History isn't necessarily what happened; it's very often what somebody wants us to think happened. -Terry Jones

After having seen Terry Jones' 2006 documentary series The Barbarians (review), in which he convincingly argues that the barbarians that fought the Roman Empire were often more advanced than Rome itself, I was eager to see his earlier documentaries. In 2004 he wrote and hosted Medieval Lives, a series of programs that looked at what it was like to live in the middle ages and is just as fascinating, if not more so, than The Barbarians. The entire 8 episode series has been released on DVD and makes for some absorbing watching.

Jones' premise for this series is that what most people believe life was like in the middle ages is totally wrong. He spends each half-hour episode examining a different class or type of person and compares what the common man thinks with what was recorded way back then. Did minstrels really travel from town to town singing for their bread and living a care free life? Just how bad was it if you were a peasant? Were Outlaws merry men who fought the man and helped the common folk? Was King Richard the Lion-Hearted really one of the best monarchs that England ever had?

While some of the answers are very surprising, others aren't (does anyone really think that there were Robin Hood-like bandits that risked being killed so they could redistribute wealth?) but each episode is very interesting and filled with information. Terry Jones keeps things light in tone (as one would expect from a member of Monty Python) but the humor never comes at the expense of the information. He does a great balancing act, throwing in a quip or two but never making the show feel less than serious.

The episodes are:

The Peasant - While they did work hard all year round, it's interesting to learn that the peasant's lives weren't as horrible as is often thought. The most heavily taxed peasants worked on their lord's land for 50 days out of every year, and the rest of the time they devoted to their own plots. Their health was better than we believe and after the plague struck England and wiped out half of the population peasants actually had some amount of power since labor was so scarce.

The Monk - easily the most fascinating episode. Jones describes how holy men who tried to remove themselves from society and its temptations became very much in demand. With kings and knights having sin on their souls from all of the killing that they routinely ordered or committed, Monks would offer to pray for a person's soul and wash away the sin. For a price of course. The more money they had, the harder it was to resist the temptations that they were trying to avoid.

The Damsel - Were women in Medieval times merely hostages waiting to be rescued by errant knights? Of course not, but they actually had more power than they would in later years.

The Minstrel - Just what did minstrels do, and how much did they affect the historical events that they often witnessed? Some interesting anecdotes are retold including one about how a minstrel stated the Battle of Hastings in 1066 that resulted in the Norman conquest of England.

The Knight - Another interesting episode, this one looks at knights and just what part they played in medieval society. A violent group they did live by a chivalrous code, but it wasn't what we think of today since it only applied to others of their class. For a knight to kill another knight who has laid down his weapon was forbidden. Slaughtering innocent peasants on the other hand, including women and children, was perfectly fine.

The Philosopher - the only episode that I had some problems with. Jones states that alchemists made many scientific advances, which is true, but these were almost always stumbled upon. There is a good reason why alchemy as a whole was disregarded about the time of Newton, and that's because they were barking up the wrong tree. Still, Jones presents a good argument, just one that I didn't buy.

The Outlaw - Just who was an outlaw and why did they become one? The answer is surprising. The children of many lords would turn to crime since only the eldest male child was able to inherit. The legal system of the time is examined and more complex than one would have thought.

The King - in the final episode Jones looks at the English King. Three in particular: Richard the I, II, and III, as well as a forgotten British king who ruled for over a year.

The DVD:

The eight shows that make up this series run about 25 minutes each and are presented on two DVDs.

Audio:

The show has a stereo soundtrack that fits it well. There is some use made of the soundstage, but since most of the show is narration it isn't very prominent.

Video:

The 1.78:1 anamorphically enhanced image is acceptable but not outstanding. The level of detail is pretty good, but the image is a bit soft in places. There's also a bit of aliasing in the background. Nothing too extreme, but I was hoping for a sharper and more crisp picutre. Overall an average looking disc.

Extras:

There is a bonus episode included: Gladiators - the Brutal Truth. This looks at what it was like to fight in the coliseum and live in ancient Rome.

Final Thoughts:

This was an engaging and interesting series. Many of the myths that Terry Jones exposes are fairly ingrained in western society and though the show has an England-centric bent, the information is very enlightening. A great show for history buffs its both entertaining and fact-filled. Highly Recommended.