Terry Jones' Medieval Lives

The Peasant

History series with Monty Python star and medieval enthusiast Terry Jones. The popular image of a medieval peasant is a person dirty, diseased and downtrodden, little more than a slave. However, Terry discovers that the medieval peasant was in fact literate, emancipated, highly political, legally savvy, house-proud and healthy (albeit with terrible breath).

The Monk

Monty Python star and medieval enthusiast, Terry Jones, takes us on a tour of the Middle Ages, destroying old myths and discovering extraordinary stories of real people. This week, Terry investigates the truth behind the cloistered medieval monk, whose ideal of giving up the world for a life of prayer and isolation was all too often undermined by an ability to make money out of almost anything, from sheep to iron smelting.

The Damsel

Monty Python star and medieval enthusiast, Terry Jones, takes us on a tour of the Middle Ages, destroying old myths and discovering extraordinary stories of real people. A look at the world of the medieval damsel; not the shy, demure creatures we imagine today but strong independent women who ran businesses, led armies and, when they felt like it, even abducted the lovers of their choice.

The Minstrel

Monty Python star and medieval enthusiast Terry Jones takes us on a tour of the Middle Ages. He reveals that minstrels were medieval spin doctors and could be warriors, political movers and shakers and even spies, playing a key and often dangerous role in history.

The Knight

Monty Python star and medieval enthusiast Terry Jones takes us on a tour of the Middle Ages. Knights were more interested in the fine art of killing people and profiting from war than romantic notions of chivalry.

The Philosopher

Monty Python star and medieval enthusiast Terry Jones takes us on a tour of the Middle Ages. He looks at the medieval scientist, or philosopher as they were known then, showing how they experimented on a huge scale and made key scientific discoveries. He argues that most of them had a more ethical approach than that to be found in today's commercialised world of science.

The Outlaw

The King

Terry Jones takes us on a tour of the Middle Ages. He asks just how much we know about our medieval kings, taking the three king Richards as a sample. He finds that 'Good' king Richard I (Lionheart) was anything but; 'Bad' king Richard II seems to have been actually rather admirable; and 'Ugly' king Richard III was savagely disfigured by William Shakespeare.