Terry Jones' Medieval Lives
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives is a BBC documentary series presented by Terry Jones, looking at the Medieval world with the intent of finding out what it was really like. The series consists of eight episodes, each of which examines a particular Medieval personality: the peasant, the monk, the damsel, the minstrel, the knight, the philosopher, the outlaw and the king. The series reveals that what most people believe life was like in the Middle Ages is totally wrong. For example, the medieval knight were far more interested in the fine arts of killing people and profiting from war than romantic notions of chivalry.
| Episode 1 - The Peasant |
Episode 1 - The Peasant
Terry Jones discovers that the medieval peasant was in fact literate, emancipated, highly political, legally savvy, house-proud and healthy (albeit with terrible breath).
Episode 2 - The Monk
Terry Jones investigates the truth behind the cloistered medieval monk.
Episode 3 - The Damsel
Terry Jones looks at the world of the medieval damsel; not the shy, demure creatures we imagine today but strong independent women who ran businesses, led armies.
Episode 4 - The Minstrel
Terry Jones reveals that minstrels were medieval spin doctors and could be warriors, political movers and shakers and even spies, playing a key and often dangerous role in history.
Episode 5 - The Knight
Terry Jones examines the world of the medieval knight; they were more interested in the fine art of killing people and profiting from war than romantic notions of chivalry.
Episode 6 - The Philosopher
Terry Jones looks at the medieval scientist, or philosopher as they were known then, showing how they experimented on a huge scale and made key scientific discoveries.
Episode 7 - The Outlaw
Terry Jones discovers that Sheriffs were pen pushing bureaucrats and the biggest threat to law were the gangs of upper crust outlaws terrorizing the country for the sole purpose of getting rich quick.
Episode 8 - The King
Taking the three king Richards as a sample, Terry Jones looks at the truth behind the medieval kings.
| Related Links |
| Middle Ages - wikipedia In European history, the Middle Ages, or Medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. |
| Inside the Medieval Mind This is a BBC documentary series presented by Professor Robert Bartlett, investigating the intellectual landscape of the medieval world. |
| In Our Time, The Medieval University Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval universities.In the 11th and 12th centuries a new type of institution started to appear in the major cities of Europe. |
| Crusades This is a four-part documentary series presented by Terry Jones, recounting the Crusades by exploring the lives of pivotal figures, the technology and the politics of the era. |
| Barbarians (History Channel) This tells the intriguing story of four barbaric tribes - Goths, Mongols, Huns and Vikings - which once became powerful and fell again in the Middle Ages. |
| Andrew Marr's History of the World This is a eight-part BBC documentary series looking at 70,000 years of human history and the story of the world. |