6 Disgusting Occupations in the Medieval Era...

You would think that there would be just a few occupations during the Middle Ages. There would be the lord of the manor, the knights, the lord’s household and the peasants. But this is just a broad outline of the myriad of jobs that were available and each one fulfilled an essential role in Medieval society. Really there were just two classes, the elite and the workers but the lord and his court could not survive without the assistance of the labourers. Some of the jobs such as carpenters, bakers and barbers still continue to this day. Others have disappeared into the annals of history. For the following jobs, that is not a bad thing.

Narrated & Edited by: James Wade

Thank you for watching.

0:00 Introduction
1:11 Tanner
2:50 Treadmill Operator
3:58 Gong Farmer
5:57 Executioner
7:56 The Leech Collector
9:29 Plague Burier

Copyright © 2021 Top5s All rights reserved. In this video, we've compiled information from a variety of sources, including documentaries, books, and websites, all with the aim of providing an engaging viewing experience. While we strive to ensure accuracy, we acknowledge that there may be variations in the authenticity of the content. We encourage viewers to delve deeper and conduct their own research to corroborate the information presented.

[chriskelly]

I read somewhere - and if it's true it's quite sad - that poor families used to sell pots of urine to the tannery for income, and the poorest of the poor didn't even own a pot. Hence the modern phrase "he's so poor he doesn't even have a pot to piss in."

[Invalidpoint]

Having to collect human 'gong'? That's disgusting, no way I would do that jo--
"They earned about 6 pence per day, which was a week's wage for the average worker."
You know, it doesn't sound that bad actually.

[hbhb]

It amazes me, how people all living within a couple hundred feet of each other, couldn’t get together and decide not to throw poop out the window. 😂 I wonder why they couldn’t decide to have one spot to empty the buckets.

[Aaron_Gentry]

Imagine being a person assigned to collect dead bodies during the Black Plague. That sounds absolutely horrific

[CommodoreFloopjack]

How we managed to survive the medieval era is freaking insane.

[ccsmooth]

"Really there were just 2 classes, the Elite and the Workers" sounds exactly like 2022 to me.

[SailorSlay]

Leather workers did all that and lived in poverty. Makes sense. We still under compensate vital jobs

[tomservo]

It's interesting how to this day people's surnames generally denotes the occupation of their ancestor like Tanner, Miller, Smith, Bowyer, Fletcher, Sawyer, even White-as it referred to a miller that was always covered in flour dust. My German mom's name of Kessler means 'cauldron maker' and refers to coppersmith as it goes back to the 11th century and the family shield has a copper cauldron on it.

[toko_ribbon]

Working in a tannery has to be the absolute worst in any era— the smell, lack of money, and stigma just makes that hard work all the more miserable 😩
Wonderful video! 👌✨

[GarryDKing]

treadmill operator sounded fun to imagine til that last part.
still, the peasants who had that job never skipped leg day.

[Voirreydirector]

My environmental scientist husband paid his dues working in an underfunded wastewater treatment plant, and I can tell you, the washing machine never recovered. So yeah, I can imagine imagine being in a gong farming family, no fun.

[sophroniel]

Nightsoilmen also had the risk of methane catching fire. They also had problems with beggars during winter, because the decomposition was warm, so they'd go there to save them selves from freezing to death.

[Crystal]

Oh the Gong Farmer got me!! 🤢
I’m glad they got at least decent pay.

[CaptHollister]

Correction, there *were* mechanical cranes and hoists. That's exactly what the treadmill was.

[nonameneededd]

I know this is a new channel, but can I just say your cometary on these videos is outstanding. Please don’t change the style of content here because of a few people who are displeased, and please know your work is really appreciated and highly interesting.
Thank you 😁

[daltrui]

Safe to say that the 'Gong Show' would've been a completely different type of program in the Middle Ages.

[glennhopkins]

Life in the Middle Ages was incredibly horrible.

[beez]

The last picture of the guy getting stabbed in the head is hilarious because he's smiling as if he didn't care.

[Jacinto]

Class still exists no matter what government try to say. High class elites, middle class, and lower class. Money means everything in this world and more have more power and usually more breaks you get law and tax wise. Yet, anybody lower than elites is taxed too death and literally work themselves to death just to live. It's truly sad and heartbreaking.

[ughkgoi]

The book, "The Worst Jobs in History" by Tony Robbins, discusses this subject from the Medieval rea to the 1800s. Well written and quite fascinating.