Christmas 2018 – Italian Christmas past and present and a Christmas witch
We have a look at important events in Italy on and around Christmas as well as explore the traditions, including that of the Christmas witch.
26 Dec 201820min
039 – A sticky end and the humiliation of Canossa
1076 - 1077 Godfrey the Hunchback meets a sticky end and the investiture controversy reaches a high point and slips towards war
19 Dec 201818min
037 – The Normans run out of room and the papacy out of patience
1061 - 1073 The Normand, having conquered as much as they could in Southern Italy, head for Sicily while the struggle between the papacy and the empire heats up.
5 Dec 201818min
036 – Introducing a beard, a hunchback and Matilda
1052 - 1061 Bonifacio Attone of Canossa dies leaving his wife Beatrice and stepdaughter to first look to the pope and then marry Godfrey the Bearded while in the backgrounds a couple of popes come and go and we also see a change of emperors.
28 Nov 201818min
035 – The lion, the fox and the Great Schism
1047 - 1054 Once pope Leo IX takes power, we follow his rather disastrous decision to challenge the Normans and Robert Guiscard. After that, we have a quick look at the start of the Great East- West Schism.
22 Nov 201820min
034 – Another Henry, too many popes and naughtiness in the church
1039-1046 We follow the descent of Henry III into Italy and see how he deals with the church as a reform takes route
11 Nov 201822min
033 – Here come the Normans, there goes the neighbourhood
We take a look at the arrival of the Normans in Southern Italy at the start of the XI century and follow their participation in the anti-Byzantines rebellions of the 1040's.
28 Okt 201819min
