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00:05This is a series about an artistic era that's looked down on and never gets the respect it
00:13deserves. It's a shadowy era, so shadowy people even disagree about its name. So I'm going to
00:23use the old one, the one that best sums up its dilemmas. I'm going to call it the Dark Ages.
01:16The Dark Ages go roughly from the 4th century to roughly the 11th.
01:22They begin when the Roman Empire starts to crumble and they end when William the Conqueror invades England.
01:34Now in this shadowy slab of time everything changed. The greatest empire the world has seen
01:43melted back into the cultural shadows and various powerful artistic forces stepped up to take its place.
01:54Later in the series we'll be examining those much misunderstood creatives, the barbarians. What wondrous bling they brought into the
02:06world. What fabulous things they achieved.
02:12I'll also be looking at that joyous and inventive religion, Islam, which did so much to light up the Dark
02:20Ages.
02:20But we begin with a group of people whose achievements were enormous. They started with nothing and ended up with
02:31so much.
02:32I'm thinking, of course, of those thoroughly underestimated Dark Age creatives. Those intrepid voyagers into the unknown. The Christians.
02:51Art never lies. And the story that art tells us of these exciting times is that this was never an
03:00age of darkness. This was an age of light.
03:19These are the famous ruins of Pompeii. And as I'm sure you know, Mount Vesuvius erupted here in 79 AD.
03:27And all this was covered in ashes and preserved for posterity in perfect conditions.
03:34Now, one of the things they found here, which really surprised them, was proof that there were already Christians here
03:42by 79 AD.
03:43And the thing they found that proved it was this.
03:51It's what they call a rotas square. And these rotas squares are deeply mysterious.
04:01They've been found all over the Roman Empire. In Syria, in Gaul, even in England, in Sirencester, they found one
04:10of these.
04:11And they're usually inscribed on the walls of houses or sometimes on the columns outside the house.
04:18And, of course, when they found them, they didn't have a clue what these were.
04:23Just mysterious word games plastered outside houses.
04:31What it is is a letter square made up of five Latin words.
04:38Rotas. Rotas, opera, tenet, arepo, and sator.
04:51Rotas, at the top, is sator backwards.
04:55And you can see rotas down this side as well, and sator down that side.
05:00And here in the middle, arepo, is opera, work, backwards.
05:07The actual words mean something like, as ye sow, so shall ye reap.
05:14But only if you ignore Latin grammar.
05:19Various code breakers twisted it this way and that for decades.
05:25But it still didn't mean much.
05:31But then, a eureka moment.
05:35One of these code breakers realised that the important thing about the rotas square was not the words but the
05:46letters.
05:47Because these letters of the rotas square can be rearranged to form a cross which reads the same, both ways,
06:02up and down.
06:03And it says, Pater Noster, which is Latin for Our Father.
06:10The opening words of the Lord's Prayer.
06:22What's more, these two letters that are left over, alpha and omega, are the first and last letters of the
06:29Greek alphabet.
06:30Alpha and omega in their Roman form.
06:39You can see them down in the Roman catacombs, popping up everywhere.
06:45Alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.
06:50Popular Christian code for the one true God.
06:56So these mysterious word squares were put outside houses to signify that the occupants were Christians.
07:04And also, as a kind of lucky charm, to ward off evil.
07:13Of course, this isn't art yet. This is an inscription. But it has artistic implications.
07:22What you see in here, this appetite for signs and symbols and secret meanings.
07:28That Christian appetite is something that transferred to Christian art.
07:35The Christian art of the Dark Ages is an art of mystery and magic.
07:41Of suggestions and miracles.
07:45Transcendence and light.
07:48The Rotas Square isn't art yet, but it is an excellent pointer to a new artistic direction.
08:04One of the reasons early Christian art is so exciting is because you find it in exciting places.
08:14Rome is wild enough on the surface, but when you descend into its underground, look how scary and fascinating it
08:24becomes.
08:28People often imagine the catacombs were hiding places.
08:33Underground shelters in which persecuted Christians hid from the Romans.
08:40But you can't hide an underground city as huge as this under anyone's nose.
08:47The Romans knew these were here alright.
08:54What they didn't know is what one Christian was saying to another down here.
09:00Because the first Christian art was filled with secret signs and hidden meanings.
09:08That's why the fish became an ubiquitous Christian symbol.
09:18When two Christians met on the road, it's said that one of them would draw this shape in the sand.
09:28And the other one would draw this shape.
09:32And the two of them knew immediately that they were Christians together.
09:51This famous Christian sign, the Christogram or key row represents Jesus himself.
09:58It's made by combining two Greek letters, key and row,
10:04the first two letters of the word Christos, which means the Anointed One.
10:14It's said the sign had magic powers.
10:18Even today, we still call Christmas X-mas because of this.
10:24Another popular Christian sign was the anchor.
10:30For the simple reason that the top of it here looked like a cross.
10:39Everywhere you look in these haunting Roman catacombs,
10:44the first Christians are declaring their faith in such mysterious and cryptic ways.
10:54These symbols and signs weren't just a secret language.
11:00They're also a different way of seeing things, a different way of understanding,
11:06not just with your eyes, but with your imagination.
11:10And what's most interesting about this first Christian art you find down here
11:16is how few pictures there are in it.
11:24No images of Jesus, no Marys, no saints.
11:29For the first few centuries of Christianity, there were no Christian images.
11:37It's not till the beginning of our period, the so-called Dark Ages,
11:44300 years after the birth of Christ,
11:48that figures and scenes begin to pop up at last in Christian art.
11:53Look how puzzling they were.
11:58We're in a third-century Christian burial chamber in the catacombs of Priscilla.
12:05A rich Christian family was buried here.
12:09And look what's on the walls.
12:12Over here, some peacocks.
12:15Over there, three chaps standing in a fire.
12:22And over here, some kind of sea dragon,
12:26with someone coming out of its mouth.
12:30So let's decode all this.
12:33The peacocks are symbols of eternity.
12:37Because peacocks replace their beautiful feathers every year,
12:40the ancients believed their flesh couldn't rot.
12:44It was eternal.
12:48The three young men are described in the Bible by the prophet Daniel.
12:53Three young Israelites were set on fire by the Babylonians.
12:56But God protected them.
12:59And the Babylonian fires couldn't touch them.
13:05The chap coming out of the sea monster is the prophet Jonah,
13:09who you may remember was swallowed by a whale for three whole days.
13:13After three days, the whale spat him out again.
13:17And he returned to dry land.
13:20A wiser man.
13:24The thread that unites all these cryptic images is salvation.
13:28Hope.
13:30God saved the three young men from the fire.
13:33He saved Jonah from the whale.
13:41Jonah is also the subject of the earliest surviving masterpieces of Christian sculpture,
13:48found today in the Cleveland Museum of Art.
13:53Jonah swallowed by the whale,
13:56spat out by the whale,
13:58and returned to dry land a wiser man.
14:05Jonah is particularly significant
14:09because the early Christians used him as a stand-in for Jesus himself.
14:16Jesus, remember, also rose from the dead after three days.
14:21And the reason why Jonah is so popular in the catacombs
14:25is because he's a way of showing Jesus
14:31without showing Jesus.
14:33A replacement.
14:35Another code.
14:37A symbol.
14:41We've been down here, what, five minutes?
14:44Yet look how many different ways we've already seen
14:47to represent Jesus without actually showing him.
14:51He's the kiro, the word sign.
14:54He's Jonah in the whale.
14:58He's the fish, the anchor.
15:01What we haven't seen yet is a Jesus we can all recognise.
15:07A Jesus who actually looks like Jesus.
15:14The truth is, no one in early Christian art
15:18had a clue what he actually looked like.
15:22The Bible doesn't describe him.
15:24No one does.
15:26So art took an extremely long time
15:30to come up with a face for Jesus.
15:33And I think the search for that face
15:37is the greatest artistic tussle of the Dark Ages.
15:47The proof that no one actually knew what Jesus looked like
15:51is this controversial relic,
15:54the Shroud of Turin.
15:58It's said to be the cloth
16:00in which Jesus was wrapped at his death.
16:04And this haunting likeness
16:07is the true face of Christ,
16:09preserved miraculously in his blood.
16:13Or so they say.
16:16The Shroud of Turin doesn't get shown very often,
16:19but when it does,
16:20thousands of pilgrims flock to Turin to see it,
16:24and most of them believe they're looking
16:26at the true face of Christ.
16:29When I went to see it,
16:31there was such a powerful atmosphere in the church.
16:35So many people,
16:36so certain they were staring
16:38at the remains of Jesus.
16:43But I'm afraid they weren't,
16:45because Jesus Christ didn't look like that.
16:48At least, not according to the evidence left behind
16:51by the first Christian artists who described him.
16:55According to these first Christian artists,
16:59Jesus actually looked like this.
17:05Blonde, fresh-faced, boyish,
17:08the earliest images of Jesus
17:11look nothing like the Jesus we know today,
17:14and nothing like the Jesus on the Turin Shroud.
17:20Jesus, at first,
17:21is a happy-go-lucky character,
17:24curly-haired and handsome.
17:28He's usually shown waving his wand about,
17:31performing remarkable miracles.
17:33So here, he's turning water into wine
17:36at the wedding feast at Cana.
17:38And here, he's curing the paralytic
17:43who couldn't walk
17:44until he met the baby-faced Jesus.
17:48And over here,
17:50the blind man is being cured by Jesus again.
17:54And finally,
17:56with a wave of that Harry Potter wand of his,
18:00this is Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
18:04You can always tell Lazarus in early Christian art,
18:07because he looks like an Egyptian mummy,
18:10all wrapped up.
18:18What you never see
18:20in these very first examples of Christian art
18:24is a Jesus who's suffering,
18:26in pain,
18:28covered in blood,
18:29like the one on the Turin Shroud.
18:32That Jesus doesn't turn up in art
18:35for a thousand years or so.
18:37Because the tortured Jesus
18:39is a creation of the Middle Ages,
18:42an expression of medieval guilt and terror.
18:49What horrible pains the artistic mind
18:53went on to inflict on the crucified Jesus
18:56in the centuries ahead.
18:59How harshly it whipped him
19:01and scourged him
19:03and punctured him
19:05and punctured him.
19:10In the beginning, though,
19:12artists didn't do that.
19:14The first Jesuses in art
19:16are young and handsome,
19:18curly-haired and free.
19:20So,
19:22either Jesus deliberately misled his followers
19:26about what he actually looked like
19:28for the first 1,000 years or so
19:31of Christianity,
19:33or
19:33the Turin Shroud
19:35is a medieval fake.
19:39I know what I think.
19:45The first Christians
19:47weren't looking for a God
19:49who made them feel guilty.
19:50That would never have caught on.
19:53They were looking for a God
19:56who would save them
19:57and fill them with hope.
20:00So as their model
20:01for the first Jesus,
20:03Christian artists
20:05selected the youngest
20:06and handsomest
20:08of the pagan gods.
20:10They chose
20:11Apollo,
20:13the God of the Sun.
20:15Blonde and unbearded,
20:18youthful
20:19and curly-haired.
20:22Apollo was a God
20:23who made you feel good.
20:29So the first Jesuses
20:31were curly-haired
20:32and pretty
20:33because they borrowed
20:34that look from Apollo
20:35and it went further than that.
20:38When this
20:39mysterious Christian statue
20:41was dug up out of the ground,
20:43it was thought to represent
20:45a woman,
20:46an unknown goddess,
20:48a muse.
20:49Only later was it realised
20:51that this, too,
20:53was an early Jesus.
21:03In that wonderful museum
21:05in Cleveland,
21:06the one with the Jonah marbles,
21:09there's a carving of Apollo
21:10performing a miracle
21:12with Nike,
21:14the goddess of victory.
21:16Apollo
21:17is the robed figure
21:19on the left.
21:20And look how shapely he is.
21:23How easily
21:24we might mistake him, too,
21:26for a woman.
21:30Pagan gods
21:31could be male
21:32and female.
21:33They could
21:34amalgamate the sexes
21:35and represent
21:36both genders at once,
21:38just like
21:39this Jesus here.
21:41Extraordinary
21:42as it sounds,
21:43the first Jesuses
21:44were sometimes
21:45made to look feminine
21:47on purpose.
21:50They were given
21:51suggestions of breasts,
21:54beautiful faces,
21:55soft bodies
21:57and long hair.
21:59There is neither
22:00male nor female,
22:02wrote St. Paul
22:03to the Galicians.
22:04You are all
22:06one
22:06in Jesus.
22:11The pagans
22:12had lots of goddesses
22:13to worship.
22:14Venus,
22:15Isis,
22:16Diana.
22:17But Christianity
22:18had none.
22:19Christianity
22:20believed in one
22:21true God
22:22and he was masculine.
22:24There was an entire
22:26feminine side
22:27missing.
22:28So the feminisation
22:29of Jesus
22:30was a deliberate
22:31artistic attempt
22:32to cater
22:33for both sexes.
22:36It produced
22:38some of the dark
22:39age's
22:39most unexpected
22:41imagery.
22:42In Ravenna,
22:44in the magnificent
22:45Aryan baptistry,
22:47there's an unbearded
22:49Jesus
22:49being baptised
22:51in the river
22:51Jordan.
22:53And he's so
22:54soft
22:55and feminine.
22:57A podgy
22:58and delicate
22:59Christ
23:00with childbearing
23:02hips.
23:03Before this
23:05girlish Jesus
23:06could become
23:07fully masculine,
23:08grow a beard
23:10and turn
23:11into a man,
23:13Christianity
23:13needed to find
23:15a feminine
23:16presence
23:17of its own.
23:18a man.
23:26The borrowing
23:27of Christ's face
23:28from Apollo
23:29shouldn't really
23:30surprise us.
23:31The early Christians
23:33borrowed from the pagans
23:35because that's what
23:36art does.
23:37It uses
23:38what's already there.
23:40It's important
23:41to remember too
23:42that for most of
23:43these early
23:44centuries of
23:45Christianity,
23:46Christians and
23:47pagans
23:48lived together
23:49in reasonable
23:50harmony.
23:51Those terrible
23:53periods of
23:54persecution,
23:55when the Romans
23:56murdered the
23:57Christians in
23:57terrible ways,
23:59those were rare.
24:00The exception,
24:02not the rule.
24:05Later,
24:06when the Roman
24:07Empire became
24:08officially Christian
24:09under the Emperor
24:10Constantine,
24:11aggressive Christian
24:13writers looking
24:14back on these
24:15times did
24:16what the victor
24:17always does
24:18in a war.
24:19They rewrote
24:21history from
24:22their point
24:23of view,
24:24dramatised
24:25it,
24:26exaggerated
24:27it.
24:31In most
24:32of the Roman
24:33Empire,
24:33particularly
24:34at the
24:34borders,
24:35like here
24:36in Roman
24:36Syria,
24:38pagans
24:38lived next
24:39door to
24:40Christians,
24:40Christians lived
24:41next door to
24:42Jews,
24:43and all of
24:44them muddled
24:45along together.
24:49The earliest
24:50known Christian
24:51church has been
24:52found in the
24:53Syrian border
24:54town of
24:55Dura-Europos.
24:57It was next
24:59to the earliest
24:59known synagogue,
25:01and around the
25:03corner was the
25:04temple of the
25:04bull god,
25:05Mithras.
25:07all these
25:08different religions
25:10swapped each
25:11other's converts,
25:12borrowed each
25:13other's gods,
25:14and influenced
25:16each other's art.
25:19Take the
25:20halo,
25:21that miraculous
25:22circle of light
25:23that you see
25:24around the heads
25:25of holy figures
25:26in Christian art.
25:27At first,
25:28there were no
25:29halos.
25:30Jesus was the
25:31magician with
25:32the wand,
25:33and that was
25:33enough to
25:34differentiate him.
25:35But as Christian
25:36art grew busier,
25:37and more and
25:38more characters
25:39popped up in
25:40it,
25:41Jesus needed
25:42to look more
25:43obviously divine.
25:45So Christian
25:46artists did
25:47what the pagans
25:48did.
25:48They gave him
25:49a halo,
25:51borrowed once
25:52again from
25:53Apollo.
25:55Long before
25:57Jesus acquired
25:58his miraculous
25:59nimbus of
26:00light,
26:00Apollo already
26:02had one.
26:03A circle of
26:04symbolic sunshine
26:05emanating from
26:07his head to
26:08signify his
26:09solar divinity.
26:12Another crucial
26:14borrowing from
26:15the pagans was
26:16the image of
26:16the angel.
26:18If you look at
26:20a typical Roman
26:21sarcophagus of
26:22the early Christian
26:23era,
26:24you'll usually
26:25see a pair of
26:26winged figures
26:27carrying a
26:28portrait of the
26:29deceased upwards
26:30in glory.
26:32They look exactly
26:34like angels,
26:35but they're not.
26:36They're Roman
26:37figures of
26:38victory.
26:40Nikes,
26:41pagan
26:41transporters of
26:43the soul.
26:48But the most
26:49significant of
26:50these pagan
26:51borrowings was
26:52a female figure
26:53adapted from
26:54Egyptian art.
26:56She became
26:57very popular
26:58in Christianity.
26:59Indeed,
27:00she was central
27:02to it.
27:03But that's not
27:04how she began.
27:11The Egyptian
27:12earth mother,
27:13Isis,
27:14was one of the
27:15most revered of
27:16all pagan gods.
27:17gods.
27:18She was the goddess
27:20of fertility,
27:21the mother goddess,
27:23from whom all
27:24life originally
27:25sprang.
27:29when you wanted
27:30babies,
27:31you prayed to
27:32Isis.
27:34When you wanted
27:35your crops to
27:36grow,
27:37you prayed
27:37to Isis.
27:40Whoever you were,
27:41slave,
27:42servant,
27:43outcast,
27:44you prayed to
27:45Isis,
27:45because Isis
27:46would protect you.
27:50To emphasise
27:51her caring
27:52nature,
27:53Isis was
27:54often shown
27:55with a baby
27:56on her knee,
27:57whom she
27:58breastfeeds
27:59regally.
28:01He's
28:02Horus,
28:03son of Isis.
28:04Horus was
28:05the god of the
28:06sky,
28:07the Egyptian
28:07Apollo,
28:09and his
28:09birthday fell
28:11at the winter
28:11solstice,
28:13sometime
28:13around
28:14December
28:15the 25th.
28:19When Christian
28:20art grew
28:20hungry for
28:21a distinct
28:22female presence
28:23to worship,
28:24a mother goddess
28:25who nurtured
28:26you and
28:27protected you,
28:29Isis,
28:29the mother of
28:30Horus,
28:30was an obvious
28:31model,
28:32and the two
28:33of them were
28:33soon successfully
28:35transported into
28:36Christian art.
28:40This is the
28:41first known
28:42image of Mary
28:43holding the
28:44baby Jesus
28:45on her lap.
28:47It was found
28:48in the Roman
28:49catacombs of
28:50Priscilla,
28:51a touching
28:52fragment of
28:53a mother and
28:53her child.
28:56Mary,
28:57caring for
28:58the baby
28:58Jesus,
28:59became one
29:00of the most
29:00popular of
29:01all the
29:02Christian images
29:03of the
29:03dark ages,
29:05with such
29:06glorious results.
29:13This great
29:14artistic discovery
29:16of the
29:16Virgin Mary
29:17had an
29:18important
29:18by-product,
29:20because it
29:20did away
29:21with the
29:21need to
29:22feminise
29:23or soften
29:24Jesus.
29:25When Mary
29:26emerged as a
29:27powerful divine
29:28presence,
29:29Jesus no
29:30longer needed
29:31to be
29:31girlish.
29:32His image
29:33was free to
29:34become fully
29:36masculine.
29:39But where
29:40to put all
29:40this powerful
29:41new art
29:42that Christianity
29:43was inventing?
29:45It's all very
29:46well finding a
29:48new image for
29:49Jesus and
29:50Mary,
29:50but what also
29:52needed to be
29:53invented was
29:54the Christian
29:55church.
29:59church.
30:03The Roman
30:04Empire was
30:05huge.
30:07It stretched
30:08from the
30:08Middle East
30:09at one end
30:10to this
30:11primitive
30:11cultural
30:12backwater
30:13at the
30:13other,
30:15the place
30:15we now
30:16call
30:17Britain.
30:23When you're
30:24imagining the
30:25Roman Empire,
30:26you need to
30:26stop thinking
30:27about countries,
30:29because there
30:30weren't any.
30:31No clear
30:31divisions either
30:32between Asia
30:33and Africa
30:34or Europe.
30:36All of them
30:38were part
30:40of this
30:40massive
30:41collar
30:42of power
30:44surrounding
30:45the entire
30:45Mediterranean,
30:46the mightiest
30:48empire the
30:49world has
30:49seen.
30:51Christianity
30:52got to
30:52Britain quite
30:53early,
30:54all the way
30:54from over
30:55here,
30:55right up
30:57to here.
30:59And just
30:59about there,
31:00in a village
31:01in Dorset
31:02called Hinton
31:03St. Mary,
31:04they've dug up
31:05one of the
31:06earliest mosaic
31:07images of
31:08Jesus.
31:11He looks
31:13stately,
31:13doesn't he?
31:14More like a
31:15Roman senator
31:16than a
31:17Christian
31:17God,
31:18except for
31:20the large
31:20key row
31:21that surrounds
31:22his head,
31:23the sign
31:24of Christ.
31:31This is
31:32Lullingstone
31:33in Kent,
31:33and we're
31:35here because
31:36I wanted you
31:36to see what's
31:37left of one
31:39of the earliest
31:40known Christian
31:41churches.
31:43churches.
31:47If you're
31:48thinking to
31:49yourself that
31:49this looks
31:50more like
31:51the remains
31:52of a big
31:52house,
31:53not a
31:53church,
31:54you'd be
31:54absolutely
31:55right.
31:56The first
31:57churches were
31:58ordinary houses,
32:00adapted for
32:01Christian use.
32:04Some Christians
32:05were richer
32:06and more active
32:07in the community
32:08than others
32:09and their house
32:10became the
32:11neighbourhood
32:12house church.
32:15The house church
32:16they found in
32:16Dura Europos,
32:18the one next door
32:19to the Jewish
32:19synagogue,
32:20was just a small
32:22townhouse in which
32:23the Christians had
32:24done some DIY,
32:26knocked down a wall,
32:27roofed over a
32:28courtyard to create
32:29more space for their
32:31meetings.
32:34On the walls of this
32:35makeshift church,
32:37the Dura Christians
32:38painted Christ
32:40walking on water.
32:43And there he is again,
32:46healing a cripple,
32:47making him walk too.
32:51Here in Lullingstone,
32:53the house church
32:54was on the first
32:55floor of this
32:56elegant Roman
32:58villa.
32:59It was just
33:01above that
33:02pagan shrine
33:03there.
33:04Basically,
33:05it was a
33:06simple room
33:07with painted
33:08walls.
33:12Decorating it
33:13was a procession
33:14of praying
33:15Christians
33:16with crosses
33:17on their robes.
33:19There was also
33:21a key row
33:22and around
33:24this key row
33:25the two
33:25momentous letters
33:26of the Greek
33:27alphabet again,
33:29Alpha
33:30and Omega
33:31the beginning
33:32and the end.
33:36If you put
33:37all those four
33:38letters together,
33:39Alpha,
33:40Rho,
33:41Key
33:41and Omega,
33:43you get the word
33:44Arco,
33:45which means
33:46I rule.
33:50From the outside,
33:51you wouldn't have
33:52known the Lullingstone
33:53house church
33:54was there.
33:55it was a modest
33:57Christian conversion
33:59and almost invisible.
34:03And for the first
34:05300 years,
34:07all churches
34:08were like this.
34:09Humble spaces
34:11in people's houses,
34:13wonky bits of DIY
34:14where Christians
34:16could worship
34:17and celebrate.
34:18And then,
34:19in 313 AD,
34:24Constantine the Great
34:26converted to Christianity
34:28and everything changed.
34:34Suddenly,
34:35this cryptic
34:36and secretive
34:37religion,
34:37with its
34:38instinctive fondness
34:40for codes
34:41and clues,
34:42became the official
34:43religion
34:44of the Roman Empire
34:46and modesty
34:48was no longer
34:49an option.
34:58Ooh,
34:59he's a big one,
35:00isn't he?
35:04Constantine the Great,
35:06Roman Emperor,
35:08mighty warrior
35:09and defender
35:10of the faith.
35:14Constantine's
35:15mother,
35:16Saint Helena,
35:17was a Christian
35:18and he probably
35:19inherited the faith
35:20from her.
35:22In 313 AD,
35:25Constantine's
35:26famous
35:26Edict of Milan
35:28made Christianity
35:29legal
35:30in the Roman Empire.
35:32And from then on,
35:33its power grew
35:34and grew
35:36and grew.
35:41Constantine
35:42was a builder
35:42by instinct.
35:44Look at this
35:45magnificent triumphal
35:47arch he plonked
35:48in front of the
35:49Colosseum.
35:53But his greatest
35:55achievement as a builder
35:56was the unexpected
35:58invention
35:59of the Christian church.
36:07Until Constantine,
36:09Christian churches
36:10were small
36:11and makeshift,
36:12often hidden away.
36:14But when Christianity
36:16became the official religion
36:17of the Roman Emperor,
36:19everything changed.
36:23Suddenly,
36:24all the building resources
36:26of the mightiest empire
36:28the world has seen
36:29began to be lavished
36:31on Christian architecture.
36:33and a religion
36:35which had hitherto
36:36made do
36:37with wonky
36:38house churches
36:39found itself
36:41having to invent
36:42a grand new
36:44style
36:44of worship.
36:50These huge
36:52Christian basilicas
36:53that Constantine
36:54began building
36:55were another
36:56Christian achievement
36:57for which there was
36:58no precedent.
37:00The little house churches
37:02were useless
37:03as an example
37:04for these
37:05giant halls
37:06of worship.
37:08This
37:08was a completely
37:10new kind
37:11of architecture.
37:16This is
37:17Santa Sabina
37:18in Rome,
37:19the best
37:21preserved
37:21of the first
37:22Christian basilicas.
37:25It's a new
37:26type of religious
37:27space.
37:28No one
37:29in any religion
37:30had worshipped
37:31like this before.
37:35Pagan temples
37:36worked very
37:37differently
37:38from a Christian
37:39church.
37:40Pagan temples
37:41were spaces
37:42for worshipping
37:43outdoors.
37:46In a pagan
37:48temple,
37:49the congregation
37:50stayed outside.
37:52Only the priests
37:53of the cult
37:54could enter
37:55the holy sanctuary
37:56in which the
37:57sacred idol
37:58was kept.
38:02Christian churches
38:03were the opposite.
38:05A Christian church
38:06was a huge
38:07assembly hall
38:08with a roof
38:09where people
38:10could worship
38:11indoors.
38:13And the style
38:14of worship
38:14was different
38:15too.
38:16Nowadays,
38:17churches have
38:19these neat
38:20rows of pews
38:21where everybody
38:22sits quietly
38:23and piously.
38:25But in the first
38:26Christian churches,
38:27there were
38:28no pews.
38:31In the beginning,
38:33Christian churches
38:34were huge
38:36open spaces
38:37in which
38:38an ecstatic
38:39Christian crowd
38:40would heave
38:41and circulate.
38:44This was a space
38:45for moving
38:46and chanting
38:48and talking.
38:52At the start
38:53of the ceremony,
38:54the priests
38:55would enter
38:56in a magnificent
38:58procession
38:59that went
39:00all the way up
39:01to the front.
39:06You see them
39:07illustrated sometimes
39:08high up
39:09on Christian
39:10walls.
39:12An ornate
39:13and stately
39:14priesthood
39:15progressing
39:16through these
39:16new naves
39:17in a magnificent
39:19wave of finery
39:20and colour.
39:26So these
39:27were spaces
39:28full of
39:28constant movement
39:30and chaotic
39:31crowding.
39:31and the only
39:33precedent
39:33for such
39:34a building
39:34was a useful
39:36Roman construction
39:37called
39:38a basilica.
39:42Basilicas
39:43were public
39:43meeting halls
39:45built to
39:46house big
39:46crowds.
39:48There was
39:49nothing religious
39:50about them.
39:51Every
39:52sizable
39:53Roman settlement
39:54had a
39:55basilica.
39:58Roman
39:59basilicas
40:00were entered
40:01from the
40:01side
40:02somewhere
40:02about here.
40:03But when
40:04the Christians
40:05took over
40:06the shape
40:07they swiveled
40:09it around
40:09and put
40:10the entrance
40:11over here.
40:13So the
40:15entire building
40:17pointed
40:18that way.
40:23one of the
40:24most common
40:24uses of a
40:25Roman
40:26basilica
40:26was as
40:27a law
40:27court.
40:28The populace
40:29would mill
40:30about down
40:31here
40:31while the
40:32magistrate
40:33would sit
40:34up at the
40:34end
40:34raised
40:35on a
40:36magisterial
40:37throne
40:37sitting
40:38in a
40:39special
40:40rounded
40:41apse
40:41that
40:42signalled
40:42his
40:43importance.
40:48The
40:49Christians
40:50took over
40:51the
40:51magistrate's
40:52apse
40:52as well.
40:53It's where
40:53they put
40:54their
40:54sacrificial
40:55altar
40:55and above
40:56it
40:57a great
40:57apse
40:58mosaic
40:59the
41:00climactic
41:00moment
41:01of this
41:02magnificent
41:03religious
41:03journey.
41:08But you're
41:09looking up
41:10at this
41:10glorious
41:11apse
41:12mosaic
41:12and you're
41:13thinking
41:14hmm
41:15there's
41:15Jesus
41:16with a
41:16big
41:17beard.
41:18What
41:18happened
41:19to the
41:19curly
41:19haired
41:20boy?
41:22Well
41:22he just
41:23wasn't
41:24grand
41:24enough
41:25for
41:25Constantine's
41:26new
41:27basilicas.
41:28So the
41:29early
41:30Christians
41:30wanted a
41:31God
41:31they could
41:32look up
41:32to.
41:33A
41:33God
41:33who was
41:34a match
41:34for all
41:35the
41:35other
41:35gods.
41:38And when
41:38the time
41:39came for
41:39a more
41:40imposing
41:40Jesus
41:41to emerge
41:42Jesus
41:43the
41:43adult
41:44the
41:45Christians
41:46turned
41:46once again
41:47to that
41:48reliable
41:49source
41:49of raw
41:50materials
41:50that lay
41:51all around
41:52them
41:54the
41:54art
41:55of the
41:55pagans.
41:59The
42:00most
42:00powerful
42:01and
42:01important
42:02of all
42:02the
42:02Roman
42:02gods
42:03was
42:03Jupiter
42:04or
42:05in his
42:05Greek
42:06incarnation
42:06Zeus
42:08king of
42:09the
42:09gods.
42:11Zeus
42:12or
42:13Jupiter
42:13was
42:14grand
42:14and
42:15bearded.
42:16In the
42:17great temple
42:17of Zeus
42:18at
42:18Olympia
42:19the
42:19most
42:20famous
42:20sculptor
42:21of the
42:21classical
42:21age
42:22Phidias
42:23had shown
42:24the
42:24king
42:24of
42:25the
42:25gods
42:25enthroned
42:26in
42:27majesty
42:27an image
42:29the
42:29Christians
42:30were determined
42:31to match.
42:33They took
42:34it all
42:34the beard
42:35the hair
42:36the throne
42:37that sense
42:39of omnipotent
42:40power
42:40it was all
42:41borrowed
42:42from Zeus
42:42and the curly
42:44haired youth
42:45with the
42:45girlish body
42:46who'd buzzed
42:47around performing
42:48all those
42:48miracles
42:49was replaced
42:50by this
42:51manly
42:52mature
42:53Jesus
42:54who sits
42:55in judgment
42:56on his
42:56flock
42:57stern
42:58and
42:58unsmiling
42:59wise
43:00and
43:01infallible
43:09Meanwhile
43:10back down
43:11in the
43:12Roman
43:12catacombs
43:13darker
43:15Christian
43:15forces
43:16were also
43:17stirring
43:21When I
43:22said the
43:23persecution
43:23of the
43:24Christians
43:24has been
43:25exaggerated
43:25I didn't
43:26mean it
43:27never
43:27happened
43:27of course
43:28it did
43:29particularly
43:30under
43:30Constantine's
43:31predecessor
43:32Diocletian
43:33though not
43:35perhaps
43:35in the
43:36numbers
43:36we've been
43:37led to
43:37believe
43:40Some
43:41estimates
43:41say that
43:42only about
43:432,000
43:44Christians
43:45were killed
43:46in the
43:46Roman
43:46persecution
43:47I think
43:49there must
43:50have been
43:50more than
43:50that
43:51but the
43:52modern age
43:53is definitely
43:54better at
43:55killing
43:55Christians
43:56than the
43:57Romans
43:57ever were
43:58In the
43:59Spanish
44:00Civil War
44:017,000
44:03priests
44:03monks
44:04and nuns
44:05were murdered
44:06and you
44:07never hear
44:08about them
44:14but for
44:15the early
44:16Christians
44:16death
44:17had a
44:17special
44:18significance
44:19the idea
44:20took hold
44:20in their
44:21imaginations
44:22that suffering
44:23was a
44:23necessary part
44:24of redemption
44:25it was
44:26crucial
44:27and this
44:28belief in
44:29death
44:29had a
44:30profound
44:31influence
44:31on their
44:32art
44:32and their
44:33architecture
44:36these are
44:38the catacombs
44:39of St
44:39Agnes
44:40of Rome
44:40she's the
44:42patron saint
44:43of chastity
44:44of teenage
44:45girls
44:46engaged
44:47couples
44:47rape
44:48victims
44:49and virgins
44:57Agnes
44:58was a
44:5913-year-old
45:00girl
45:00murdered
45:01in the
45:02reign of
45:02Diocletian
45:03the story
45:04goes
45:05that a
45:06Roman
45:06prefect
45:06wanted her
45:07to marry
45:08his son
45:08but Agnes
45:09was a
45:10Christian
45:11she refused
45:13so the
45:14Roman
45:14prefect
45:16condemned
45:17her
45:17to death
45:22Roman
45:23law
45:24didn't
45:24permit
45:25the
45:25execution
45:26of
45:27virgins
45:27so Agnes
45:29was stripped
45:30paraded
45:31naked
45:32through the
45:32streets
45:33and dragged
45:34to a
45:35brothel
45:37afterwards
45:38they tried
45:39to burn
45:40her
45:40but the
45:41flames
45:41wouldn't
45:42touch her
45:43and everyone
45:44who looked
45:44at her
45:45naked
45:45body
45:46was blinded
45:47in the
45:49end
45:49a Roman
45:50soldier
45:50beheaded
45:51her
45:52and her
45:53body
45:55decapitated
45:55is kept
45:57here
45:57in this
45:58church
45:58but her
45:59skull
46:00that's in
46:01Sant'Agnese
46:02in Piazza
46:03Navona
46:03where the
46:05faithful
46:05come to
46:07kneel
46:07before it
46:08and worship
46:09it
46:14martyrs
46:14martyrs
46:15like Agnes
46:15were believed
46:16to offer
46:16special
46:17protection
46:17for the
46:18early
46:18Christians
46:20they were
46:21baptised
46:22in blood
46:23and sat
46:24next to
46:24God
46:24in the
46:25next
46:25world
46:26if a
46:27martyr
46:27favoured
46:28you
46:28you too
46:29were guaranteed
46:31a place
46:32in heaven
46:34to improve
46:36their chances
46:36of salvation
46:37every Christian
46:39wanted to be
46:40buried
46:40as close
46:41to a
46:41martyr
46:42as possible
46:43and so
46:44the catacombs
46:45became
46:45a very
46:47desirable
46:47piece
46:48of real
46:49estate
46:53directly above
46:54Agnes's tomb
46:55are the ruins
46:57of a giant
46:58funeral
46:58basilica
46:59all this
47:01was once
47:02covered
47:02in Christian
47:03graves
47:06but the
47:07building
47:07I really
47:08want to
47:08show you
47:09is this
47:09one
47:09the one
47:10next door
47:11to the
47:11basilica
47:13this
47:14is Santa
47:15Constanza
47:16it's a
47:17Christian
47:17church
47:18now
47:18but
47:19originally
47:20this
47:21was a
47:22Roman
47:22mausoleum
47:24it was
47:25built
47:26by
47:26Constantine's
47:27own
47:27daughter
47:28Constanza
47:29this
47:31is where
47:32she was
47:32buried
47:33in this
47:34big
47:35sarcophagus
47:36here
47:39the story
47:41goes
47:41that when
47:42Constanza
47:42was a
47:43little
47:43girl
47:43she
47:44contracted
47:45leprosy
47:46so she
47:47prayed
47:48to
47:48Saint
47:48Agnes
47:49and
47:50Agnes
47:50saved
47:51her
47:54that
47:54was the
47:55power
47:55that
47:55martyrs
47:56had
47:56their
47:57miracles
47:58could
47:58change
47:59history
47:59and that's
48:01why
48:01Constanza
48:03wanted to
48:03be buried
48:04here
48:04as close
48:05to Saint
48:06Agnes
48:06as she
48:07could
48:07be
48:12these
48:12Roman
48:13mausoleums
48:14as you
48:14can see
48:15were a
48:16completely
48:16different
48:16shape
48:17from the
48:18basilicas
48:20mausoleums
48:21were round
48:22they weren't
48:23places for the
48:24crowd to
48:25charge up
48:26and down
48:26these were
48:28places of
48:29burial
48:29and
48:30contemplation
48:31sacred
48:32spaces
48:33that enfold
48:34you
48:36and
48:37these
48:37round
48:37Roman
48:38mausoleums
48:39were to
48:40have a
48:40profound
48:40effect
48:41on the
48:42Christian
48:42church
48:57see this
48:59famous
48:59book
48:59it's
49:00the
49:01decline
49:01and
49:01fall
49:02of
49:02the
49:02Roman
49:02empire
49:03by
49:03Edward
49:04Gibbon
49:04the
49:06history
49:06of
49:06Rome
49:07in
49:0712
49:08mighty
49:09volumes
49:11so
49:11this
49:12is
49:12the
49:12Roman
49:12empire
49:13at
49:13the
49:14time
49:14of
49:14Constantine
49:15now
49:16according
49:17to
49:17Gibbon
49:17here
49:17Rome
49:19collapsed
49:19because
49:20the
49:20Romans
49:21grew
49:21decadent
49:22and
49:22soft
49:23but
49:24I
49:24think
49:24you
49:24can
49:24see
49:24from
49:24this
49:25map
49:25here
49:25what
49:26the
49:26real
49:26problem
49:27was
49:27the
49:28empire
49:29was
49:29just
49:30too
49:30big
49:34this
49:35way
49:35it
49:35went
49:36all
49:36the
49:36way
49:36to
49:36Scotland
49:37up
49:37here
49:37and
49:38the
49:38other
49:38way
49:39deep
49:39into
49:40the
49:40Middle
49:41East
49:41there
49:42was
49:42just
49:43too
49:43much
49:44empire
49:44to
49:45govern
49:46efficiently
49:48and
49:48when
49:49Constantine
49:50came
49:50along
49:51he
49:51made
49:52the
49:52momentous
49:53decision
49:53to
49:54divide
49:54the
49:55empire
49:55in
49:56two
49:56with
49:57a
49:57western
49:57empire
49:58over
49:59here
49:59and
49:59an
50:00eastern
50:00empire
50:01over
50:01there
50:04to
50:05govern
50:05this
50:06new
50:06eastern
50:06empire
50:07which
50:08came
50:08to
50:08be
50:08called
50:09Byzantium
50:10Constantine
50:11founded
50:12a new
50:12Christian
50:13capital
50:13on
50:14the
50:14Bosphorus
50:14a
50:16grand
50:16ruling
50:17city
50:18designed
50:18from
50:19scratch
50:19which
50:20he
50:20named
50:20after
50:21himself
50:22Constantinople
50:23though
50:25these
50:25days
50:25we
50:26call
50:26it
50:26Istanbul
50:30here
50:31in the
50:32western
50:32half
50:32of the
50:33empire
50:33Rome
50:34was no
50:35longer
50:35cut out
50:36to be
50:36the
50:36capital
50:36either
50:37it was
50:37living
50:38on
50:38former
50:38glories
50:39a
50:40pretty
50:40collection
50:40of
50:41ruins
50:41the
50:42empire
50:42needed
50:43somewhere
50:43more
50:44vigorous
50:44to be
50:45ruled
50:45from
50:45somewhere
50:46better
50:47placed
50:47somewhere
50:48near
50:49the sea
50:50perhaps
50:50with good
50:51connections
50:52to the
50:52east
50:53somewhere
50:54about
50:55here
50:55Ravenna
51:02the
51:03mosaic
51:04lovers
51:04among you
51:05will know
51:05Ravenna
51:06already
51:06you'll
51:07know
51:08that it's
51:08mosaic
51:09heaven
51:09where the
51:10Christian
51:10mosaic
51:11excelled
51:12itself
51:12how
51:14could
51:14anyone
51:14ever
51:15have
51:15thought
51:15any
51:16of
51:16this
51:17constituted
51:18a
51:18dark
51:19age
51:45this is the
51:46church
51:47church
51:47of
51:48San
51:48Vitale
51:49it's
51:50one of
51:50a group
51:51of
51:51churches
51:52in
51:52Ravenna
51:53that's
51:54filled
51:54with
51:55these
51:55stunning
51:57mosaics
51:59but the
52:00reason I
52:00brought you
52:01to this
52:01particular
52:02church
52:02is because
52:04of its
52:04shape
52:04as you
52:06can see
52:07it's
52:08round
52:10like a
52:11mausoleum
52:11not
52:12long and
52:13thin
52:14like a
52:15basilica
52:18these
52:19round
52:20churches
52:20of early
52:21christianity
52:22have a
52:23particular
52:23effect
52:24on the
52:24visitor
52:25they
52:26offer
52:26a
52:27360
52:28degree
52:29experience
52:30a
52:31sense
52:31of
52:31enclosure
52:32and
52:32centering
52:34the
52:35early
52:35christians
52:36used
52:37round
52:37architecture
52:38particularly
52:39for
52:40churches
52:40devoted
52:41to the
52:41martyrs
52:42like
52:43San
52:43Vitale
52:44up there
52:44who'd
52:45stood up
52:46to
52:46Diocletian
52:47and died
52:48for his
52:48faith
52:54the
52:55basilicas
52:56were
52:57action
52:57spaces
52:58where you
52:59met
52:59and assembled
53:00and paraded
53:02but these
53:03round
53:04churches
53:05these are
53:06thinking
53:07spaces
53:08they're
53:09like
53:09a
53:10protective
53:10bell
53:11jar
53:12dropped
53:13onto
53:14an
53:14important
53:14location
53:15protecting
53:16it
53:17and
53:18sanctifying
53:19it
53:21you
53:23still get
53:23a sense
53:24here
53:24of a
53:25transcendental
53:26space
53:26built around
53:28a precious
53:29relic
53:29and that
53:31mysterious
53:31magical
53:32effect
53:33of an
53:34interior
53:34sculpted
53:35from
53:35light
53:48and it
53:49wasn't just
53:50the burial
53:50sites
53:51of the
53:51martyrs
53:52that had
53:53special
53:53power
53:54bits of
53:55their bodies
53:56had it
53:57too
53:57their hair
53:58their bones
54:00and to
54:02house
54:02these
54:03precious
54:03relics
54:04the
54:04christians
54:05began
54:05to
54:05create
54:06marvellous
54:07jeweled
54:08containers
54:09relic
54:10boxes
54:10made
54:11from
54:11the
54:11finest
54:12materials
54:13with
54:13astonishing
54:14delicacy
54:15and beauty
54:20because
54:21these
54:21relics
54:22had the
54:22power
54:23too
54:23every
54:24christian
54:25altar
54:25had to
54:26have
54:26a relic
54:27inside
54:28it
54:28to
54:29validate
54:29it
54:30and make
54:30it
54:31sacred
54:35relics
54:36were like
54:36pieces of
54:37portable
54:37magic
54:38that could
54:39be
54:39transported
54:39from
54:40church
54:40to
54:40church
54:41and
54:42wherever
54:43they
54:43were
54:43placed
54:44they
54:44made
54:45that
54:45space
54:45holy
54:50so
54:54by the
54:55time
54:55we
54:55get
54:55to
54:55this
54:56glorious
54:56Byzantine
54:57cathedral
54:58of
54:59Monreale
54:59in
54:59Sicily
55:04all
55:05the
55:05ingredients
55:06of
55:06christian
55:07worship
55:07are
55:08in
55:08place
55:09just
55:10look
55:10at
55:10it
55:13by the
55:14time
55:15Monreale
55:15was
55:16finished
55:16the
55:17dark
55:17ages
55:18were
55:18over
55:19but
55:20all
55:20this
55:21was
55:21shaped
55:22by
55:22dark
55:23age
55:23achievements
55:24at
55:25this
55:25end
55:26the
55:26nave
55:26it's
55:27like
55:27a
55:28basilica
55:28long
55:29and
55:30thin
55:30a
55:31space
55:32for
55:32assemblies
55:33and
55:34parades
55:38at
55:38this
55:39end
55:39of
55:39the
55:39church
55:40the
55:40east
55:40end
55:41where
55:41the
55:41main
55:42altar
55:42is
55:42filled
55:43with
55:43precious
55:44relics
55:44the
55:45magisterial
55:46apps
55:46has grown
55:47huge
55:48and enveloping
55:49so at
55:50this end
55:51this is like
55:52a round
55:53church
55:53a special place
55:55filled with light
55:57and a golden
55:58magical air
56:03but over here
56:05it's like a basilica
56:07a space
56:08for assemblies
56:09and processions
56:11so up there
56:13a thinking space
56:15down here
56:17an action space
56:19all brought together
56:22in one
56:23magnificent piece
56:25of architecture
56:27high up on the
56:29walls
56:29scenes from
56:30christ's
56:31miracles
56:31there he is
56:32again
56:32raising
56:33lazarus
56:34from the
56:34dead
56:36and over
56:37there
56:38he's
56:38curing
56:39the
56:39paraplegic
56:40making him
56:40walk
56:41again
56:44and look
56:45what's above
56:45the altar
56:46the virgin
56:47and child
56:48borrowed
56:48from the
56:49egyptian
56:49isis
56:50and on
56:51either side
56:51of her
56:51two angels
56:53borrowed
56:54from pagan
56:55victories
56:55and above
56:58that
56:58trumping them
57:00all
57:00in size
57:01and magnificence
57:03sitting
57:04so proudly
57:05in his
57:06golden
57:07apse
57:07an enormous
57:09byzantine
57:11jesus
57:12zeus-like
57:13and bearded
57:14unmistakably
57:16divine
57:21this is a
57:22proper divinity
57:23a byzantine
57:24ruler god
57:25you can look
57:26up to
57:27magnificent
57:28all
57:29powerful
57:30and look
57:31also
57:31on either
57:32side of
57:32jesus
57:33you can see
57:34his name
57:34spelled out
57:36in greek
57:37letters
57:40on the
57:41left
57:41jota
57:42and sigma
57:43j
57:43and s
57:44the first
57:46and last
57:46letters
57:47of jesus
57:48and on
57:49the right
57:50ki
57:51and sigma
57:52c
57:52and s
57:53the first
57:54and last
57:55letters
57:55of christus
57:59it's that
58:00christian word
58:01code again
58:02look at his
58:03fingers too
58:04christ
58:05the ruler
58:06is spelling
58:07out his
58:07own name
58:08with his
58:09hands
58:10there's
58:11jota
58:12and sigma
58:14j and s
58:15for jesus
58:16and key
58:19and sigma
58:20and sigma
58:21for christ
58:24my fingers
58:25are a bit too
58:26stubby for it
58:26but he's doing it
58:28perfectly
58:33it's that secret
58:35religious language
58:36again
58:37that christianity
58:38had employed
58:39from the beginning
58:40even in this
58:42giant jesus
58:43larger than any
58:45roman emperor
58:46christianity
58:47couldn't resist
58:48a final moment
58:50of mystery
58:53in the next film
58:55i'll be looking
58:56at the artistic
58:57achievements
58:57of the so-called
58:59barbarians
59:01and asking
59:02what the barbarians
59:04did for us
59:05the answer is
59:07plenty
59:14the
59:15the
59:22the
59:22the
59:22the
59:23the
59:24the
59:24the
59:24the
59:24the
59:25the
59:34the
59:34the
59:35the
59:35the
59:36the
59:42You
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