Why were notched sticks so important in medieval times?

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  • čas přidán 1. 05. 2020
  • Jason Kingsley OBE the modern knight, discusses medieval record keeping. #medieval #tallystick #accounting #records #disaster
    Credits:
    Production, Direction, Camera, Sound, Editing Kasumi
    Production, Presenter Jason Kingsley OBE
    / rebellionjason
    / modernhistorytv
    / rebellion
    Music licensed from PremiumBeat.
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Komentáře • 2,7K

  • @-Zevin-
    @-Zevin- Před 4 lety +871

    Finally some historically accurate reenactment kit i can actually afford.

    • @florianreuter8178
      @florianreuter8178 Před 2 lety +5

      do you also despretly need a sword but cant afford it at the moment .?

    • @-Zevin-
      @-Zevin- Před 2 lety +19

      @@florianreuter8178 Do you know what a joke is?

    • @abowers6472
      @abowers6472 Před 2 lety +1

      Truth

    • @jasonflay8818
      @jasonflay8818 Před 2 lety +14

      I don't know,have you seen the price of sticks today?!?

    • @-Zevin-
      @-Zevin- Před 2 lety +21

      @@jasonflay8818 "All natural organic artisanal hand pulled stick, only $89.99" on Etsy.

  • @nssherlock4547
    @nssherlock4547 Před 3 lety +680

    So the branch manager, literally looked after branches.

  • @myfamilycountrylife5280
    @myfamilycountrylife5280 Před 3 lety +552

    A rudimentary tallystick was accepted in a Canadian court as proof in an employment dispute when I was younger. The owner of the stick used it to keep track of the number of days he worked (he was illiterate). His employer was trying to rip him off for some of his wages claiming the man worked fewer days.

    • @cozmcwillie7897
      @cozmcwillie7897 Před 3 lety +205

      Notched one up on his boss. I like it when the underdog can stick it to someone trying to shaft them.

    • @FeedMeMister
      @FeedMeMister Před 2 lety +49

      @@cozmcwillie7897 [vigorous forceful clapping]

    • @cozmcwillie7897
      @cozmcwillie7897 Před 2 lety +9

      @@FeedMeMister (Like)

    • @juwebles4352
      @juwebles4352 Před 2 lety +7

      @@cozmcwillie7897 just take the like

    • @Finallybianca
      @Finallybianca Před 2 lety +16

      I remember that case, we had a three month discussion in one of the Autistic adult groups in Facebook.

  • @yossephjoquin5920
    @yossephjoquin5920 Před 3 lety +328

    So when they claimed you hadn't paid your taxes, you would stick it to the man by showing him your tallywacker 😏

  • @MoltenMouseMetal
    @MoltenMouseMetal Před 4 lety +806

    "Regional treasury branch-manager" takes on a whole new meaning.

  • @dylanvan3300
    @dylanvan3300 Před 4 lety +108

    All I can think of now is in medieval time, when someone wanted to rob a bank. They would shout “nobody move, this is a stick up”.

  • @GizmoDuck_1860
    @GizmoDuck_1860 Před 3 lety +1408

    Admitting you're a grown up: watching a 8 minute video about sticks and genuinely being interested in it.

    • @bashkillszombies
      @bashkillszombies Před 3 lety +20

      The clickbait thumb did mention tallywhackers. I thought it was about dicks.

    • @paleposter
      @paleposter Před 3 lety +55

      Stick around

    • @ericward8459
      @ericward8459 Před 3 lety +21

      Doubly so as a writer. Secondary sources like these are monstrously helpful for ideas and research.

    • @Requiredfields2
      @Requiredfields2 Před 3 lety +25

      I've heard the term tallywhacker all my life and never knew what it was. Now I know.

    • @williamforbes6291
      @williamforbes6291 Před 3 lety +7

      Kids watch this stuff all day

  • @seaoftranquility7228
    @seaoftranquility7228 Před 3 lety +340

    I thought I was rich. Turns out I had the wrong end of the stick.

    • @djericanthony
      @djericanthony Před 3 lety +20

      That term comes from the Roman toilet brush. It was a stick with a sponge at the end of it you would wipe your butt with, it was also communal. If you grabbed the wrong end, you’d be sorry. It was also “shit stick”

    • @rocroc
      @rocroc Před 3 lety +9

      @@djericanthony Eric - sorry, I liked his version better :-)

    • @motog4-75
      @motog4-75 Před 3 lety +2

      @@djericanthony 🤢 how on earth & why did they think it's perfectly fine to share the same sponge????
      Disgusting 🤮

    • @VR-zh7lo
      @VR-zh7lo Před 3 lety +2

      @@motog4-75 Yup, that's disgusting. Nice way to spread bugs.
      What have the Romans ever done for us?

    • @motog4-75
      @motog4-75 Před 3 lety +2

      @valleywoodworker phew we can relax now 😏

  • @yannickmartens2041
    @yannickmartens2041 Před 4 lety +1021

    Parliament: "Burn the records"
    The records: "Burn Parliament"

    • @5h0rgunn45
      @5h0rgunn45 Před 4 lety +39

      In 19th century England, you don't burn records, records burn you!

    • @peaknonsense2041
      @peaknonsense2041 Před 4 lety +3

      Truth

    • @rawbird5341
      @rawbird5341 Před 4 lety +41

      Everybody gangsta til the stick records starts chanting "remember, remember! The 5th of November..."

    • @EggBastion
      @EggBastion Před 4 lety +4

      *yannick martens*
      You've spelt 'evidence' wrong *_; P_*

    • @sexhaver420
      @sexhaver420 Před 3 lety +2

      🎶Flashlight🎵

  • @nymalous3428
    @nymalous3428 Před 4 lety +955

    Ah, the shame of it. Losing all of those records, kind of like memories on sticks... which we have today, actually! One of the common names for a USB flash drive is "memory stick," and they kind of work in a similar fashion, just "notches" in an electrical field representing numbers... the more things change, the more they stay the same.

    • @Cornu341
      @Cornu341 Před 4 lety +48

      They stay the same on the level of concepts because humans need to use them and humans as the whole group are not good at finding new understandable concepts. We are still running our millenia old software on much older hardware.

    • @iv4nGG
      @iv4nGG Před 4 lety +7

      so you could put a painting, a musical band, a library and a theater on a stick? your “notches” analogy is sentimental but seriosly flawed xd things dont stay the same, we literally evolve and advance our knowledge, understanding, way we think - its out of fear of the new/unknown or fear we wont adapt as well/fast that we are slow/resistant to change.

    • @jasondaniel918
      @jasondaniel918 Před 4 lety +13

      A very insightful analogy. Thank you.

    • @LoisoPondohva
      @LoisoPondohva Před 4 lety +28

      @@iv4nGG of course you can put any of those things on a stick. You just need to use small enough notches.
      Do you know how phonographs work, for example?

    • @paendabear21
      @paendabear21 Před 4 lety +17

      @@iv4nGG who is to say you can't with small enough notches.
      He is relating the 1 and 0 in binary as notches within it's digital stick memory.
      If there was a documented way of notching sticks to binary there is no reason we couldn't Transcode it with enough time

  • @GodzillasaurusJr
    @GodzillasaurusJr Před 3 lety +68

    I confess that the question of record-keeping in a largely illiterate society is something I never thought about before - this is brilliant!

  • @dotech4128
    @dotech4128 Před 3 lety +131

    I had no idea tally sticks were stored so recently in such quantities then disposed of so carelessly. That story was both fascinating and tragic.

    • @debbylou5729
      @debbylou5729 Před 11 měsíci

      They’re STICKS! Hoarding tendencies

    • @rakino4418
      @rakino4418 Před 8 měsíci

      ​@@debbylou5729sticks that encode dated, notarized taxation information for hundreds of years. Historians could learn so much from them!

  • @matiasrisso5917
    @matiasrisso5917 Před 4 lety +1446

    This is 100 times more interesting that I though it would be. This channel is amazing!

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 4 lety +116

      Thanks!

    • @johnhughes2124
      @johnhughes2124 Před 4 lety +28

      @@ModernKnight we learnt about this in our introduction to Bonds (part of our guild exams), good to see it getting a wider airing

    • @ragnkja
      @ragnkja Před 4 lety

      John Hughes
      What kind of guild, and where?

    • @TomaszDurlej
      @TomaszDurlej Před 4 lety +10

      Totally accurate, it’s one of best channel on YT. Please continue your great work.

    • @johnhughes2124
      @johnhughes2124 Před 4 lety +1

      @@ragnkja England the Charted Institute for Securities and Investments - perhaps not 'technically a guild' but given that they help to set industry standards, oversea examinations in the Industry and you have to be a member to make in the industry they pretty much act like one.

  • @sirfintanelmrisofcoanwood5245

    This channel never, ever fails to fascinate me on the slightest of everyday things. History is just cracking, isn't it

    • @bobcricket4873
      @bobcricket4873 Před 4 lety +12

      Was looking to place a comment but couldn't have put it better myself.

    • @resnonverba137
      @resnonverba137 Před 4 lety +5

      Agreed.

    • @Trivico
      @Trivico Před 4 lety +4

      Absolutely!

    • @TheHighSorcerer
      @TheHighSorcerer Před 4 lety +8

      Yep. Never thought I'd be so entertained listening to a fellow talk about sticks.

    • @marzipanmango
      @marzipanmango Před 4 lety +4

      Just cracking indeed, Sir Fintan!

  • @tin2001
    @tin2001 Před 2 lety +62

    Amazing that they're effectively a basic bar code system. Not super different to the EAN/UPC barcodes on your groceries.
    I always thought it was impressive that they came up with bar codes in the 70's, but hearing that they were in use in mediaeval periods is mind blowing.

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 2 lety +18

      Great thought, I shall change the thumbnail as that's a brilliant observation!

    • @valshaped
      @valshaped Před rokem +2

      Really the biggest differences between these tally sticks and a modern barcode is that modern barcodes use fixed-width positional symbols, (numbers, etc;) and are meant to be machine readable.

  • @sonny1597
    @sonny1597 Před 3 lety +177

    'Hey Mr. Tallyman, tally me banana, daylight come and I wanna go home'

  • @augustoluis6888
    @augustoluis6888 Před 4 lety +188

    There is nothing this channel won't cover about medieval everyday life. Cooking, eating, hand hygiene, animal handling, lighting, the list goes on. It's a delight to see such great information

  • @HolyFurryFish1998
    @HolyFurryFish1998 Před 4 lety +1011

    Westminster destroying historical tax-records led to Westminster nearly being entirely destroyed.
    >TFW dead taxpayers got the last laugh.

    • @davidd7940
      @davidd7940 Před 4 lety +7

      That was funny!

    • @johnhughes2124
      @johnhughes2124 Před 4 lety +16

      The British Museum put out a video detailing how traders deprived the customs men and wine factors of their ill gotten gains as part of their curators corner series.

    • @GorinRedspear
      @GorinRedspear Před 4 lety +8

      @ Well, yes, but at least we get something in return for it.
      Still not enough, but at least something...

    • @HolyFurryFish1998
      @HolyFurryFish1998 Před 4 lety +31

      @@GorinRedspear people back then also got something for their taxes, too. Nowadays we are being taxed more and more for ever growing, encroaching, and bloated government.

    • @KuK137
      @KuK137 Před 4 lety +18

      @@HolyFurryFish1998 No, they got NOTHING. I like your complete ignorance, back then taxes went straight to noble's pocket. And the second part is even more idiotic, taxes funded between others healthcare, 80s live expectancy, education, internet, and million other nice things. Stop parroting right wing propaganda written by rich and educate yourself.

  • @Casa-de-hongos
    @Casa-de-hongos Před 2 lety +24

    Surface area is very important in chemistry and now you know why.
    I too almost managed to burn down a house like this. Lived in an old house, heated by a wood stove. Since fire wood is expensive and we were poor students, we asked a local carpenter for waste parts. Unfortunately the waste parts were very small and therefore had huge surface area. So they produced much more heat, than a similar amount of logs and overheated the water in the pipes to about 130°C, the whole plumbing was vibrating and we had to cool it with snow...

  • @LouLope
    @LouLope Před 3 lety +123

    I took my tally stick to the IRS office, but they refused to see me and called security. What's wrong with this people?

  • @gamerzgod123
    @gamerzgod123 Před 4 lety +78

    This man just talked about literal sticks for 8 minutes and somehow made it interesting and thought provoking. Clearly doing something right on this channel, well done.

  • @misterdoodle3447
    @misterdoodle3447 Před 4 lety +175

    These little "mundane" bits of history are my favorite.

  • @donnebes9421
    @donnebes9421 Před 3 lety +137

    If we were still using tally sticks today to record the paying of our taxes we would need to drag around a entire sequoia tree for proof.

    • @dbmail545
      @dbmail545 Před 3 lety +4

      If fossil fuels hadn't been exploited there would probably be no trees in North America to make tally sticks from!

    • @waynekolvoord968
      @waynekolvoord968 Před 3 lety +2

      more like a giant redwood

    • @cindyknudson2715
      @cindyknudson2715 Před 3 lety +1

      😄

    • @dcarbs2979
      @dcarbs2979 Před 3 lety +4

      @@waynekolvoord968 A Giant Redwood IS a Sequouia

  • @greenknight44
    @greenknight44 Před 4 lety +64

    I've dug, researched, and adored medieval and classical history forever. Somehow I have never come across this information. I had heard about receipts of clay enclosures in more archaic times but never heard of the notched stick. Thanks for this. Fascinating :)

  • @krdiaz8026
    @krdiaz8026 Před 4 lety +1033

    In the year 3020, history would be like this: "They used notepads to record grocery lists, telephone numbers, and other things. Some had sticky backs so you can stick your note on the wall, or on your desk, thus you would never forget them. Ideally speaking, of course. Lots of people still forgot their notes."

    • @rebellaniefanclubholstein
      @rebellaniefanclubholstein Před 4 lety +85

      They where kept in use after electronic writing devices where invented. Records from that time show people sometimes even covered screens with non-rewritable paper massages. Why this practice was in use we don't have any explanation up until this day.

    • @BlurbFish
      @BlurbFish Před 4 lety +107

      Historians will lament the unfortunate loss of millions of these "sticky notes" in the great spring cleaning.

    • @thimization
      @thimization Před 4 lety +45

      "then they decided to dispose of them, but they accidentally shredded the whole white house."

    • @dorothymerrell6091
      @dorothymerrell6091 Před 4 lety +28

      I’m not so sure that it’s going to take that long. Cursive is becoming a lost art so many kids cant decipher a letter written in cursive it’s like some secret code. Land lines have all but disappeared, what the heck is a typewriter and who would have ever thought that in our time we would have seen the advent of self driving cars. I think technology is fabulous but I also love history, you know how things were done years ago.

    • @liamjohnston2000
      @liamjohnston2000 Před 4 lety +17

      So, in other words, I should keep all of my sticky notes because they might become priceless relics someday?

  • @TheGreatRoja
    @TheGreatRoja Před 4 lety +490

    I wonder if the origin of the phrase "getting the short end of the stick" is related to the use of the shorter half of a tally stick being used as the receipt? If you got the short end of the stick, you were the one paying money rather than receiving money.

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 4 lety +215

      I think that's quite likely.

    • @Grim_Beard
      @Grim_Beard Před 4 lety +80

      I think it's very unlikely, as the phrase is 'getting the shit end of the stick'. I think it comes from when sticks were used in various tasks such as muck-spreading and stirring night-soil for nitrates and, of course, the Roman tersorium. 'Short end' seems to be a later version of the phrase, presumably coming into use as a euphemism when the word 'shit' became more taboo among polite society.

    • @greywolfwalking6359
      @greywolfwalking6359 Před 4 lety +13

      Robert Jackson indeed! A very good question!? Seems logical! Hmmm?

    • @iiiiii8522
      @iiiiii8522 Před 4 lety +14

      @@Grim_Beard I've heard that before and I think you're probably right about the euphemism modifying like that.

    • @jinxhead4182
      @jinxhead4182 Před 4 lety +40

      @@ModernKnight Actually Metatron did a video on this and it most likely is coming from the roman toilet sponge stick. The short end of the stick, being the one which was used to wipe your behind. But this also seems perfectly plausible. Here's the video for anybody interested: czcams.com/video/liQzjMmciPI/video.html&t

  • @cadepope4093
    @cadepope4093 Před 3 lety +30

    "...The width of a swollen barleycorn..."
    "How much over a barleycorn is that?"
    "One swole."

    • @bobsmith5088
      @bobsmith5088 Před 3 lety +1

      Some barleycorns are bigger than others...

  • @johnbrzenksforearm8295
    @johnbrzenksforearm8295 Před 3 lety +86

    I always wondered where my dad got the "quit playing with your tally wacker" saying. Never knew that there was actually a stick used to tally or keep records of things. It has a different meaning in the States.

    • @OneForTheSouth
      @OneForTheSouth Před 3 lety +22

      Same here. "Tally Wacker" is not something you'd want to cut notches in where I'm from on the East coast of the US.

    • @enjerth78
      @enjerth78 Před 3 lety +8

      If it whacks the tally, and the tally is debt, then you might call the tally whacker a "money maker."

    • @petersack5074
      @petersack5074 Před 3 lety

      @@enjerth78 trump ski

    • @dalegates8621
      @dalegates8621 Před 3 lety +6

      Yup ...tally whacker meant something different in the south when I was growing up.

    • @livbirka403
      @livbirka403 Před 3 lety +7

      Lol, the comment I was looking for! Tally whacker has a very different meaning in Boston 😂

  • @shadiversity
    @shadiversity Před 4 lety +1179

    Absolutely brilliant video, I just love learning of things like this, you sir are jem of this community.

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 4 lety +156

      Thanks Shad! Love your new castle backdrop by the way.

    • @bramy9
      @bramy9 Před 3 lety +6

      @blue100000 so wheres your "Real" History?

    • @cryptomoneyuk
      @cryptomoneyuk Před 3 lety +21

      @blue100000 just bitter because USA history is 200 years of shit and that's it.

    • @tharpbilly2396
      @tharpbilly2396 Před 3 lety +24

      @@cryptomoneyuk american history is 200 years of interesting, same as european history :P

    • @bashkillszombies
      @bashkillszombies Před 3 lety +26

      @@tharpbilly2396 200 years of shit. You guys are Brazil now. You don't even know your own history, and are actively taught misinformation by the current ruling class.

  • @angee9996
    @angee9996 Před 4 lety +236

    There is actually an old saying in German: "etwas auf dem Kerbholz haben" (Having something (carved) on the tally stick) which means being in debt / having a dark secret / generally being a shady type of person.
    Its not used much today in everyday life but everyone still recognizes it. I never thought about what it really meant / where the saying originated from!
    (I even had to consult wikipedia that Kerbholz does indeed translate to tally wood)

    • @oliviermelis5704
      @oliviermelis5704 Před 4 lety +23

      It also exists in Dutch/Flemish: "Iets op je kerfstok hebben". kerfstok = "carve stik"

    • @peterslegers6121
      @peterslegers6121 Před 4 lety +8

      @@oliviermelis5704 Iets op je kerfstok hebben = you've done something wrong or evil...
      But now at least we know its original meaning!

    • @Glaswalker1001
      @Glaswalker1001 Před 4 lety +7

      Damn, you have beaten me to that comment. Well done.
      Except that my mother taught me where the saying came from. We are weird like that.

    • @edwhatshisname3562
      @edwhatshisname3562 Před 4 lety +2

      Not related to tally sticks but I hard another phrase working for someone from Germany he said something like "ah, hexenschuss.." while grabbing at his back and he explained the origins meaning to shoot or cast a spell on something, sayings basically that it's been cursed, which to me I found interesting.
      I kind of makes me wonder what other things exist in other languages like that.
      (I may have used the wrong word too as I don't speak German but it sound like hexen-shoots when he said it)

    • @Glaswalker1001
      @Glaswalker1001 Před 4 lety +3

      @@edwhatshisname3562 yeah, you are spot on. It's a commonly used phrase for a certain kind of back pain that goes back to 'a witch cursed my back'.
      Learning different languages is the best way to understand people I would say (literally and figuratively).

  • @metalbob3335
    @metalbob3335 Před 2 lety +5

    I am going to utilize this in my next D&D game the Dm, loves this kind of bits of middle ages history that are forgotten in most conversation to be found and used in the game maybe it will give me the edge in some disputes of payment to a Wiley beholder I'm endeavoured to suffer with in the group as a cleric. Huzzah!

  • @joeterp5615
    @joeterp5615 Před 3 lety +10

    Fascinating little glimpse back into how records were kept! Can you imagine if a little kid found one of these receipt sticks in the house and started playing tug with the family dog with it! “No Junior!! What are you doing!!!”

    • @altoclef4989
      @altoclef4989 Před 2 lety

      Same concept of flushing dad's phone down the toilet ;)

  • @krazYFaic
    @krazYFaic Před 4 lety +65

    That was the medieval equivalent to your boss asking you to delete a Word file and you throwing away the entire computer.

  • @VosperCDN
    @VosperCDN Před 4 lety +283

    I'd heard of keeping a tally, but didn't realize that it meant a physical piece of wood with markings.

    • @alexandersarchives9615
      @alexandersarchives9615 Před 4 lety +6

      VosperCDN same here. The more you know

    • @wolfgangkranek376
      @wolfgangkranek376 Před 4 lety +17

      In German there still exists a figure of speech: Etwas am Kerbholz haben (to have something on the tally stick).
      Usually it means to have done something wrong or have a debt, guilt.

    • @MaxxMcGeePrivate
      @MaxxMcGeePrivate Před 4 lety +4

      @@wolfgangkranek376 Oh yeah right, almost forgot about that saying! Also funny that the german word for stick is Stock. :)

    • @ulrichkalber9039
      @ulrichkalber9039 Před 4 lety +5

      @@MaxxMcGeePrivate Stick and stock are only different in the vowels I versus O.
      German and english are related. "Anglo-Saxon" Comes from the names of two germanic tribes.
      Kerbholz litterally means notch-Wood

    • @MaxxMcGeePrivate
      @MaxxMcGeePrivate Před 4 lety

      @@ulrichkalber9039 I know :)

  • @billduplessis5810
    @billduplessis5810 Před 3 lety +11

    This is so engaging, a small piece of information that in the end has a large impact

  • @argylesyn
    @argylesyn Před 3 lety +33

    The "swollen barley corn" was probably barley that had been soaked/germinated/dried in preparation for beer making. Speaking of which, do you have any videos on medieval beermaking? Nice work!

  • @TheSaneHatter
    @TheSaneHatter Před 4 lety +204

    The Greco-Roman world was, indeed, quite familiar with the tally stick: there's actually a hypothesis that the strange figures we call, "Roman numerals" started out as the kind of marks used on tally sticks!

  • @corazzinatanner498
    @corazzinatanner498 Před 4 lety +255

    Interesting the etymology for things like "foil" and "stocks". Also puts some light on the phrase, "getting the short end of the stick". This is why I love this channel.

    • @Grim_Beard
      @Grim_Beard Před 4 lety +17

      "Also puts some light on the phrase, "getting the short end of the stick"." Except that the phrase was (and often still is) 'getting the shit end of the stick', which has a much more obvious derivation.

    • @deerhunter2270
      @deerhunter2270 Před 4 lety +12

      @@Grim_Beard and that phrase originates from the Roman poop stick they used to wipe their backsides.

    • @lvdogma
      @lvdogma Před 4 lety +15

      You're correct on the origin. English speakers often confuse "got the short end of the stick" which relates to paying tax's and "grabbed the wrong end of the stick" an ancient Roman phrase.

    • @JackManiacky
      @JackManiacky Před 4 lety

      Counterfeit

    • @forgottenautos8461
      @forgottenautos8461 Před 4 lety +1

      Yeah, that phrase has nothing to do with tally sticks.

  • @itchykami
    @itchykami Před 3 lety +15

    I guess this counts as duel-entry bookkeeping, or the precursor to it at any rate. That's awesome.

  • @SoSoMikaela
    @SoSoMikaela Před 3 lety +37

    Foil and counterfoil are also terms used in literature. I never knew this is where they originated, though. Very interesting!

    • @thomashughes2710
      @thomashughes2710 Před 3 lety

      I use that pun in the kitchen sometimes when I drop the kitchen foil roll. “Dang foiled again”

    • @michellebyrom6551
      @michellebyrom6551 Před 3 lety +5

      @@thomashughes2710 clearly not a counter foil when it lands on the floor...

  • @aaronseet2738
    @aaronseet2738 Před 4 lety +86

    "Andy, where did you put my receipts?"
    "You mean those firewood?"

  • @JustGrowingUp84
    @JustGrowingUp84 Před 4 lety +159

    The disposal of the tally sticks story is both sad and hilarious at the same time... though more sad than funny...

  • @anyascelticcreations
    @anyascelticcreations Před 2 lety +3

    Thank you for the peace that watching this video brings tonight. I hope you and yours are all well.

  • @Bobchai
    @Bobchai Před 3 lety +11

    A "swollen barleycorn" might be a barley seed which swells up with moisture just before it germinates. Barley sprouts are roasted in the malting process to make beer, so swollen barleycorn would have been a very common sight in Medieval British households and communities.

    • @MrJest2
      @MrJest2 Před 3 lety +1

      Yep. In an era before water purification, most people drank beer as a general hydrant, and everyone brewed. A "swollen barleycorn" would be as familiar to everyone as, say, the width of a #2 pencil.

  • @FranzFerdinantII
    @FranzFerdinantII Před 4 lety +137

    In Germany there is a saying that goes: "etwas auf dem Kerbholz haben" translating to "having something on the tally" originally meaning having depts unpaid, because when you paid your dept the tally would be destroyed.

    • @jybuys
      @jybuys Před 4 lety +14

      Same in Dutch : iets op je kerfstok hebben.

    • @eligebrown8998
      @eligebrown8998 Před 3 lety +2

      I've heard of that saying but never knew about it being a German saying or how to say it in German. Good to know information. I live in the u.s.

    • @bluesteel5841
      @bluesteel5841 Před 3 lety

      Ich mag es

    • @BeNGun86
      @BeNGun86 Před 3 lety

      @@jybuys sounds like "Platt", a dialect spoken in northern germany

    • @BeNGun86
      @BeNGun86 Před 3 lety +1

      Isn't "stock" also a word still used today as "stock trading", interesting thing about it is that "stock" is the german word for the english "stick".
      Wonder if there is any relation between those?

  • @ironox8480
    @ironox8480 Před 4 lety +153

    Most people had tally sticks, Ancient CVS, here's your tally tree.

    • @Nebram2
      @Nebram2 Před 4 lety +9

      Cvs employee here. the tally tree is not only true, but also 90 percent of the tally tree is still worthless coupons.

  • @sufferinsilence5817
    @sufferinsilence5817 Před 4 lety +8

    Sorry if I'm the only one geeking out on this, haha, but the scenery is just stunning! The flowers in the first scene were absolutely gorgeous

  • @alfredabbey6162
    @alfredabbey6162 Před 4 lety +12

    So glad I watched this, I almost didn't but I did and now I can't tally how much happier I am for it.

  • @rogerhwerner6997
    @rogerhwerner6997 Před 4 lety +33

    Archaeologically, we also find tally sticks made from animal bone such as elephant or camel. They are rarely found on antler or even ivory. That they were used until 200 years ago is rather surprising.

    • @johnnhoj6749
      @johnnhoj6749 Před 3 lety +2

      Comparatively few people were literate in the early 1800s. Magazines etc for the "lower classes" only appeared at the end of the century because they had only recently become able to read in sufficient numbers for them to be viable.
      I think we often automatically envision late-Victorian Britain when we think of the 19th Century, possibly because there is more surviving information, and popular cultural references, about that period. But the beginning of the century was very different.

  • @Chironex_Fleckeri
    @Chironex_Fleckeri Před 4 lety +7

    I'm a very unemployed accountant, and I've had a lot of time to pursue my historical study passion. A few days ago my head was hurting trying to imagine what kind of internal controls existed in medieval times. The existence of these tally sticks in fact confirms that rudimentary (but critical) controls did exist, and actually the importance of this cannot be understated. This is the type of behind-the-scenes thing that made countless advances possible. Confidence in the financial system is critical to any advanced economy!

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 4 lety +2

      and in an arguably less literate society.

    • @Chironex_Fleckeri
      @Chironex_Fleckeri Před 4 lety +2

      @@ModernKnight indeed. No doubt it was seriously precarious work managing a powerful man's money in those days. The tedium of it all would be immense. Thank God for software engineers. Anyhow, it's easy to forget how we got here - clever people making those big steps for us!

  • @_Nobody_Special
    @_Nobody_Special Před 2 lety +5

    Interesting to learn something new. Honestly never heard of the tally stick prior to now, and to think they played such an important part in our history.

  • @SwedeProof
    @SwedeProof Před 3 lety +10

    Absolutely "top notch!" A cut above! Your charming presentation was fun and informative, According to my sturdy little stick, you, sir, have scored very high marks!

    • @ryans756
      @ryans756 Před 2 lety

      Goofball :D

    • @SwedeProof
      @SwedeProof Před 2 lety +1

      @@ryans756 Goofball is my middle name! 🤣🤣🤣

    • @ryans756
      @ryans756 Před 2 lety +1

      @@SwedeProof Hehehe ❤️

  • @TheMoneyTide
    @TheMoneyTide Před 4 lety +668

    "Honey, the tax man is here, he wants the receipt for when we paid our taxes last week, where did you put our stick?"
    "I accidentally used it as kindling for last nights fire." 😬

    • @equinoxomega3600
      @equinoxomega3600 Před 4 lety +117

      I am pretty sure that happened more than once in history.

    • @mikecrapse5285
      @mikecrapse5285 Před 4 lety +69

      @@equinoxomega3600 probably used as an excuse more often than it being true, though

    • @OriginalWarwood
      @OriginalWarwood Před 4 lety +47

      Except that where many now would see it as a stick, to them it was an important tax document. They likely stored it away, where it wouldn't get lost, the same as people stored their hardcopy tax documents (until recently for most that is).
      Some likely still lost it over the years, but the cost then would be far worse than now, as they would owe all of the prior year's taxes once again.

    • @kaikart123
      @kaikart123 Před 4 lety +26

      many claimed them to be lost in boating accidents

    • @ericwilliams1659
      @ericwilliams1659 Před 4 lety +30

      My dog ate it?

  • @Zoxy800
    @Zoxy800 Před 4 lety +24

    Dude you are a great teacher. You have a wonderful way of telling a story and providing good information

  • @jasondonley3533
    @jasondonley3533 Před 4 lety +5

    The right angle shape of the notches in the museum pieces is probably due to a basic woodcarving technique. First a "stop cut" is made straight into the media (wood, wax, soap, etc) and then a relief cut is made from a short distance away and the blade tends to stop traveling at or near the stop cut. Continue making relief cuts to make the notch longer and/or deeper.

  • @NM-fn3rc
    @NM-fn3rc Před 4 lety +27

    I’m a contracts lawyer and I’m in awe right now. The agreement recording device self-verifies authenticity!

    • @ragnkja
      @ragnkja Před 3 lety +6

      Have you come across indentured documents? The jagged cut edge(s) of such a document was a way to match up the copies, to prove that the were written at the same time, to contain the same information, on the same sheet that would then be cut up so each party to the agreement would get a copy.

    • @StrawmnMcPerson
      @StrawmnMcPerson Před 4 měsíci

      Just goes to show how utterly sht law is now, and how not designed for the people it is.

  • @GetBuckAU
    @GetBuckAU Před 4 lety +92

    The interesting and thematic presentation of info really makes it stick!

    • @ibreihvr
      @ibreihvr Před 4 lety +6

      Get it? Stick? I laughed :D

    • @KaptajnKaffe
      @KaptajnKaffe Před 4 lety +3

      Master educator, he Should stick to it!

    • @ethanfields3853
      @ethanfields3853 Před 4 lety +6

      Dude made all his money developing video games. Sniper Elite being the biggest one I think. So it's safe to say he's pretty good with the thematic presentation.

    • @lennuings
      @lennuings Před 4 lety +1

      Oh god you made me roll my eyes.

    • @seanjoseph8637
      @seanjoseph8637 Před 4 lety

      I'll get your coat...

  • @emamag6455
    @emamag6455 Před 4 lety +13

    Never heard of tally sticks before. I've learned more about history from youtubers like you than from the university, thanks.

  • @ratiounkn3210
    @ratiounkn3210 Před 3 lety +10

    Im thinking like my step dad. As soon as you mentioned they were stored all over in different rooms, my first thought was it sounds like a fire hazard.

  • @allisonshaw9341
    @allisonshaw9341 Před 3 lety +2

    This has been used all over the world in just about every culture. My Great-uncle Woodrow, who was an ayuni (memory-keeper among the Cherokee), kept this tradition relevant to our culture. We never paid taxes, of course, but kept records of goods traded, food gathered or distributed, and treaties negotiated.

  • @GuyNamedSean
    @GuyNamedSean Před 4 lety +21

    Amazing that such a basic and primitive piece of technology was used for so long through our history.

  • @villeniemi4970
    @villeniemi4970 Před 4 lety +24

    Here in Finland we still use the expression ”päivä on pulkassa,” lit. ”the day is in the pulkka,” (an abbreviated form of the more archaic world ’pulikka’ which is our name for the tally stick) to say that ’the day is done.’ 😊

    • @villeniemi4970
      @villeniemi4970 Před 4 lety

      Yama Satru I doubt it, Finnish and Sanskrit belong to two different language families. Most likely just a coincidence.

  • @irazu2008
    @irazu2008 Před 2 lety +1

    I really appreciate your videos. Short and to the point and jam packed with interesting information

  • @f00dify
    @f00dify Před rokem +1

    Just discovered this channel recently but I’m really loving the content actually learning what life was like during the Mid evil period that we only really learn about in history is fascinating.

  • @Raquya
    @Raquya Před 4 lety +36

    As I begin to watch this with my dinner in front of me, I sincerely hope those sticks werent used for poop stuff
    Edit: This man making me realize I never really thought about how taxes were paid and information was documented in the medieval ages

  • @canislupuslupus
    @canislupuslupus Před 4 lety +13

    Brilliant and simple concept since every single piece of wood that has EVER existed is unique.

  • @FloraJoannaK
    @FloraJoannaK Před 3 lety +2

    IIRC Classical Greek armies used small sticks as dog tags for soldiers. One half would be kept in camp, the other would be found with the body, so the army could keep a good tally on what happened to their servicemen: missing, accounted for, wounded or fallen. Pretty cool!

  • @QWERTY-ri5yw
    @QWERTY-ri5yw Před 3 lety

    Thanks for this little snippet from history.. it’s a real privilege learning new interesting things like this.
    X

  • @wielmaassen8808
    @wielmaassen8808 Před 4 lety +16

    In the Netherlands we have a saying “ hij heeft iets op zijn kerfstok “ = ‘he has something on his notch-stick’ for someone who did something wrong. Originally it said ‘he didnt pay his bill at the inn’.

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 4 lety +3

      Interesting, thanks.

    • @dariuszgyukin774
      @dariuszgyukin774 Před 4 lety +6

      We in Germany have a similar quote: "Er hat etwas auf dem Kerbholz." "He has something on his notch wood."

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 4 lety +4

      Lol, brilliant, part of the reason for doing this channel is that I find new things out from the comments.

    • @yazdangordan2420
      @yazdangordan2420 Před 4 lety +9

      In Iran there's the saying "چوب‌خطت پر شده" meaning "your tally stick has no more room", which is said usually when refusing someone's request for forgiveness or for a loan because they have asked for it many times before.

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 4 lety +2

      Wonderful!

  • @guybob548
    @guybob548 Před 4 lety +73

    I want to see that old timer in the 1800's getting mad that he can't use his tally sticks, and complaining about he needs some fancy paper or parchment to pay his taxes now.

    • @tharengore7215
      @tharengore7215 Před 3 lety +5

      Lol I can imagine that was quite a scene during the time

    • @s0nnyburnett
      @s0nnyburnett Před 3 lety +8

      Damn kids and their papyrus.

    • @johncunningham4820
      @johncunningham4820 Před 3 lety +3

      Confounded , New-Fangled Parchment and Quill . What's wrong with Traditional Stick and Knife . The World is going to Hades .

  • @kenfrank3782
    @kenfrank3782 Před 3 lety +2

    That was an amazing video on a little known topic that in their time must have been as important as any contract today.

  • @oldsagerat
    @oldsagerat Před 4 lety +1

    Twenty five years ago I ordered a custom made flintlock musket from a small semi custom shop. It was going to take seven weeks to arrive. I had an interesting stick chewed clean of bark by feeding beavers. I made a tally stick of weeks.
    I made neat half circle cuts and put dark dye in notches to stand out.
    Ended up with a tally of ten weeks and a beautiful French flintlock musket.
    Funny how it came to me so naturally to cut notches on a stick as a way to measure.
    Thanks for making this video.
    Subscribed.

  • @Kevnadian
    @Kevnadian Před 4 lety +145

    "The kings guard are looking for the person who keeps whacking people with his tally stick. He goes by the pseudonym Tallywhacker"

    • @uncbadguy
      @uncbadguy Před 4 lety +5

      "The short end of the stick"

    • @banba317
      @banba317 Před 3 lety +6

      @@uncbadguy No that comes from the stick used to knock down the crap in a latrine!

    • @Cricket-zp6wi
      @Cricket-zp6wi Před 3 lety +1

      😅😂🤣

    • @georgiobenelli4854
      @georgiobenelli4854 Před 3 lety +1

      A tallywacker is that piece of cloth on the back of a sailors blouse. It was to keep his tarred " tailey from sticking to it when the temps got hot...

    • @jamesd2775
      @jamesd2775 Před 3 lety +2

      Actually known as a tar flap

  • @DickEnchilada
    @DickEnchilada Před 4 lety +59

    As someone who has to fill-out paperwork with multiple carbon copies for work:
    Oh God, this is historical paperwork

    • @ragnkja
      @ragnkja Před 4 lety +3

      DickEnchilada
      This has an advantage that is only shared with literal carbon copies: it is easy to tell if someone has altered their half.

    • @andrewince8824
      @andrewince8824 Před 4 lety +1

      Ever had some pillock forget to make sure they'd slipped something between the pages? I've seen one with every other page marked because an idiot forgot to slip a piece of card in the book.

    • @DieFlabbergast
      @DieFlabbergast Před 4 lety +2

      "woodwork"

  • @mercsoul1
    @mercsoul1 Před 3 lety +43

    Imagine someone in 2020 thinking about someone 1000 years from now being interested in their tax returns.

    • @LynneFarr
      @LynneFarr Před 3 lety +1

      Genealogists do this all the time.

    • @jpweb5632
      @jpweb5632 Před 3 lety +8

      In 1,000 years they'll still be trying to get Donald Trumps tax returns.

    • @jamessandman3708
      @jamessandman3708 Před 3 lety +1

      @@jpweb5632 Ha Ha Ha!!! Sad and probably true but hilarious!

    • @fredgervinm.p.3315
      @fredgervinm.p.3315 Před 3 lety

      IRS ?

    • @vondahartsock-oneil3343
      @vondahartsock-oneil3343 Před 3 lety +2

      @@fredgervinm.p.3315 I was going to say something about them but thought I'd check comments first. The IRS never rests. Everyone would like to give them the short end of the stick!

  • @Retec
    @Retec Před 3 lety +13

    This reminds me of (and could easily be made into) the Connections series by James Burke. Loved it.

  • @SuperMotherof1
    @SuperMotherof1 Před 4 lety +125

    I was today years old when I figered out what " hey mister tally man, tally me bananas " means lol

    • @ModernKnight
      @ModernKnight  Před 4 lety +35

      Good catch, lol.

    • @coffeeknight6148
      @coffeeknight6148 Před 4 lety +4

      Oh damn

    • @hamnchee
      @hamnchee Před 4 lety +3

      Tally ho?

    • @CrypticSubterranean
      @CrypticSubterranean Před 4 lety +12

      @@hamnchee Unrelated to tally sticks, it's apparently a corruption of a French fox-hunting call. Here's a link to a source on this, Pg 408 - books.google.co.uk/books?id=m7KxyQ1lSy0C&pg=PA408&lpg=PA408&dq=%22La+Venerie+de+Jacques+du+Fouilloux,+a+Paris+1573.%22&source=bl&ots=oc2s5VYCZy&sig=ACfU3U1MvFrmLHjBHHCbqBIWfFRJgY2hbg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjd1pSqrpfpAhWVonEKHWxFBRoQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22La%20Venerie%20de%20Jacques%20du%20Fouilloux%2C%20a%20Paris%201573.%22&f=false

    • @peterslegers6121
      @peterslegers6121 Před 4 lety +5

      czcams.com/video/6Tou8-Cz8is/video.html Harry Belafonte: Banana Boat Song

  • @cupofshutupjuice
    @cupofshutupjuice Před 4 lety +79

    Tax collector: where’s your stick? Me: honestly, my dog ate it.

    • @fedegibsonlespaul
      @fedegibsonlespaul Před 4 lety +17

      Stick with dog teeths marks on it.
      "Citizen, It would seem that you were charged way more than you owe, we're very sorry about this, you'll receive a refund asap"

    • @apostolnimillie7624
      @apostolnimillie7624 Před 3 lety +1

      @@fedegibsonlespaul More like we appreciate the extra donations within your tax peasant.

  • @andreasbucher7717
    @andreasbucher7717 Před 2 lety +2

    This is brilliant. It's the first time I have seen someone explain tally sticks. If been to lot of museums, but I never before understood or noticed these sticks.

  • @Sock1122
    @Sock1122 Před 2 lety

    Such good insightful videos.
    Literally exactly what I was looking to find out, and even much more I didn't know I wanted to know

  • @Uchoobdood
    @Uchoobdood Před 4 lety +21

    Where is “Muley”!? I’m so intrigued by the mule!!! 🐎

  • @tegrin853
    @tegrin853 Před 4 lety +30

    I’m sitting here thinking that there’s no way this man can make me listen to how a stick was used. I was wrong.

  • @PatClevenger0709
    @PatClevenger0709 Před rokem +1

    I just discovered you. This medieval history is much more interesting than what we learned in school and college.

  • @1Dreamking
    @1Dreamking Před 2 lety +1

    Wow this was very well put together and informative. Loved it! =)

  • @coffee5981
    @coffee5981 Před 4 lety +14

    Exchequer's servant: Oooh great! there's plenty of firewood and kindling here!
    Exchequer: ...WHAT!?

  • @zachg2410
    @zachg2410 Před 4 lety +10

    Glad this was uploaded! A great way to start my morning :D

    • @BadSkeelz
      @BadSkeelz Před 4 lety +1

      Morn---? *Checks time* Uhoh

  • @AlejodelosReyes
    @AlejodelosReyes Před rokem

    Aren't we lucky that you just decided to film this videos? This is such a beautiful storytelling! From the precambrian to the Big Ben! Thank you so much!

  • @MrBalaki97
    @MrBalaki97 Před 3 lety

    That is fascinating and yet equally entertaining. I find your videos so calming and I resonate so well with your energy. Much love Keep on doing you dude. You are great at it. 🥴

  • @246vili
    @246vili Před 4 lety +10

    I remember about hearing in history classes that ancient Greeks used such sticks when they made deals or loans. But to know they used the very same method for so long is fascinating.
    And if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.
    They had to prove somehow they payed their taxes, or completed their end of a bargain even in those times.
    Mass production of paper didn't existed yet and I can imagine pergamen made from animal hide was too expensive to use for such minor things, but they had massive forests with lots of sticks.
    Not to mention the fact that most of the population was illiterate, so it was easier for them to learn and understand the different cuts on a stick than the alphabet.

  • @TheJaredtheJaredlong
    @TheJaredtheJaredlong Před 4 lety +8

    Never thought I'd find the history of sticks so fascinating!

  • @hellavibesofficial
    @hellavibesofficial Před 4 lety

    Well done man. You genuinely look and sound excited to share this knowledge with us and I thank you for it.

  • @Marastife
    @Marastife Před 3 lety

    Wow. Crazy info, live it. Learn new things all the time!

  • @99bulldog
    @99bulldog Před 4 lety +8

    It's so interesting how terms like tally, foil (counterfoil), and stock are still used in banking today.

    • @andrewince8824
      @andrewince8824 Před 4 lety +3

      It makes sense. Those words are linked to a concept. Rather than applying new words and relearning what is essentially the same system with a new face we may as well use the old language. It's similar to how many militaries still refer to their tank Regiments by old cavalry or artillery monikers. Indeed they still 'mount up' and 'ride out'. Why learn more new terms when there's enough to learn already?

  • @SilverKnight16
    @SilverKnight16 Před 4 lety +114

    Oh, different sized sticks. The taxpayer was quite literally given _the short end of the stick._ Wow.

    • @mehrcat1
      @mehrcat1 Před 4 lety +6

      More like the short side of the stick.

  • @TheRisky9
    @TheRisky9 Před 3 lety +15

    So is this where "The short end of the stick" came from?

  • @pbrazor50
    @pbrazor50 Před 3 lety

    Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for posting this video.

  • @Devjerovf
    @Devjerovf Před 4 lety +6

    I love your channel because 1. I love history
    2. You explain all these specific things and small details of history wich most people wouldn't pay attention to. your video's are quper informative and i love seeing this kind of content.
    thanks for your hard work! looking forward for the next video!

  • @overlorddante
    @overlorddante Před 4 lety +31

    -Me never knowing notched sticks were important to them: hm, yes, good question.

  • @petergates5170
    @petergates5170 Před rokem +1

    Once again a very interesting slice of history brought to life great viewing,,,

  • @fray6140
    @fray6140 Před 3 lety +1

    Loved the info you provided in this video. So very interesting!