What was medieval camp life like for an archer on campaign during the Hundred Years War?
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
- In this video, Kevin Hicks explores what medieval camp life was like for an archer on campaign during the Hundred Years War. He looks at where the archer would have slept, what he was paid, what he ate and some of the social activities they may have participated in.
#Medieval #history #archery #historychannel #medievalhistory #middleages #Medievallife
#bowman #hundredyearswar
For more medieval history videos check out this playlist: • Medieval History
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Image Credit:
The baggage train - © Biblioteca Nacional d' Espana. www.bne.es/en
Book mention: Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science translated with notes by N.P Milner.
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This channel is such a gem. I love the anecdotes, theories, and educated assumptions. Those bits you can't get in a book make it so much more personal. I didn't even know what pottage was until now. The passion in this channel is tangible. 10/10
Haha, thanks so much Daniel, I appreciate your comment 👍🏻
+ 1
He’s just great aint he. I love his enthusiasm
I’m glad that you’re whipping covid’s butt. Rest and be well storyteller!
The pottage story reminded me of an American friend who said that her grandmother in Kentucky had always kept a stock pan of soup on the back burner of the kitchen stove, and that it had never been completely emptied since the house was first built in the final decade or two of the nineteenth century. Day after day, it would have all the vegetable and meat trimmings thrown into it as meals were prepared, then be topped up with stock or water and left to simmer gently so that nothing went to waste. Until the house was connected to the electricity grid in the 1980s the stove would almost always be burning, constantly in winter to keep the kitchen warm and push warm air into the rest of the house, or at other times of the year fed as needed to boil the kettle, to bake breakfast biscuits and bread, and to cook the other daily meals.
Wow, I can believe it. Great comment, thanks 👍🏻
My grandmothers did the same, right up until they got electricity. So many other people kept the custom up as well. Not only did they let nothing go to waste, that way they could offer a hot meal in a hurry to any unexpected guest.
@@renebrock4147 Exactly that, so practical eh? 👍🏻
There's actually diners in America that serve burgers deep fried from the same cast iron pot that hasn't been washed for over a century. Imagine being served food cooked in the same beef tallow that was present before the world wars, and still passing modern food safety standards!! I find it equal parts incredible and unsettling, much like you must've felt hearing tales of the soup pot in some random Kentucky kitchen.
@@fcon2123 😳 unsettling for sure.
The potage bowl that was left heated for ages…I came across this in Italy a few years ago, when visiting an Italian friend who lived in a mediaeval fortified farm in Tuscany. We had a fantastic ‘stew’ from a huge pan left on the fire all the time. Veg and beans and meat were just added and the whole thing kept going. Fantastically tasty and no ill effects whatsoever!
Brilliant! 👍🏻
Sorry to hear you were sick, glad to hear you're getting better. I would think that the personalities of camp life back then would not be much different than now aside from the technology. They were mostly young men, mostly not well off and looking to go home at their earliest convenience. I think camp life would look similar going back to the earliest military campaigns and forward until the end of civilization.
Can we all appreciate the amount of work that goes into making these amazing models? Models who are then brought to life by a great, dedicated (and always appropriately dressed) storyteller.
What a nice change from the many (often good) videos, that feel "cheap" because of generally mediocre animations and, too often, lackluster voiceover narration (or worse: text to speech, emotionless commentary).
Thank you for infusing every one of your presentations with your genuine enthusiasm.
The reason you could keep pottage or other stews going for months on end is because you’re keeping it hot enough to prevent bacteria growth. Bacteria multiplies most between 40°F and 140°F, so if you keep it well over 140°, such as a simmering stew, it’ll stay relatively safe to eat.
Nice one Dylan, it's what I understand too. Hence they used to somehow transport it on top of coals to keep the temperature up when they were on the move 👍🏻
I am convinced that I have not been harmed, albeit as a guest.
He knows what he does.
Regarding the neverending stewpot, I did something like that a few years ago over the course of a winter with a slow cooker. I never turned it off, and every other morning or so, I would toss something new into it before I left for work. Potatoes here, a squash there, different meats, etc. It went from beef to pork, to chicken, to seafood, back to pork again, and was just generally a glorious pot of hodgepodge stew. I kept it going for about five month, and only ended it because I'd forgotten to add more liquid to it during a particularly bad week when the riots had gotten bad enough that I couldn't get home for four days. It had already been low before that, so when I came home, it was to find a layer of baked on carbon at the bottom of the pot. If it hadn't been for that, I very well could have kept it going indefinitely, so the two hundred year old pottage story is actually plausible; you'd just need to keep a very close eye on it.
Wow Chris, what a great comment, thanks for sharing your stew story with us. It's brilliant 👍🏻
There is a small village near Crawley in East Sussex called Peas Pottge supposedly they served Pease pottage continuously from the 1950s until 2000, the village itself has existed since the 15th century and get its name from the pottage it served to travellers between London and Brighton 😎🏹🙏
Wow, that's great Shaun, thank you 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad you're very welcome Kevin I really like this video, touched a card within me bringing back many happy memories lol, that should have said touched a chord thank you 😎🏹🙏
@@blindarchershaunhenderson3769 Haha, how lovely. Take care Shaun 👍🏻
This channel is a blessing to people trying to write a realistic fantasy setting. Or just people fascinated by the medieval period
Love British history. My grandfather was called Percy Hawkett. He showed me a Roman pilum spear that he found. I train in sword and recurve bow. I love that stuff.
Camp life had to be sort of "ordinary", especially during the down time. A soldier, or archer had to be healthy to be ready to fight. Not coddled for sure, but comfortable as conditions would allow. I'm sorry you were ill, but glad to know you are well on recovery. Thanks, and Cheers from Texas.
Cheers David 👍🏻
I agree I’m willing to bet that camp life was a lot like it was shown in the movie Robin Hood with Russell Crow. The men living pretty close together for safety reason, and when they were off the clock they’d be drinking ale, and playing dice games and the men that could read were probably reading books if they could get their hands on one. Men , and especially military men will always find ways to occupy their time
Four or five times a year I make myself a batch of sweet Frumenty which I then eat as a desert until it’s gone. It’s mediaeval and it’s lovely. Good little film, thank you.
This is exactly the type of topic I love to see on this channel... Other ones, like discussions of battles or whatever, are good too, but videos on topics like this that get into the nitty gritty everyday details you don't usually hear about are my favourites.
The pottage pot your talking about is often referred to as a community pot. Common all over Europe during the middle ages from Bohemia to France to England. I don't know specifically about the 200 year pot. but it was a point of pride for how long an inn, tavern, or pub could keep one going. Locals could pay for a bowl by bringing scraps to throw in the pots.
Wow, I never knew that about locals, I love it, thanks 👍🏻
Adam that’s brilliant thanks for sharing. I know in the American Wild West especially out on the prairie, trading posts and small inns and the like kept community pots going and it was a matter of pride how long the proprietor has kept it going just like how you were saying. During buffalo and bison hunting people could trade bits of unused meat for the pots for cartridges and textiles etc. during these fascinating times
Wow great info!
You are an invaluable wealth of knowledge, Mr. Hicks.
The camp model is truly a wonder. I imagine it to be a super fun time putting one of those together.
7:35 "It had been going for 200 years."
That seems unlikely to say the least, just the fact that a pot won't last that long, let alone the fact that it's guaranteed that somebody will let it boil dry or just burn the contents.
Anyway, boiling the food doesn't keep it safe, the ingredients will still degrade to a point where it's probably not a good idea to eat it anymore so they'd have to replace the entire contents of the pot every few days. (the entire pot has to be above 80 degrees to kill most bacteria and some simply don't die from boiling at all)
Anyway, it's a cool legend and it would be interesting to know more about that.
My 21st great grandfather, John Savile, gathered and sent 30 archers to serve in John of Gaunt’s 1373 campaign during the Hundred Years War. To know what those 30 archers may have lived like on campaign is awesome
Wow, now that's some family history. 👍🏻
I stayed at a B&B on Islay. On each table was a bottle of Laphroaig. The hostess encouraged us to add a wee dram to our outmeal. Best oatmeal ever.
Just in time for morning coffee!
Bacon and eggs.
just in time for my evening beer
"The Perpetual Soup" is something that's actually a legend in various places; my favourite is the "forever gumbo" I heard about in the Southern US, but googling it, I find next to nothing. I've heard similar stories in the Nordics, in Germany and now from England, and amusingly enough the American one also has the government stepping in.
So glad you are recovering!
I got covid before I could get the shot. Took me out for 2 solid months. Hospitalized for a few hours at one point.
Not fun.
This is a serious sickness, people need to take it seriously.
Yes, that's for sure. Thanks 👍🏻
It makes sense that you'd want your soldiers to be as comfortable as possible. If they're more comfortable, they'll be better rested and better fighters for it.
breaking the camp followers arms is enough for me. my parents had a cottage at rice lake. our neighbor bert matley had a big groove on his chin and neck. he laughed and told me he was ordered to dig a latrine and while doing it germans shelled and he was wounded digging the toilet. he jumped in the hole but got hit. he laughed it off. pension for life. his father matt had a huge groove on his back having been shelled in ww1. they were great guys. cruelty in the past was so common.it is hard to accept gouging out eyes. cutting off noses and ears, as common practice. thumbs up. thank you for the show kevin.
Wow, your old neighbours sound interesting fellows 👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed the video Gary - all the best.
Kevin glad you did well with COVID.
Military encampment and life really hasn't changed much.
Thanks for another wonderful episode.
May GOD bless
"Kevin made a model!"
Glad you're feeling better.
Hope you get better soon once again love how you tell the story and make it come to life.
I love the very detailed and accurate model camp there!
Pottage Bowl: On a farm in North Carolina, I was told that my Great Grandmother had a large pottage bowl on a wood burning stove going all day. All sorts of scraps of meat, veg, fruit, etc was tossed in. It was from this pot she feed the dogs. These hunting dogs were more employees than pets and they ate good.
Excellent!
Well I'm glad I missed that lifestyle by some hundreds of years. I'm also glad I saw this very interesting video. I'll watch it again soon. Thanks.
Cheers Dave 👍🏻
My Nan had a "pottage bowl" on the side of her coal range during the autumn and winter and, yes, whatever was left over from meals was put in the pottage (with some water to make sure it never dried out). when it was full enough, you had pottage and bread.
Very cool!
Love just how vividly and clearly you’ve related us back into history
Great video, Mr. Hicks! This camp set-up surely evolved quickly over time for high efficiency. Choosing a camp site would be the first consideration, and the good camps had to have a lot in common. Any practices that cost excess time, money or lives would rapidly fall out of use. The book you mention Vegetius's "De Re Militari" -- I have a copy. I was interested to find that it was in King Richard III's personal library. I'm glad you are feeling better! 🐗👑
Thanks 👍🏻
Sorry to hear you got sick, but happy to see you recovering. Good to hear. And offering us another lovely video. A week after I went to a Revolutionary War camp. (Amazing how little changes over time)
Really neat to see the figures for burial and all the little details.
Perry miniatures, I see Kevin is a man of culture!
Delightful segment, thank you! The logistical needs of ancient armies while campaigning, and soldier life off the battlefield are criminally overlooked facets of war.
Hope you get well soon
This was very interesting. I was for example unaware of the origin of the word harbinger.
And yes, I am fairly confident that medieval life in general and medieval camp-life in particular would have been far more pleasant and clean than it often is portrayed. That said diseases where unfortunately a major threat so I suspect that it often would have been balancing upon a particular fine edge.
Ive been watching your videos non stop for days. I dunno how your channel isn't 10x bigger, youre an amazing storyteller and the models/dioramas and outfits are awesome touches
Wow, thank you! We’ve only been going properly for about 2 years, and have done better than ever anticipated, so fingers crossed it’ll continue 😃
I read a book about Germany where a journalist travelled east in the last years of the iron curtain and met a German couple who kept an old church running and they had a soup pot on the boil that they topped up everyday.
A fascinating look into camp life. Thank you Kevin.
I know you said it was omitted,, but the accommodation of horses was a major element in such camps..
Another great job. Glad to see you are up and about!
Glad you’re getting back on track. All the very best. Great video as always
That was a beautiful story. Well done. Reminds me of camp life today!
This is awesome answering so many questions I have had!
The miniature dioramas are fantastic! Thank you for sharing your passion and knowledge.
My pleasure!
Thank you Mr Hicks!
Good to see you back!
I hope you share this at museums and schools
This is a great subject for a video! I love it!
Excellent Mr Hicks. More information stored in my head. Thank you very much. Great little model too.
Fantastic Vid Mr Hicks sir.
Get well soon Kevin!
Wonderful!
What an education, thank you again.👍
Great visuals and knowledge thank you
Great stuff. Keep it up
Best wishes for a speedy recovery Kevin, hope you are back to 100% soon, Thanks for another fascinating insight into medieval life.
Man this channel is just great.
Because of this channel. I've played 9 man's Morris for the first time
My father was a poor student in London in the 1950's. He told me that they kept a stewpot on the go all of the time. They added to it whatever they could get hold of. They boiled it once a day. This went on for three years.
Yep, not unheard of 👍🏻
Greetings once again from nova Scotia, thanks again, very informative, fun and interesting. I have to say, I never really thought about the reality of medieval camp life, but you have shown it was better than most of us thought. Thanks for that, I can almost hear the ruckus. As always best regards, Arthur
Love these vids they are full of the sort of micro details that bring history to life....
Thank you for such an envolving facinating look at history...
I Find all your videos very informative and entertaining, interesting to say the least. Thank you
Great job
My relative was brought up in rural UK back in the 40s/50s farming and he always used to say in all the houses there would be some old stew on the stove/fire that they would just be adding stuff to it for weeks, months on end lol. Interesting to hear you say the same as I always thought how did nobody get ill from it, I wonder.
amazing content!
Thank you for this interesting presentation. 👍🏹✔
Wish a quick recovery! Glad to hear you’re doing well/better.
I’d love to see a video on medieval food one day. An average soldier to commanders (or commonfolk)
Love your history lessons, and love your models with such amazing attention to detail! Thank you for sharing them with us. :)
Great, thanks. You're most welcome. 👍🏻
Well done Kevin, well done.
A friend grew up on a small Texas Ranch. They kept a pot of chili heating on their wood stove constantly. Ingredients were added to the pot each day.
Interesting!
Well described.I should imagine that it was h huge thing to move not only the bowmen,but the whole army.The amount of food they went through must have been enormous.I guess they stocked up by getting meat from farms and hunting on the way,and the grain and flour from mills. They must have found certain areas they went through a lot harder to get supplies from too as well.But I bet it was a sight to see when the armies were marching .I hope you get better soon.Don’t rush too much ,get rest too..Love n Light 🥰
Thank you Christine, I appreciate that.
8.24 The Never ending bowl of pyottage sounds very like the continuous fire In The Aidensfield Arms in Heartbeat. Local Legend would have you believe the fire has stayed continuously lit since Queen Victoria visited the Pub.
Thankyou , I hope you are better soon 🙂
Great video has always! And have quick recovery from covid .
Loved the vid. Cheers and much health to you, sir.
Thanks!!
I got a chuckle from you pointing things out with a dagger. Camp life seems like a decent time and I'm sure they had to keep spirits up to get the best out of their men in battle.
That's for sure 👍🏻
As always, a great video!
Thanks again!
Your a very good story teller,thank you, god bless
Awesome in every way!
Cheers!
Another great model and story, stay safe....cheers, Peter from Denmark
Nice to hear your making a full recovery there Kevin, love your videos, love your knowledge, it is very inspiring. Hope you have a merry christmas.
Thanks Alex, you too 👍🏻
Thank you, sir. I have taken such pleasure watching your subscription base grow. Much deserved! Glad to hear you are recovering. Excellent video as always. Look forward to the next!
That's so nice of you Oliver, thank you.
A great visual from your narrative. Thanks for sharing Kevin!
My pleasure!
Just randomly stumbled upon this, great video and insight! Subbed!
Thanks for the sub! I hope you enjoy the rest of our videos 👍🏻
Absolutely wonderful video!
Thank you very much!
Loved your story! And all the models, wow!
Thank you so much!
Horrid to hear you were sick, all my well-wishes to you!
Your keep amazing me with the models you provide for your videos, they're so intricate and such an amazing visual tool to help imagine these historic scenes!
I'm glad they're appreciated - thanks 👍🏻
Thanks for the outstanding content!! Hope you feel better soon. 🙂
Cheers Doc.
Hello Kevin! Good to hear you’re doing well, thank you for making this great content! As someone who likes to write and getting into traditional archery it’s all very helpful! Thank you.
My pleasure!
the bit about pottage is fascinating. sort of like a reverse refrigerator.
Another great one. I've got my daughter watching you now also. She is the other curious critter in my family. At 70yrs old I love to see her as curious as I am. I had a couple of courses in this time period way back in the 70s at UNC, but I think I never had it taught as spellbinding as from you.
That is awesome! Thanks very much
Absolutely amazing Kevin. Your passion for the topic and the detail you put into your models makes every video a treat. Lots of love from New Zealand ❤️
How lovely, thanks Jess 👍🏻
Brilliant! I can't subscribe fast enough sir. You're a rare treasure to be sure.
Wow, thanks Jacob, welcome. I hope you enjoy many of the other videos 👍🏻
Mr Hicks, you are a gem. Amazingly detailed as always.
Cheers Franke!!
Just want to say. Love everything you do man! 👍
Much appreciated 👍🏻
Love your channel, the way you tell your stories makes you feel you're living the situation. ❤️
Glad you enjoy them!
Great video Kevin, hope you're feeling better soon.
Thank you so much for the 'super', it's much appreciated. I am beginning to feel more normal, it has been a long haul though.