval culture and an example of harmony between religions. However, Pope Urban II's call for holy war against the Muslims, to win Jerusalem back, led to the Normans embarking on the First Crusade

Historian Stephen Baxter explores his own theory that the Domesday Book was commissioned to confer revolutionary powers on the monarchy in the 11th century, and not intended as a means to collect taxes. He examines how the first great national survey, which recorded who owned every piece of land and property in England, was a massive logistical exercise that documented the traumatic impact of the Norman Conquest