silverwhistle

Thanks to Paul, I have been able to see this again for the first time in nearly 24 years... (For which many thanks!) Great fun... And I have to admit that, as first time around, I find David the historian the most alarming character... due to his research method and attitude! Have posted a review on IMDb, anyway.

I've also designed a cover, if anyone else has a copy and wants one.

The Scottish castle at the end bore something of a resemblance to part of my old hall of residence, a fact which we noted at the time in the TV room...

silverwhistle

I first saw Dark Side when I was a mediæval history undergraduate, and saw it again recently, having returned to Crusades history. Something that has just really struck me is that the historical back-story given to Raoul owes more to the Hospitallers than to the Templars.

Foulques de Villaret, the Hospitaller Grand Master who conquered Rhodes, was deposed in 1317 by his own order, allegedly because of high-handed behaviour and unmonastic personal habits (booze and women). The Hospitallers rebelled against him and tried to arrest or kill him. He withdrew to the Castle of Lindos (the castle used in the serial as the exterior of Hagios Theodoros) and was besieged there. An alternative Master was elected, and de Villaret was forced into retirement in Italy, then France, when the Pope confirmed his demotion in 1319.

The script's back-story elides elements of this scandal with some of the false charges made against the Templars (devil-worship, heresy, & c.). The Hospitallers had been granted the Templars' assets in 1312, after their dissolution.