Medieval Lives

I was a little put off by the other commenter when they spoke of the playful nature of this series because I generally prefer my facts to be undiluted. Unfortunately comedic documentaries tend to blur the line between fact and fiction to the point where the more extreme facts seem doubtful and certainly wouldn't hold up in conversation.

However, this series does a fantastic job of keeping the subject light hearted while still being dense with facts. The general structure of each episode is a brief introduction to the "stereotype" and then the rest of the episode focuses on deconstructing that stereotype, sometimes even showing where the misconception came from.

I was totally entranced by this (ironically) ancient-seeming series from Terry Jones about different roles in medieval society. It's got this wildly intense energy about it and is saturated with these sub-Gilliamesque animations of bewildering complexity. In fact, he physically darts location every few minutes, it's dizzying. That being said there's a really refreshingly consistent mission to 'blame the Historian' here that feels quite timeless. The prism through which we see history is our own flawed interpretation and reality (much as it is now) is a lot more complex. Like this show. It's infused with a pleasingly nostalgic early 00s warmth and old Tez is still chirpy so I really found it tremendously charming.

Terry Jones, tells the public how the myths really were. That Robin H. wasn't as nice as he seemed to be, and that history is really told by the winner.

He has taken the python-esquire way of display, and it works out great. The graphics the humor and the sometimes very detailed look at things that happened.

Every program consists of one subject which will be analyzed and put against the way of life today.... No, not much change if you watch carefully.

If you are interested in history, but you don't want to be lectured, than this is a series for you!

Would be great BTW, if Terry Jones took a look at the rest of Europe/the world this way :)

As a history teacher, I will heartily agree that too often our history is learned in such a dry and awful way that it's no wonder kids often say they hate the subject. In addition, people assume that nothing interesting or important happened during the Medieval period--like everyone just sat around waiting to die (at about age 7). That's how I was taught the subject by my teachers. Thank goodness for a television series like MEDIEVAL LIVES, as it injects humor into the topic and is told in a fascinating manner--and infuses the viewer with a sense that the "Dark Ages" weren't quite so dark.

Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame) narrates this series and since there were no videos made during the time, knights, monks, serfs and the like are portrayed by animating them in a way reminiscent of Terry Gilliam (the guy who made the cartoons for Monty Python). And, given our newer technology, in many cases Jones himself is able to walk through these paintings and interact with the characters! Additionally, he travels throughout Europe to illustrate the locales talked about in the shows--which talk about such topics as the monk, the knight, minstrels, and peasants.

I have copied these shows when they came on television and given them out to my students to watch. These students who previously thought this time period was dull came back energized--laughing at Jones' antics and realizing how important and interesting history can be when properly taught! A must for anyone.

While the host, Terry Jones is most popularly known for his role(s) as part of the Monty Python gang, he also wears the high-brow hats of author and historian. He has been involved in producing both video and written works covering the lives, struggles and daily work (for example the series "Worst Jobs in History") of people through the ages, ancient and historical inventions (the series aptly titled *Ancient Inventions"), the history of mathematics/numbers (documentary: "The Story of 1"), and more. His numerous published works include several non-fiction histories, children's books and an in-depth speculative look into the mysterious disappearance of the famous Chaucer ("Who killed Chaucer? A real life Medieval Murder Mystery" NF). While not an "academic", Terry Jones definitely exhibits a love and knowledge of history, and obviously believes that education doesn't have to be dull. I have found all of his works to accurately reflect prevailing opinions about his subjects for the time of production.

You can be sure that Jone's videos are highly entertaining, educational and informative while steeped in G-rated humor (with perhaps some sly innuendo, which will quietly fly right over most youngsters' heads). Terry Jones is well-known for dressing in drag as part of his Monty Python skits, and there is no shortage of cross-dressing in his historical videos, to great effect. He's a wonderful sport about steeping himself quite literally into the lives of his historical subjects (hilarious and sometimes "awfully funny"--emphasis on "awfully" in "Worst Jobs in History"), which makes his presentations original, funny and humanizing. It's too easy to forget that our ancestors were all people just like us. Terry Jones has a wonderful way of bringing history warmly, respectfully, richly alive for all ages.

My only criticism is that I felt the segments were too short for each time period (which is more of a problem of the nature of the medium and not a question of quality). Both BBCand PBS often direct viewers to alternative sources for more information (both of which have aired these shows--and if I remember right, one or the other sponsored these productions).