The Devil's Crown

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The Devil's Crown
GenreDrama
History
Written byJack Russell
Ken Taylor
Directed byAlan Cooke
Jane Howell
Ronald Wilson
StarringBrian Cox
Jane Lapotaire
Michael Byrne
John Duttine
Christopher Gable
ComposerDavid Cain
Country of originUnited Kingdom
France
Switzerland
Italy
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes13
Production
ProducerRichard Beynon
Running time55 minutes
Production companiesBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Radiotelevisione Italiana
TF1
Time-Life Television Productions
Télécip
Télévision Suisse-Romande (TSR)
Original release
NetworkBBC2
Release30 April –
1 July 1978

The Devil's Crown was a BBC television series which dramatised the reigns of three medieval Kings of England: Henry II and his sons Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland. It is also known as La couronne du diable in French.

The series was written by Jack Russell and Ken Taylor. It was shown in the United Kingdom in thirteen 55-minute episodes between 30 April and 23 July 1978.

A weblog falsely reported that some episodes no longer exist in the BBC archives.[1][2]

A full set of tape copies exist at the British Film Institute, where they can be viewed on request.[1] It has never been released on DVD, although a French dubbed version, called "La couronne du diable", is available as a paid (legal) download.[3]

Summary

Henry Plantagenet (latterly Henry II), sees his opportunity to seize the crown of England and create a kingdom of law and order. He cuts a deal with King Stephen in which Stephen will name him his heir, excluding his sons Eustace and William in exchange for a fragile truce. Stephen's sudden death elevates Henry to the throne. He may have been King of England, but the bulk of the Angevin Empire was in France, and it was this that Henry regarded as the Jewel in his Crown, maintained through a series of political marriages and complex allegiances. Henry pays homage to Louis VII, King of the Franks, for these lands, but it is clear that Henry is the shrewder and more ambitious of the two kings, having married Louis' ex-wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Cast

Episode List

  • Ep.1 - If All the World Were Mine
  • Ep.2 - The Earth Is Not Enough
  • Ep.3 - A Rose, a Thorn
  • Ep.4 - The Hungry Falcons
  • Ep.5 - Before the Dark
  • Ep.6 - Richard Yea and Nay
  • Ep.7 - Lion of Christendom
  • Ep.8 - When Cage-Birds Sing
  • Ep.9 - Bolt from the Blue
  • Ep.10 - In Sun's Eclipse
  • Ep.11 - The Flowers Are Silent
  • Ep.12 - Tainted King
  • Ep.13 - To the Devil They Go

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The Plantagenets on Radio 4 - Summer of Blood".
  2. ^ "TVBrain - Kaleidoscope - Lost shows - TV Archive - TV History". lostshows.com.
  3. ^ http://www.ina.fr

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Devil%27s_Crown&oldid=841034538"