Darkest Things About the Dark Ages

Explore the grim realities of the Dark Ages in this eye-opening video. From the absence of centralized government to barbaric medical practices, discover the harrowing truths of this era.

[joshuawells]

The dark ages was so deadly, that not a single person from that time is still alive today. That’s just wild to me.

[thatcubanredneck]

Not a cellphone in sight, just people living the moment

[It-b-Blair]

I can’t help but put myself in the victim’s perspective and it gets nauseating thinking that was people’s existence…

[MrJjones]

I used to work as an EMT and honestly I would probably make a killing in the dark ages as a surgeon just knowing the basics of medicine and cleaning my tools

[nicholasschroeder]

When I took medieval history, the one thing that really stuck with me was when the professor said 99% of people not only never read a book in their lifetimes, but they never even SAW a book. Their understanding of the world was like a child's. Lesson here: READ!

[snooopledinkeroo]

Apparently I’ve been eating like a Middle Ages peasant

[unclecarl]

I see people here criticising Simon for over simplifying sections of this video. Try to use a bit of common sense. This is a 13 minute YouTube video. If you want an in depth look at the dark ages go find an hour long documentary or series about the subject. There are plenty of them out there. Well done Simon. Especially for emphasising that the plague and the black death was an on going problem. Not limited to a few certain years.

[Wheres_the_money_lebowski]

It's a wonder anybody made it out of the dark ages alive.

[lennyusefof]

My understanding of the benefit of ale was not the fermentation it was the boiling of the liquid (wort) first. That would kill the bad bacteria and then the fermentation would add alcohol to inhibit future growth. Just the thoughts of a homebrewer who watched “How beer saved the world” too many times. The history of brewing might be a good megaproject.

[wigglepuppy]

When I visited Salzburg, I went to the museum that had their torture devices. People can imagine horrific ways to punish others.

[rossfromfriends]

Shout out to my ancestors for living through all this shit, whenever i feel overwhelmed i think about what just a tooth abcess or broken limb would be like when you don't have penicillin or painkillers. Even the worst American prisons look like a holiday compared to these tortures.

[benmcfee]

I had it explained to me that the term "dark ages" referred to a period in time when very little was written down, and we therefore have limited ("dark") knowledge of it.

[erichurst]

My understanding of the term Dark Ages is that nowadays it is meant regarding information. We know more about the periods before and after, making this period dark. A lot of knowledge was lost, and poor records were kept even in places where more people were literate.

[Forscythe]

The red in the barbers pole was synbolic of their surgical duties. Red being a symbol for blood.

[quintuscrinis]

7:21 to be fair to them, that's still quite a popular theory these days - too much cleaning has removed the bacteria that helps to create and boost children's immune systems was a headline everywhere not that long ago.

[quantumrobingaming]

Great video Simon, just didn't expect something like this on sideprojects

[seantooley]

so mad i didnt discover this channel sooner. but also happy because i can binge it now!

[Veldiirn]

Hi Simon! Love the videos - just for my own curiosity, have you parted ways with Bio/Geographics?

[PhilippusPistor]

About medicine, you have to remember that most medieval medical theory came from the Greeks and Romans. The best example is the blood-letting, which was recommanded since Hippocrates who also theorised about humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile). So those bad practices normally associated with the Middle Ages actually come from Antiquity. It is true though that after the Black Plague, people started to wash less and less, but it wasn't a sudden stop and took 200 years before becoming widespread in Europe. Also, medieval doctor at least tried to save people during the Black Plague. We accounts of Romans doctors simply fleeing whenever they encountered a plague.

[mastercontrol]

Nice to see the Tax situation has barely changed.