The Real Story Behind The Biggest Icons Of The Dark Ages | Fact or Fiction | Chronicle

Sir William Wallace, Robin Hood, and King Harold are three of the most famous men of medieval Britain. Tony Robinson will unlock the truth behind some of the most prominent and almost mythical people from our history. Tony Robinson uncovers the real stories behind some of the greatest figures in history.
Welcome to Chronicle; your home for all things medieval history! With documentaries covering everything from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the beginnings of the Renaissance, from Hastings to Charlemagne, we'll be exploring everything the Middle Ages have to offer.
Subscribe now so you don't miss out!
Chronicle is part of the History Hit Network. To get in touch please email [e-mail].
It's like Netflix for history... 📺 Sign up to History Hit, the world's best history documentary service and get 50% off using the code 'CHRONICLE' 👉 bit.ly/3iVCZNl

[@caittails]

Tony storming through a group of old people while yelling about murder and demonstrating it on a bowling ball is the exact right level of chaos I need in history documentaries.

[@WestVirginia1959]

He almost ran over one 😂

[@pseudocalm]

Aye, and a cranial spike show and tell for school children. \m/

[@sixxygrrl]

100% 😂

[@lostlemuria7867]

RIGHT? I was watching that and was thinking how insane that shot is.

[@nicolesage1344]

Damnit! I must have been listening for that. Can anyone give a timestamp for this???

[@adricjones5605]

Fascinating info and research. BUT, the frequent swells of dramatic background music/sounds often overshadows the important dialog.

[@SneedPatch]

I love listening to these long history documentaries to help me sleep as I lay in bed. Channels like Chronicle are doing a great service

[@lisapop5219]

Same. You should check out fall of civilization playlists. He has a nice voice too

[@wendyjopson1968]

Good to know another soul struggles with insomnia. These types of docos make the nights less lonely and really help to relax for the sleep we so want. Agree about the need to hear a calm voice. 😎

[@monicafiore20]

Same here 😀

[@jenniefelix2283]

Same here

[@lizzy66125]

same here

[@Vexarax]

It’s freaking awesome that we have free access to these amazing documentaries, thank you so much for uploading them for us all to enjoy 🙏🏻

[@joannholloway2878]

I cannot get out to libraries anymore and don't have finances to buy books so this is a perfect solution for me. Thank you.

[@Vexarax]

@@joannholloway2878 It’s the same for me (no library access and cannot currently afford books) so I agree it’s so good to have access to all these cool documentaries on KZbin. There are also heaps of audiobooks and lots of interesting historical content uploaded by other KZbinrs so we have an endless sea of enjoyable things to engage our brains without having to leave our homes - I’m so grateful for that!! :D

[@PGBRTRM]

Indeed, however it’s difficult with the audio mixing to reasonably hear things

[@Vexarax]

@@PGBRTRM I often hear people say that but what's odd is I actually have hearing issues to the extent I usually need subtitles even in average movies,, but usually don't have a problem with hearing these. Which is very confusing!

[@dazzabrah3208]

Besides the stupid idiots reporting on it with ridiculous comments

[@BustinRootz]

SirTony Robinson is the best presenter for documentaries for my time. I absolutely loved him on Time Team. With Dr.Phil Harding if I am not mistaken. And I am an American. It beats the History Channel by a mile

[@theodoresmith5272]

I thought his best was in Blackadder. Lol

[@nicolawebb6025]

I'm pretty sure Phil was a jobbing archaeologist, not a doctor. He would often tease Mick Aston about his doctorate

[@kaymumby46]

He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Southampton Uni.

[@nicolawebb6025]

@@kaymumby46oh cool, didn't know, now I do

[@faustinae3927]

A must watch (Ancient Historia). How London, politics hide the true history.

[@tompaston]

The background music / noise made it unwatchable for me sadly

[@yourmuslimuncle5692]

I would pay exactly 1 turnip, for this background music

[@ConnorFabiano]

Lmao

[@bethpemberton7980]

How big a turnip? An enormous one or an ordinary turnip? Baldrick wants to know....

[@ConnorFabiano]

@@bethpemberton7980 excellent question

[@CourtneySchwartz]

I think you mean “foreground music”.

[@timothygrayson]

I'd pay 50g of my Amber Leaf lol.

[@xTrix2Kx]

Is there any way to make the music louder? I can still hear the narrator...

[@nicolesage1344]

Ahh! I'm laughing. Thanks! 🎸

[@jonathanneuhaus4755]

Its ridiculous isnt it! Lol

[@MoonChild-vv6to]

I absolutely love Tony. Without him it just wouldn't be the same program

[@Fireballun]

Great pronunciation. I had to switch on subtitles for scottish.

[@saintuk70]

Was a cunning plan by the producers.

[@saintuk70]

@@Fireballun us Scots have to do the same for others too. Scots is so diverse, proud to be Scottish - love my country.

[@lizzy66125]

​@@saintuk70Good for you! Scotland is a beautiful country.❤

[@YouTubecanfuckagoat]

Tony Robinson is perfect for these.

[@TheGameKat]

Interesting. I find him unwatchable.

[@sandraclarke1167]

Totally agree. I want to hear thr narrator not the music. It's ridiculous

[@Amboy54]

Great documentary, but the music often drowns out the interesting narrative. Instead of making it dramatic, it becomes just noise, often having little to do with the story or the action. Why would the filmmakers want to do that?

[@lauracrabb7169]

It has to do with tricking the copyright bots. It’s weird, but it works.

[@isthatrubble]

​@@lauracrabb7169but this is a channel run by a company that makes history documentaries - they didn't make this one or most of the other ones on their channels (you have to subscribe to their website to access most of their original content) but they have clearly bought the rights to these documentaries from the original companies (most of the presenters work with them, which is why they do this, it's advertising for their website) and most of their videos aren't distorted like this. something is clearly wrong with this particular video

[@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095]

@@isthatrubble That's because it's pirated and they are trying to fool the YT copyright detector algorithm. {:o:O:}

[@markgreen5000]

The music is louder than the voice

[@FryNOR]

It's a shame that the audio is messed up.

[@MossyMozart]

@Thomasmu - I concur.

[@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095]

That's because it's pirated and they are trying to fool the YT copyright detector algorithm. {:o:O:}

[@chappellroseholt5740]

I love the content and photography but the music and sound effects take over, just terrible. I have turned off more than one video for this reason. An awful trend in videography that needs to stop.

[@cassieoz1702]

It's much, much worse in these re-played KZbin versions than the original versions on free-to-air television

[@janinebean4276]

Mannnn, they went for the horses?! That’s just COLD

[@mikescala]

If they didn't they would of got trampled so bad their calvary couldn't compare to England but I feel you poor beautiful creatures just doing what the owner bid them to do until the end it would of been so hard at least for me to lose my horse imagine you two have been together for a while survived battles together rode endless miles then he or she is gone and your still alive I would have had survivor's guilt afterwards but I thought the same thing not the horses

[@AmusedCoffee-ym3gb]

Can't let them horses return to their land and rat them out.

[@kimberlyhood4095]

They were war horses, they were just as brutal as their owners. They would bite, kick and trample the enemy at will. If you've ever watched a wild Mustang, they'll kill you where you stand. Horses had to be domesticated, they weren't born gentle by any means.

[@tassanaburrfoot]

May I make a slight suggestion? I love learning about this from you but the background music is incredibly loud and a bit jarring making it difficult to hear the narrator.

[@tassanaburrfoot]

I wouldn’t get rid of the music, just maybe turn it down a bit so we can hear the speaker?

[@TheDrivebynerf]

The wallace section was truly amazing. Thumbs up

[@PGBRTRM]

Whoever mixed this audio should be fired. If this was one instance, ok, perhaps a mistake; but at this point? Some due diligence is absent.

[@wor53lg50]

Do your tv equilizer it helps a little..

[@cassieoz1702]

I heartily agree with all the comments about the awful background music spoiling these documentaries. They did NOT sound like this when they were first seen on free-to-air television

[@ClickClack_Bam]

Not sure about the awful background music as on my tv everything sounds just fine, but what you're referring to sounds like what an uploader will add to a file to scoot around the copyright bot that will delete the upload if it recognizes the copyrighted media.

[@murraywebster1228]

Unfortunately KZbin will take the original audio and screw the balance, originally it would be a stereo music/sound effect channel and a mono speech channel, probably the upload algorithm that compresses the audio would lift the stereo content and reduce the mono content, if you then happen to be listening on a machine that only plays the audio in mono then the mono content will suffer compared to the stereo content, don’t blame the Uploader or the original producer, it’s the KZbin algorithm messing with the audio to „standardise“ everything to a normalised level, so the mono content will be very much reduced relative to the stereo content, I see this complaint all over KZbin comments, a partial solution is to watch on a system that plays the audio back in stereo, will not lift the mono content but by the nature of stereo being two different signals it interferes (acoustically) less with the mono signal…..

[@jalight27]

@@murraywebster1228 Informative comment, but no matter where I listen to these videos they sound like garbage to my ear. Only with this specific channel though.

[@patriciaphare-camp2859]

Ugh! Half the time the music drowns out the narrative, so we miss half of information 😢

[@markosefrew3540]

Yo

[@janicehill5605]

This is extremely interesting Tony,plentiful research done 😊

[@initial_C]

"Seldom has libido been so costly." Going to start using that.

[@hondaxl250k0]

My first thought of Robin Hood is a fox that has mad archery skills. Shows my age a little.

[@cdfdesantis699]

Great research, giving different perspectives on the 3 historical figures.

[@metoo7557]

This is an interesting documentary, but it really devalues it when you have the sound and music drown out the narration. I like having he sounds and narration, but it should never drown it out.

[@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095]

That's because it's pirated and they are trying to fool the YT copyright detector algorithm. {:o:O:}

[@Andy_Babb]

I love paying all this money for premium membership with no ads but still getting ads from History Hit

[@skyes7369]

Why is the background track in the foreground, sometimes drowning out Tony’s commentary?

[@RJ-xf4om]

The narration can't be heard due to the background music.

[@k.schmidt2740]

A great video, as usual with Tony Robinson. One quibble: Coats are "hung" (up). Humans are "hanged", when subjected to deadly punishment - according to my English teachers, anyway.

[@deidradahl2802]

Sorry I had to discontinue such a good historical documentary, the back ground noise, NOISE

[@wor53lg50]

Turn the cinema surround sound keeping up with the jones posh shit off them, change it to normal or do the equilizer your self and shut up moaning.

[@Yummyfps]

mo o nnon

[@davidwalker8319]

Im from a place called knottingley just outside pontefract. A 15mins ride on a bus to the bus station where the hoods home was and its a stones throw from barnsdale. Its nice and a bit romantic to think that my childhood hero may have passed through the town i was born in. Such an interesting documentary ❤❤❤

[@margaretlouise6200]

I wish music wouldn't keep being added to these programs. I don't think the music was in the originals. The voice can't be heard well in a lot of places.

[@norwichnorfolk1584]

Music too loud at times

[@DirtySchizno]

The audio sounds like I was recorded from a television, the balance is all wrong. Either really poor audio or a recording from another device.

[@leahcimolrac1477]

Harold’s story is kind of the real life story of one of the good characters getting killed off in Game of Thrones. Courageous, playing by “the rules,” no scheming and backbiting, but it actually ends up being his downfall. Of course, we don’t know a lot that was lost to time.

[@Moldredmalco]

I was sleeping with this as background noise. Heard a 56k modem, had a panic attack and woke up :/

[@DirahEvans]

Thank You for Sharing❤

[@melhughes3567]

14:44 was a very strange filming choice.😂

[@susanaldridge2000]

The music sometimes overwhelms the man speaking and i can not hear his words. Too bad

[@deeromero9129]

Watching from USA- Denver Colorado 😊

[@BrianHartman]

I like these documentaries, but does anyone know what happened with the sound? The music (at least on my end) is overpowering the narration in spots.

[@hannahbrown2728]

If anyone wants to see more from Kevin Hicks, the fantastic bowman interviewed around 1:53:10 he has a youtube channel of his own called The History Squad! Any fan of this will love the work he does. Hes been doing some tours of castles recently! I shouldnt be shocked to see him in something like this!

[@yoptastic8463]

Yeh, your right about Kevin Hicks, he is not only an accomplished longbow man (he is the best in the country at this) but is an accomplished historian and would recommend his YT Channel The History Squad to anyone who loves or wants to find out more about English History, Kevin is the best.

[@whdunstew2169]

Another good video rendered almost unwatchable with the overwhelming background audio.

[@shep9231]

What if... There are multiple Robin Hoods over the course of history.?

[@MossyMozart]

@shep9231 - That exactly like what happened.

[@BlueAlien1313]

I love these History lessons. This would make a very interesting movie to watch.

[@clareu9539]

Most of these stories are available as films, albeit heavy on drama with some artistic licence :-) Wallace - Braveheart; Harold - 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth; Robin Hood - take your pick! My favourite is comedy Men In Tights, but others are available.

[@BlueAlien1313]

@@clareu9539 thank you!

[@rosaliemoon5905]

In several places the music is much too loud making it difficult to hear the narrative clearly👂👂👂👂

[@JR-qz3zt]

Absurd that the background music drowns out the narrator.

[@maggielucas8685]

The 'back ground' music is really distracting, loud and annoying. Love Tony Robinson doing these history programmes, doesn't need the music.

[@dudeistmonkmatthew9550]

The background music is too loud compared to the narration

[@Harry-Hartmann]

A Very Good Video 👍🏻

[@annehat4833]

It was shit !

[@Destromaugh]

46:23 Who performed this? It's amazing.

[@mikekaup5252]

I have to agree, the background music is horribly loud and completely unnecessary foreground music! Please, please stop it!

[@pjschmid2251]

I love Tony Robinson I only wish I could hear what he has to say. The music in this is dreadful, it drowns out everything.

[@didimean]

We could really use a William Wallace in today's world.

[@faustinae3927]

True history that has been kept from the world. Watch Ancient Historia, learn how they hid the truth.(London Law)😉🤷😎

[@PlatinumIrishrose]

Maybe we do. We just don't see it from that angle. We aren't on the "hero" side.

[@TinaFivesten]

@Sogga - That would be Musk!

[@wor53lg50]

Yep, but you get jimmi krankie instead.

[@cameronjadewallace]

I mean.... Sounds like a lot of work to me, and I'm related, so... I dunno.

[@hispanofilos]

"and this, i must tell you, was called a baldrick". :D. :D :D

[@fu3zy]

is there a documentary like this about Rob Roy?

[@FairyWeatherMan]

Great video. A pity the background music is so loud. I wonder if the videomaker can edit and upload a "clean" version.

[@gfodale]

Done trying to pick out the narration from the noise that should have remained in the background, had the producers had any semblance of intelligence.

[@paulbergloff5219]

every single word, I ishh-ed bricks ...spot on

[@bv2623]

@10:57 "Belgian merchants" I suppose he means Flemish merchants as the country Belgium didn't exist until 1830 ;)

[@MrTwotimess]

This bucket-viewer trick is excellent!

[@macfourie]

The music is too loud... This partly spoils this otherwise brillant documentary

[@gregfox4411]

12.50. 'Burst onto the scene?! Very few Scottish nobles at this time burst onto the scene.' 'Visited the Vatican; sacked York! I would say that qualifies as bursting onto the scene'

[@junebyrne4491]

Why do we need music at all.

[@annabellelee180]

The background music is so loud, it drowns him out. Very annoying. Great documentary, though.

[@boriscalderon1678]

It was cool seeing Kevin Hicks (The History Squad on KZbin) performing his archery

[@pat412pear]

Does anyone know why Harold did not take the Norwegian ships back down South to face William?. It seems to me it would have been faster, not as physically demanding, and he could have brought his entire army not just the core.

[@jacksonpollock814]

Not everyone could sail. There was a sort of navy that warned of invaders from memory. A lot of the forces had to go back to their farms etc. More forces were picked up on the march back down. York isn't on the coast...

[@makhnovite]

The vikings were experienced seamen who'd probably spent half their lives at sea, helping to build ships, fishing, raiding, etc. They had a whole lifetime of experience that enabled them to sail a fleet of ships, navigate effectively and get to the same location in a unified manner. You wouldn't be able to just throw a bunch of British farmers into a fleet of longships, with little previous experience of sailing, and expect them to use them effectively.

[@LaLa-gw5kg]

The background music drowns you out I'm afraid.

[@HighDutchMan77]

They should shoot the sound editor of this amazing docu.. dang what an anoying music they used...

[@dariusanderton3760]

1:59:12 Amazing detective work, they even found black and white photos of Robin Hood, LOL.

[@MossyMozart]

@dariusanderton3760 - Buried in an old biscuit tin in Sherwood Forest, no doubt!

[@teresajenkins9056]

the background music is so loud it was hard for me to hear the narrator...we could have done without the music...

[@Destromaugh]

46:22 Who performed this? I love the voice. Been searching with no luck. Please help.

[@slavaukraine5245]

The background music completely ruined the documentary for me. Couldn't hear half of what was said

[@tommyhaynes9157]

Did anyone involved in this project notice the music is SO loud during the parts of the Harold Godwinson / William of Normandy part that you can't hear the narration . It's really frustrating. This was generally a very professionally done video . What the hell happened

[@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095]

That's because it's pirated and they are trying to fool the YT copyright detector algorithm. {:o:O:}

[@morganlefay2599]

Harold and hopefully Edith, my 31st grandparents, skeedatled off, hence me! Ty

[@email4paula]

Around 1:13:00 , the lady says "1820" which feels a bit too recent for William of Orange! I suspect she just mis-spoke but I am surprised the clip made it into the final edit with that error! Did I misunderstand? But its a small mistake and I love these free historical videos! Please keep them coming!

[@paulasajjad4549]

He died 1702 so must just be a miss speak,

[@theCosmicQueen]

no, silly. This is the english language. 18-20 means 18 or 20 years old. duhh. even an american knows this.

[@theCosmicQueen]

@@paulasajjad4549 lol NO he did not! he died in the 11th century.

[@theConquerersMama]

Definitely it was a reference to his age, 18-20. She was discussing how he was brought up by tutors. Had nothing to do with a year as a date.

[@granabiss_]

WoW !!!! How much life has changed

[@bradyelich2745]

1:52:52 Kevin Hicks - He now has his own channel called "thehistorysquad" and he lives in my city, enjoying 90cm of snow so far.

[@drjohnl7524]

I can’t remember Robin Hood giving anything to a poor guy except for the Disney version.

[@MossyMozart]

@drjohnl7524 - Watch old films, then. Especially the Errol Flynn version.

[@joeblog2672]

I don't know who the producer of this video is but they need a serious head shake for not turning the background music down a lot of the time. It's bloody ridiculous at times! I can't watch more than a minute of it! I skimmed throughout the video and its apparent all the way through! The video otherwise looks pretty smart. I've watched lots of medieval historical videos from other productions here on the Tube and none of those suffer from this unsettling distraction. Hopefully they will get it right in future videos.

[@tommyhaynes9157]

Someone commented above, it's a way of tricking the copyright bots

[@hannahbrown2728]

This compilation is historical in and of itself, I just heard dial-up in the portion on Robin Hood😂

[@scottgoldsberry2730]

The battlefield is in the wrong place. William landed in the old port of Hastings.

[@wor53lg50]

Urgh? ,of coarse it gonna be the old port if you could call it one back them, more like wooden piers from the beach, it was nearly thousand years ago, its more modern now and grown,so the new one technically , and they only landed at hastings they fought at battle where it gets its name from...you do realise they was two invasions at the same time, one from the north from the vikings and one from the south, the normans...

[@TheBadMoJoe]

Does anyone know who wrote/performed the background music at around 32:55 ?

[@tommyhaynes9157]

I wish they hadn't performed it , you can't hear the narration at times

[@donnyskinglongliveme]

Tostig and the Northumbrians? Formerly Northumbria,,but the Danelaw in the 1060's!

[@TheCandiceWang]

1296 A.D.: kinda sad that in the 2020s, Scotland still hasn't voted for its own independence :(

[@meltz911]

Those poor bowlers @14:43

[@didimean]

lol I couldn't help but crack up at that part... dude just marches right through their game with no Fs given... even takes one of their balls

[@kubhlaikhan2015]

Kings don't just fall off cliffs. Factional murders were the norm as were clan raids and feuds. Wallace himself was a brutal serial killer, no hero. He sure as hell wasn't fighting for "his country" - since the western clans and islanders despised the eastern Alba lowlanders and their Norman monarchy alike. No wonder they asked the equally Norman Edward to restore order and stability for them. What makes me laugh is the fashion for translating the names of Alba's monarchs into Gaelic - a language they almost certainly couldn't speak and probably held in contempt.

[@ryang790]

14.46-50... Pure Alan Partridge lol.

[@annastinehammersdottir1290]

The onerous foreground music is taking over - so annoying.

[@onenewworldmonkey]

I can tell Wallace was an archery hunter by the way he chose the bridge. I always use funnels for deer. I use them in large scales, like a saddle on a hill top or small scale like a fallen tree.

[@hannahsdrawings8664]

1:57:18 that sounds interesting - Robert Hood the forester of Wakefield, who lost his property due to lancastrian rebellion , wife Mathilda

[@ShiyoneKenyo]

Tony has a "very cunning plan" 😂

[@Onora619]

1:35 hard agree

[@robynmeyer7796]

Re Robin Hood… Perhaps he was “Robin of the ‘Hood’ “…meaning he was a monk or a friar. It would make sense then that he helped the poor etc. Throughout history a last name often referred to a profession…so within a ballad it would have been a cheeky play on who he really was…ballads were the folk newspaper of the day that spread news so Robin was likely a real person and folk hero. My name is Robyn and I have been known as Robyn Hood for most of my life…My last name isn’t Hood but oddly I help the poor…and believe in fighting for justice

[@jamesjohno1180]

I’d love to know the nice tune in the background of the Robin Hood part it’s soo majestic😂I asked Alexa “what’s this song” but people keep talking during so she tells me it’s not a song! Then tells me to f*ck off🙄

[@theCosmicQueen]

Yes, the whole of English descendants world wide need a memorial to King Harold. We should just do it ourselves. Why wait for government to do it.

[@steveb1ish]

The internal stability of Helen's freshly exposed trench was agitated by Phil stroking her walls with his tiny trowel, and unbelievably Tony just stood there and watched.

[@hannahsdrawings8664]

43:36 I wonder how they keep it hygienic. Flies and other bugs, stuff from the street...

[@mayranoguera838]

So this is supposed to be The DaVinci code and nobody is being able to break it

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

I’m of Scots descent on my mothers side. My great grandmother, a farmers wife who wanted to become a midwife, still bemoaned the loss of Bonnie Prince Charlie and worshipped Wallace, Robert the Bruce, etc. I grew up in stories my mother told about them, especially Robert the Bruce. The spider story was a favorite.

[@alexc6324]

racist

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

@@alexc6324 ????

[@brianhodgson9547]

36:14 Chivalry - if he didn't do what he did at Stirling, they may have been Chivalrous