Terry Jones' Medieval Lives Episode Rating Graph

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.

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'.

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.

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.