Strange Landscape

In the magnificent Gothic cathedral at Chartres, medieval pilgrims believed they could glimpse paradise.

As medieval society, still haunted by the terrible spectre of the Apocalypse and the day of judgment, struggled to cope with the changes overtaking it, religious dissidents paid a terrible price fortheir non-conformism. Francis of Assisi's belief in a life of poverty led him into conflict with an often extravagant Church, although he was eventually reconciled and established a monastic order underthe auspices of Rome. But other dissidents were not so lucky. The Pope, alarmed at signs of disorder, called for a crackdown against heretics in the south of France. What followed proved to be one of the most brutal episodes in French history.

Tonight's programme focuses on what Frayling calls the "theological prize-fight of the age" in which two brilliant medieval men, who had been on a collision course all their lives, met for a confrontation at the Council of Sens in 1140. On one side there was Bernard of Clairvaux - later Saint Bernard - rural, spiritual, and theologically faithful. Facinghim was Peter Abelard , the best known teacher of his day: an urban, rational, theologically enquiring man. Interwoven with the story of these two exceptional men is the tale of Abelard's passionate but tragic love affair with his learned student, Helolse. When theirforbidden relationship was eventually discovered, he was castrated and she was sent to a nunnery. HeloTse is regarded as a key figure in the sexual history of women, and remembered forthe emotional, poetic qualities of her love letters. Frayling uses these three characters to examine the nature of fame in the Middle Ages and to reflect upon the enormous changes convulsing 12th century society.

The Emperor Friedrich II forged Germany and Italy into a great empire with a mixture of brute force and skilful publicity. He debated with great men from the world of Islam. He performed experiments on living human beings. But most of all he wanted to conquer death itself.

Christopher Frayling investigates the art and philosophy of the Middle Ages. The Circles of Light. ForChristopher Frayling, Dante's Divine Comedy is "an evocation of the sights and sounds and thoughts of the Middle Ages" - at one level a political tract about treachery in Florence and at another a celebration of the creative process. Using dramatic special effects to recreate the torments of Dante's Inferno, tonight's programme depicts a journey from the darkness of hell to the blazing light of paradise, Interwoven with this dramatisation of the Divine Comedy is the story of Dante's own life, his love forthe woman idealised as "Beatrice" and the religious and scientific beliefs embedded in the work.