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BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

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Ian Hislop

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Ian Hislop's Olden Days: Episode 2: Forward into the Past

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Forward into the Past

Episode 2

Episode 2: Forward into the Past

Ian Hislop's Olden Days

BBC Two - Ian Hislop's Olden Days, Forward into the Past

How the Victorians turned to the Middle Ages to make sense of their era of progress.

Ian Hislop explores the British trait of obsession with the past. He shows how the Victorians turned to the Middle Ages to make sense of their era of progress.

Ian Hislop travels back to the era of the Industrial Revolution and Victorian Britain. This was a time of some of the greatest progress and modernisation the country had ever seen - and yet, throughout these decades, writers, artists and politicians were trying to make sense of this new world by retreating into a very old world indeed: the Middle Ages.

The medieval revival had a huge impact on the country as it faced enormous upheaval. The novelist Walter Scott became a bestseller with his books Waverley and Ivanhoe, tales of gallant heroes and knights in armour. A dissatisfied workforce, faced with the threat of job losses from industrialisation, formed an ancient-style band of brothers to protest, calling themselves the Luddites. The Houses of Parliament were rebuilt in a medieval gothic style. And prime minister Benjamin Disraeli led a government that improved living and working conditions for millions by looking back to the values of the olden days. 

With rich storytelling, fascinating anecdotes and a wry sense of humour, Ian explains how the Middle Ages actually made Britain modern.

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Factual: History

Ian Hislop explores how the British look to 'the olden days' to make sense of the present.

Ian Hislop explores the British obsession with the past. He reveals how and why, throughout our history, we have continually plundered 'the olden days' to make sense of and shape the present.

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