1066 The Battle for Middle Earth

1066 The Battle for Middle Earth
Genre	Historical Drama
Written by	Peter Harness
Directed by	Justin Hardy
Starring	Ian Holm Mike Bailey Francis Magee Tim Plester Søren Byder Kate Ambler Gemma Lawrence Sam Hardy Katrine Bach Amber Celeste Christopher Sloman Christopher Leveaux
Theme music composer	Richard Blair-Oliphant
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original languages	English, Anglo-Saxon, French, Norse
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	2
Production
Producers	Lucy Bassnett-McGuire, Susan Horth
Running time	150 minutes
Original release
Release	18 May (2009-05-18) – 19 May 2009 (2009-05-19)

1066: The Battle for Middle Earth is a two-part British television documentary series. In this blend of historical drama and original source material, Channel 4 re-imagines the story of this decisive year of the Norman conquest of England, not from the saddles of kings and conquerors, but through the eyes of ordinary people caught up in its events. The documentary was narrated by actor Sir Ian Holm.

The series focuses on the Sussex village of Crowhurst, which Director Justin Hardy learned about from the Domesday Book, England's earliest surviving public record. Located between the coast and Hastings, the little village was, according to the book, "laid to waste" in 1066. In the series, it serves as the hometown for the fictional peasant soldiers Tofi, Leofric, and Ordgar, whose names are actual Anglo-Saxon names from the period. Viewers may assume that the programme's title refers to The Lord of the Rings books, but Hardy chose "Middle Earth" because Anglo-Saxons frequently used the term to describe their world. He notes that J. R. R. Tolkien, an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon, used it, along with other Anglo-Saxon words, for the same reasons.

External links

• 1066 The Battle of Middle Earth at IMDb
• 1066 - Channel 4