I really like videos made by Ian LaSpina who goes under the handle Knight Errant on Youtube. They are short, to the point and are packed with well researched information (at least as far as I can tell). In this video he explains how Middle Ages were not stagnant from technological point of view and progress was being made.
Affinity
Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
Oooh, thank you! The ‘dark ages’ is complete misnomer. There was a great deal going on, in every area. One of the reasons I love Medievalists, a major time sink for me.
Youtube, why are you recommending a Prager U video? Bad Youtube! Damn neo-Nazis are always trying to infiltrate genuine Medieval scholarship.
Joseph:
Yes, they are, especially in the Nordic area. It’s another reason to support Medievalists, where there are people who actually study the era, and you can find facts, not made up fantasy fulfillment.
That was a hard thing to figure out: people back then weren’t stupid, they were just low tech. They would immediately pick up on useful stuff. And their leaders were just as sneaky and they wouldn’t be going “wat? Its not flat?” They’d be amazed to learn about bacteria but they would probably be more accepting and understanding than today’s antivaxers.
Not only weren’t they stupid, but a hell of a lot of discoveries came out of the middle ages. Most people simply dismiss the medieval era because they hear ‘dark ages’ and make a lot of assumptions, rather than learning.
Personal pet peeve in “medieval-ish” movies: armour lying around. Suddenly everybody has at least some piece of armour lying around and the peasants all bring out grandpa’s old sword.