Definitely, the Ken Burn’s DVD’s. Check out Barbarians II. They teach about the dark ages very well, in my opinion, through four hour long shows on the Vandals, the Saxons, the Franks (and I haven’t seen the 4th so I don’t know what tribe it is). It is bloody though, lot’s of court intrigue, betrayal, war, and the like . . . with professors talking in between the dramatic scenes.
I’ve never seen The Barbarians - I will check it out because it’s one area of European history that I’ve never studied in any depth. Is there a Barbarians I ?
A few months ago we took the kids up to Flagstaff for a quick weekend trip. It ended up that we hardly left the room. Barbarians II was on TV, and we were riveted. Our kids were almost-8 and 5.