Customer Reviews

Terry Jones' Medieval Lives

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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Though he's best known for his Monty Python stuff don't be fooled into thinking this series is comedy. Terry Jones is an expert on this topic and presents some very compelling detail about roles in medieval society. The real gem of the series is that with each profession you watch another piece of the whole puzzle fits together to give you a broad picture. Finding real information about this time period that isn't about nobility or war is virtually impossible and Jones fills that gap admirably. Invaluable (and very entertaining) knowledge for anyone with a casual or professional interest in this sort of thing.

If I were pressed to find a negative about this series, it feels like a few ends are left dangling- I'm left wanting to see more chapters about the daily life of professional soldiers or lesser nobles. Some chapters, such as the one about kings, is more concerned with interesting trivia over daily life. All in all, minor complaints.

I've enjoyed Terry Jones's Hidden History Series (Egypt, Rome, History of Weapon technology) and purchased the "Barbarians" documentary. This one is enjoyable and educational like the other ones but adding the animation is brilliant! Considering that Monty Python always had animation, they should have done this on all the Terry Jones documentaries! There is also a bonus documentary on gladiators in Rome which is about an hour or so. Nice!

I echo all the praise of the previous reviews. As a medieval historian turned businessman, and a multimedia producer, I can't say how impressed I am with Mr. Jones' treatment of the subject, with his beloved humor and creativity - challenging our misperceptions and revealing details of medieval life we can appreciate through our shared humanity with people who lived so long ago. Thank you for caring so much about history, and sharing your enthusiasm!!

I challenge Mr. Jones to take another look at medieval monastic life and medieval spirituality. His episode on monks leaves the viewer with no sense of the value of spiritual life in general, or medieval or monastic life in particular. Mr. Jones' criticism of religious institutions and their worldly nonsense is most welcome, but can he look beyond these diversions from spirituality toward the real values and benefits that genuinely attracted people from all strata of society, and still do today? For a very different look at monastic life, I recommend the DVD "Into Great Silence" by Phillip Groning - a glimpse into the lives of Carthusian monks today, at the Grande Chartreuse monastery in the French Alps, founded by St. Bruno and his followers in 1084.

I think one of the most important jobs of a historian is not just to present the facts as accurately as possible, but actually help us see the world through the eyes of the people studied - and most medieval people lived in a world profoundly centered around religious belief and practice. Could he share with us something of the personal experience of devotion and spirituality, in a way that doesn't seem to assume that medieval people were too ignorant to know better? The medieval world was rich with imagination and meaning that, in my personal opinion, makes our modern experience, for all the real benefit of modern science and technology, seem somewhat pale and shallow. I can't think of anyone better able to help us rediscover and appreciate those things about the medieval worldview and medieval spirituality that have stood the test of time, if only Mr. Jones would turn his attention to them. Please do!

Where was Terry Jones when all of us were in the History of Western Civilization 101? Medieval Lives has to be the most entertaining, informative treasures of man's ascent from the bog! The DVD format is wonderfully produced with much of the creative descendants of Monty Python; brilliant use of art, music, interviews with academics and a whole range of scientific observation. Mr. Jones creates the perfect balance of humor and historical perspective as he traverses the map of civilization - dispelling the myth of Roman superiority with hilarious delight!

Nobody can skewer a subject like Terry Jones, but these episodes are funny AND tell it like it was. History sometimes sinks in better if taken with a grain of humor, and there's plenty of that here, liberally mixed with facts. Myths get debunked, and history is improved. There's a lot of meat mixed with the fluff, and you'll be surprised how much you can learn. Recommended to both those with mild interest, and to those who really really LIKE this stuff. (Or who just like Terry Jones, who appears as every one of the characters he reviews.)

I used to live in the UK and I saw Medieval Lives when it ran on the BBC and on reruns on UK History. I also have the book and recently reread it for the second or third time and thought to myself yet again, "Why isn't this series available on DVD?" My entire family enjoyed this show, even my then 11 year old son. This show is legitimate history but presented with a light comic touch that makes it accessible and definitely NOT boring. If you liked any of Terry Jones other history shows, you will like Medieval Lives.

What an excellent series! Terry Jones goes way beyond the standard history to tell us what lives were really like in the Medieval period. It makes much more sense than the stylized traditional picture we normally get from historians, it gets to believable people leading believable lives. If you want a down-to-earth, realistic account of what life was like in Medieval times, you must watch this series. It also tells much about the political and personal reasons for familiar (and some not at all familiar!) events of the time. Quite fascinating.

Whilst some of the Pythons have continued to milk the MP catalog as much as possible (let's name no names, squire, nudge nudge), others such as Palin, Cleese, Gilliam and Jones have each done interestingly original things, and Terry's Medieval Lives is a fine addition to that list.

I haven't read his book of the same name and thus have no idea how the two intersect, but did come across this dvd in the local library and gave it a spin. Many misconceptions about the middle ages are dispelled here, and other theories are given new life. The best thing is that TJ doesn't take himself too seriously, and manages to have plenty of fun with a topic few would think worthy of comic spelunking (unless they'd seen Python's Holy Grail...and if you haven't, run don't walk and watch that golden comic masterpiece immediately!).

Some of the skits here are rather daft, but others hit the nail on the head. The best of the bunch might be The Knight, which skewers many misperceptions about chivalry and shares some most unpleasant truths about how very brutal many knights actually were. The Peasant and The Minstrel chapters are standouts as well; the latter also turns some typical historical assumptions upside down, and Terry's happy, goofy grin shows how much he really does love this topic.

I do know that I would have loved seeing this in school! If you teach history and want to wake your kids up, show them some of this dvd. If only all of history was approached with the same irreverence for cliches, matched with reverence for the subject, that we find here. And no doubt about it: Jones loves the medieval period and does his best to share that love here, and when it works it works quite winningly indeed.

Plus which, the guy can still make funny faces with the best of 'em. As with Palin traveling around the world, it's hard to not smile as you watch Jones have a good time here. The fact that we learn plenty in the meantime is a lovely bonus.

Terry Jones sheds light on the day to day lives of people living in medieval England in this incredibly clever, funny and intelligent series. Borrowing from Chaucer by categorizing the characters by profession Jones humorously guides the viewer through each chapter while providing insights that escape many scholarly treatments of the same period. Much of the filming is done on location so in addition to the historical treatment there is also a travelogue aspect leaving me with the desire to visit some of these sites on my next trip to England. Really great and atypical viewing. Highly recommended.

I really loved this DVD. Terry Jones is a real historical super sleuth. It is funny in places and best yet, it treats the audience with respect and acknowledges a modicum of intelligence (unlike any American history shows which seem to think we need to reminded every 10 seconds of what we've just seen!!) Anyway, Terry's portrayal of Medieval Lives is great for the whole family. Informative and fun.Terry Jones' Medieval Lives