What Was Life Really Like for Medieval Nobility in Europe?

This new series with Eleanor is amazing! She never sounds like she's reading a script, just like she's telling us stuff she knows. More more more please!

The part where she talked about the fact that this family is violent, that they rule via violence, made me so happy. History was/is often taught by reframing that, and not directly calling it what it is.

A history teacher we all dreamed of at school and never got

I so thoroughly enjoy Eleanor as a presenter. She has such a smooth way of explaining things and keeping it interesting. Never drawn out or pretentious!

Saw Janega in the thumbnail and hit play so fast 😄 I love the way she explains history and makes it come alive, with a touch of humour and heaps of interesting knowledge.

I remember the castle from before it was restored. We used it as our scout hut in the 1960's and we had free run of the grounds. Each patrol used one of the alcoves in the guard room as it's base but the upstairs was closed and I think unsafe. I remember Musette Majendie and met her several times when she would hand out badges or attend troupe parades. It all looks very different now!

Thank you for actually taking the time to appreciate the people who helped build and maintain this castle & the lands/buildings that surrounded it. It’s sad that those people in history are often forgotten

Felt like I was on a personal tour of this castle and history, thank you!

Dear profesor Janega, I am so so happy to see your videos, because I am from Czech Republic - medieval Bohemian kingdom and also I am a great history and medieval fan. Your doctoral thesis about Jan Milíč and the king Karel IV. made me so happy. Please, excuse my bad english, I am an enternal beginner. I wish you all the best and if you will sometimes be by the chance in Opava, where we are from, you are cordially invited to visit us. And of course, if you can not, we wish you many achievements with your work and your videos. Heartily thank you.

The monks were praying 'for' the deceased not 'to', I imagine. Great content, exactly the sort of practical history I love.

The sad part is that we tend to think of the system of serfdom, or royals, nobles and peasants is a thing of the distant past, when in fact it never went away, just evolved. We pretty much live under the same system now as people did then. The wealthy and powerful own or control the resources with their own personal armies, while we, the peasants, do all the hard work, and hand over our money in taxes to fund those in power. Then they let us have just enough to keep us from rising up. The one difference is they let us peasants falsely believe that we too, with enough hard work, could have the opportunity to reach the ranks of the nobility one day, whereas the peasants back then knew they would never be allowed into that club. Funny how much things change without changing much at all

Excellent series, I liked learning those small details about architecture, how such a castle and its buildings are built... One thing that stood out was "it's difficult to aneliate such a wealth from a family" and vice-versa for peasants. Well, today it's exactly the same: we have boards of directors, politicians, bankers... which are the new nobility. They will never lose their money, they will only amass more and we commoners are subject to crisis, shortages, wars... which are caused by those very nobles.

We need a Sitcom about Peasants in Medieval England. Call it “ Good Lord”Do it Monty Python style

Found this video really interesting! My brother got married in this castle in early 2020 (in the banqueting hall) and we went to the different levels of the castle for the different parts of the wedding. Really cool to learn more about it

I was lead to believe that the slit windows at the bottom were to protect the castle from invaders and not because the poor were at the bottom.

Eleanor's extensive knowledge and warm personality contribute to the stunning visuals to make this an extremely enjoyable watch.

I learned, about ten years ago, my grandfather of many centuries ago (the 1300’s) was Richard de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. I learned from you, Dr. Janega, some of the history of the de Vere family and I thank you. I also appreciate contributions of facts from the many comments. Thank you. I only knew of the family name and nothing more. The architecture of the castle and how it came from the invasion of another country is fascinating. I will continue with this channel to learn more of English history and all of Europe.

One point about the slit windows on the ground floor: They weren't just windows, it was arrow slits. In the event of an attack on the castle - if it reached the keep - arrows/crossbow bolts would be pelting the attackers from inside and the attackers had little chance to retaliate. So yes, people living there had very little light from the windows but the narrow windows were a defensive feature.

I saw a Time Team episode awhile back about Dover Castle. The castle was restored back to what it looked like when built --- all the bright gaudy colors and all.

As a fable goes, a dog and a horse argue who's more important. The dog says, I am because I guard everything. The horse says, if it was not for my work, there'd be nothing for you to guard.