The Second Crusade ends in frustration. Henry II brings a reformation in England's judicial system. Viewpoint debate discusses the role of the Church in society.
The Magna Carta is signed, with King John capitulating to the English barons. The Mongol invasion wrecks havoc. An attempt at a Children's Crusade ends in disaster.
The Hundred Years War is at an end, with the French surrendering at Poitiers. An examination of the final day explains that a new technology emerged from this war: the long bow (a commercial for the long bow appears shortly after).The Black Plague spreads through Europe, reducing the populace to a stricken amalgamation without doctors. In a related story, another doctor is profiled for his own, shall we say, questionable medical practices.
This episode begins with a retrospective on Joan of Arc. After the commercial break, the medieval Church's power to shape ideas is tested when Faust takes over Gutenberg's process of printing with movable type. In the closing minutes, the grip of the Black Plague is finally loosened with a rebirth of the arts and architecture in Italy. It's the beginning of the Renaissance.
The impact of Martin Luther's call for a Reformation is portrayed. The printing press has made great strides in spreading knowledge (a commercial for the Bible is featured). After obituaries to Leonardo Da Vinci and Christopher Columbus, a final major story reports on efforts to stop the Portuguese slave trade.
What provoked the English Civil War? How did the colonization of North America compound tensions between Catholics and Protestants? This final Newscast discusses these and other major stories of the day, such as morality to witch trials and the backlash to Galileo's theory that the sun is the center of the universe. William Shakespeare is eulogized.