The Private Lives of Medieval Kings

Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of illuminated manuscripts that were custom-made for kings, and explores the medieval world they reveal. In this episode, she begins her journey with the first Anglo-Saxon rulers to create a united England, encountering books in the British Library’s Royal Manuscripts collection which are over a thousand years old and a royal family tree which is five metres long. She finds out about a king who had a reputation for chasing nuns, and reads a book created as a wedding gift for a ten-year-old prince. Part 1 of 3.