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''Terry Jones' Medieval Lives'' is a 2004 television documentary series produced for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
. Written and hosted by
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team.
After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...
, each half-hour episode examines a particular
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
personality, with the intent of separating myth from reality.
The episode ''The Peasant'' was nominated for ''Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming'' at the 2004 Emmy Awards. Dr. Faye Getz acted as consultant for the series.
Misunderstood history
Being a comedian as well as an historian, Jones takes an established belief, turns that around, and presents proof for his assertion. For example, peasants did not live in complete squalor and actually owned property. Also class divisions were not as severe as people think; there are cases of low-born people who rise to quite high positions.
In the episode on kings, he says, "History isn't necessarily what happened. It's often what people want us to think happened." He uses the following examples:
*
Richard the Lionheart
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
was actually a bad king, who only saw England (which he hated) as a means to finance his warmongering.
Richard III did a lot of good for England. Modern perceptions of these kings are reversed because, Jones asserts, chroniclers of the time were commissioned to write what was politically most convenient.
*
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
,
Count of Artois
The count of Artois (French: Comtes d'Artois, Dutch: Graven van Artesië) was the ruler over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French revolutionaries in 1790.
House of Artois
*Odalric (c. 850 ...
(later
King of France), was acclaimed as King of England yet appears in no history books (see
First Baron's War) because of, Jones asserts, embarrassment over a "second French invasion".
Jones explained his motivation for making this series in the article in ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'': "The main reason I wanted to make ''Medieval Lives'' was to get my own back on the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
. It's not that the Renaissance has ever done me any harm personally, you understand. It's just that I'm sick of the way people's eyes light up when they start talking about the Renaissance. I'm sick of the way art critics tend to say: 'Aaaah! The Renaissance!' with that deeply self-satisfied air of someone who is at last getting down to the 'Real Thing'. And I'm sick to death of that ridiculous assumption that that before the Renaissance human beings had no sense of individuality."
Episode list
The eight episodes were as follows:
* The Peasant
* The Monk
* The Damsel
* The Minstrel
* The Knight
* The Philosopher (Alchemist)
* The Outlaw
* The King
Companion book
*
*
External links
*
BBC Worldwide press release*
Python slams 'overrated' Renaissance'
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
article
The Middle Ages of reason*
{{Terry Jones history series
2004 British television series debuts
2004 British television series endings
2000s British documentary television series
Works by Terry Jones
British television miniseries
English-language television shows
BBC television documentaries about medieval history