- All Timelines
- Britain - Changing Lives
- c.1066 |Medieval Manor
- c.1180 |Medieval Minds
- c.1250 |Medieval Towns
- c.1320 |Monastic Life
- c.1348 |The Black Death
- c.1420 |Yeoman England
- c.1520 |The Reformation
- c.1588 |Shakespeare's World
- c.1612 |Pendle Witches
- c.1775 |Iron and Industry
- c.1785 |Factories and Machines
- c.1810 |Urban Slums
- c.1834 |Tolpuddle Martyrs
- c.1853 |The Vision of Titus Salt
- c.1875 |Cities Transformed
- c.1910 |A Golden Age?
- c.1984 |Death of Industry
- Britain - Rulers & Ruled
- c.1066 |Norman Conquest
- c.1170 |Church & Crown
- c.1215 |Magna Carta
- c.1280 |First Parliaments
- c.1381 |Peasants Revolt
- c.1470 |The Pastons
- c.1528 |Henry VIII & Church
- c.1649 |Civil War
- c.1658 |The Wheel of History
- c.1688 |"Glorious" Revolution
- c.1789 |Rights of Man
- c.1819 |Peterloo Massacre
- c.1842 |The Chartists
- c.1867 |Dawn of Democracy
- c.1893 |Rise of Labour
- c.1903 |Votes for Women
- c.1919 |Century of Change
- Britain - Nations & Empire
- Smallpox Through Time
- c.1045BC |Face of a Pharaoh
- c.1562 |Arsenic and Old Lace
- c.1617 |Smallpox in America
- c.1711 |Child Pox
- c.1721 |Experiment in Newgate
- c.1758 |The Speckled Monster
- c.1796 |Jenner's Breakthrough
- c.1800 |The Vaccine Triumphant
- c.1806 |Ox-faced Boys
- c.1853 |Public Health & Protest
- c.1896 |Epidemic on Camera
- c.1967 |Global Action
- c.2010 |Smallpox Today
- The American West
- Britain - Changing Lives
- This Module
- Like the towns, medieval Monasteries offered another way to escape the confines of manor life. The story of Christina of Markyate, a 12th century nun. Early monasticism, 'between the rocks and the trees'. contrasted with late monasticism, and its increasing connection with the world outside. Monks and nuns 'become players in the grubby world of society'.
- Credits
History of Britain - Changing Lives
- 4.Monastic Life
-
1150 - 1400
What was life like in a medieval monastery? Why did people choose the monastic life, and what opportunities did it offer? (6.25 mins)
Chapter Breakdown
- 1. The experience of Christina of Markyate: the monastery as an escape from manor life.
- 2. The early monastic life: "between the rocks and the trees".
- 3. Life in a late medieval convent: Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire.
- 4. 'Apart from' the world - or 'a part of' the world? The monastic dilemma.
Picture Viewer
Location details
Nothing remains of Christina's monastic foundation in Markyate in Hertfordshire (except, a local friend tells me, for a subterranean tunnel linking her priory to an abbey nearby). So instead, we filmed the opening sequence of the module at Lilleshall Abbey in Shropshire.
The final sequence was filmed at Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, in same cloister that features in many of the Harry Potter films.
Lacock is well worth a visit. It really retains the feel of a 15th century convent. And the local town - administered by the National Trust - is a gem.
Funding
Sponsorship Opportunities
Timelines.tv is a free-to-view site, dependent for its survival on sponsorship from national, corporate and philanthropic institutions.
