useful though .... and many of them can be adapted for bushcraft skills easily .... and are very handy survival knowledge and a good form of garden exercise to boost your own food stores ... heck just doing the garden with hand versions of the tools would be a major benefit
Lol! Well said. I've recommended this series to a friend without warning her that there's much more to an episode than what's in the title. She's unlikely to watch if she thinks it's about one topic, unless that topic is "How To Investigate A Crime Scene With A Codpiece - Tudor Monastery," which is to say she likes forensic science and weird things but she's also very Ruth-esque in that she's artistic and industrious, curious and capable, funny and adventuresome, and she wouldn't hesitate to don a frumpy woolen frock and beat her laundry upon a rock.
Let's alleviate some of that ignorance. Firstly, a cathedral is the seat of the bishop. Secondly the CHURCH (meaning the building itself) was a public building for religious purposes. Vow of poverty indeed. They literally live at work.
17:55 OMG I wish I had known this in my endless childhood experiments trying to write with a quill pen!! 🤦🏻♀️ Slanting the writing surface: so basic, but often omitted in instructions for trying that!
@@popepiusxv yeah idk why or how the hell people amidst 2020 with sooooo much info everyewere are still seemingly oblivious to the existence of ad blocks, i've been using it since before 2010 +- as far as i can remmember it's like one of the first things [on my mind] one should install as soon as one get's to a computer, second only to downloading Any new browser aside from using ie, [or an ad block browser if using the phone] but since i've discovered that people Still to this day trully use internet explorer, and as i'm seeing by the youtube comments nowadays, don't know about ad block i trully believe anything is possible in this world hahaha
just download Uorigin, its an ad blocker that most websites don't know about unlike adblock. if i had 1 dollar for every ad blocked by Uorigin i'd have 2.6M dollars in my bank.
Gwyn and Graceful had been planning that for 2 years. Graceful: "We gotta make them feed us BEFORE they put us to work. Next time they put that collar on us, you know what to do, Gwyn."
The water was often contaminated so they drank ale, all day, everyday. The alcohol killed the bacteria. Actually, no, it didn't. Medievil ale was fairly low alcohol, especially what was known as small beer. 4% - 5% would be the first run of ale, and that is not enough to kill bacteria. The boiling of the water when making beer is what killed the bacteria, not the alcohol content.
Why start in the middle of the field if you want to get a straight line? Start at the edge against the straight fence. And cows that haven’t exercised like that in years means getting them used to it again - frequent rest periods.
Ruth at the end talking about how varied pottage is really brings that home. I was vaguely aware that it was stuff cooked up in a pot but I never really understood what, or how varied and probably tasty it would have been. And yet my ancestors would have been eating it every day.
Totally. I think that's why I was never interested in History at school. It was always all about the Kings and Queens; Emperors, etc. It was always more about politics than the nitty gritty of everyday life for everyday people. I know that politics influences that life whether we want to know about it or not, but I really feel the realities of the ordinary people were so often overlooked, or just briefly touched upon.
@@elizabetha2601 I loved my ancient history teacher. She didn't skim over any of this. In fact, other than the obligatory dynastic information, I learned as much about daily life of a regular ancient Egyptian person than I've learned watching most documentaries. Unfortunately, when we covered Tudors, she was off sick. So I'm getting it here instead :\
It's quite stunning realising how labour intensive even the simplest tasks were. Also, you'd need a good relationship with your neighbours, considering how often you might have to assist each other.
And that's how it is in Vermont. That's why we hate tourists buying property, not just cuz they gentrify, but also because they aren't able to help: stack wood, pull it truck out of a snowbank, catch a loose pig, etc
The Mormons traveled across the country seriously pissing off the locals wherever they went...all because they worked together and built housing and barns in a very short time. Why? Because they worked together as a community,whereas other folks worked alone. Not a fan of Mormons here but they are very successful, BECAUSE they work together,to this day. Morons will call that socialism tho.
Ruth is a National Treasure. Her depth and breadth of knowledge and skills, her enthusiasm, and her delightful personality are sheer perfection. One of the human beings on this planet that I would love to meet. I love them all, of course.
I agree, Ruth is incredibly knowledgeable and skilled! All three of them are a blast to watch, their knowledge and willingness to jump right in on the hard work is inspiring
@@endokrin7897 Since America was basicly created by tudor britain, i would say surely. But since I´m german she is tecnically not my treasure too, but lets say she is a european and related colonial treasure.
Stuart from Tales of the Green Valley is moreso, because he kept on caring that farm ... without looking at more TV limelight. He was quite glad the TV crews were gone to go back to the proper restoration of the farm.
Not one of this programs ever have a pig shelter. They have to build one for every century they live in. I can't believe Peter was willing to do it every program.
Same. I hate how things are taught in so called professional schools. It's excruciatingly boring and actually makes learning entirely unappealing. As a young adult, I now watch and learn much more about the world, society, history and even some math than I ever did as a child or teen- and I love it, thanks to amazing docuseries such as this and others starring people like these three, Lucy Worsley, Helen Castor, Tony Robinson, Waldemar Januscek (spelling is butchered lmao), and the adorable goofball host of How We Got To Now. Modern schools are a waste.
Yup, history can be absolutely fasciniting if put into the right light. And I personaly love this form of documentary, because it is not just a guy talking about things, but rather a very practical and visual approach.
@Celto Loco Well I am 17 and obsessed with the medieval to baroque period (And history in general), but still you´re right, I am pretty lonely with my hobby.
I do not disagree with all of the sterling praise that Ruth receives however, Peter, Tom and later Alex certainly deserve just as many kudos. I have already watched all of the series’ start to finish once. I now embark on the second round. And oh! Do not forget Professor Ronald Hutton, the time traveling Wizard!
though she should specify when talking about oils and fat and she said "but if u were living around the 1500... animal fat is all there is " that this was only for places like england and north or central europe cause in mediteranean people knew olive oil ever since ancient greece times though ofcourse vallued it more for food than using it as light fuel , but they had other oils including fish oils and naphta stuff for that purpose
@@galadballcrusher8182 One thing to keep in mind, one of the biggest non-animal fats in Eastern Europe, sunflower oil, is also from America. So they would have had animal fats for most of their needs as well.
@@alexia3552 That was what farmers used as the standard for a hedge in this area before barbed wire was invented. They used a thorny, fast-growing plant called Hedge-apple to make it from.
Actually heard something similar growing up, but with the addition of "little fingers clever" referring to the idea of letting a few kids loose on something that adults thought was good to go only to find out a few moments of dedicated fiddling by curious little hands it was anything but! Want to find out if that knot is tight? Give a bored 4 year old a few minutes, you will usually find out pretty quick what will hold and what won't. Ditto if a fence will actually keep something in. An adult doesn't have the same eye level of a lot of animals - barring horse and oxen - so can miss the gaps and places a determined animal could find their way out of. Toddlers and little children work rather well for that job. Added bonus, you can pay your research department in cookies.
I've watched this series so many times, but keep coming back to it like a comfort food or favorite blanket. I love everything about it, but most of all, Ruth. She is so brilliant, and funny, and adventurous, and awesome. I kind of wish she was my mother.
For once in history it seems that men’s clothing was actually more impractical than a woman’s...I can’t imagine undoing all of those laces if you are overcome with the need for a sudden and urgent poo...
Worth to mention that people didn't "only" drink beer, and it's def' not the beer we're thinking of. It could be a very weak on alcohol, I think someone called it a "table beer" but it's basically a very dark kinda beer that is hard to get drunk on. Then there were also water from wells and mountains, which were typically very clean, I mean we still drink it certain places, and I mean Cholera didn't spread from beer, it spread from water. That said, they didn't drink from rivers though. But they were still smart enough to boil water. And the "weak beer" was more akin to flavoured water. Mead however was very alcoholic. Anyway, just thought it was worth mentioning.
Look up wood turning/wood turners in your local area. Mechanical lathes are the norm today, but it's definitely still a thing. There's a wood-turner who has a stall at my local market, and my brother also does it for a hobby. I have several beautiful bowls he has made, although I use them for storing fruit and vegetables rather than eating from.
I kinda miss Alex... I know they can decide to do whatever they want but I always loved the group dynamic with the three of them and tbh I totally expected him to be on this too. but I'm sure it'll be great anyway!
The real name of this video by the BBS is "Tudor Monastery Farm (episode 1)" - and it was made more than a few years ago. This channel gives videos silly names and puts their branding on them. In reality you will watch this and yet never be able to actually start a fire with flint, ever.
I find this series utterly fascinating! I learn about history, technology, agriculture and all the rest. For instance what is an oxbow? I'd heard of oxbow lakes, when a winding river changes course and leaves behind a U shaped body of water. It's part of the yoke on the oxen! Wow! Made it to 64 without knowing that. I'm glad there's more for me to learn.
I had no idea that females could be used as oxen. in Nova Scotia there are still many pairs of oxen and even 50 years ago they were being used on many farms. Now they mostly compete as teams But here the oxen are males and are named Lion and Bright...the left and right. they are much bigger and each weighs a few thousand pounds. And yes they still use a wooden yoke with oxbows
I've always wondered what effect living in that smoke filled home must have had on people. Wood smoke can produce some nasty fumes and, while unavoidable, they must have been aware of the dangers. It's nice though, to see the lives of early farmers, while tedious and demanding, could still be filled with moments of joy and celebration. I'm sure they were every bit as proud of their 'latest' improvements to farming as we are of our new computers and automobiles... I hope the 'Crew' plans another visit to Guedelon to update us on the progress of the castle!...
This is a good point, and we actually have some data on this due to how many countries still rely on people (mostly women) cooking over open fires/wood ovens to produce the food for their household. There's for sure increased risk of cancer, among other problems. National geographic did a great article about this titled "Three Billion People Cook Over Open Fires- With Deadly Consequences".
I don't think they thought wood smoke was dangerous. During the plague, they were using it as a cleansing incense so to speak and burning huge fires thinking it would smoke out the miasma of the plague. I highly doubt that they thought inhaling it would harm them in any way, rather be of great help. Of course we know better now, but there's many things that could be harmful to us now that we are clueless about
Individually they are poor they have to give all their money and property to the church when they sign up. At least that's how it is for Catholics was then is now. All their fine fancy stuff is Either given to them by wealthy patrons or their Bishop gives them a special voucher essentially to have the church's own staff and tenant Farmers make vestments or other fancy items for them. Bishops were considered princes of the church and especially in the Middle Ages they had to have all the wealth of princes or they would have no power. So the College of cardinals which is technically administratively above Bishops usually turned a blind eye to throwing lavish feasts as long as the intention was to get big grants from Rich patrons. It was exactly this kind of behavior that led to the sale of indulgences and for a young pissed off priest named Martin Luther in Germany to write out his 93 thesis and nail it to a church door. When the population learned that their so-called spiritual leaders were basically selling tickets to heaven to anyone with enough cash or land. That was a recipe for revolution. Hence the Protestant Reformation. All power back then was based on land ownership that's why the king had to literally own so much of the country. A group of Nobles who had enough land between them could remove a king by electing one of their number as the new king these alliances were usually forged through marriage and whichever one of them was richest would become the new Challenger to become king. If a king was not wise and paying attention one of these large alliances could grow up under him to the point that he had no way of raising the money from his loyal vassals to pay an army and would simply flee the country unable to defend his claim to the throne. As everything back then was based on inheritance law. That is why the English Royal Family's Crest is quartered with the colors of France. Because they consistently married back to their Rich cousins in Aquitaine and Normandy in France. This land dispute is what led to the Hundred Years War.
Diocesan or "Secular" clergy do nit have vows of poverty. Currently, they are paid on a parr with school teachers. "Religious" priests--those in religious orders like Franciscans, Dominicans, etc... do have vows of poverty and own no personal property...technically, not even their clothes. How this plays out varies from group to group. The CFR priests (and brothers) not only don't own furniture personally, they haven't any in their living quarters unless needed for medical reasons.
I envy Ruth and all the others who get to dress up and experience history like this. I am fascinated by this time period and love watching these so much. Thank you for doing this and sharing with us all. So interesting 👍✌️
@@digby_dooright oh right, I would definitely watch that. It wouldn’t be easy living though. Those were some tough people back then, they have my respect that is for sure
this RU-vid channel is utterly amazing. Thank you all for what you do. This channel, the people working on it, the people in the videos, are all bringing so much joy and knowledge to the world. Thank you
@Celto Loco You don’t know what you’re talking about. If this was an illegal channel it would’ve been shut down ages ago. Regardless, the BBC can go to hell.
Why did no one tell kid me that part of being a historian was living and remaking a castle, or a Tudor farm, or a Victorian farm? (Hell why did no one tell me before I found it myself?) This shit is awesome and is definitely a life goal.
I just love all the farm videos, and the castle building ones. I learn history, which I do try to pass on to others (and say watch this). My girlfriend asked me why I watch them repeatedly and I told her, "it's comfort food for my brain".
"singing and crying" that is a poetic way to describe a noisy, wet, and muddy dirt, and I love it :) I can totally imagine a literary work like this "and so, after the long night rain ended by the morning, the soil sing and cry of joy, and the plants waving, dancing, for the Lord has blessed the land with its kindness with plentiful water." done, it's not the best writing skill, but I think it's poetic enough, I'm not a pro at writing beautiful poetic thing.
I am wondering if they did this before their time at the castle. Stuff like that wheel to pull out the water and the carpentry for the pigsty should be somewhat familiar to them after their time working there.
Tales of the green valley Victorian farm Edwardian farm Wartime farm Victorian pharmacy Tudor monastery farm Secrets of the castle Full steam ahead. I think there was a few specials, Christmas series etc. All are just as good as this
I read somewhere that before modern times with electric lights the sleep schedule used to be different; that it was normally to wake up in the middle of the night and get up and do chores or whatever before going back to sleep. i would guess this was more common when the days were shorter and nights were longer.
@@cerveza2297 Yes! The Bedroom episode of If Walls Could Talk is my favorite, especially when she's at the Farm talking about the sleep schedule at like 3am all squinty in the dark 🤣
@@sabrinarosario6499 i feel like mine it more suited to the two sleeps instead of one large chunk of sleep. I feel more groggy if i sleep right through. Always have. I swear humans have continously fought against proper evolution and caused all these problems for ourselves that we have to then terribly adapt to 🤣
Nope...lab created meat will be the thing by then. I'm investing the only 5000 check I've ever received in lab created meats. I will be making a fairly good amount on my tiny investment...I truly believe that.
@@hasanturkovic9049 Oh yes they will. And not only will people eat it,the pet food market is a 27 billion dollar market worldwide and growing and it will be used for that as well. Plenty of places will be too hot and not have enough water for livestock and ppl will still want to eat meat. Would you have invested in plant based "meat" years ago? No,because it sounded foolish but guess what...the market is HUGE and it would have been a wise investment. So get back to me in 10 years with that attitude so I can laugh at you. Oh...and by the way,the biggest investor in lab created meats is Tyson Chicken...Bill Gates is an investor as well and they may be just a tad smarter than Hasan.
I’ve watched all of the series and now I’m back to this one I first started with because I don’t know what to watch or do with my life without Ruth and the boys
i wonder if the saying ''theres no rush'' comes from that theres no rush in the house to do the work at night in the dark with so youll have to wait till the morning to do the work you need to do?
I hate how so many shows make pottage seem so disgusting. Honestly if a food doesn’t taste at least somewhat passable, it’s avoided. We also make a lot of “one pot meals” with a similar process to pottage in the modern age. I would like to think that Ruth is a good cook and therefore makes a really tasty pottage.
I’m surprised that the men work in just their hose and doublets. I would have thought a cotton or linen smock type garment over the top would be far more practical. Those pure white hose would have become pretty filthy!
Yeah, English farmers wore smocks up until the 19th century, so I don't know why they weren't here. Maybe because they were the landowners, not just ordinary farm labourers.
I think smock frocks for agricultural labourers came later. They’re a simple garment, but they require a lot of fabric and I think that using that volume of material for one garment during the Tudor period would have been prohibitive.
"people believed they risked eternal damnation even social isolation if they didn't attend church" That's a bit if a weird way to order that. I'd say that eternal damnation is a bit worse than social isolation.
Social isolation could kill them pretty quickly in those days. They wouldn't be able to rely on being able to do business with anyone else, could get kicked out of their home, their family, no one would buy their goods. Basically, they'd have to be completely self-reliant in every way if they wanted to survive. Their best bet would probably be to pack up everything they could and move to a different village where no one knew them and start over.
They'd burn you as a witch if you weren't well liked. Baby dies of sids? Must be the witch. Drought? Its the witch. Man becomes impotent? Witch. Normally I'd agree though. Social isolation is often sought and enjoyed now.
@@SadisticSenpai61 And even that would be difficult considering how much more closed communities were in general back then, if you were a complete stranger you weren't likely to simply be trusted by the villagers, and if anything bad happened in the community I'd imagine it'd be you they scrutinized first.
@@mikehunt3688 Yup, especially if you were seen as odd or different in any way. You'd have a better chance at being accepted if you marry someone that's a well established resident - especially if they're well-respected. Oddly enough, I know a town like that in Iowa. Unless you'd lived there all your life, married someone who'd lived there all their life, or were having an affair with someone who'd lived there all their life, you could expect to be an outcast. Fortunately, that's changing due to the fact that newcomers now outnumber the long-time residents. It's basically becoming a suburb cuz it isn't very far from the state capital and the housing is cheap.
The ale was actually not that alcoholic that the alcohol would have killed of any germs - it's more about the culture: The yeast competes with other microorganisms and wins over, because you give it a huge head start. This way pathogens can't take hold. If you drink fresh, young ale (I don't know, if they did that... they do it in SE Asia for example) the yeast will still be active and act as a probiotic to help your digestive system fight off disease and imbalance.
That’s true. To modern ears drinking ale everyday sounds like getting drunk daily, but the beer back then was much lighter than contemporary british ales. So yes, as you said, the alcohol was just enough to kill bacteria and germs
Love you guys, but medieval people most certainly did drink water. People just didn't write as much about it as they did the more uncommon wine or ale.
16:05 In Poland we have the 'name day' - a celebration on the day of the saint with the same name as you (your patron saint). It's obviously a very old custom, and because it's unbreakably linked to Christianity, people are kinda forgetting (or rather not getting taught) what it even means, which is very sad to me - even though I'm not religious. I remember coming to England when I was a child and being shocked upon figuring out that they have no idea what it is and don't even have a word for it. That taught me something about how cultures can be very different, even between countries that are so close geographically, even if they seem so similar on the surface.
A few decades ago calendars here in Germany still had "names" on the days, but I haven't seen it for 40+ years now. It is one of those things which people want to "make disappear".
a very interesting video about the Tudor period. In France, we know very very little about those times in England . So it is very interesting to see. The actors are brilliant and your idea to make such videos is brilliant too. Continue to make such videos please. It is excellent.
@@TomorrowWeLive The most important difference is probably "who owned the land" and "how was SERFDOM handled" ... and the basic bit about the climate, which changes the crops and thus the yearly requirements. Britain seems to have had the first tenant-farmers, which means they were not serfs anymore but rather entrepreneurs, but in France that could have been different.
Ok I know I watched this like a month or two ago already but this and tales from the green valley are my absolute favorites and will probably always be. Also can we give Ruth a cooking show where she just makes old recipes from scratch and all that? I just love her so much I want more to watch lol
These three are just so amazing. I'd love to be able to experience everything they have. I've watched the castle building series in France, now this! And I have to say, Peter is just gorgeous 😉
Wow, those houses look so small in postcards. I never imagined they were so huge! And the scene is really reminiscent of the last supper. Explains so much. Wow.. I love you guys for doing this show. 😍
@@sueclark5763 Tongue is delicious ... and the only problem with eels is preparing them. Why wouldnt Ruth be joyous about "tackling NEW stuff"? It is like a child being allowed to play with a new toy ... except as a "practical" historian.
Where do they get all of these people living in those old villages, wearing those old clothes, and being experts in all of these old crafts and rituals? Are there really that many people in England living like that, pretending to live in Edwardian, Victorian, Tudor, etc.?
No glass in the windows and thatched roofs for a lot of buildings meant there was plenty of ventilation. They often slept on the floor or very low beds, well below any smoke that might have accumulated, and she was sitting on the floor, as well. People in the past might have had different knowledge than we do but they weren't less intelligent. If central hearths killed people left right and center they wouldn't have been used for millennia. Implying that they didn't understand cause and effect is frankly ludicrous. And Tudor chimneys could be a lot less safe because they were newer technology - they often weren't cleaned out as much as they needed to be, were made of improper materials, or weren't constructed to have a strong enough draw and a lot of fires due to chimneys are recorded once they became more standard.
@@blastforth Because they could not afford glass. And if they didn't have any windows, it'd be both pitch dark day and night unless you had a fire, but then you'd have really bad ventilation, and would be using too much kindling and wood for burning during the day. It is a compromise due to limited resources. They had no choice but to work with what they had.
