Medieval Historian Breaks Down 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' Movie | Deep Dives

[@pgmorrow]

If Monty Python is not historically accurate, I don't know what to believe anymore.

[@bostonphotographer20]

It’s 100% accurate but “the system” doesn’t want you to believe it so they call it “a parody”

[@professornuke7562]

All throughout the 1980's, Holy Grail and Jabberwocky were feted by historians as not historically accurate but way closer than anything the BBC had made.

[@carloshenriquezimmer7543]

How it can be not historically accurate, they even had a Famous Historian on board

[@cadderley100]

IKR? I mean, obviously, they had flying, killer rabbits in the medieval period.

[@davidsandy5917]

@@cadderley100 Jimmy Carter was attacked by one of those back in the 1970's.

[@nohbuddy1]

I was hoping to know if strange women lying in ponds distributing swords was how kings were selected in medieval england

[@jameswyatt1227]

The lady of the lake...May she rise again one day.

[@dtschuor459]

“…some moistened bink…”

[@chrisgriffith9252]

lobbed a scimitar at me in some farsicle aquatic ceremony...

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

@@dtschuor459 bint*, appropriated from an Arabic word for girl or daughter into British military slang.

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

Ya mean the watery tart throwing a sword at you !?

[@cindchan]

I've seen a meme that states that Holy Grail is a D&D game where the Dungeon Master gets fed up and says "Okay, then the cops come and arrest everyone. Go home!"

[@robhogg68]

As I understand it, they ran out of money, so needed to finish it quickly.

[@BradGryphonn]

Hehe. Clever meme.

[@Reashu]

​@@robhogg68couldn't come up with a good ending, so they "copped out"

[@popechucky]

😁😁😁 be honest… ALL DM’s have pulled ‘that’ card🥰🥰🥰

[@michaelbonet9062]

It’s a cop out.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Hey, I appreciate the whole "I don't care" thing. It's totally possible to discuss inaccuracies in movies for the sake of the discussion, without hating on the movie itself. It's just using the movie as a springboard.

[@marveloussoftware4914]

If you chose to hate a movie for inaccuracies then you would hate 90% of all movies. Use a movie for what it is and use history for what it is.

[@eastvandb]

@@marveloussoftware4914 For sure. I also appreciate experts going over inaccuracies, partly because it's just fun and I often learn something, and partly because some people are just very credulous.

[@marveloussoftware4914]

@eastvandb yeah, i like this lady, i learned stuff from her. History with entertainment.

[@elizabethfahrlander6224]

I once saw a KZbin video titled something along the lines of “Egyptologists rate movies about Ancient Egypt/archaeology” and most of them got lambasted. But when they got to “The Mummy” every one of them was like “11 out of 10, no notes” because for whatever faults it may have and fantastical license it may have taken, it was the inspiration for their becoming Egyptologists in the first place. This video has the same energy. 🧡

[@bluelagoon1980]

There are two videos where Dr. Janega reviews medieval women's and men's clothing, and she's basically just like "fight me, mf'er," it's brilliant.

[@alexyoon-sungcucina7895]

Like pilots and Top Gun

[@johncartwright8154]

Sadly no evaluation of the Holy Hand Grenade or discussion about the maidens of Castle Anthrax. We need a 'Part 2'

[@meh8982]

I can't believe she skipped the head-bashing monks and the Holy Hand Grenade.

[@alexnamzoff4443]

I heard that the Holy Hand Grenade and maidens of Castle Anthrax were on the list of topics originally, numbers four and five to be exact but when they had the production meeting someone brought the medieval guide to podcasts about the Holy Grail which clearly stated that the number of topics shalt be three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number of topics there shalt be, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. So they had to cut them... sadly.

[@gordonyork6638]

Castle Anthrax as well.

[@colormedubious4747]

She will resume the discussion after the spankings.

[@DK-gy7ll]

She also failed to mention whether people back then farted in each others' general direction.

[@prairiedogsareextant]

I'll bet Terry Jones was aware of these killer bunnies in medieval paintings. He was a medieval historian. And the blurring out of breasts by youtube in paintings that are 100s of years old is hysterical.

[@coachhannah2403]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqCQh6Sra79onLssi=sDN1Q6A-MBfgUCJB

[@prairiedogsareextant]

@@coachhannah2403 Thanks for that. I had no idea about any of this a week ago, now I'm ready to be tested on medieval, killer rabbits.

[@maeve4686]

Or the Pope who cut the dicks off the statues in Rome....& he called them Edouard...

[@F1083]

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes

[@CindyLooWhovian]

I would bet money that there was some back and forth where the rest of the gang wanted stone castles, and Jones was like, "You know stone castles didn't come to England until after the Norman conquest" and had to cave because of being outnumbered

[@sealiesoftware]

"You can't have 932 and a big ol' stone castle." It's only a model.

[@JustinSeyfried]

Shhh!

[@AlexSwanson-rw7cv]

'Tis a silly place.

[@butkusfan23]

The guy hanging in the dungeon, clapping along to "Knights of the Round Table" would beg to disagree.

[@DrKuryakin]

"Nice fuckin model!" *honkhonk* oh wait different movie

[@thomasnieswandt8805]

What makes it even more funny, not only England but all over Europe, until 1000AD you have this MASSIVE stone ruins of roman palaces, Coloseums, fortresses, concrete roads, houses with water and central heating. And somehow people "forgot" to build these things for about 1300 years, thats insane. We know today, that the Coloseum in Rome had a closable roof. Thats a techniqe, they literaly forgot for 2000 years. How is that possible. In germany, we still have roman buildings in use. The "Basilica of Constantin" was build over 2000 years ago as the aula/forum to the emperors palace. It still has some of its original paint. Today its one of the oldest building in use and the oldest building housing a church, in the world.

[@Jarakin]

Part of the coconut joke that no one ever gets is that they do, in fact, migrate. Coconuts float. When they fall from the palm tree they roll down the beach into the water and float off in the current until they wash up on a random beach somewhere in the world and try to grow a new tree. England is too cold for them to grow, but they can certainly wash up on the beach there.

[@anthonyward8853]

Coconuts originated in Southeast Asia. For an ocean current to drag a coconut to Brittan, it would have to go around Africa or South America and then across the equator. I won't say it's impossible, but it is certainly extremely improbable. I would guess that exceptionally few coconuts have ever, naturally, made it into the south Atlantic and none ever made it past the equator and into the north Atlantic.

[@rivermistfae]

​@@anthonyward8853they only really last in ocean water for a few months, which makes it even more improbable that they would be able to grow if they ever made it to England's shores.

[@fifimsp]

They somebody would have seen it and thought, "A WITCH PUT THIS HERE!"

[@adamkenneth6449]

Eleanor is so likeable. Loved this review

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Devon and Cornwall have lots of palm and yucca trees. The mediaeval period climate was warmer than today. So while they were probably brought by people they live nicely here.

[@thunderatigervideo]

Math teacher here. THANK YOU for explaining the life expectancy myth accurately. I keep battling this over and over. Well done! (Also enjoyed the rest of the reaction and learned a lot! Just wanted to give you props for the math.)

[@MDMoore6]

Terry Jones was a medievalist, and wrote a monograph on the Widow of Bath, so the killer rabbit being inspired by marginalia and the correct old English pronunciation of “knight” could be more than just an offhand joke…

[@theaxer3751]

Kuhnigget

[@PandaBeller]

​@theaxer3751 that looks like it could sound like a slur lmao

[@hagerty1952]

I heard one Middle English scholar pronounce it "Ku-nisht" (this was from a reading of Canterbury Tales in the original language). Of course, that's 400 years or so after the events in this film.

[@goreyfantod5213]

Agreed. I was always under the impression that the members of Python used the extensive factual knowledge gained from university as a jumping off point for their comedy. Ofc, for Jones that knowledge would also include historical myths, rumours & folktales. Start with something that's both absurd & true, then explore & elaborate on the absurdity. Done well, it results in a multi-layered joke that works with different types of people. Some audience members may not know the reference & it may be nearly unrecognizable to those who do, but that doesn't mean there isn't a kernel of historicity at the heart of the joke.

[@glockenrein]

There are still languages that pronounce “kn” including the k. In German for example it’s extremely common as in Knie, knabbern, Knabe, Knoten, Knecht, knicken… I always assumed it was them making fun of English making the k silent when there isn’t really any reason to.

[@andrewrussell4707]

If you visit Doune Castle (near Stirling in Scotland) you will find the information office has numerous sets of coconut shells for visitors to borrow and practice their horse trotting noises and have their photo / video taken.

[@annieleith9783]

You are kidding..aren't you?? That's a crack up!!

[@rickynieves3144]

That's awesome 👌

[@target844]

@@annieleith9783 Doune Castle is what is used as most of the castles in the movie. They initially had permission to film at many castles in Scotland owned by the National Trust but it was withdrawn. They were still allowed to film at Doune Castle which was privately owned. So it makes sense to have coconut shells there for people that visit it because the know it from the move.

[@ottosixtysix8546]

Sounds like the only place I'd visit in England. Ha!😊

[@DicksonTimScotland]

there is also an digital audio walk-around tour, which includes numerous audio snippets from the monty python movie, including the "you mother smells of goosberries" or some similar insult. It's well worth a visit if you're in the area.

[@ondrejvasak1054]

I think Monty Python and the Holy Grail is brilliant and I don't think they ever try to be historically accurate. On the contrary, they are taking all the modern tropes that we have about middle ages and making fun of them. Thats why we have scenes like "He must be king, havn't got shit all over him", "Bring out your dead", the witch scene, rescuing maidens from castles, getting a quest to bring you shrubbery and why everything is dark and muddy and more. All of these represent some sort of modern tropes many people believe and Pythons are showing you how ridiculous they really are and making fun of them. In other words, it's a satire. But it's not a satire of Middle ages, it's a satire of what we think of middle ages today.

[@SEAZNDragon]

Makes sense; if I remember correctly the Monty Python members are all college educated. Not to mention people have a tendency to mistake things that happen in the early modern era with the medieval like confusing the 1665/1666 plague outbreak in London with the Europe wide Black Death in the 1300s. For example plague doctors with the bird mask came out in the 1600s but sometimes used in medieval settings. Likewise the killing of cats was done in the 1665 outbreak but not in the medieval one.

[@KasumiRINA]

A lot of that is contemporary satire too, I always felt the scene with anarcho-syndicalists being proud of owning their "filth" is just upper-class monarchist Brits literally mocking people in republics ("you don't vote for your king"... actually our ancestors did in Rzechpospolita). They're posh twits and being snobby about it. Life of Brian also has the "what the Romans ever did to us" scene where they stereotype Middle Eastern people as uncivilized savages that Westerners needed to colonize, that monologue is ENTIRELY just "white man's burden" apologetics and is extremely ridiculous when it pretends bloody Levant didn't have running water before Europeans colonized it (you know, the place that had monumental temples back when British were running naked across the fields). It's just Holy Grail has the LEAST amount of "British" humor and almost watches like a Mel Brooks movie*, that's why it's the one thing from Pythons that's not art house weirdness but an actually funny commedy with just a few WTF scenes when they decide to make a horrible political statement. *from Temu

[@Lilliathi]

@@KasumiRINA But the Levant didn't have running water. Yes, they were ahead before, but they regressed.

[@Rabid-Pinocchio]

Fantastic response. The poster is verbally masturbating to try to show how clever they are but the film makes absolutely no claim, direct or implied, that anything at all is a reflection of actual history. It is , in context, surprising that she hasn't reviewed "The Life of Brian" and examined the factual minutia of when the flying saucer with One-Eyed creatures rescue Brian and take him on a joy-ride through space. While my comment may seem flippant it is equally valid, in context, in comparison to all of her other observations. Such nonsense. Looking for clicks, nothing more.

[@jsullivan2112]

Definitely disagree. You can't have satire if you're not accurate about the things you're making fun of, otherwise none of the jokes are on point. Which defeats the purpose.

[@jacobklein5543]

I hope you take this as a compliment, but I love falling asleep to this woman. I have trouble falling asleep in silence or even with just music because I tend to get racing thoughts, so I need to fall asleep to someone talking. And she is really fun and casual and relaxing. This video is interesting enough to distract me from my racing thoughts, but laid back enough that I can just close my eyes and soak it in. Thank you for a great video!

[@akhagee4707]

Simon Whistler is also great for this. And with so many different channels to choose from you can listen to anything.

[@Rime_in_Retrograde]

I know what you mean - Real Civil Engineer puts me to sleep every time.

[@musicaltheatregeek20]

People Profiles and Fall of Civilizations are great for this also

[@chazcon5133]

Drachinifel

[@jaybee4118]

I have the same issue. I now have an ADHD diagnosis, is that a possibility for you? It makes it a lot easier to deal with when you know what’s causing it :)

[@Bigtmac2200]

My World Civilizations professor showed us this movie in class, it was a free day you could skip if you wanted. He had a small plot quiz at the end for extra credit on the final exam. So everyone showed up and we had a fun time. He stopped a couple times to explain how some jokes pertained to lessons we learned during our class that semester. It was amazing. He loved the the "I thought we were an autonomous collective" joke.

[@dvdkolk]

extra credit to watch a funny movie? now that gets people motivated!

[@moxiefuriosa]

5:11 "There's a really weird story about how he's conceived, let's not get in to it right now" WHAT NO PLEASE GET IN TO IT RIGHT NOW!?!?!

[@kinofrosty]

My understanding of the story is that Arthur's father gets his wizard, Merlin, to magically disguise him as his enemy, Gorlois of Tintagel (Duke of Cornwall), and then sleeps with his wife Igraine. Then later kills Gorlois and marries Igraine, becoming, I suppose, step father to his son's half-sisters.

[@saidtoshimaru1832]

@@kinofrosty And Arthur then had a son with his half sister, Morgana.

[@earthknight60]

Watch Excalibur. It does a good job of telling that initial story.... and it's an awesome movie regardless.

[@Bagledog5000]

@@earthknight60 Patrick Stewart, Liam Nelson and lots of other future stars in that movie.

[@brittking3990]

@@earthknight60 I loved Excalibur, that brings me back about 45 years!! 🙀

[@verenamichel2447]

Fun fact: In German the movie is actually called "die Ritter der Kokosnuss" meaning knights of the coconuts

[@marveloussoftware4914]

I would like to see a face off between knights of the coconuts and the knights of the cocopuffs.

[@artex98]

"knights of the coconuts" would be "Ritter der Kokosnüsse"

[@-oiiio-3993]

_You put de lime in de coconut and mix it all togedda..._

[@elna9821]

Interesting! In Spanish it's called "The Knights of the Square Table"

[@misstrillium]

Dr. Janega and Monty Python! “And there was much rejoicing. (Yaaaaaaaay)”

[@stevemyers8330]

WELL SAID!!!

[@nari5025]

fehehehehehelix conjunctio

[@davefellhoelter1343]

"Bring out Your Dead!"

[@Murdo2112]

I was mildly pleased, until I noticed the video was 58 minutes long. At that point, I settled down, with a big grin and a mental rubbing together of the hands.

[@danielkarmy4893]

@@davefellhoelter1343 "Oi, I'm not dead!" "Yeesss you are, shut up..."

[@peterhenningsen9440]

During filming, they stayed at a hotel with a stark, raving, mad hotel owner who became the inspiration of Fawlty Towers.

[@DocAcher]

"That's nerd shit you don't need to worry about" Respectfully, we are absolutely here for the nerd shit.

[@patrickotis3884]

There was a witch trial in World of Warcraft. You had to ask the peasents what test they should perform. I was soooo disapointed that "Build a bridge out of her." wasn't one of the responses.

[@davefellhoelter1343]

"Bring out Your Dead!"

[@WillN2Go1]

Dr Janega asked the question how might we be as stupid as the witch burners in history? Tennessee just passed a law banning chemtrails (contrails). The comments to the TV news report shared on YTube would be hilarious if they weren't so incredibly, and willfully, ignorant. One commenter said he first saw them in 1999, as though there haven't been contrails as long as there have been aircraft. One argument was that the news anchors were 'smug.' (They weren't). The actual history of science would be 7000 years of intentionally ignoring not only cause and effect, positive outcomes.

[@ClaireCopeland-n6y]

She turned him into a newt! Oh but he got better😂

[@MultiNacnud]

One of the insults in EU IV is "Your mother was a hamster etc". Also python related when the Spanish inquisition is enabled the byline "No one expected that" is scripted.

[@dharusiokay9426]

Eww. I had gladly forgotten about "the purging of the viscera".

[@Maphisto86]

I love Dr. Janega every time she hosts podcasts or documentaries. Especially fun stuff like this. Despite the silly subject, she never fails to be informative while also fun.

[@kayo5291]

It’s a FUN subject that she turned into an education. Such a gift!

[@nicolesage1344]

Yes we need more Dr. Janega!

[@OliverDemari]

Her analysis of The Last Duel was awful the last time she was on, sadly.

[@forest_green]

Me too! She's amazing. I want to be her friend, or maybe her student.

[@annieleith9783]

Dr Janega?? nwant to meet her!!

[@robashley8216]

The ending was a literal cop out, that just tells you how brilliant the Pythons were

[@CAP198462]

Didn’t get that until now. It makes total sense.

[@mikitz]

Believe it or not, they simply ran out of money and that was the best thing they could conceive of. A tiny budget makes you think creatively.

[@kathyjohnson2043]

@@mikitz YES. And those costumes WERE everything they could round up and a lot of the guys in the 'army' furnished their own stuff!

[@danielhixson3717]

How else do you end filming when you run out of permits, time, and money? Police arresting the cast and crew is the perfect ending.

[@altonbunnjr]

@@robashley8216 I also love how the film runs out and that ends the movie. No closing credits or anything.

[@ViciousDeliciousK]

Lots of love from Finland, absolutely love every video where Dr.Janega is in. She is my fav historian - fun, sassy, incredibly knowledged and cool. Someone I'd love to have a beer with and listen her talk all evening about medieval history. Just love her! *chef's kiss*

[@kentperrodin]

The part that cracks me up every time I see this is at the end when the Bobbie grabs a shield saying, “that’s an offensive weapon that is!” A shield, of course, is primarily a defensive weapon (that can also be used to bash a person if needed). I guess I just find that to be really funny. Gre, great, great movie! Thanks for the fun video!

[@SheepasaurusRex]

the idea of burning witches in an arthurian story is funny when dudes like merlin were walkin around

[@skypi2397]

In a version of the tale (from before the main witch-burning period which was recent) Arthur was going to burn Guinevere at the stake. I dont think anyone ever burnt wizards at the stake, they would be court advisers/masters of some court or other.

[@TOBAPNW_]

Canon to many of the early written Arthurian tales is the fact that Merlin was given powers by Satan when he was born (and may be a pseudo-Antichrist). God then gave him additional powers.

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

@@TOBAPNW_ In the earliest versions Merlin is literally the son of a demon and a virgin nun (however that worked).

[@annalschmidt6695]

I took a class on early English literature. Had the pleasure of studying Sir Gawain and the Green Night. I was blown away by the similarities to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. At the end of the course, we could choose one of our assigned readings to compare to a modern retelling. Of course, I did a full PowerPoint showing scenes that were directly and indirectly inspired by the story. The teacher loved it.

[@dylantindall5573]

A stealth catapult ! To catapult a cow over the wall of the castle at an ideal 45 degree angle would require a catapult as big as the castle. The cunning of the French has long been underestimated.

[@nowthatsjustducky]

Anyone else hearing this in the voice of Dennis?

[@marveloussoftware4914]

You will never run my catapult!

[@petercanberra9056]

What sort of cow? An African midget cow or a full size limousin?

[@CorrinnaPole]

I've loved this film since I was a kid! My husband and I incorporated it into our wedding. We "rode" from our wedding venue to our dinner with our guests cloping hollowed coconuts.

[@d4mdcykey]

I saw this movie at a midnight show in the early 80's as a teenager and had never laughed so hard in my life, I actually saw stars and thought I was going to whiteout (I was also VERY high). To this day this remains my #1 favorite comedy film of all-time. It never fails in cracking me up and I always appreciate the wit and cleverness of the script.

[@jamescox4231]

I saw Terry Jones at a showing of MPHG years ago. After the film he did a Q and A. A lady stood up and asked " why did you hate cats so much?" His reply " No, I love cats, I have one.... ...for breakfast every morning." I don't think she was happy with his answer.

[@jeffcampbell2088]

Respect! I thought that the cats being whipped against the walls (in this scene, and again later when they were looking for a shrubbery) was HILARIOUS, precisely because it was both unthinkable and nonsensical - the idea of someone doing something ridiculously cruel with no recognizable reason somehow elicits laughs - as long as no one is actually doing it.

[@Nicksonian]

A modern legal scholar began one of his books by referencing the witch scene from the Holy Grail. He says that in 500 years, scenes from TV’s Law and Order will seem as absurd to them as this witch scene does to us.

[@tomwaitsmencse]

Yikes. Really explains what is happening in the legal system in America.

[@benayebe]

At this rate 500 years from now it will be just like the witch scene, lol....

[@donrobertson4940]

Except the witch scene would have been absurd to the people 1000 years ago as well. Law and order seems to us to be idealised but not absurd.

[@bluelagoon1980]

I mean, scenes from early seasons of the first CSI show already look more absurd than Monty Python does now, so...

[@leonardomarquesbellini]

I don't know what you're talking about, the witch's trial was just pure science.

[@lancehymers4674]

I ignored this video for two days, because I expected it to be a non-fan waspishly crapping on the whole film. When I finally watched this, I found it instantly engaging, entertaining, and educational. Your presentation is excellent and I really enjoyed your video. I’ve subscribed and look forward to seeing your other videos.

[@HistoryHit]

glad you enjoyed it!

[@mattklein5498]

yeah thats what i wanted to say

[@infin8ee]

I had the same feeling. So pleased that it wasn't that. Should have known better as her other videos are great and the Python gang are fabulous.

[@rickynieves3144]

Dr Eleanor Janega is amazing! She never allows accuracy to ruin the fun 😂

[@jacquelinebell6201]

Me too! But it was good!

[@davidburgess741]

Those who accept Monty Python as history are never doomed to repeat it!

[@glacier68]

Was talking to another history nerd, and his understanding was that the "anarchist collective" peasants were a parody of the "Diggers" from the 2nd English Civil War (1600s)

[@nm7358]

1:40 In my mind, MPATHG Arthur was not really meant to be the "real king", but a "Don Quixote" kind of a king Arthur. Hence why he has no horse, nobody takes him seriously, and he has only other lunatics as followers. That is my head canon.

[@GuyChapman]

It’s 1066 And All That: The Movie

[@supermanprime6758]

“It’s a fair cop.” Is the most underrated line in the entire film.

[@Styphon]

It's easy to miss, but it makes the whole scene work even better - she really was a witch the entire time.

[@chrisball3778]

There were a surprising number of people accused of Witchcraft during the Early modern period who 'confessed' without being tortured. It was pretty common to 'curse' people you got into disputes with, and sometimes when something bad happened to someone you'd cursed you might feel responsible for what had happened to them. Probably the most infamous example is Alizon Device, who encountered a Pedlar, John Law near Pendle, Lancashire, England in 1612. She asked him to give her some pins, and when he refused, she cursed him. He walked on, but had a stroke and collapsed within seconds. He partially recovered, but Alizon was absolutely convinced she'd injured him through witchcraft and publicly begged his forgiveness. Alizon and most of her immediate family ended up being accused of Witchcraft and either being executed or dying in gaol. So yeah, quite a few people actually did say 'fair cop' thanks to the belief system they lived with.

[@jackal59]

My vote goes for, "Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?"

[@EnglishInfidel]

​@@chrisball3778Cool story bro. I couldn't resist, but really, cool story... you have to feel bad for the girl what an awful situation to damn yourself like that through your own superstitions. And sometimes it feels like we're slipping back in some ways towards such magical thinking unfortunately.

[@butkusfan23]

But that wasn't her nose. It was a false one.

[@neilok17847]

Would love Dr Janega to cover Blackadder 1 so much ❤

[@meganl4056]

Dude, that would be the BEST!

[@ru2829]

I second this

[@user-ow4pv2ff2p]

I have a cunning plan!

[@smalltime0]

It's actually not called "Blackadder 1" It's called "The Black Adder" The next series/stage play/tv movie(s) are called Blackadder II, the Third, Goes Forth etc. The first season is a little problematic because it does start with the premise of "these historical figures didn't die like everyone says they did, but..."

[@smalltime0]

​@@user-ow4pv2ff2p In Australia we do a lot of WWI history (both in History and English because it is a significant event for Australia) in High School and a significant time was spent on trench warfare. When we got to the retreat from Gallipoli we covered some things the Anzacs did to elude the Turks and hide that they were retreating. Someone in class said "oh Miss, so they had a cunning plan?". Half the class was in giggles, but the teacher hadn't seen Black Adder and took it seriously.

[@TheBenji800]

Coconuts do migrate in a way, they can float in water for a few months to travel to other islands.

[@GenghisVern]

Saw this in the theater, and it's the reason I found a new interest in History. This film was the MOST REALISTIC in many ways of every film in in genre. "He must be a king". Makes you think.

[@GeraldH-ln4dv]

While the Black Death didn't arrive until the 14th century, there was an earlier medieval plague described by Bede which lasted for 2 years in the mid-7th century. Some scholars have suggested that it is related to the Plague of Justinian from the mid-6th century and it just took that long to arrive in England.

[@johnleake5657]

...and as the Justinianic plague broke out in AD 541, that's around the limit for a historical Arthur, so feasible.

[@GeraldH-ln4dv]

@@johnleake5657 I was thinking the same thing.

[@kelvyquayo]

@@johnleake5657 also the Plague of Cyprian .. 250s. Cyprian writes of it in “On The Mortality”.

[@fr.michaelknipe4839]

Dr Janega has a gift for combining knowledge and humor. Amazing. And History Hit is great 👍🏼

[@CassiBlack]

If Dr Janega is in a thumbnail, I smash the play button. Holy Grail is one of my absolute favorite movies and probably the one I’ve watched the most. Put them together and I’m one happy nerd!

[@pixieelegance]

I love this so much! Would love to see you do more on other definitely-not-100%-historical things, like Galavant, The Court Jester, or even evaluating the accuracy of medieval-inspired (rather than straight fantasy) elements of DnD.

[@Amaritudine]

"We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune" is another surprising dose of historical reality. That's basically how a typical medieval village would operate: limited connection to the reigning monarch, and self-governing by a revolving committee. My medieval history professor used this exact scene to make his point about what "government" meant to the average peasant.

[@MrZauberelefant]

Fast forward a couple of hundred years and the "diggers" would fight enclosure. Same story, different day

[@mikegwillis]

Love the Monks complaining about cats weeing on their parchment ... great to see cats sitting on laptops, newspapers and books has a long human history!

[@Phoennix3]

That’s why 3 scenes had a person flogging cats!!

[@Pikepaw]

During the “cats” section I called for my cat. Who was behind an armrest of my couch. He has now come to cuddle to watch more of this video. I agree that kitties are great and I am glad medieval people loved them.

[@lea6555]

The information missing here is that Terry Jones was very much into his medieval history, he read English at Oxford and got interested in the medieval period while reading Chaucer. He wrote books and presented television documentaries on medieval and ancient history. This enabled him to take the piss out of it while still keeping real elements in the movie. Also, have a go at pronouncing Cornwall again? That's uhhh, unique🤣

[@davefellhoelter1343]

"Bring out Your Dead!"

[@kathyjohnson2043]

YES! That he knew what it all really should be was what made it so great!

[@VilleHalonen]

I know of an Arthurian scholar who adores this movie. He says it's evident that the Pythons really knew their Arthurian tales, well beyond the common knowledge and Thomas Malory, and that the movie has an extra level of hilarity for those in the know.

[@bobs_toys]

Mistaken for an author who wrote a bloody good book with loads of shooting in it.

[@cl5470]

Only after you lot have a crack at pronouncing "pasta" correctly. The Brits butcher almost any word that isn't Germanic in origin. You also say tacos wrong. British snobbery is one of your least attractive traits. Especially since the posh version of English only developed because Brits wanted to be snobbish and differentiate themselves from Americans. The current West Viginian dialect is considered closest to how average Brits sounded before 1800. 😂😂😂

[@doreenbrandt3697]

I really like when historians are willing to engage with something as "Maybe it was just a joke. Because people back then were like us and the like laughing and they understood irony and maybe this doesn't have any deeper meaning than a bunch of people collectively being in on a joke that we as modern people are no longer in on". Because the people who can't go that place of "maybe people used to do stuff just for the hehe of it" are usually the ones arguing that people must have had contact with aliens or something silly like that, as if that's a more likely explanation than "humans are lovably weird and always were"

[@MaruhkatiGaming]

Terry Jones being a medievalist as he was, I'm sure there were references to all kinds of stuff. In particular, I've always wondered if Sir Robin was in any way a reference to the Knight Coward from the Old French Arthurian romance Perlesvaus.

[@Surreal452]

I’m so glad to hear medieval people loved cats.

[@neclark08]

...but I'm sure that they preferred their cats well de-dusted...

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

No wonder they call it the Dark Ages

[@NathanHeadActor]

what a treat! I feel like I've been waiting for THIS very video ever since i first discovered History Hit, thank you so much!

[@kens.4198]

I'm actually surprised Dr. Janega did not address the flagellants at the beginning of the witch scene, which was also Late Medieval.

[@MonkeyFarmFrankenstein]

Thank you. I'm glad someone else noticed that. Also, apparently flagellation was more of a continental thing, and it didn't really catch on in England.

[@kathyjohnson2043]

agree, maybe she did and it got cut. I also expected her to talk about the virgins all wanting to be spanked. :)

[@bobs_toys]

​@@MonkeyFarmFrankensteinI don't know about then, but growing up in a Cornish household, it definitely caught on later. My father taught me that there was no point being a martyr if nobody knew you were one.

[@judithstrachan9399]

I did wonder why she showed them but didn’t mention them. Also, there was a glimpse of the Black Knight in the intro, but she didn’t bring him up.

[@justforplaylists]

Maybe it was cut for length?

[@dhoward8816]

Thanks for this! I learned a lot from your hilarious comments on this great movie. I've always loved it too but totally missed some of the things you point out. 😊

[@denniscattell]

Highly enlightening and entertaining! Thank you, ma'am!

[@genequist3859]

Idk why but when Arthur says, "Good idea" to God, I die.

[@danielbrown9368]

Course it's a good idea!!!

[@IanBourneMusic]

I am old enough to have watched this film when it first came out in cinemas. It is still as hilarious today as it was then.

[@gordonyork6638]

me too. I find it humorous that some of the commentators thought they were trying for historical accuracy. kids.

[@MrYfrank14]

I'm that old too. Back when we had to walk barefoot in the snow, in July, uphill ,to get to the theater. I remember after , maybe 30 years of watching this movie a few hundred times, I got an anniversary DVD and it had an option to read the original script and script notes, like subtitles, during the movie. At the start of the bring out your dead scene the notes described the scene and mentioned nuns beating a man with mallets. I said what? Played the scene again and in the background there are nuns beating a man with mallets. I never noticed it before. The movie that keeps on giving.

[@firstmkb]

Can you believe it was 50 years ago? Released in 1975 but I don’t know the exact date. What an incredible movie to stir be funny after such a long time, and so many viewings!

[@misterkite]

@8:39 biggest inaccuracy in the movie: "a swallow needs to beat its wings 43 times every second" It's not a hummingbird!

[@petercanberra9056]

Does it depend on the breed of swallow? Perhaps african swallows have different physiology.

[@michaelwear2252]

I assure you all, "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries" was a common french taunt for french men in England. Also, it was common to build large wooden rabbits to gain acces to a french castle in England. Not being actually inside, was an oversight. Plus, there is no evidence that swallows didn't carry coconuts.

[@RevStickleback]

One thing I noticed, regarding the plague victim collections, is that "ninepence", presented as a trifling amount, would have been a huge sum in 932. The UK inflation calculator only goes back to 1209, but 3.75p (the equivalent of 9d) in 1209 would be about £65 now, so 300 years earlier might see it be equivalent of nearly £100 now.

[@jeanneamato8278]

I love a professor of medieval history with a great sense of humor. Who’s a fan of Monty Python.

[@AKINAacacia]

We really *can* have nice things

[@MikeSmith-pe4sl]

Dr Janega is just my absolute fave. Taking a vid about Monty Python and managing to make it educational but still great fun. More of this, for the love of God more!

[@brandonstewart5398]

My favorite medieval historian and Monty Python. This is just beautiful!

[@carsonm7292]

I don't know how they managed it, but somehow every single scene in this movie, without fail, is just iconic. It's a string of masterful absurdity nonstop from start to finish. This is a video I never expected to see, but I'm glad to have seen it.

[@Mephistahpheles]

Love it! An excellent critique of the history, very informative, without slagging on the humour!! If anything, you've enhanced it! I have no doubt John Cleese, et al would 100% approve!

[@joejankoski8471]

"Sire! The peasants are revolting!" "They certainly are!"

[@willmfrank]

George Wyner: "Sire! The peasants are revolting!" Mel Brooks: "You're telling me! They stink on ice!" -- "History of the World, Part I"

[@bosoerjadi2838]

There's no proof that King Arthur's mother wasn't a hamster.

[@alexnamzoff4443]

and there are second hand sources which suggest his father did smell of elderberry

[@petercanberra9056]

Ahhh. So this is how religions started.

[@Thorstendeal]

One of my favourite things about this movie that I love is that they ran out of money before they could do the big final battle at the end so they had the police plot line put in for a cheap ending

[@samuelgarrod8327]

Untrue unfortunately.

[@GilTheDragon]

Oh it wasn't the original plan? I had always assumed it was, because of how postmodern it is, all "hey, you remember this is all artifice, right? The stories arent REAL, we get to tell them"

[@Styphon]

It is entirely in line with the way Chapman used to interrupt a sketch, deem it "too silly", and the show would just move on. Sketches didn't need an actual ending that way.

[@JHN12x12]

there was very little deviation from the final script (which was revised and polished with an eye towards the tiny budget they had), because they didn't have the money to pay for extra cast, excessive numbers of takes and longer equipment rental time while on location. so, budget DID play a big role in the script (including the coconuts and the castle model), but those changes were made well BEFORE shooting started.

[@kevinjohnbetts]

@@JHN12x12 It's a testament to the genius of the team. When given a bigger budget they were still funny but there was less edge to the humour imho. In some ways it's similar to the Blackadder quadrilogy. The second series/season shines well over the first because they had to work with a small budget and thus relied on superb scripting plus great performances.

[@utkphilobio]

This is by far the best one of these yet. The host has such a vibrant personality and engages with the work brilliantly!

[@johnstover9083]

Ms Janega you are officially my favorite narrator. I loved MP and was impressed with your presentation. Side note: The witch was played by Connie Booth, who was also in the MP TV series and later in "Fawlty Towers". Despite her wonderful English accent, she was born in Indianapolis.

[@CardinalBiggles01]

This woman is awesome. Didn't expect such a funny, eclectic mix of Python appreciation and historical facts. Well done Eleanor

[@toaztelg]

I think it's fair to say I know most of the dialogue in this movie by heart 🤔 I loved this highly unnecessary yet thoroughly enjoyable break down! 👌👍

[@davefellhoelter1343]

"Bring out Your Dead!"

[@almostdivaa713]

LOVE this film (since I was like 13 years old.... ), LOVE Eleanor Janega, LOVE this episode. Also, props to whoever pulled all the illustrations used in this video. They are great!!!!!

[@pinstripesuitandheels]

Yes, the cats are vindicated! I love cats, and I love the Middle Ages. I even at one time wanted to study Middle Dutch literature in uni. I love this video!

[@MVB0606]

I like that she makes it very clear that this is just for fun and all of the historical inaccuracies don’t matter

[@AlwaysForwardGaming]

Eleanor is one of my favorite historians :) She makes history interesting.

[@gordonyork6638]

and she wears a zip tie for. a ring.

[@KyleMaxwell]

As an avowed Gen Xer and nerd, the influence this movie had on me in high school cannot be overstated. Glad to see this.

[@johnleake5657]

"Bring out your dead!" is associated with the London Plague of 1665, though. The bellman associated with the dead-cart taking the dead from plague-struck houses does use these words in Defoe's _Diary of a Plague Year,_ his dramatized account of the plague. This early Modern plague deeply affects British views of plague.

[@Lloyd429]

At the beginning of this film it’s not 932 AD it’s 93 squared. Just one many small comedic moments put into the film. Like the scene with the witch there is a guy who has shaving cream on his face.

[@victotronics]

I love the historical background. And the presentation. Kudos!

[@spielboy6931]

The other thing about the rabbit scene - is that outwardly it is just funny that they shout 'Run Away! Run Away!!' ( well it is funny ) but of course this is pre Norman invasion so the word 'Retreat' would not have entered the Lexicon it being a French word - so all they can shout is 'Run Away! Run Away!!' 🤣🤣

[@kathyjohnson2043]

And, technically, it wouldn't have been a rabbit because they weren't in England yet then, only Hares ... Although I've never thought it was all that big of a deal about it being 2 different things, like turtles/tortoises, allegators/crocodiles, sheep/goats, etc.

[@Rojk]

I just love the way they are shouting "run away!". I use that all the time...when I'm running away...

[@shadowwynd6641]

On the one hand, the Pythons are very, very silly and use absurdist humor very, very well. On the other hand, there are things like this that really shows they also have deep appreciation for the material. Another one that comes to mind is the very in-depth Latin lesson in Life of Brain.

[@SuzanneRich-ok8bb]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail has always been among my favorites of the Monty Python films and I love Eleanor Janega's breakdown of it. Thank you Eleanor Janega, this was magnificent!

[@Crispy_Bee]

27:56 - best scene because Eric Idle was about to start laughing and had to start gnawing on his scythe to not break character hahah - that just makes the whole thing 10 times funnier

[@bluelagoon1980]

EVERY time I watch that scene, I sit with bated breath, waiting for the bite. And I lose it every time (also because of the hilariously long pause).

[@CrowCandorra]

You talke about the killer Rabits in medievil art and my brain is like: "It sounds like them showing around a viral meme... Wait..." Also. Good to see you survived the movie.

[@contemporarywesternart]

More of Eleanor Janega, please! Profs like her make me want to know more history... 🥰😘😁

[@marathuzula9024]

One of my all time favorite movies, so glad to have the opportunity to hear a historical review of it.

[@TheEggmaniac]

The castle that is used for all castle shots, in the film, is Doune Castle, in Perthshire Scotland. Its open to the public most of the year. In the castle shop they sell Monty Python and the Holy Grail fake horse galloping sound effects, which are a couple of coconut shells, which have a official Monty Python and the Holy Grail tag. Which is coincidental as many believe King Arthur may actually have come the Brythonic speaking, southern part, of what is today Scotland, of the fifth or 6th century. The castle shop also sell Outlander and Game of Thrones merchandise. I believe Doune Castle was also used in both TV series. I didnt buy anything.

[@kathyjohnson2043]

And they didn't really have permission to use it and that's why the camera angles are so weird; they are trying not to show that they aren't really at a castle.

[@jefflanam]

The castle in the last scene on the island is Castle Stalker off the western coast of Scotland.

[@bobs_toys]

Went to an Eric idle presentation in Sydney a few weeks ago. He was telling us how someone had the idea that they sign coconuts for people. Apparently it's like writing on a scrotum.

[@JHN12x12]

@@kathyjohnson2043 I believe they did have permission to use Douane Castle. it's just that was the only one they could get (National Trust wouldn't allow their castles to be used in a way that "demeaned their heritage"), and they were trying to stretch the one place they had to look like several different places.

[@apexerman1]

@@bobs_toys - LOL! I did not expect to read that impression today. 😄

[@barkasz6066]

Further on witches, medieval people were so unconcerned with them that in Hungary in 1100 the reigning king, Kálmán I “the Booklover” issued the following decree: “Witches are not real, let no queries be made about them.”

[@bobs_toys]

Sounds like something a witch would say.

[@ralphmacfadden606]

If they were completely unconcerned, there would have been no point in making the statement.

[@bluelagoon1980]

Then, just as now, there are gullible and delusional people who have fringe beliefs. Now, just as then, governments and organizations sometimes have to issue ridiculous statements refuting such things. Humans were and are the same.

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

@@ralphmacfadden606 Yeah. Generally, belief in witchcraft was seen as pagan superstitution. There was even a Pope who complained to a scandinavian king that he should do something against the blaming of women for bad harvests by his pagan population.

[@pluggedfinn-bj3hn]

13:32 You sure it wasn't just the monks using it as an excuse for procrastinating? "the cat peed on my homework" 😂

[@Will.Burns03306]

Can you bring Eleanor on again? Really liked her enthusiasm and straight to the point explaining.

[@motherofbeagles8532]

I believe the 'witch' was John Cleese's wife at the time 😂

[@NewhamMatt]

Yes. It's Connie Booth, who co-wrote Fawlty Towers with Cleese and also played Polly. They were married during the Monty Python years and the first series of Fawlty Towers, but they were divorced by the time they made the second season.

[@bobs_toys]

It's why you could feel the passion.

[@alexnamzoff4443]

It was a noble sacrifice for the sake of great art, sad she had to be burned though.

[@Marjax]

POLLY! 😂

[@AndersonDawesWasRight]

@@NewhamMatt IIRC the connection is deeper than that. The Pythons were staying in Devon to film the Holy Grail. They were all booked into a private hotel which was run by an idiot & his wife. Most of the Pythons left for a better hotel. But John & Connie saw comedy gold in the bad hotel, and the idea for Fawlty Towers was born.

[@lynseybux6225]

My favourite historian, Holy Grail, at Christmas for nearly an hour!!!!! Hell yes!

[@HistoryHit]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@thomasrotweiler]

A minor comment on the armour - it was mainly the nobility who could afford to follow fashions. Lower ranks would make do with whatever was passed down to them or what they could scavenge on a battlefield, so they'd turn up in a variety of armour styles.

[@justforplaylists]

Did lower ranks have much armor? Or are you not including knights as nobility?

[@thomasrotweiler]

@@justforplaylists As a rule of thumb, the lower down the social / economic / political hierarchy you were, the less money you had, the less armour you had. A billman might be lucky and pick up some odd bits and pieces, some knights may be relatively poor but like any heuristic there were always exceptions.

[@justforplaylists]

​@@thomasrotweiler Thanks for answering!

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

Ehh. Scavenging did certainly happen, but not as much as we might think. People didn't really like to take stuff from dead people. And there were usually rules to follow for people who had to fight in wars. It wasn't really this "Let's conscript a bunch of peasants, show them where the pointy end of the spear is and throw them against the enemy" situation. As a rule of thumb, unfree peasants were not usually supposed to fight and therefore didn't need armor. Like that was the whole point of their unfreedom. They gave it up to be protected and let others fight for them. Free peasants, people living in cities with citizenship (minority in cities) and fighters in retinues of knights on the other hand had the duty to fight for their lords (or in case of cityfolk for their city which was basically their lord) and being liable for military service was at the same time a sort of privilege for free people and they took pride in that. And that usually came with very specific requirements for what kind of arms and armour they had to own at minimum. And that equipment was checked at least once a year, even in villages and they were punished for missing equipment or when it wasn't in good condition. There are actually lists of that. Like for example there are a bunch of statutes from 1350-1450 for the city of Nordhausen in modern Germany that lists what kind of equipment someone should have according to their wealth. And it's like 3 Mark of property: a Schopen (a sort of textile armor, less thick than a gambeson), an Isenhut (something like a kettle hat), armored gloves, a sword (Swert) and a pike (Spiz). Anything missing would mean a fine of 5 Schilling (depends, but around 16 Schilling were usually 1 Mark). 10 Mark of property: Mail armor, Isenhut, armored gloves, a Schopen, mail collar, a Tartsche (shield), a pike and a sword. Fine: 10 Schilling. 30 Mark of property: a Schopen, collar, waist protection, a Swabish plate (they either mean a breastplate or even breast+backplate), a Tartsche, Isenhut, Grusenir (apparently a sort of head protection under their helmet) armored gloves, pike and sword. But it states a man may also have Panzir (mail) in front of waist or Grusenir... or maybe instead of. The last tier has a bunch of weird terms I can't understand very well like "legwear with or without tubes". But the highest tier has the choice to use an ordinary shield instead of the Tartsche and a gleve instead of a pike. I also have a list for some peasantries in northern Germany somewhere, but I can't find it. It was basically a promise of the peasants to a local strongman that they would make sure to have equipment to help him on military campaigns and that equipment included crossbows, Harnisch (which refered to a complete armor set but maybe just means breast+backplate here) and enough well trained horses. Mounted and well armoured crossbowmen were quite a thing in the Holy Roman Empire in the late medieval time.

[@thomasrotweiler]

@@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei Excellent post. Regarding scavenging after battles, one of the main arguments for this is the lack of armour found on known battle sites. Armour was useful stuff and people weren't buried in it. From the British perspective I totally agree about the idea that farm workers (serfs etc) would be required to fight and just handed weapons and armour. Not just because of their legal status but arming people you're exploiting is generally considered to be a bad idea. Looking at English muster rolls shows a wide disparity in arms and armour people possessed when mustered. A lot didn't meet the bare minimum. Another point - untrained people on a battlefield were a liability, extra mouths to feed for little benefit in fighting power. Where you would find organised trained militia was in the biggest towns and cities, where guilds and corporations would arm and equip some of the local citizens for availability when required. And then there were individuals and small groups who mad a career in soldiering, working as mercenaries, who had no standard equipment.

[@benjaminharcourt4861]

This is my favorite one of all time. She raised the bar, this is my new expectation.

[@ccityplanner1217]

Monty Python & the Holy Grail is, unintentionally yet unironically, the best ever depiction of what it's like to live with Asperger's.

[@ODDwayne1]

Dr Janega you are perfect. It's refreshing to hear you talk without all the restrictions of a corporate documentary. I'm enjoying this so much.

[@The_Leftysaurus]

omg the bunnie art!!! XD AMAZING I love weird medieval art SO much, it's so freaking random at times.

[@kayo5291]

Did you notice the bunnies were often battling dogs? Could have been some kind of symbolism at the time.

[@forrestrobin2712]

Just wonderful 😂 Thank you. I particularly love "this is not accurate for 932, but I don't care!" 😂😂

[@davefellhoelter1343]

"Bring out Your Dead!"

[@chadbennett7873]

You are a serious kick in the bum! So much fun, and yet I was learning stuff. Who could ask for more. Keep it up, I'm already subbed, so I can't do that again, but here's a big thumbs up, at least! Thanks so much!

[@siinfloridasi]

Dr. Janega is an absolute treat. Always as entertaining as she is informative.