Sea Kingdoms Episode Guide

Episode Guide

• Ardtornish No More

  Alistair Moffat takes a look at the origins of the clan system, which developed after the powerful Lords of the Isles began to lose their influence and Scotland's position as a centre of commerce slipped away. Last in series

• Breaking Down the Ghost Fences

  Alistair Moffat visits Stonehenge as he examines the importance of early Celtic religion and the Roman persecution of the Druids

• Dancing to the Music of Time

  A look at the May Day Obby Oss tradition of Padstow in Cornwall, in which a man-made creature lurches about the town in a clear echo of Celtic fertility rites, forming a direct link to the customs and beliefs of the pre-Christian Sea Kingdoms

• Eagles, Bards and Druids

  The effects Edward I's determination to conquer Wales had on its people, featuring visits to Caernarfon Castle, the Gorsedd and the Eisteddfod to show the depth of Welsh identity, and examining the modern campaign to save the national language

• Eagles, Bards and Druids

  How Edward I's efforts to subdue the Welsh merely served to reinforce the nation's identity, a movement seen at work to this day in the Eisteddfod tradition and the modern campaign to preserve the Welsh language

• The Islands of the Evening

  Alistair Moffat examines the courage of early sailors and navigators who undertook perilous journeys around the Celtic kingdom. Viking re-enactors show what might have happened and there are contributions from naval explorer and adventurer Tim Severin

• The Mighty Language of the Gael

  Investigation into how Welsh and other Gaelic languages are intrinsically linked, visiting the Eistedfodd in Llanelli, Tynwald on the Isle of Man and a genealogy centre in Harris

• The Music of the Thing As it Happened

  Exploring the historical connections of the Celtic peoples in Britain and Ireland. Alistair Moffat embarks on his educational journey at Land's End in Cornwall, and aims to travel to Stornoway in the Hebrides. Along the way, he argues that for too long the history of the Celtic peoples has been largely forgotten or subsumed, and enlists the help of poet Edwin Morgan and the Llanelli male voice choir

• The Sons of Death

  A look at the impact of the Vikings on the Celtic peoples, focusing on areas where the seafaring raiders are known to have settled : including the Isle of Man, Iona and the Isle of Harris

• Swordland

  A look at the horrors of the 1798 rebellion in Ireland, during which the poverty-stricken peasantry were mercilessly put down after rising against the government and forging links with the French : who were then engaged in a war with Britain

• Until the Break of Day

  A look at how Christianity affected the Celtic peoples on the Isles of Lewis and Iona, exploring visible remnants of the new faith and revealing how monks created sacred sites in empty wild places