History Documentary hosted by Rory McGrath, published by Discovery Channel in 2004 - English narration
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When History Was Really Horrible! Rory McGrath presents an entertaining history series that uses animation to shed light on some of the goriest events in Britain's past.
Fresh, innovative, entertaining and revelatory, Bloody Britain combines strong historical research and storytelling with hands-on historical experiments (such as building and firing a trebuchet), an entertaining but extremely passionate presenter and atmospheric and innovative animation.
Bloody Britain examines key historical events from ground level - looking at the lives and perspectives of all those involved in these events - king and commoner alike. Action and information-packed, each show is a fascinating and at times squeamish journey through some of Britain's most gruesome and awful, but momentous, historical events.
In each episode of Bloody Britain Rory McGrath examines a key event from British history. Whether it's battles, rebellions, wars, plagues, social unrest, betrayal, executions, injustice or mass insanity, we'll concentrate on the mad, sad and bad moments from our past. In short, we'll zoom in on when the past was truly horrible and ask why, when and how these events came to be part of our history.
From learning the tactics of the siege, through to troop formations and allegiances of the people, Bloody Britain demonstrates that history is always more interesting when it was horrible.
Series Producer: Sophie Theunissen ; Directed by Emma Sayce & Jessica Whitehead ; Produced by Outline for Discovery Networks Europe
6) The Witchfinder General
Rory McGrath finds out about the savage witch-hunts of the 1640s, learning how to test for a witch and how to protect himself from witchcraft.
The largest witch-hunt in English history was held between 1645 and 1647, led by the self-appointed Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins. Hopkins was a failed lawyer with no real legal qualifications, who made it his mission to rid East Anglia of witches. Witch-hunting really took off in England after Henry VIII passed a statute against witchcraft in 1542. Over the next 200 years, around 1000 people, mostly women, were hanged for practising witchcraft. Across the border in Scotland, they were even more witch-hunt crazy, finding 4000 witches guilty. Unlike their English cousins, these unfortunates were burnt at the stake.
