MedievalMadness

An armoured knight on a lumbering steed; toiling serfs, tied to the lands of their lord, cloistered monks and nuns, lost in prayer. And don’t forget the scenery: high-walled castles, great gothic churches, and farms, farms, and more farms. We all know the kind of things we’d find during the Medieval Age. But what actually WAS the Medieval Age?

Life in the Middle Ages, between the fifth and the fifteenth centuries, was hard. Long before the discovery of penicillin, the people accepted that death was going to be with them sooner rather than later. Infections spread quickly and there were no inoculations, no cures and no defences against the misery it could inflict on the people of medieval England. Disease became man’s greatest enemy because it was almost impossible to avoid. Let’s take a look at some of the worst diseases to catch during the middle ages...

The Middle Ages is renowned for being one of the most violent periods of history. The thousand years lasting from the 5th to the 15th centuries was a time of brutality and inequality. In the Middle Ages most European countries were legally allowed to use some form of torture. By the 12th century it had achieved its peak with the aid of more sophisticated and brutal devices. Torture was often used as part of sentencing against a criminal and was carried out in public to deter others. At a time when even starving children were hanged for stealing food it’s no surprise that torture was seen as the best way to coerce information or deliver retribution.

You would think that there would be just a few occupations during the Middle Ages. There would be the lord of the manor, the knights, the lord’s household and the peasants. But this is just a broad outline of the myriad of jobs that were available and each one fulfilled an essential role in Medieval society. Really there were just two classes, the elite and the workers but the lord and his court could not survive without the assistance of the labourers. Some of the jobs such as carpenters, bakers and barbers still continue to this day. Others have disappeared into the annals of history. For the following jobs, that is not a bad thing.

In the previous episode of Medieval Madness, we looked into some of the worst jobs available in the Medieval era - these included jobs such as the gong farmer, the executioner, the tanner and the leech collector. Now it's time to look at some of the best jobs!

In today's episode, we take a look at the various food groups and their position within the diet of an average medieval peasant!

From about 1150 onwards the monarchy began to play a much larger part in the management of the justice system in England. Of course, it would be several centuries before the legal system that we know today would be in place, but the start of jury led trials began in this period. Some medieval laws and punishments seem quite shocking by today’s standards and justice during the period was certainly not without its faults and cruelties. Lets take a look at 7 obscure types of medieval laws!

During the medieval period lucky jesters were the ones who were employed by nobles or royalty to perform at court. But he or she wasn’t just an entertainer, they were part of the social fabric of a region, whilst court jesters were valued with great privileges. Today in Medieval Madness, we look at the life of a Medieval Jester.

Saint Augustine’s ideal of the unbreakable marriage dominated the Middle Ages. By the late medieval period the marriage vows contained the phrase ‘till death do us part’, emphasizing the seriousness of the commitment that was being made. And it certainly was serious! In today's episode of Medieval Madness, we will be exploring divorce in the middle ages, as well as taking a look at the story behind Ridley Scott's newest film The Last Duel, starring Adam Driver, Matt Damon and Jodie Comer.

European maps from the Middle Ages are full of strange lands, legendary races and fabulous monsters. Only the Church with the help of God was able to provide protection against these horrors. The medieval world was hard to understand, and the people believed that their souls were always in danger of being stolen away by all sorts of spiritual creatures. In todays episode of Medieval Madness, we have a look at a few of those creatures!

Unicorns, centaurs, griffins, manticores, mermaids and dragons. These are all medieval monsters we learned about in a previous episode. Today we're going to travel a little further afield in the middle ages, to learn about beasts such as the ones described as, “ugly folk without heads” with their “mouths round like a horseshoe, in the middle of their chest”. Welcome to Medieval Madness!

The smock, hose, kirtle, dress, belt, surcoat, girdle, cape, hood, and bonnet are just some examples of the more standard medieval clothing. However, fashion trends did sometimes get a little ridiculous too. So, strap your gucci boxers tight as we travel back in time to look at fashion during the middle ages. Welcome to Medieval Madness.

In the Middle Ages most people never saw a doctor. Peasants would normally visit a cunning woman or a monk who would provide them with some sort of herbal remedy as well as prayer. The few physicians that were available would only treat the rich. Naturally, people didn't tend to have quite as high of a life expectancy as we do these days. In this video, we're going to look into some of the many reasons why.

We previously looked at the diet of a medieval peasant, so in todays episode we're going to explore the diet of the upper classes of the middle ages! What did the medieval upper classes actually eat?!

A lot has been written about the medieval period and a lot of it generally portrays the people as being unsophisticated, cruel, and ignorant. Superstition was a dominating force that filled peoples lives. Violence, death, and disease skulked around every corner, waiting to pounce. But there are also many misconceptions about the Middle Ages making it one of the most fascinating periods in history. Here are five things that you probably didn’t know about the Middle Ages. It may not be all that you believed.

It seems that students of the modern world and their reputation for drunken debauchery aren't too dissimilar to students of the medieval world. Lets travel back in time and learn about learning in the middle ages. Welcome to Medieval Madness!

The elite women of ancient Greece and Rome regularly used cosmetics, a custom that was adopted from the ancient Egyptians. During the Middle Ages the tradition continued only among the nobility, as most of the peasant classes didn’t have the money for such luxuries. Of course, in medieval times the church kept a watchful eye over everything, and this included the makeup habits of its female parishioners. Adding makeup to one’s face was thought to question the workmanship of God’s vision. And early in the period [any English] “woman who wore makeup was seen as an incarnation of Satan”, as the use of cosmetics was only found in brothels. In today's episode, we look at Disturbing Health & Beauty Fads of the Middle Ages.

Just as they do now many people in the Middle Ages journeyed for business, pleasure, and religious reasons. But unlike today people had just two options when travelling in the medieval world. They could either go by land or sea. In today's episode, we look at 4 Modes of Transport in the Middle Ages. Welcome to Medieval Madness!