What Did the Normans Ever Do for Us?

Radio 4 is marking the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry in Britain with a special day of programmes reassessing the Norman Conquest and its meaning for us today.

1066 was the last time England was successfully invaded. The Norman Conquest remains one of the defining events in British history. But what exactly happened after the fighting finished at Hastings? And what is its legacy?

BBC's Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall looks at how William the Conqueror seized power and transformed England and where the consequences of 1066 can still be felt today. From government to land ownership and law; social class to language and culture; and the Domesday Book to DNA – how much and of modern Britain can still be traced back to the Normans?

To answer these and other questions, she is joined by historians Dr Eleanor Parker, Professor Levi Roach and Alex Burghart MP, by the writer Kate Mosse and the French journalist Muriel Zagha to trace how the Norman Conquest reshaped England and the development of British history and culture.

Producer: Ruth Watts