The Dark Ages: An Age of Light

S01E02: What the Barbarians Did for Us

Although they are blamed for the fall of Rome, the barbarians were more than just fearsome warriors. Converted to Christianity in the fourth century, the Vandals, Goths, and Huns went on to produce some of the greatest artistic and architectural achievements of the Dark Ages.

Overview

Christianity slowly emerged from being a persecuted minority to the state religion of the Roman Empire. This episode is a history of the ways believers grappled with a way to depict Jesus. Simple symbolic meaning developed into splendid art and churches.

Episodes

The Clash of the Gods

S01E01 The Clash of the Gods

November 27, 2012
In the first episode Waldemar Januszczak looks at how Christianity emerged into the Roman Empire as an artistic force in the third and fourth centuries. But with no description of Jesus in the Bible, how...
What the Barbarians Did for Us

S01E02 What the Barbarians Did for Us

December 4, 2012
Although they are blamed for the fall of Rome, the barbarians were more than just fearsome warriors. Converted to Christianity in the fourth century, the Vandals, Goths, and Huns went on to produce some of...
The Wonder of Islam

S01E03 The Wonder of Islam

December 11, 2012
To the south and east of Christendom, the new religion of Islam spread from its Arabian birthplace throughout the Middle East, across North Africa, and into Spain. As it did so, Islam imparted its own...
The Men of the North

S01E04 The Men of the North

December 18, 2012
Across the waters of the North Sea, the Vikings launched raids on the coasts of Britain and Ireland, targeting monasteries like Lindisfarne, where monks produced illuminated manuscripts of breathtaking beauty. Yet the Vikings who terrorized...

Cast

Waldemar Januszczak
Waldemar Januszczak
Self - Presenter

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