Home > Documentary TV Show > Terry Jones' Medieval Lives

Terry Jones' Medieval Lives

2004

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1
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EP1 The Peasant Feb 09, 2004

Terry Jones investigates the feudal system and the Peasants' Revolt, and discovers the truth about the Medieval Peasant in the process.

EP2 The Monk Feb 16, 2004

The Medieval monk was dedicated to God, and lived a life of prayer, hard work and poverty. But are the things we think we know, really true? Terry Jones travels around Europe in an attempt to reveal the truth about monks in the Middle Ages.

EP3 The Damsel Feb 23, 2004

The Medieval damsel is nowadays seen as a beautiful, but helpless woman, forever in need of a knight in shining armor to rescue her. But were damsels really such passive females, or are the stories we think we know about them, simply not true? Terry Jones travels around Europe in search for an answer to that question.

EP4 The Minstrel Mar 01, 2004

We usually see the minstrel as a jolly and free man, who was popular with the kings and with the ladies. But was it really like that? Terry Jones investigates what we think we know about Medieval life, and finds some unexpected insights.

EP5 The Knight Mar 08, 2004

Terry begins by explaining that the common perception of the knight may in fact be historically inaccurate. William the Bastard (later known as William the Conqueror) conquered England in 1066. His followers, called 'cnihts' gained land and property in exchange for military service. Any group of men chosen for their ability to beat things and not much else tends to have discipline problems, though, so a code of conduct was necessary to set in place. This became known as 'chivalry'.

EP6 The Philosopher Mar 15, 2004

Terry Jones examination of Philosophers, their mythic pursuit of a "stone", alchemy and medicine in the Medieval world. Dispelling myths on the fanciful ideas of belief in a flat earth. The ideas of the Franciscan Friar Roger Bacon. Holistic medicine and transmutation. The actual basis of scientific thought and how the Church fomented these pursuits for glory and profit. To the four humors of Medieval health Terry Jones adds his own while he travels to unearth their place in Medieval life.

EP7 The Outlaw Mar 22, 2004

Outlaws, men like Robin Hood, dressed in tights and little short tunics, living in the forest and fearlessly standing up for justice for the common man. But did a Medieval outlaw like this ever exist, or is it just part of a widely believed myth? Terry Jones travels Britain and Europe in search of the answer to this very question.

EP8 The King Mar 29, 2004

We think we know who the kings of the Medieval world were. But do we really know them? Terry Jones tries to find out the truth about the powerful men of the age.

EP9 Gladiators: The Brutal Truth Jan 01, 0001

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8.3| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Terry Jones hosts "Terry Jones' Medieval Lives", a series that delves into the lives of different medieval occupations, including kings, knights, and minstrels.

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Reviews

Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism
BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
muskebiis Guess what? Most of what we think we know about the middle ages is actually: The Middle Ages as interpreted by the Victorians, and was neatly adjusted to fit the mores of their time. Terry Jones peels away this Victorian smokescreen and gets rid of all the popular clichés about witches, chivalry,(lack of)science and chaste helpless damsels in a refreshing way. This documentary series is whimsical enough to be enjoyed by a twelve year old, but at the same time so factual, informative, and well researched that it will please... everyone really. For example, Jones walks through actual medieval art during his explanations, which is not just funny, but also an actual 'academically correct' choice. Every episode has its own theme: The Peasant (Feudal Farming and the Farmers rebellion), The Monk (Religion), The Damsel (Woman and sexuality), The Minstrel (Music, acting, and court culture), The Night, The Philosopher (science), The Outlaw (Law and Order), and the King. In these times where history having to do with woman seems to be out of fashion or deemed unimportant again, I particularly enjoyed The Damsel.Do yourself a favour and check it out!
MartinHafer 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.
brammus 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 :)
Anzillu This show is great, you can learn a lot of fun facts from it (even if you have knowledge of the time period already you still find out some interesting stuff from time to time) and the Mony Pythonish way all is brought is hilarious, especially the multiple characters Terry Jones portrayals, from monk to knight to...damsel LOL, but even so you don't want to learn it's still good to watch for the sheer fun factor of it all. truly on of the more interesting docu's you'll find out there if you like this also check out Ancient lives (also Terry Jones here) who i have seen so far (dont know if there are more) Roman life, and Egyptian life.