Old Sarum, a greedy bishop and the twilight days of Norman England
Member Exclusive Lectures
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1h 27m
Evidence suggests that Old Sarum, a vast Iron Age hillfort in the south of England was specially chosen by King William the Conqueror to be a centre of Norman power in the newly conquered kingdom of Wessex. With its vast outer Bailey, new cathedral complex and imposing motte and keep it was designed as a ceremonial stage for the performance of power. It wasn't long though before the fault lines of the Norman project at Old Sarum began to creak apart and in the career of Bishop Roger of Salisbury we see the castle and cathedral become the setting for one of the most spectacular falls from grace in medieval England. This lecture examines new evidence for the rise of Old Sarum and vital archaeological clues that cast the downfall of Roger in a much more sinister light than contemporary chroniclers would have us believe...
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