Europe in year 1000 is a wild and hungry world. Fields with poor yield are cultivated by slave labour, toiling in exchange for the protection of a local noble man. This period of history is still dominated by the figure of Charlemagne, emperor and divinity, intermediary bewteen heaven and earth, the visible and the invisible. The Palatine Chapel in Aachen (Germany), an octogonal building modelled on a Byzantine church, was to be his final resting place in 814. It remains a potent symbol of the wealth and power of the Carolingian dynasty. The influence of Byzantine art in Roman imperial art is also illustrated with the example of San Pedro de Roda (Spain). Other main works profiled in this first episode include: Tournus (Burgundy), the Bayeux tapestry, monastries of Reichenau, Echternach, Bamberg, Hildesheim and Liege.
Credits: Director, Roland Darbois ; writers, Roger Stephane, Roland Darbois, photography, Roland Dantigny.
Cast: Narrated by Georges Duby.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000695
Language
English
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)