I want a TV series on The Plantagenets so bad I can taste it...sigh. As much as I enjoy The Tudor era, I enjoy The Plantagenets equally so. Fascinating stuff.
Maybe if I squeeze my eyes really tight and speak the words, "The Plantagenets" over and over again, I can speak it into existence.
Wearing my 'fro as high as it will go
I'll speak them with you and maybe together we can make it happen. 😣
At least we had The White Queen mini series. And we do have season 2 of The Hollow Crown series on PBS to air sometime in 2016 where Benedict Cumberbatch will play King Richard III.
Feeling some good vibes over here...haha 😀
I actually just finished re-watching The White Queen a couple of weeks ago. Love that series also. Definitely looking forward to the The Hollow Crown with Benedict Cumberbatch.
Have you watched the British documentary series, "Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty," which is four episodes about The Plantagenets? If not, you should...really awesome stuff. Series is created by English, writer and historian, Dan Jones. I've watched the documentaries several times now and never tire of them.
Wearing my 'fro as high as it will go
Nice! 😂
Thanks! I have not seen that one. Can't wait to check it out. I love that whole era of the monarchy. Movies, series, documentaries, books... I love em all.
Yes, definitely check it out. It's a high-quality produced series produced by BBC, complete with re-enactments etc. It starts with Henry II and goes from there.
I'm with you, I love anything involving this era. Can't get enough of it.
Wearing my 'fro as high as it will go.
I just finished watching Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty and enjoyed it very much. Thanks for the heads up. It was just made like last year! I had no idea. I liked how the host mixed in contemporary terms while explaining the events of medieval times. lol
Have you heard anything new on Starz following up on The White Queen series with Philippa Gregory's The White Princess? It was announced over 2 years ago that it was in the works and I haven't heard of any updated since.
Awesome...so glad you enjoyed it! I totally lose myself in these types of shows / documentaries. But then, I'm one of those people who finds history so far more interesting than the present, so...
Dan Jones, the creator of the series, is quickly becoming one of my favourite historians right up there alongside fellow British historian, David Starkey.
Regarding, The White Princess, it was recently announced on one of the British history Facebook pages I follow (not sure which one), that The White Princess is definitely in the works. I think Philippa Gregory also mentioned it on her facebook page, or something to that effect, recently as well. So fingers crossed, it looks like it's definitely on the horizon.
Here's a recent article in regards to the upcoming series:
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-08-10/a-sequel-to-the-white-queen-is-definitely-in-the-works
Wearing my 'fro as high as it will go
Thank you that's awesome news!
shareJust an FYI I thought you might be interested in - Dan Jones, the same historian / writer who created the documentary series, "Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty", about The Plantagenets just announced on his Facebook page today that his next documentary series, entitled, "Britain's Bloodiest Crown", which I'm assuming is a continuation of The Plantagenets--or at least that's the impression I got from his comments--is coming to TV in early January...
in any event...YAAAAYYY! I love these shows! :D
Wearing my 'fro as high as it will go
Oh sweet! What station do you think this will air on? PBS?
shareMost PBS stations are currently airing "The Great Fire," which covers events during the reign of Charles II after the Restoration. He was a Stuart, and also descended from the Tudors (Henry VIII's sister married into the Scottish monarchy.)
shareIs this the 2014 four part mini-series in which Perdita Weeks, who played Mary Boleyn in The Tudors, was in? Most people were disappointed with it. What did you think?
shareI actually have not watched it yet - too much holiday programming I'd rather watch right now, so the first two episodes are on the DVR, and I'll most likely binge-watch all of them after the first of the year. Were people disappointed with the acting, the historical accuracy, the production values?
shareSorry for the delay in responding.
I mistakenly called it Britain's Bloodiest Crown in my original post, but it's actually called Britain's Bloody Crown.
The docu-series is actually airing Channel 5 in the UK. You can watch it on their website at Channel5.com, but since the page restricts anyone who is not in the UK from watching, (I'm assuming you're in North America like I am. I'm in Canada) you'll need to add the Hola extension to your Chrome browser which will prevent it from blocking your IP location from streaming it.
I'm on episode 2 so far and am thoroughly enjoying it. Dan Jones is narrating and it is high quality-produced stuff as usual with full re-enactments etc. And yes, it is a continuation of The Plantagenets docu-series from a couple of years ago.
Oh, and there's another documentary series coming called Bloody Queens which focuses on Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. It will be airing on BBC Two on February 1st.
Enjoy! :)
Wearing my 'fro as high as it will go
Oh yes please!!
shareDoing some research about Catherine of Lancaster, I've just found out queen Isabel of Castile was a Plantagenet descendant. I had no idea. Must agree that dynasty is a quite fascinating one!
shareIsabel, who was the mother of Catherine of Aragon? I had no idea. I read a lot about these people and never noticed that. This would further explain Henry's desire to completely obliterate the Plantagenet family. He seemed genuinely scared of Catherine's abilities to muster an army on her behalf so maybe he made the family connection. Of course, I'm relying on The Tudors and written accounts as to his fear of Catherine's abilities. That may or may not be accurate.
shareYes, that Isabel. You may read about their family connection here: http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/plantagenet_98.html
I was surprised myself; although, to be honest, I haven't read much about these people. Only what I studied at school and all we were taught was Isabel's struggle to get the throne and all the things she and Fernando accomplished as sovereigns. I had no clue there was English blood running in her veins. I only found out by watching the show "Isabel". In fact, according to it, Catherine of Aragon was named after her great-grandmother, Catherine of Lancaster. Which might as well be true, for all I know.
Now I feel the urge to learn more about this, it seems quite an exciting time period to delve into.
I am fascinated by that time period. I really wish Showtime had tackled the story after Henry VIII's death. Maybe they will still do it at some point.
shareThat's a good point. Who knows why they haven't decided to take advantage of the show's success.
By contrast, over here they have made a series about the life of Carlos (or Charles), Isabel and Fernando's grandson and a movie that picks the story right where the show Isabel left off. The latter hasn't been released yet, I really look forward to watch it.
I need to watch Isabel. I read some about Isabel and Ferdinand in The Constant Princess. They surely seemed to be a formidable pair. It explains a lot about Catherine of Aragon's fortitude. I love all of the back stories and how each person's character was shaped by events from their past. I've always been intrigued by the fact that Henry VIII was never meant to be King since he was the 'spare.' And to keep things in perspective in this modern age, it would have been like William ascending to the throne with Kate as his Queen, then meeting an untimely death with Harry then marrying Kate after he succeeds his brother. Of course William already has heirs so that part is different but still that would be odd. I know I'm off the Plantagenet subject so I offer my apologies in advance. :)
shareI highly recommend Isabel to any fan of that time period. I absolutely loved it, and I learnt a lot. It'd be very interesting to discuss it with a non-Spaniard.
Reading about Catherine of Aragon, I dare say she was very aware of her dignity as Isabel and Fernando's daughter. Until I watched the show I didn't know about the deprivation she had to face after Arthur's death. Seven long years as her father in law 'prisoner', lacking the commodities she'd once been used to. I read she didn't speak English back then, as she was basically ignored by the king and barely had contact with anybody other than Doña Elvira.
I also love how everyone had powerful reasons to behave the way they did, considering their past and all the intertwined interests. It's so entertaining to watch. And I agree it must be odd to marry your late husband's sibling, or your sibling's widow. But then again, that was quite common at the time.
Well, we've mentioned some Plantagenets descendants, so it's not completely off-topic. :)
THIS.
It's really tempting to pass judgment on historical figures ... but until you get a wider perspective on the times and everything that was inter-connected, it's foolish to do so. Katharine had her reasons for every decision she made, and she was incredibly intelligent. She learned from her mistakes -- very quickly, and the wide-eyed, non-English speaking girl taken advantage of and mistreated by Henry VII after Arthur's death rose to become one of the most influential women of her time -- popular, dangerous, and clever enough to keep Henry on his toes about the divorce for YEARS.
For example, one might think introducing the Reformation to England is no big deal, and that Thomas More was foolish for worrying about it -- until they read about the Peasant's Revolt, and the Sack of Rome, and then things come into a bit sharper of perspective. The instant Protestantism reduced respect for the Catholic Church, Churches and their occupants were no longer protected or seen as sacred. With 40,000 people dead after the sack of Rome, most of the women raped before being murdered, a large portion of them nuns, one can see why Thomas More was desperate to keep Reformist books out of England.
"It's really tempting to pass judgment on historical figures ... but until you get a wider perspective on the times and everything that was inter-connected, it's foolish to do so."
Well said, Katherine- and applies to almost all historical events. Can't tell you how many times I've tried to stress this point when debating historical events and actions.
Very good point. As you say, most people pass judgement on historical figures and their decisions with a modern perspective. The truth is the mindset back then was very different in many ways, especially when it came to subjects as religion and rights.
In that era women were regarded as inferior as opposed to men, and were given much less opportunities to gain influence or power. Katherine showed great strength overcoming the difficulties she had to face as a young, isolated widow with no promising future.
That's a hella long period of time.
Of all sad words of mouth or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been. - J G Whittier
A series about henry II and his disfunctional family would be good.
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