39 Facts about the Middle Ages - mental_floss List Show Ep. 430

Why are the middle ages called the middle ages? And why do some conspiracy theories suggest that the middle ages never happened? Is there a difference between the middle ages and the dark ages? This episode of The List Show is all about facts about the Middle Ages.
The List Show is a weekly show where knowledge junkies get their fix of trivia-tastic information. This week, John shares some facts about his new favorite time period, the Middle Ages!
Subscribe for new episodes of mental_floss every Wednesday!
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[@MentalFloss]

Love fun facts? Of course you do, why else would you be here? Join us for our LIVE trivia show this Friday to test your fun fact expertise: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2iQn52Qq7and80&amp=&feature=youtu.be

[@chanceDdog2009]

Mental Floss, coffee and Sundays off. 😁

[@ahhhfakemonsters]

I wasn't sure if this video was going to be about history or being 40 when I clicked on it

[@susanharman8756]

I absolutely love the Green brothers devotion to education. Channels such as these are so important.

[@DeathlyTired]

Gloucester! John pronounces an English place name correctly! Chalk up the score: 1-24,587

[@rdizzy1]

I still don't get why or how it is pronounced Gloster, why not just spell it Gloster then??

[@Mayhemerz]

Because while the pronunciation of words may have altered over the centuries, the spellings have been resolutely retained for consistency. I shall note here that not all place names ending in -cester are pronounced -ster. Cirencester is the most obvious, and IS pronounced how it looks. In the past Gloucester was pronounced Gloh-seh-ster but like many other places that end in -cester (which came from the Latin word castrum, or castle), having a vowel next to the C weakened the impact of the consonant, and thus it eventually faded away and didn't even get pronounced.

[@leechtamer]

Also mispronouncing words is his thing.

[@danytargaryen7063]

+Mayhemers Excellent explanation! Thank you for this 🤗👍🏼

[@Aleer1000]

It is the same '-lou-' sound as in 'colour'

[@joeschmoe5063]

360p is from the middle ages too

[@Cameron-uu6bs]

Maybe it's part of the aesthetic?

[@Linkous12]

Made me lol.

[@alveolate]

so are john's hair and stubble :3

[@mennoduk]

+ hihihi, that's what I thought

[@Ayesuku]

+

[@UnwashedPearl]

When I asked my sister where in the past she would travel with a time machine, she said she didn't want to go back past the invention of the tampon.

[@snakezase2998]

That’s fair

[@NickGreyden]

The internet, conditioned air, and modern medicine. In all the world there is no age greater and more friendly than our own.

[@dianeridley9804]

Oh, how I would love for you to revisit your comment RIGHT NOW, 31 May 2020

[@NickGreyden]

@@dianeridley9804 still the best age, just a super shitty year in the US and across the globe. But also made more bearable from our technological and social advancements.

[@Belt4in1]

"Thanks again for watching a menopause video"

[@clf400]

Gargoyles were never just decorative. Gargoyles are drain pipes and grotesques are just decorative.

[@Roll587]

+

[@Jindorek]

+

[@representationmetaphorique]

+

[@Amolsuricomedy]

... Try explains that to Goliath...

[@ranwolf76]

I don't think Elisa thinks he's grotesque...

[@HaSiHappy]

Is it just me, or should this be in more than just 360p?

[@Malforian]

its probably still uploading the other versions

[@HaSiHappy]

+Malforian82 Wow, I've never been this early for a video then. :o

[@89nekkoinu]

youtube messed it up sometimes

[@swatsaw6]

that is made to make us feel more like in middle ages of internet videos

[@Malforian]

Ha-Si always a first time ;)

[@randythomet2385]

I would not want to live in any time or place where indoor plumbing was not the norm.

[@Roll587]

+

[@Jindorek]

+

[@zvign7554]

+

[@happyfacefries]

+Andrea Stewart but it is available

[@Liutgard]

Only in the Western world. In most of the rest of the world, it isn't available, unless you are very, very rich.

[@josephattwell1006]

2:14 Those famous beaked plague doctors wore those beaks for a reason. Instead of blaming the plague on witchcraft, the lack of morals of the poor, or on the Jews, doctors in the 17 century had realized that diseases had natural causes. These natural causes could be defended against, and the doctor who worked on the victims of the plague could escape the grip of the black death. HOWEVER, the "natural" cause the doctors came up with was Miasma. It was "bad air", literally a stench of death, which caused the disease. Thus, the Plague Doctor's beak was filled with all kinds of herbs that was thought to ward off the miasma.

[@cherylcampbell9369]

That is interesting. Thank you.

[@spectrescopic1298]

The beaks were extremely useful for warding off the plague, but why did they have to make them look so creepy and artsy and cool?

[@dianeridley9804]

Uhhhmmm, those beaks certainly were for storage of herbs... so the plague doctors could withstand the stench of death everywhere they went.

[@DanielRieger]

I'm glad to live in modern times because we have HD videos! Wait...

[@mattguye66]

I feel like I am in the middle ages with this 360p

[@adelisemcullens2679]

Bahahahaha I thought there was something wrong with my computer...

[@theestrategicgamer8072]

Same here. :P

[@blackparadoxx9656]

Of course Yoda is pictured in manuscripts from the Middle Ages, he was 900 years before he died in 1984.

[@nexsusarchon5358]

The realism is over 9000

[@ezekiel0606]

but it happened a long long time ago

[@wunderkind7841]

In a galaxy far far away no less.

[@billybranting1327]

My father is an archeologist with this as his specialty

[@MeisterHaar]

as a european i wanted to add to the castle topic. it is actually not completly true that they stoped building castles but the intention changed. it was no longer for protection it was more a way to show off, a way to show how wealthy and powerfull you were. In germany there even were rules on which royals were allowed to build castels and which didn't even though they might have been rich enough. Nice examples of prestige castles are for example the castle of Neuschwanstein it was build in 1886 by the king Ludwig of Bavaria and the castle Marienburg build in 1867 by King George V of Hannover. Marienburg was intended to be a summer castle and a gift from George his wife.

[@NomadicElfling]

+

[@rosagibson6570]

Technically, in English, a castle is only a castle if it served a militaristic purpose. A castle is "a large building or group of buildings fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and in many cases a moat." - www.google.com/#q=define:+castle

[@MeisterHaar]

the_scientist5 FlamingVikingGoat well most of the times in german we would call it a Schloss wich is something between a palace and a castle but nearly every english translation i have ever seen translates it to castle rarly you see the french word Château. Often this castle/château buildings are designed to look like they have a militaristic purpose with all you discriebed thick walls, towers, often on hills, so that they could see and were seen over a long distance. Some were actually desinged like real castles. its just that everybody knew they would be worthless in fights. Some old royal families also used them to show how old their families are. the Hohnzollern build a castle on a hill top in 1867 on a place were they had a castle first mentioned in 1267. they are even called castle on wikipedia like hohnzollern castle and marienburg castle.

[@Liutgard]

Nobles built castles even when they didn't have permission. A number of Kings destroyed castles for that reason- Henry II of England in particular tore down quite a few castles that were built without official charters. Coincidentally, they often belonged to people who were on the outs with him.

[@MeisterHaar]

Laura Minnick same happend in germany, but most people were smart enough to build without provoking the royals. there were strict rules on what custituted as a castle so people found loopholes and constructed buildings that technically were not castles under the rules but still gave them some protection or prestige. just like people invented the Messer a really long knife as a weapon, because only nobles were allowed to have swords.

[@jedihorjus]

But what if everyone had just agreed that rhinos were unicorns?

[@Roll587]

+

[@Jindorek]

+

[@nathanroon6961]

+

[@zvign7554]

+

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

Technically, they are - they are one-horned beasts. But they aren't the sparkly fun kind with magical powers, so there's the rain on that parade.

[@desolatorXT]

You mentioned the Byzantine Empire at the start. Can you make a video with some facts about it? Thanks.

[@mastersirus1985]

I'm sure in the Middle Ages they didn't have to watch KZbin in 360p! Oh the Horror!

[@NathansWargames]

it's nice hearing someone from the Americas use the correct pronunciations for British place names

[@smadak]

Nah, showers > baths. In a bath, you're just sitting in a puddle of your own dead skin and hair and dirt.

[@50ftFrankenstein]

If I want to get clean I take a shower, if I want to relax I take a bath.

[@smadak]

Fifty Foot Frankenstein that's a good point.

[@forbernard8113]

thats why they make this thing called soap

[@forbernard8113]

+Novatham cleans the dirt off your body, mostvpeople shower after they bathe

[@smadak]

***** Soap doesn't change the fact that dead skin and hair are floating in water with you.

[@MegapiemanPHD]

The main thing about modern life that I couldn't do without is modern indoor plumbing. The lack of that is a 100% deal breaker.

[@spectrescopic1298]

Just piss in the woods. It's hella liberating.

[@originate2464]

I have heard that moats sometimes were filled with sewage. If true, trying to cross such a moat would be a little like wading or swimming through a huge toilet drain pipe that still has all the waste material still in it. Might not be true. I can't say for certain, but if true, that could be an additional deterrent to would be attackers.

[@RD9_Designs]

I believe that's exactly what was in them. If there are a castle full of folks all taking a dump once a day, where would you think all that shite goes?

[@Saanichian]

I would say that we’re living in a rather dark age right now.

[@robertneal4244]

Well done, John. You managed to say people "ate beaver tail" with a straight face. I failed to keep a straight face just listening to the phrase.

[@sakaridis]

"Dilute the flavor of beaver" is my new favorite phrase of all time...

[@dianeridley9804]

This guy's delivery is hilarious.

[@jstarstudios7110]

Not just Mentalfloss, but the whole Internet!

[@kelejsaunders]

Second time now, I thought I heard something else while you were saying "mental floss". I heard "menopause"!

[@NamiNuitsuki]

I needed this video a week ago when I had to make a PowerPoint about the Middle Ages 😑

[@bushpilot223]

An episode with John Green! I am happy.

[@gregmiller9710]

O, he's not a reg?

[@bushpilot223]

he used to be, now he's too busy he doesn't post nearly as many. most of them are with the other hosts now

[@vitamindubya]

Dying at 33. His OCD would have him suspected as being possessed by a demon. TOTALLY at home in the Middle Ages.

[@stephenlycopolus7618]

800 years of history in 10 mins... GO! :)

[@darththaurer]

Dammit John, I swear the half the time you just like to say "thanks again for watching menopause..." to mess with us.

[@GinEric84]

John I dig the, "just out of bed" hair style.

[@rogerdotlee]

I love this show. Happy entertainment without delving into Quantum Physics or Organic Chemistry. And speaking of which, I'm glad I'm in the 21st century because I can go on the internet and educate myself about *ANYTHING!*

[@PinkChucky15]

"So the dragons were tiny too"

[@ikryytt919]

I love John.

[@zvign7554]

internet, mental floss on KZbin, KZbin, medicine, clothing, being largely accepted as a gay woman, being a lefty( even though it is still not great),

[@unfabgirl]

Yes, but we get our own crappy scissors!

[@codieayscue]

Yes! But I'm proud of being a *lefty*, 4/5 presidents are lefties ;-)

[@HalloranIllustrations]

Well for one thing, I'm happy to live in a time where we are visiting other worlds.

[@krypticmac]

man 360p rocks

[@PieterPatrick]

Alone in a bath is so boring... ...The feeling of a shower is very relaxing and meditative to me.

[@llanorick]

Living past 40, WITHOUT outliving most of my children. Fresh fruit and vegetables in the winter. Safety traveling. Having enough light to read at night.

[@bjf10]

Please no nonsense about covering up the taste of rotten meat with expensive spices. Please no nonsense about covering up the taste of rotten meat with expensive spices. Please no nonsense about covering up the taste of rotten meat with expensive spices... (watches video) YAY! I like living in modern times because I get to re-create the middle ages, AND I get penicillin when I need it. :-)

[@Liutgard]

Heh. Just outed yourself as a SCAdian. ;-) --Domna Liutgard of Luxeuil, OL

[@sophiapeck1823]

lol did anyone else think of Supernatural when he mentioned the Winchester bible?

[@99thTuesday]

Why do I like modern times? Mostly the internet. Also medicine

[@OriginalBongoliath]

Don't forget air conditioning!

[@jamdc2000]

and pokemon go lol

[@JagAgemo]

+

[@99thTuesday]

+Scott7891 Air-con is definitely a plus to modern times.

[@pyrotheevilplatypus]

Indoor plumbing sells it for me.

[@KyrinaSpellweaver]

Interesting bit about hops. While they were first added to beer in the 9th century it wasn't really common until the 12th or even 13th century. The rise of hopped beer (technically termed ale in contemporary documents when it doesn't have hops) lead to competition with ale with gruit in parts of Europe. (Mostly what is now Holland, Netherrlands, and parts of Germany). Gruit makers wanted those using hops to be taxed more to preserve the gruit industry. Not a correction but just a bit more I thought I could add.

[@Liutgard]

Hops became more popular because it helped with preservation. Actual ale has a MUCH shorter life.

[@KyrinaSpellweaver]

Very true. My answer wasn't meant to meant to say why but when and the impact outside the preservation.

[@seleciaa]

Thankfully watching on my phone so the 360 p doesn't bother me too much!!!

[@davybones5313]

I don't often click on mental floss videos but, when I do they have John Green in them

[@jarenhutchings4219]

I sure do love sub-SD video

[@Epicdino2912]

Really wish uploading in 360p was a mortal sin

[@NumeMoon]

I'm glad I don't have to leave the house in the middle of winter to take a dump.

[@NNBob]

You should do another series of crash course world history ;)

[@ExtraAmpersand]

PLUMBING! Not having to bathe in a lake or use an outhouse is amazing.

[@Kayjai97]

Antibiotics are good, I'm quite a fan of them :)

[@curiousfirely]

I love insulin! (and living to adulthood - thanks Banting!)

[@adambierstedt920]

A correction on #18: Gunpowder really didn't slow down castle building until well into the Early Modern period. Firstly, 14th century cannon just weren't particularly high power, and so took a while to bust through a wall. In addition, if it became important, they just made the walls a bit thicker. During the Hundred Years' War, Calais was beseiged by the English, who had cannon. However, the city held out until starvation. The cannon did nothing. The same is true in 15th century Italy, where artillery was just as often used on a pitched field as in a siege. The big change that castles did undergo was to gain sharper corners. Round corners are good for stopping rams and rocks, but against the velocity of gunpowder, sharp corners prevented blind spots, allowing defenders to bombard a besieging army at any distance.

[@Smallpotato1965]

No. 35 could you give a link to that paper, please?

[@thedesucomplex4365]

Really fun episode!

[@tom7601]

When the water ran through the Gargoyles, it made a gargling sound. Or maybe it was the other way around... 😊

[@fmhummel]

Herbert Illig lived close to my hometown. I even have his book - in my collection of strange and dangerous ideas.

[@lj9347]

Reasons i enjoy current times: indoor pluming, refrigerators, electricity medicine, easy travel and larger sheep

[@bla2220]

What we know about medicine is why I'm glad we live in these modern times.

[@giantsquid2]

Yep. I'm with John. I have no interest in going back before antibiotics.

[@zelphx]

I'm glad to live in modern times, because this is where I keep my socks.

[@deathdude035]

Great jokey vibe to this one.

[@JoaoPessoa86]

two words: INDOOR PLUMBING

[@happyfacefries]

+Anthony VP did you notice you said rich enough? most wouldn't be "rich enough". all of my ancestors were farmers, not "rich enough". Also, their sewer systems weren't like now.

[@JoaoPessoa86]

***** I'm from Brazil, cholera is a recent memory

[@Liutgard]

The Romans had sewer systems, and they didn't fall out of everyday use until the Renaissance.

[@Liutgard]

A significant portion of our infastructure was built by the CCC and WPA in the 30s, and again during the Eisenhower administration. Since then it seems that the taxpayers don't want to put the money into it. Which is going to cost us in the long run.

[@evanparlier1159]

Two more words: Air conditioning. This one is still pretty new. Hell, my father didn't have A.C. growing up. I have to tell myself that your body acclimates to living without it because my pampered first-world ass would die without cold air on tap whenever I want.

[@spectrescopic1298]

Just started watching this show, why does he call this room "the salon?"

[@vitovtwik]

Beaver tails are still a delicacy among some hunters.

[@yisraelkatz1958]

John, I'm 100% with you on the hot baths comment

[@marlenjuarez1578]

Yay John Green!

[@Earthden]

The main thing I would miss were I transported to the Middle Ages would be toilet paper. Though Penicillin is a good answer too.

[@cupcakewithouttheicing]

Hold it right there. The *Winchester* Bible?!

[@synonym1ty]

content not playable on AppleTV... don't know if its something on how you uploaded it or just one of them things with KZbin that happens. Thought I'd let you know.

[@Firmus777]

Middle Ages is a period from the 5th to the 15th century. Also, the phantom time hypothesis claims that the period from 614 to 911 never happened which is not even close to the whole Middle Ages.

[@aethelredtheready1739]

Middle Ages: ~400 - ~1200 600 and 900 are both inside that range

[@LilyHandmaiden]

The time span of the Middle Ages depends on who you talk to and where you're talking about. In Italy, for example, scholars generally consider the Renaissance to begin in the 1300s. Because ideas travel slowly, however, the English Middle Ages is generally considered to have lasted from about 500-1500.

[@libbybollinger5901]

+LilyHandmaiden most sources I know generally use 1453 as a good end date, as its when Constantinople fell, cutting Europe off from a lot of trade

[@idnwiw]

5th to 15th century - as is also "proven" by the fact that a lot of facts presented in this video are from the 15th century.

[@Liutgard]

Most, in fact.

[@mimistockwell7095]

This is the first Mental Floss video I have watched in a while... All I want to say is, John, you look so tired!!! Take a break!!!

[@aethelredtheready1739]

Ummmm... John, not to be pedantic but the photo you show for the plague with the plague Doctor mask wasn't invented till the 1600s

[@happyfacefries]

If you've noticed. a lot of photos shown are anachronisms. it was probably shown because it looks so freaky but people know its use

[@aethelredtheready1739]

Ya, i know, that was just the first one i noticed I look down at my phone and boom, plague doctor

[@jimmyjam1463]

The dark ages were not named that because of the absence of art. it was because until recently, very little was known about them. we have only recently began to find evidence of what the dark ages were actually like, and we still know very little.

[@ObadiahtheSlim]

At the height of Pax Mongolica, a man could walk from Baghdad to Beijing and never once fear for his life.

[@valkyriemaiden9593]

I like that we have antibiotics and pain medicine that works pretty well. That's my fav!

[@MichaelDuntz]

How come this video isn't compatible with an AppleTv?

[@bobertp]

Had the same issue. Weird.

[@missoula2213]

I'm glad to live in modern times because of the advances in plumbing and heating.

[@LacrimosaTheNerd]

I cannot be the only person who laughed at "Winchester Bible".

[@lauracorum9775]

+

[@cherryfries623]

Honestly so done with everyone saying everything is fake. From shootings, to terrorist attacks, to the freaking Middle Ages I'm so done with this planet omfg

[@Actheman1978]

Toilets, clean water, medicine, deodorant, television, refrigeration and air conditioning. Oh and vehicles...

[@jonajo9757]

1.) Out houses or running toilets from the times if rome or something a lord would construct. 2.) They did have clean water. 3.)Medicine varied, but Prince Henry survived a bodkin point war arrow lodged into his face with the use of medieval antibiotics. 4.)Herbs or some spices you'd smack on your body probably.. eh.

[@ChadWSmith]

Reasons I am happy to live in current times - and in this part of the world: The Internet, Indoor Plumbing, Air Conditioning, Refrigerator / Freezers, Microwaves, Cars, Planes, Globalized Economy (means I can have fruit year round and from places I can't pronounce -- also that I can have cheaper stuff, better stuff, and different kinds of stuff), mass communication, Glasses, education available to everyone, most crimes don't carry the death penalty, better medicine (particularly vaccines and surgery), electricity in general, video games, access to vast libraries of information (oh wait, i already said the internet), toilet paper, mouth wash, and paper towels.

[@Liutgard]

There were glasses as early as the 13th century, and when Leewanhoek (I'm certain I'm not spelling that right) developed more effective lenses, they could promise better vision. Even Henry VIII had glasses when he was older- many pairs of them, because he kept misplacing them!

[@ChadWSmith]

Yes, however since statistically and ancestrally I would not be a member of royalty (my family name is "Smith" after all) I doubt I would have been lucky enough to afford them - or even know I needed them since I probably would not have been taught how to read.

[@willyaffleck7918]

i like the history ones. OH, and "No time like now !!"

[@feralbluee]

medical stuff! chiropractic. cleanliness. cars, trains and planes, heat and air conditioning. fire retardant materials, firefighting, radio, TV, color TV, cable, phones 📞 📱, audiotapes, video tapes, cameras, cinema, CD’s and DVD’s, computers. . . as you can tell i listed similar things in order of development. i go a bit far back. :) LOL my grandparents had a TV, but we didn’t get one till ‘52 or 53, so radio was still a big thing. i remember listening to dramas like The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, soaps when i was 11. (i’m a War baby :) 🌷🌱📻

[@karatesoccerbaseball]

I'm glad to live in 2016 because of El Chapo book recommendations

[@TheShamois]

I think I'd stay in this day and age because of out plumbing systems. Gotta love that plumbing.

[@DowningJ82]

They should include the Winchester bible into the Supernatural Television show!

[@csims.22]

I couldn't live without baseball!

[@PastelBat]

Anyone else watching this who is also a fan of Ask A Mortician? Or am I singing "✨the middle ages were magic✨💀" by myself?

[@ellenmurphy2150]

Indoor plumbing!!! Enough said.

[@iilllillilillilllii5159]

It is very interesting that he added 'mostly EU' to the middle age. I always thought that word middle age represents certain period of time and certain place, Europe. Doesn't the word 'middle age' specify both location and time?

[@Frutfive5]

Im glad i live in an era with dank memes

[@batya7]

toilets, clean drinking water, feminine hygiene products & modern sanitation get my vote

[@sommerfeldttt]

My reasons for loving living in the present: Modern medicine and everyone's not that religiously zealous as they were in the middle ages

[@stocktonjoans]

Hi, It's 2020 now, just FYI were are definitly living in the dark part of history

[@Dancesonthesand2009]

What do I like about modern day? I'd say, not being sold as chattel by my parents is pretty damn snazzy.