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Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death

Helen Castor

Lucy Swingler

Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death: Episode 3: A Good Death

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Factual: History

Episode 3

Episode 3: A Good Death

A Good Death

BBC Four - Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death, A Good Death

How being remembered shaped the worship of the people of the Middle Ages.

Helen Castor reveals how being remembered shaped not only the worship of the people of the Middle Ages but the very buildings and funding of the medieval Church itself.

Most of the time we try not to think about death, but the people of the Middle Ages didn't have that luxury. Death was always close at hand, for young and old, rich and poor - even before the horrors of the Black Death, which killed millions in a few short months. 

However, for the people of the Middle Ages death wasn't an end but a doorway to everlasting life. The Church taught that an eternity spent in heaven or hell was much more important than this life's fleeting achievements and there was much you could do to prepare for the next life in this one. 

As historian Helen Castor reveals, how to be remembered - and remembering your loved ones - shaped not only the worship of the people of the Middle Ages but the very buildings and funding of the medieval Church itself.

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How people in the Middle Ages handled the most fundamental moments of transition in life.

Series in which historian and author Helen Castor explores how the people of the Middle Ages handled the most fundamental moments of transition in life - birth, marriage and death.

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Episode 3: A Good Death

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