Season 1

When the Bubonic Plague arrived from Asia in 1347, claiming its first victims in an Italian port, few would have guessed that this unprecedented epidemic, the Black Death, would claim the lives of up to half Europe's population, killing tens of millions in just over two years. Travelling across the continent, author Ken Follett examines the impact of the Black Death, following the fate of two sisters on an English farm, a priest in Winchester and a doctor in Florence. Follett recounts how the Catholic Church and the priesthood were unable to explain the epidemic, and law and order broke down. But as the survivors buried the dead, Europe underwent a radical transformation, with the old feudal order replaced by a new labour market and innovations in art, medicine and science taking place. Peasant revolts followed and, two centuries later, the Reformation.

Three women whose resolve, intelligence and bravery helped shape history—at a time when females had few rights and were excluded from the priesthood, the military and universities—are studied by Ken Follett. He begins with the story of 12th-century German nun Hildegard von Bingen, one of the inspirations behind the character of Caris in his novel World Without End. French writer and mystic Marguerite Porete challenged the very foundations of church teachings 120 years later. Follett also profiles Joan of Arc, the woman who inspired a fledgling nation in its war against foreign invaders.