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Description
Arthur Marwick and Joel. Hurstfield, in a programme closely related to the unit, look at documents, physical artefacts and buildings, all from Stratford upon Avon of Shakespeare's day. Professor... Hurstfield, an authority on Elizabethan history, answers questions which Professor Marwick asks in the unit, to show the wealth of information and insight into a past age which an historian can gain from an examination of primary sources, and the techniques he needs to do this. The programme looks at eight documents, a handful of physical artefacts and, by means of film, at the restored buildings of present day Stratford to show the great variety of source material available for the historian's studies.
Metadata describing this Open University video programme
Module code and title: A101, An arts foundation course
Item code: A101; 04
First transmission date: 1978
Published: 1978
Rights Statement:
Restrictions on use:
Duration: 00:24:10
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Producer: Nancy Thomas
Contributors: Joel Hurstfield; Arthur Marwick
Publisher: BBC Open University
Keyword(s): History; Primary sources; Shakespeare; Stratford
Footage description: The programme opens with shots of the streets and rooftops of Stratford Upon Avon, over which Joel Hurstfield, Professor of English History at University College London, reads an extract from a 16th century description of the town. From the studio Arthur Marwick explains what the programme is about. Shots of the town's charter, granted in 1553 over which Hurstfield explains the historical significance of such a document and describes certain of its details. Marwick asks him why and how the charter was granted. Hurstfield reads a number of Latin extracts from the charter, with English translations displayed at the foot of the screen. He explains the significance of rights to hold markets. Hurstfield explains details of two Stratford documents, and again translations of Latin extracts are displayed. He relates the documents to broader aspects of the social history of the period. Similar treatment is given by Hurstfield to documents relating to craft guilds. He and Marwick discuss what can be learnt from these primary sources about economic activity in 16th century Stratford. Hurstfield shows how a damaged document can be used. Max-wick explains his division of historical sources into "witting testimony" and "unwitting testimony". Hurstfield explains what can be learnt from such 16th century items as chairs, dole cupboards and candles. Over shots of a woodcut depicting a fire, Marwick comments on the variety of primary sources. Over film of several 16th century buildings that are still standing in Stratford Upon Avon, Hurstfield points out features in each one. He compares early photographs with modern streets and concludes by explaining what a historian can learn from architectural sources. Marwick ends the programme by emphasising the usefulness to the historian of a wide range of source materials. Credits.
Master spool number: 6HT/72480
Production number: 00525_3242
Videofinder number: 1893
Available to public: no