Advice for time traveling to medieval Europe

Watch this video before visiting the European Middle Ages.

SUGGESTED READING

• Steven A. Epstein, An Economic and Social History of Later Medieval Europe, 1000–1500 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009).
• Urban Tignor Holmes, Jr., Daily Living in the Twelfth Century (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1952).
• Ian Mortimer, The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England (London: The Bodley Head, 2008).
• Paul B. Newman, Daily Life in the Middle Ages (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2001).
• Jeffrey L. Singman, Daily Life in Medieval Europe (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999).

FAQ

• What about traveling there as a woman?
My advice applies to both men and women (except for the bit about clergy, obviously). Men and women will have to give the same amount of attention to constructing their backstory, including their marital status, because people will ask either way. Women went on pilgrimages. While most women (and men) worked on farms, women in towns did engage in economic activities like shopkeeping and weaving. It was rare for a woman to work as a long-distance merchant, but it did happen, typically as a widow whose husband had been a merchant.

• But what about a woman traveling alone?
When I said, "Travel in a group, don't travel alone," I meant it. Solo travel is not advised, regardless of gender. Even the medieval people themselves traveled in groups.

CORRECTIONS

• I said William of Rubruck was from the Netherlands but he was actually Flemish. Apologies to my Flemish viewers.
• In the anecdote where William of Rubruck met the Buddhist monks, he was confused at first but he did figure out in the course of talking to them that they were not Christian. I misremembered the passage. So I'd say Buddhists would probably just be understood as pagans in medieval Europe.
• The magic I discuss in the video is known as natural magic. There was also another form of magic I didn't talk about where you perform occult rituals to persuade demons to do things for you. That's known as demonic magic.

0:00 Intro
1:52 Health
2:56 Personal safety
7:49 Do not leave personal items unattended
11:35 Money
14:25 Where to sleep
17:01 Where to eat
17:57 Language barrier
22:54 Social class
24:42 Backstory
30:22 Shopping
30:47 What if you're not white?
40:16 What if you're not Catholic?
46:32 Witchcraft
48:25 Arriving via time travel
49:31 Time travel discretion
51:49 More on witchcraft
55:25 Medicine
59:45 Good luck!

[ZLink]

Dude actually made me believe I was going for a sec

[Reilola]

this was the sneakiest history lesson i have ever received

[jeanefpraxiadis]

My travel insurance doesn’t want to cover this.

[bluepineapples]

You should make a video of advice for a medieval person travelling to the modern world

[Shays]

This man found a smart way to make us sit through telling us all about the Medieval period

[TheFishingNomad]

Just checking in from 2054. I have to say that this is still the most accurate travel guide to medieval Europe. Nothing better has come out in the last 31 years.

[MrGetItDone]

perfect timing for this vid I was just stressing out planning my time trip

[BigBadMadDog.]

Ofcourse Youtube only recommends me this video now. I just got back from my trip last week. It was complete hell.

[tranholmen]

If I was a history teacher I would have my students do travel guides for different destinations during different times. This really makes you focus and pay attention.

[Gubru]

I am not going to lie: if this was presented in any other fashion I would be extremely bored; but, presenting it from a Time Traveller's perspective is an ingenious move. I would love to see more!

[Jess-zmxt]

This is so iconic, I feel like framing history like this in school would make people interested in learning instead of just memorizing facts

[kentslocum]

This video perfectly demonstrates why Medieval records fail to mention time travelers--the travelers were either extremely well prepared and blended right in, or didn't even bother to go because it was too much hassle. 😂

[Blindseeker]

This is a brilliant premise for a historian to use as a gateway to educate on any historical period. You MUST do more.

[finn_underwood]

I have, no joke, always wanted to see a series like this. The idea of using "So you've found yourself stuck in the past. Here's what you need to know" as a framing device to deliver historical education feels like a perfect recipe and I'm elated someone else thought of the idea and then actually had the expertise to *make* it.
I hope this continues.

[coolrule]

This was so good. No bullshit music, animations, etc. Just straight historical BARS from this man.
Thanks my dude.

[Nubsicles]

I started this telling myself “No way I’m sitting through this entire 1 hour video” and 59 minutes in I realized I needed another 2 hours. This was excellent.

[mikehs]

I'm from 2125 and I've got to say that this was an amazing advice.
Unfortunately traveling to the medieval europe was prohibited by the government 3 years ago.

[ShamblerDK]

This is a really, _really_ good way to learn history. Putting yourself into a situation, where you'd need practical application for all this knowledge.

[somnambulist]

I’m off to London next week, this has been very helpful

[billybarnacky]

As someone who day dreams about traveling to different periods in history frequently, I am thrilled this video exists.