Secrets of the Dark Ages (2002)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Music by Andy Diey
Directed by Mark Elliott and Chris Malone

Features:

• Three complete electonic texts on DVD-ROM
  

Released by: BFS/American Home Treasures
Region: 1
Rating: NR
Anamorphic: No

My Advice: At least rent it.

The Secrets of the Dark Ages is divided into three parts. "History’s Hell's Angels" looks at the Huns, with also a bit of information on the Goths and the Vandals--basically the Near East and the steppes. "In a Time of Shadows" focuses on the Anglo-Saxons, and "Out of the Darkness" looks at the Vikings and the Muslims, with some attention given to the connections between the eastern tribes and the western tribes who helped to create such masterpieces as the Lindisfarne Gospels. All three shows are interesting and well-organized, appropriate for older children (with some tolerance for blood and war) and adults alike. The shows on average concentrate more upon the military prowess and expansionist/desperate tendencies of the peoples in question than upon their culture, religion, and so on, but still, the overall picture is more balanced than you might think.

One of the most interesting points this show makes is the importance of the melting pot effect. The various Norse tribes and Celtic peoples mixed and combined aspects of other cultures, as well, creating a whole that was more than the sum of the parts and giving rise to such wonders as were found at the Sutton Hoo burial site.

Despite the rather heavy-handed pandering to the masses on the case itself, the shows themselves are really quite balanced between the negatives of these peoples and the positives. If you can get past the sensationalist tone of the blurb on the back of the case, which contains phrases like "more shocking than what you may know" and "brutish people," then you will find the shows themselves rather well-done and fair, presenting both the military prowess of these cultures and their fine metalwork, advanced sailing vessels, and so forth. I am forced to wonder, therefore, if the sensationalism of the packaging is really necessary to drive sales; do people really want to believe that these cultures were mindless, bloodthirsty nomads driven only by greed?

The truly outstanding feature of this DVD, however, isn’t even the interesting documentaries, but the DVD-ROM special features. I suggest that every medievalist out there get this disc if only for these. We are given three classics of medieval literature, in English translation only: Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England, Nennius' Historia Brittonum, and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. What's more, all three books are presented in a host of formats: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Reader, HTML, Palm Reader, and Rocket eBook.

In any case, this is a solid DVD, especially for the money. The electronic books alone would cost you much more than you paid for the disc, and the documentaries themselves are interesting and fun to watch. If you have a child you want to encourage an interest in history, then this is a must-buy, and get it for yourself if you want to learn the truth about the "dark" ages and those dangerous men with the big axes...and the sensitive poetry, finely-crafted jewelry, and beautiful religions. Watch this one with your kids and make sure they know that the so-called "Dark Ages" where actually differentiated periods of culture, enlightenment, and heroism, along with the war and strife that plague all ages alike.