Series from the time of the creation of television have always been very popular. But in recent years, they have become comparable in cast, set, plot, and budget to major feature films. Therefore, it is not surprising that the army of fans of this art form is growing every year. And all of them have their own genre preferences. In this article we will present a list of the best series about the Middle Ages.
A bit about the genre
The Middle Ages - a period in European history from the 5th to the 15th centuries. Clothing, mores and historical events of this particular period form the basis of paintings about this time. However, often in the list of the best series about the Middle Ages, fantasy films fall, the events of which occur either in the past or in a fictional reality similar to the Middle Ages. For example, often āGame of Thronesā, āThe Witcherā, āCamelotā, āOnce Upon a Timeā, etc. fall into this category. We will not consider such series, since they are far from history.
"Pillars of the Earth"
The Pillars of the Earth mini-series, released in 2010, is quite popular with viewers. The plot is based on Ken Follett's book.
Filming of the series lasted almost a year, the plot amounted to $ 40 million. The director was Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, the script was written by John Pilmeyer. Filming was carried out in Hungary and Austria, Salisbury Cathedral became the protopope of the architectural appearance of the cinema complex.
The series "Pillars of the Earth" tells about the events that occurred at the royal court of England in the XII century. Under strange circumstances, the only son and heir of Henry I is killed. Matilda, the kingās minor daughter, remains alive. However, she cannot take the throne. Only her male child can inherit the throne when she reaches adulthood.
Several years passed, and a boy is born in Matilda. But at the same time, the conspirators poison Henry, and he dies. Power, thanks to the support of the archbishop, goes to Stephen Bloissky, the kingās nephew. Matilda is about to return to the throne and begins preparations for an uprising, in which Count Gloucester, the illegitimate son of King Robert, Earl of Shearing and some other courtiers help her.
Parallel to this storyline is the story of Tom, a talented bricklayer who is constantly unlucky.
The series consists of eight episodes, each of which lasts an hour.
The Risen Ertugrul
This Turkish series hit the screens in 2014. To date, 3 seasons have come out, including 91 episodes. However, the film has an unfinished status, so fans can hope to continue.
āRisen Ertugrulā talks about real events that took place in the 13th century Ottoman Empire. The series is dedicated to the Turkic ruler Ertugrul, whose possession included lands that later became known as the Ottoman beilik. And the center of this state was the city of Sogut. Ertugrul was not only a gifted ruler, but also a talented commander.
The plot is based on the life path of the great sovereign, who laid the foundation for the Ottoman Empire. Viewers can learn how a great power became such by gaining power. Like many empires, it was created thanks to conquests. The series colorfully depicts battles and military campaigns.
The film, in fact, is the story of a man who was able to influence the course of world history by founding a powerful empire.
"The son of a raven"
This is one of the few Russian historical series that was shown on the Rossiya TV channel in 2014. A total of four episodes were shot. The director was Alexander Schurikhin, and the script was written by Dmitry Rezaev. The shooting took place in the Crimea in the Sudan fortress, built in the 14th century.
The events of the series āSon of the Ravenā take place in the 12th century on the coast of one of the Baltic islands. The film begins with the pirates peering into the dark sea during a night storm. One of them notices the merchant kogg in the distance. Pirates decide to sink the ship and set fire to a fake lighthouse. Kogg swoops on reefs and drowns. Now the pirates can only collect rich prey. They land on the beach and pick up the most valuable. Suddenly, among the wreckage, a cradle with a child who miraculously survived the crash is discovered.
A raven sits on the edge of the baby's basket. Pirates take this as the banner of the gods. It turns out that the leader of Radomir killed his son in one of the raids. Radomir decides to adopt a baby. The child is given the name Roarg, which means "son of a raven."
The main roles were played by Alexander Prudnikov, Nikolai Sakharov, Svetlana Levicheva, Maxim Bashkin.
The film was not well received by viewers and critics and received rather low ratings.
The Rise of the Barbarians
The series "Uprising of the Barbarians" was filmed in 2016, the country of production is the United States. This historical and dramatic film tells about the heyday of the Roman Empire, when it waged war on the barbarians. More precisely, it pacified the discontented and rebelled against the great Caesar. The cause of the uprising was the discontent of many peoples included in the empire, because all the benefits went to city dwellers, and the outskirts vegetated in poverty and desolation.
The population of the Roman Empire was also composed of federals - separate families and entire tribes that lived on the outskirts of the state. Considerable sums were paid to them from the treasury so that they would protect the empire from raids.
The series "Rise of the Barbarians" was shot by Simon George. Starring Michael Eli, Christy Mitchell, Richard Riddell, Tom Hopper, Julian Kostov, John Bolt and others.
"Kings and prophets"
This American series was first released in 2015. The project was filmed in South Africa, although the events of the film unfold in Israel.
The series "Kings and Prophets" was released and immediately received extremely low ratings. Due to such a failure, the project was closed after two episodes. However, a year later the film was restarted. The plot was changed, as well as the cast. As a result, the audience took away the first season completely, but there is no information on whether there will be a continuation.
The series "Kings and Prophets" is based on a biblical Old Testament legend. Characters known to mankind for almost three thousand years appeared on the screens. Viewers were able to see beautiful landscapes, spectacular battles, etc.
The plot begins with the story of Saul, the first king of Israel. The prophet Samuel gives him a message from God. According to him, Saul must expel the most terrible enemies of all Israeli tribes - the Philistines. But for this you need to unite all the tribes. Saul almost succeeds. However, he does not know that only one person threatens his plan - the shepherd David.
"Salem"
The series "Salem" belongs to the genre of historical fantasy, which tells about the trials of witches that occurred in the 17th century in the town of Salem (Massachusetts).
The creators of the film are Brann Brag and Adam Simon. The premiere took place in April 2014. Since then, three seasons have been released; today the series is considered closed. The main roles were played by Janet Montgomery and Shane West.
The series is a fictional story based on real events. At the time described, the power over the colony was in the hands of the Puritans. The picture casts doubt on the actions of the authorities and judges, and also leaves it unclear how guilty the accused and the dead were.
The plot focuses on the life story of the witch Mary and her lover John. In addition to a purely fictional fantasy component, the picture has a beautiful depiction of the morals of the time when, due to any trifle, one could fall into the dungeons of the Inquisition.
In general, the series was well received by the audience and received high ratings from critics.
The Vikings
The list of the best series about the Middle Ages would not be complete without mentioning the āVikingsā, which gained popularity both abroad and in our country.
The series is the result of a joint work of Ireland and Canada, Michael Hurst became its creator. The picture was made specifically for the History channel. The premiere took place in March 2013. For today, 4 seasons of the film have been shot, in November 2017, the fifth is being prepared for release. Whether this season will be the last is still unknown.
āVikingsā cannot be called strictly historical series, it was created on the basis of Scandinavian legends about Anglo-Saxon Britain, the Vikings raids and the West Frankish kingdom.
The plot is based on the story of Ragnar Lodbroka, the legendary leader of the Vikings, who, according to myths, is descended from Odin himself, the supreme Scandinavian god.
The series begins in 793 in the land of Scandinavia, where the fictional Viking settlement, called Kattegat, is located. Ragnar, a young Jarl of Danes, decides to challenge Jarl Haraldson, the local ruler. Ragnar wants the Vikings to stop raiding east, and pay attention to the west, but for this you need to go on a dangerous journey to uncharted lands.
The main roles in the series were played by Travis Fimmel, Clive Standen, Katherine Vinnik, Gustaf Skarsgard, Jessaline Gilsig and others.
"The empty crown"
The list of the best TV series about the Middle Ages continues with a beautiful English series, which is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's most famous historical plays.
Filming began in 2011, and a year later the first part was already released on BBC. After that, the project was frozen, and shooting continued only in 2014, when āRichard IIIā and āHenry VIā were filmed. Judy Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sophie Okonedo, Hugh Bonnevell, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Irons took part in the filming.
The series was created in the best traditions of English drama, very close to the text. The creators managed to perfectly embody the spirit of Shakespeare's works and the Middle Ages. The film was praised by critics and earned the love of viewers.
Other
We list some more interesting series about medieval warriors:
- Aivengo;
- āCharlemagne the Greatā;
- "Wolf Hall";
- "Kingdom";
- "Toledo";
- "Borgia".
List all the films, the plot of which is taken in the Middle Ages, is almost impossible. In this article, we described only the largest and most significant projects that have received worldwide fame. We hope that you can find a show for yourself to taste and spend several days off or evenings watching it with pleasure.