Tag: Terry Jones

Medieval Monday: The King

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Sadly, this is the last episode of Medieval Lives with Terry Jones of Monty Python fame, but you can find all of my posts with these videos in the Medieval Monday index.

In this episode he talks about English kings, focusing specifically on the three Richards as examples. It is interesting to see how political spin hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years–just the motives and the methods of delivery. Can you really believe everything written in the history books? Perhaps not…

One interesting update, though. Since this was filmed, Richard III’s body has been found beneath a parking lot in the English city of Leicester. It was finally proved that he did suffer from scoliosis and had a slightly curved spine, but he did not have a hunchback as portrayed by Shakespeare  and others.

Learn more about the daily life in Middle Ages by browsing previous posts in the Medieval Monday Index.

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Medieval Monday: The Outlaw

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Here’s another episode of Medieval Lives with Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. He talks about the medieval outlaw–a topic that has a lot more surprises than I expected. Not all “outlaws” were bandits and murderers, and there was a fair amount of bureaucracy involved (not to mention strange and horrendous punishments). You won’t want to miss this one!

Learn more about the daily life in Middle Ages by browsing previous posts in the Medieval Monday Index.

Medieval Monday: The Philosopher

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It’s the beginning of the month, so here’s another episode of Medieval Lives with Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. He talks about the medieval philosopher, which was really more of a scientist or alchemist, and also about the medieval physician. Were they really as backward thinking as we suppose? Or were the seeds that eventually grew into the age of Enlightenment planted during this era? There is some fascinating stuff in this episode, including why people in the Middle Ages were so preoccupied with the idea of changing other metals into gold–it’s not for the reason you might think!

Learn more about the daily life in Middle Ages by browsing previous posts in the Medieval Monday Index.

Medieval Monday: The Knight

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It’s the beginning of the month, so here’s another episode of Medieval Lives with Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. He talks about the evolving role of knights in medieval society and the emergence of a code of chivalry. Sadly legend and reality are two very different things! There is also an interesting section on horses and how they were trained to be used as weapons on the battlefield. Additionally, he talks about coats of arms and learns what his own might look like. It’s actually pretty funny. So enjoy this episode of Medieval Lives.

Learn more about the daily life in Middle Ages by browsing previous posts in the Medieval Monday Index.

Medieval Monday: The Minstrel

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It’s the beginning of the month, so here’s another episode of Medieval Lives with Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. I was actually surprised at the number of things I didn’t know about minstrels and their place in history. And Terry Jones, as always, has a certain flare for telling it! 🙂

Learn more about the daily life in Middle Ages by browsing previous posts in the Medieval Monday Index.

Medieval Monday: The Damsel

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It has been a while since I made a Medieval Monday post, but I’ll get back to it now that my book is finished. I’ll resume with this BBC episode of Medieval Lives, which is all about women’s roles in medieval society. A very interesting take which somewhat debunks current views of how women were expected to behave and were treated during the Middle Ages.

WARNING: This is probably NSFW, as it does deal in part with how women’s sexuality was viewed from medieval times through the Victorian era. There is some “nudity” as taken from medieval artwork, so maybe not something you want to watch with kids hanging over your shoulder, either. I considered not posting this one at all, but the purpose of my Medieval Monday series is to show what daily medieval life was really like, and this was a significant part of life, particularly in a society where having children was critical to survival and marriage was often more about politics/social maneuvering than love.

Learn more about the daily life in Middle Ages by browsing previous posts in the Medieval Monday Index.

Medieval Monday: The Monk

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It’s the beginning of the month, so here’s another episode of Medieval Lives with Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. Lots of interesting information about the role of monks in medieval society, some of the different orders and how they got started. Lots of beautiful architecture in this one! Definitely worth watching.

Learn more about the daily life in Middle Ages by browsing previous posts in the Medieval Monday Index.