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Here's why the Black Death was WORSE than you think

HistoryExtra

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What happens to a society when almost half its population disappears? Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/subhistoryextrayoutube

In the latest instalment of his A–Z of Life in Medieval England, historian Ian Mortimer reveals just how unfamiliar, dangerous and surprisingly sophisticated medieval life could be.

Discover the terrifying diseases that people feared most, the extraordinary scale of the Black Death and how its aftermath helped transform England’s social order. Meet a famous medieval 'traveller', and discover how his stories of distant lands and strange peoples helped shape European ideas about the wider world.

You'll also hear how medieval kings gradually lost their unchecked power, as Magna Carta and Parliament began holding monarchs to account, and how learning to read could mean the difference between life and death.

Join Dr Mortimer for this third instalment of the journey, travelling through I-L. But what do Q and Z stand for? To follow along with the rest of the alphabet, all episodes are available in the HistoryExtra app. Unlock your access now with a 14-day free trial: https://www.historyextra.com/the-hist...

#HistoryExtra #medieval #history

00:00 Introduction
00:42 I is for…
07:06 J is for…
10:39 K is for…
15:30 L is for…

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16 Comments

@Fuhgl 1 day ago

Ian Mortimer's videos have been excellent, please keep them coming!

@gilliangrainger9600 1 day ago

Very interesting

@lbakemeyer 3 days ago

Excellent presentation. I love these History Extra in depth explanation of such an interesting period as the Middle Ages.

@AnotherLostBall 2 days ago

I went to the museum in Eyam a few years ago. It’s known as the Plague Village and the museum is absolutely fascinating - displaying how quickly the plague spread and how it destroyed families. Definitely worth a visit - it absolutely sticks with you to realise how lucky we are to be descendants of plague survivors.

@cantwellncfc6664 2 days ago

Mortimer the GOAT :medal-yellow-first-red:

@briandanielgoth1718 2 days ago

One of my uncles had a form of Leprosy, but all his injuries were on his lower extremities. I used to help my aunt change his dressings when I was a child.

@mortimerhasbeengud2834 3 days ago

A superb lecture here, indeed.

@censusgary 21 hours ago

People in medieval England had absolutely no chance of survival. The proof of this is irrefutable: Not a single person born in the Middle Ages is alive today.

@MilesRowanVlogs 3 days ago (edited)

I’ve been doing a lot of research into this! The detail that floored me is John Mandeville. One of medieval Europe’s most influential “travel writers” may never have travelled at all, yet his imagined world helped shape how generations pictured everything beyond Europe. I make videos chasing overlooked history through real places, so that contradiction is irresistible to me. Medieval people weren’t less curious than us, they just lived in an information system where authority travelled faster than verification. Sometimes the most powerful map of the world is the one nobody has actually checked.

@AA-ui2wk 1 day ago

There STILL is no check on royal power. For this matter, not much have changed !

@paulmlemay 2 days ago

How very interesting. In the 1300's they had some idea of Tibetan sky burial........

@charrxox 11 hours ago

Leprosy mention - BALDWIN IV

@johnkilmartin5101 2 days ago

Didn't the Witmoote vote on who would be King?

@fakehistoryhunter 3 days ago

Average life expectancy was low in Medieval Europe, average being the key word.
But this is of course a skewed perspective because the number was low due to high child mortality.
Those who survived childhood/birth had a decent chance of living into their 60s.
Living beyond 30 was not that unusual.

@suchanhachan 2 days ago

For the love of God, could people stop comparing things to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I don't know when it first started, and maybe early on it had some impact, but now it's just profoundly lazy...

Unknown User 2 days ago (edited)

Disagree with the 25% probability of death with 10 births (10/40). It’s actually 1-(39/40)^10 ~= 22%. Because if you die at birth 1, you don’t count the rest, hence the probability is lower! (Also would women really be getting pregnant 10-12 times in their lifetime on average?!)