Surviving England’s Dark Ages. Could you do It?

Could you survive Early Medieval England living as a serf? Was life back then really easier than we think — or was it a daily struggle just to stay alive? In this video, we’re diving into the heart of early medieval life to try and prise out the answer to this question.

Description : Hordeum vulgare (barley) with Claviceps purpurea
File : Hordeum vulgare Claviceps purpurea 23-7-2009.JPG
Author : Dominique Jacquin
License : Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike

Description : Costumed man hanging during the april 1 events in Brielle
File : Costumed man hanging.JPG
Author : Costumed man hanging during the april 1 events in Brielle
License : Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

[rebeccagordon]

Every one of us watching this video is descended from someone in Medieval Times who survived at minimum long enough to have children!

[AkPixie]

I can’t even survive Mondays. Our ancestors deserve a lot of respect and gratitude ❤

[Quarantina]

Medieval times - physical exhaustion. Modern times - mental exhaustion

[cornishmaid]

I love watching history programs about the U.K. and I’m in awe that, in order for me to be alive today, my ancestors survived every single war, invasion, colonisation, royal infighting, religious persecution, famine, disease, and plague. Kudos to every one of them. ❤

[scousemouse]

Isn't a miracle that any of us survived at all. An easy breakdown of daily struggles. God bless you.

[quantumtronics]

I'm a homesteader attempting to live life off grid in cold windy winter yet I still only survive with Propane, electricity two trucks and gasoline so I can drive 1hr to Walmart. I barely can make it on my own. My respect to my ancestors who could do it

[Tackz]

Imagine living in a window of space/time where you’re able to comfortably sit in a climate controlled environment with a full stomach, decent health, get around in a 4 wheeled cart vastly more powerful than a horse, with an average lifespan of 78, with a fairly broad education of the world around you, watching a ⅝ “ thick magic screen & learning about your distant history with controlled audio & 28 minutes of visuals completely created by artificial intelligence featuring people, animals & scenery that only exist in the memory & GPU of a computer 🖥️ that can process more information in a second than all of the collective knowledge of humanity in the time you’re learning about. Well, you don’t need to imagine…you just did. Pretty amazing time to be alive.
To the producer of this video, well done. That looks like quite a bit of prompt work. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 👍🏻

[Jocelynxoxo]

Crazy that we went from the Roman Empire, with its sewage systems, fresh water and plumming in only a few generations is insane. Of course the Roman Empire was far from perfect, but it seems their living conditions were vastly better than the dark ages

[annadrew]

To think that I needed an emergency C-section for my baby and me to survive is incredible. Without modern medicine, neither of us would have made it. My paternal grandmother also needed an emergency C-section when she gave birth to my father. Without these advancements, I wouldn’t even exist. I am so deeply thankful for modern medicine and for the doctors who saved both my life and my baby's. I also endured complications during the operation, which makes me even more grateful. If I had lived in the Middle Ages, childbirth would likely have been fatal for me, as it was for so many women.

[anndriggers]

Most people alive today would not have survived. But let's not forget that we all come from the most hardy stock on the planet, because our ancestors did survive against all odds.

[chikaka]

Most of us wouldn’t have even survived the Victorian or Edwardian eras. My grandmother, born in 1895, was the last of 12 children born to a mother who died at age 36 when grandma was 2. Only 5 of those 12 children made it to adulthood. On my granddad ( her husband’s) side his siblings didn’t fare much better. I visited about 5 graves of my great aunts & uncles on his side in Bardstown, KY. All died before age 20. Things really didn’t turn around until the 1920s and got significantly better with the advent of antibiotics in the 1930s.

[clothcapkev]

Well someone in my family did it, otherwise i would not be here.

[drintx]

Not only would I NOT survive, but I wouldn’t WANT to survive in this world.

[squirrellyswirl]

I don’t think any of us modern people would have survived beyond a week or so if we were teleported back in time. We’re too used to the basic comforts of indoor plumbing, toilet paper, yummy foods that don’t cause boils, video games for entertainment, sleeping on a soft mattress instead of blocks of stone or hay, easily moving around and traveling, job hopping, etc. We definitely have life set on >VERY EASY mode and then in the middle of it we go to OMEGA HARD mode? Game. Over.

[Ricky_Cullen]

It is mind blowing how EXTREMELY LOW the chances of YOU being born are.
- The Universe existing
- How everything formed in the Universe
- Earth forming the way it did
- Life forming on a planet
- The path evolution took
- Homosapiens being the surviving Hominin species
- Ancestors: The exact chain of women and men that met each other and had children. Rinse and repeat.
- Everything your ancestors survived
- You surviving in the womb, and being born.

And after ALL of these above mentioned hurdles... The SPECIFIC combination of sperm and egg cells resulting in YOUR unique genetic makeup is incredibly small. Calculated at 1 in 400 trillion odds of YOU being born, AFTER all previously mentioned hurdles.

It really puts a whole new meaning on "Life is a gift".
Mind-blowing

[KwertyKeys]

I would have been the old hag in the woods with a cat, and probably be accused of witchcraft.

[JamieKingsley-nn]

Wow, that puts things into perspective! Freezing homes, terrible food, constant disease, and brutal laws... Makes you incredibly grateful for modern life. Surviving back then sounds like winning a grim lottery every single day. Tough doesn't even begin to cover it.

[tiffanystarbeck]

Ive decided today, January 10 th, 2025, you absolutely be grateful for my life, for everything that I have, my healthy 3 children and a beautiful family, a 3 bedroom home, ( the only pig in my home every morning is my husband) anyhow, the fact we can eat and scrape money to buy gas money every day or every few days, makes me cry.. I just couldn’t imagine this..

your question would I survive? probably not even a day.. Sadly, I have epilepsy, I would either have died from illness or be meant to suffer some horrible death.. so tragic.

It’s amazing how far we’ve come and then what we will be in the next 20 years !

[almostfamous]

This is what the ruling class would like to have again today

[susanroutt]

Absolutely sure I would not have survived.