Dr Janina's Secret Knowledge

In case you missed it, Dr Janina Ramirez was on BBC4 again the other night, this time talking about Viking art.

I can just imagine some of the items she examines being found in the great feast hall of King Hrothgar himself...

Michael Wood on Beowulf

Historian Michael Wood traces the birth of English poetry back to the dark ages, focusing on Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon classics to reveal the origins of England's literary heritage. Travelling from East Anglia to Scotland, he is joined by Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, actor Julian Glover and local enthusiasts to bring the story and language of the famous poem to life.

If you've not seen this documentary before, it's well worth a watch, for Julian Glover's performance alone. It is showing on BBC4 tonight at 11.00pm.