What Was Life Like As A Dark Age Peasant? | Worst Jobs Of The Dark Ages | Chronicle

Tony Robinson investigates what life was like for the common man in the Dark Ages. From charcoal-making to egg-collecting, life as a peasant in the early medieval ages often entailed getting your hands dirty. These are the worst jobs of the Dark Ages.
2:40 Roman Gold Miner
8:18 Anglo-Saxon Peasant
23:20 Charcoal Maker
28:42 Monk
35:05 Viking Warrior
41:34 Egg Collector
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[@terrab1ter4]

You gotta respect Tony for actually doing all these things and not just talking about them

[@anitapeura3517]

Note to the producers who put this on YT: the background music often competes with what Tony is saying, the volume balance is out of whack. Great program (thanks Tony!) but the sound is distracting.

[@anitapeura3517]

@Undead Televisions Nothing wrong with my ears, my device, or my manners, or respect for other peoples' perceptions. I'm not the only one who complained, and so much stuff rolled out onto YT has poor production values because the standards are lower than traditional media, some companies take advantage. It's up to the audience to expect better and let them know it, some even appreciate the feedback.

[@AB-bg4yb]

I’m 28 and my device is fine, the music is too loud.

[@okflo]

@Undead Televisions Completely unnecessary of you.

[@kyrieseia]

29 with work-from-home/virtual teaching device set-up and I agree with the original commenter about the volume balance being out of whack. Background music competes with what the host is saying.

[@VElizabethWhitecrochet]

I’m hard of hearing, good device, sound comes to my ears via my hearing aidssoim getting the best of the best. The music is indeed rather loud, but thankfully can still hear the presenter. It does make it harder to hear during the music, so I end up paying more close attention during those times.

[@lauriekemp3998]

Unreal having to poke around in a bog for iron ore. We are such delicate little flowers nowadays.

[@bethanyt8132]

I’m in love with T.R. His documentary on the Peasant’s Revolt really makes you rethink everything you have ever learned in school.

[@larrybesel9423]

Great production! However the design of the plow seems the opposite of what it should be. It should have been designed so the plowman pushed down on it to make it go into the ground. I suspect the design came from a painting or drawing of an artist who conceived the design out of the thin air and obviously never had to use his design. I’ve seen other English documentaries pushing this same plow design so assume they too have used an artists design rather than a practical design.

[@larrybesel9423]

Great production! However the design of the plow seems the opposite of what it should be. It should have been designed so the plowman pushed down on it to make it go into the ground. I suspect the design came from a painting or drawing of an artist who conceived the design out of the thin air and obviously never had to use his design. I’ve seen other English documentaries pushing this same plow design so assume they too have used an artists design rather than a practical design.

[@christianhargrave8907]

I’m American and Tony Robinson is the best presenter I’ve seen in my country or anywhere else in the world. I wish he’d come here and do a program on the English/American connection

[@galaxygalaxy4429]

Sorry to hear that.

[@heatherfeather1293]

Mad respect for Tony! He really commits. I couldn't do any of those jobs. Our ancestors were unbelievably tough

[@evan5935]

Tony Robinson is such a great presenter! 🥰

[@MrIanSellers]

He's great eh!

[@barbarahuff117]

I thank the Father daily for being born now. Wouldn't cut it i that real world. Thank you for bringing this show.

[@nicdelmundo5687]

i love this program, more of the day in the life videos please

[@7hilladelphia]

Awesome. Every "prepper" needs to contemplate this.

[@thatguy9110]

Anyone else notice the scratches and cuts on the egg collectors faces lol

[@rhiannonm8132]

dying over how the documentary opens w him speeding over to slap a wall

[@melaber77]

The egg collecting = Extreme Easter Egg Hunt

[@SnackPack913]

This has to be a show for television. The production quality is amazing

[@lemongrabloids3103]

It was produced for tv

[@BaronMichaelDeBlone1066]

@@lemongrabloids3103 Yes it was and I remember it being on TV even though it is a long time since I got rid of my set.

[@lauriekemp3998]

I'm so thankful for indoor plumbing, electricity and toilet paper

[@margarethogan3551]

Unforgettable. Thank you for your courage to live the experiences

[@flashgordon3715]

40:50. Now I know why my Norwegian nephew at age 19 is 6'5" 315lbs

[@maidsua4208]

😂

[@myrnahuber5047]

*Thoroughly enjoying your excellent videos!!!!!

[@roberttelarket4934]

Thanks very much for this very important information that almost nobody know about including probably reputable historians!!!

[@freddie7981]

Eh?

[@fred6059]

What have the Romans ever done for us? Monty Python

[@evan5935]

Died, i guess 🤷‍♂️ -Me

[@bonnieenright]

Really makes you rethink what you could get done if not for, uhh….KZbin and tv!

[@deidradahl2802]

Hello Mr Robinson, this is a very good historical documentary, please exclude the background music/noise so that the narrative can be comfortably heard

[@Unknown-hj7uc]

Its amazing to see how the locals never adopted any roman way, it shows you it was a very brutal occupation, they taught them nothing, just took and took

[@qtpi6450]

34:25 “not just any old raiders….” *raid shadow legend ad plays*

[@raquelmoore2084]

I can't complain about my job after watching this, have high respect for him, and after watching the video, I really like to try at least one of the village jobs to get a good feel out of it

[@BRIANMASON1202]

Sure you can. Atleast back then, they worked to REALLY survive. Now we work to kill ourselves paying bills, debt collectors, credit cards, all while making someone else richer than us, and watching pubic officals peck away, what little crumbs we do get to survive...but hey, we have internet and indoor plumbing, antibiotics, and 60 flavors of soda....we traded ingenuity and work ethic,self respect, and respect for others.All for convenience and mindless entertainment..you most DEFINITELY have a right to complain about your job. Lol.

[@samy2441]

Wonderful

[@garymoore3453]

46:25 ohhh my shoes come off 😂😂😂😂

[@IHateThisHandleSystem]

I cannot concieve how Charcoal Maker got on this list. I see it as one of the best jobs a commoner could hope for in medieval Europe. I'd prefer the "boredom" of sitting around with a buddy and watching a fire for days on end, rather than the back-breaking labor from sunrise to sunset every day.

[@garymoore3453]

Wonder what they did when I lt rained for 4 days straight 🤔

[@stevenwillard8436]

Hi everyone!

[@jgrady9553]

good episode

[@loislewis5229]

No wonder people had a short lifespan at that time.

[@joelmckinney16]

(Music often drowns out Tony's voice-over)

[@DustinBarlow8P]

Now I know why the peasantry where fearless when being called up for battle. They wanted to die to escape this misery!

[@bigboyburgerjoints1058]

Some audio issues but otherwise very entertaining!

[@e.jenima7263]

A "Peasnat" was anybody who was not apart of the Nobility or the royal family. Peasants wear anybody from rich merchants and bankers to the most poor earning laborer. the idea of the dirty uneducated downtrodden Peasant we have today would have actually been the Surf Class, essentially a slave class that oddly enough wear not owned by a person and therefor could not be bought or sold like slaves but were owned by the land itself. think like if you wear to rent or buy a Property with a good number of furnishings already included ....that would be what serfdom was like they were not owned like a slave but were owned by the land and came with the Property like a sofa or table unconditionally and with no questions asked . Therefor surfs wear free citizens but were tied to the land on which they lived and therefore could not leave or look for employment else wear. urfs had some small and few legal rights and representation to the crown unlike a slave. But even if they made there voice to be heard to the monarch chances are any message or concern or gratitude or complaint to the monarch would never make it due to unscrupulous landlords and nobles.

[@BastiatC]

There were a number of social classes outside of the nobility and peasantry. The Gentry for example, which would have included rich land owners without titles of nobility, as well as knights, rich merchants, skilled artisans and officials such as bailiffs, justices and mayors. There was also the entirety of the Clergy, which had its own hierarchy outside of lay society. And that's leaving out all the cunning folk, knackers, exicuioners and the like that were very much excluded from society. The peasantry was really a distant class, that traded basic labor, usually agricultural, as rent for the land they were tenants to.

[@freddie7981]

Your grammar is quite bad

[@roberttelarket4934]

E. jenima: Can’t you fucking write clearly if you’re from the English speaking world?!!!!

[@jfalk35]

I don't know how humans survived prior to the discovery of electricity.

[@richardscathouse]

It's not difficult

[@your_belief_vs_everything]

Fresh eggs last up to a week with no refrigeration btw, not 2 days as you falsely claimed. Ive had fresh eggs last longer than that in a cool dark place.

[@dasja9966]

I wonder if the english word 'acre' and the dutch word 'akker' are related.

[@maidsua4208]

Or åker in Norwegian.

[@rrt08]

I would have been a shrubbery dealer.

[@Whoisthiskid1]

I had to prep 50 lbs of brussel sprouts for a wedding tommorrow in an air conditioned room with a cold coke, doubt any of those medievel peasants could handle that job

[@tlthomp59]

PLEASE TURN THE BACKGROUND MUSIC DOWN !!!!!! LISTEN, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED. FIX IT !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@79kaltom]

The music is weird and you cant hear the person talking.

[@SuperKonjac]

How many people do you need telling you the music is too loud and overpowers the commentary before you change anything?

[@sarcasmo57]

I want to be the charcoal guy.

[@markedwards9247]

Not Tony's best. A lot of misleading information here. Just a couple of examples. The peasant would have spent a lot of his time ploughing? An ox and plough would be able to plough one acre per day. Have you any idea how much acreage is required to feed a large family for a year? Ask an allotment owner. A maximum of four. That is an area of land of almost 3 football pitches. With simple farming that would produce around 30 tons of turnips ! For a comparison understanding, 30 tons of turnips is enough to rear around 200 lambs ! So the peasant does not spend his days ploughing, he actually spends 4 days, twice a year. Using wattle and daub, and thatching techniques, such as shown in this presentation, it would take less than a month for 4 men to completely build a typical residence from scratch. How many months labour does it take for you to pay for a residence today? There were many reasons why peasants were hard done by, but left to their own devices, life was much easier than we experience today.

[@LalinDissanayaka]

Wasn't this filmed in the early 2000s?

[@evan5935]

Yeah. Many of these channels buy a license to distribute the content they upload so they can legally monetize it without worrying about copyright strikes 🤷‍♂️😃

[@tomarmstrong1281]

Tony Robinson sets my teeth on edge.

[@catscaboose8058]

Interesting if you weren’t missing the verbals, music overcasts him.

[@boyermchristopher1]

A cave stays a constant temperature

[@IHateThisHandleSystem]

Yup. That "expert" didn't know what he was talking about.

[@ClarkKent-er6qc]

It's beautiful town i am want visit with my friend at sidney and auckland fast we can do tonight alright !

[@megaton6023]

This video is basically Chad Romans vs virgin Saxons

[@romystumpy1197]

Those oxen are stout and cutrme

[@maidsua4208]

Could the British's brown eyes have anything to do with Roman times? I'm Scandinavian and the Romans did not come up here. I come from a small town of about 4000 people, but no one had brown eyes. The first time I saw brown eyes IRL I was 18 years old and I thought it looked scary 😅. Now there are strangers with brown eyes here, so it will probably become more common here as well.

[@Bamboule05]

I went to a village way in the mountains in Sumatra, Indonesia, in the early 90ties, and an elderly woman screamed at me, claimed I was a demon, because one could see the sky through my eyes, as if there was nothing in my head. So much for scary eyes...

[@toddcott9510]

The lucky sod's should have tried working for Amazon.

[@mariekatherine5238]

Monks and nuns had to do penance, not only for their own sins, but for the sins of others on earth and the souls in Purgatory.

[@Muttleytech]

We're just ordinary toe rags.

[@albinothesage]

god, he looks fun to be around :

[@randomvintagefilm273]

We use "acre" here in the US, what is it in the UK?

[@evan5935]

Hectare i believe 🤷‍♂️

[@steveholmes3471]

It's the same as the us

[@mathangelaz5799]

Before 1066 CE.

[@banchiaoman]

Interesting but unbelievably distracting and ridiculous music on the soundtrack

[@kevgorry1850]

I now I hate back ground musick I carnt concentrate

[@user-xn2hf9re8r]

tony is my ideal husband with his wit and those legs

[@mathangelaz5799]

Egg collectors = Climmers

[@paulhayward4383]

Your not going to eat that bread with them hands are you

[@carlodefalco7930]

“Fear of who was attacking “ 😳🤣🤣😂 If the romans feared them they wouldn’t have stayed .. 😀 Also , hadrians wall was not a wall to keep people out .. it was to funnel people to a point for taxation purposes 😊

[@dennysala8986]

Being a youtuber 4 sure

[@feltongailey8987]

You know what job they didn't have during these times? Someone to inform the general public about the worst jobs in history.

[@lauriekemp3998]

At least they didn't have to go to the gym...........

[@richardscathouse]

Come to America and see for yourself... 🙄

[@airsquadron654]

Just ask your mom

[@FloweryMF]

I had so much anxiety for his scarf in the shit spreading seen 🫣

[@nicdelmundo5687]

i love this program, more of the day in the life videos please

[@jaystreet46]

Tony robins is a treasure!