Mysterious medieval Michaelmas, what is it and when?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- Jason discusses the history and meaning of the Medieval tradition of Michaelmas and looks at harvesting and hedgerow foods.
Credits
Gossamer, Warlord, Gabana, Mirage
Camera, Sound, Editing, Photography Kasumi
Presenter Jason Kingsley OBE
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We used to celebrate Michealmas at primary school. Singing songs about the harvest and delivering food to the elderly in the area. I always remembered that it was nice
Yes me too and I took Michaelmas daisies to school to decorate
Ahh! This is what we called the Harvest Festival. At our Primary school we did the same thing and we loved bringing in produce which was distributed to old people and hospital patients. We never knew it was actually Michaelmas we were celebrating!
So football was a barely organized brawl. Good to see modern supporters still keep that tradition going strong, then.
Today’s British Rugby is still pretty much the same…
Jason is a treasure...an example of how to share his good fortune and devote time to make meaningful things forgotten , meaningful once again. As a history teacher this is my constant endeavor.
Sure you’re a history teacher. You can’t construct a sentence
@@debbylou5729 @debbylou5729 It was a simple compliment. Do you fully understand what I meant to convey? It seems like 18 others did. Delve into the syntax. Analyze the sense. Critique the whole phrasing. I never mind constructive criticism from a better person. Therefore, feel free to correct me. Please rewrite it to please yourself and educate me. Thank you.
Your videos make me happy. For someone with depression, that means a lot. For a lifelong student of history, it also means a lot whatever mood I'm in!
I feel the same way.
Schlep ditto ❤️
God bless.
Shut it, loser
I totally agree..I love history..and how he explains these things that happened do differently with nature at the core..in such different times..somehow it lifts my spirits that he talks with such care to explain and show us old ways..its so refreshing..many thanks
I imagine another reason milk would've been more costly during the fall is that it is richer. Milk is most plentiful in the spring, but cows still make a lot of milk all summer. However, spring and summer milk have a lower fat content. Fall milk has a higher fat content, so you can get more butter and cream from a gallon of fall milk vs. a gallon of spring or summer milk. I would guess that butter & cream would've been quite expensive. It's probably also why we associate fall with rich cream soups, while summer soups tend to be made with stock.
Love that! Yesss, it all makes sense.
I learned about the existence of Micaelmas from Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, when one character tells the two sisters (who are going to London with her) that if she doesn't see them engaged by Michaelmas, it won't be her fault. But I never knew anything else about it. So thank you for sharing!
Lol, I landed here because of Persuasion by Austen.
Glad I found this channel, great content.
I actually find the episodes regarding everyday medieval lifestyle the most appealing. Sure it's exciting seeing war and equipment but we don't get to peer behind the curtain at the mundane daily activities very often.
I especially enjoyed the cooking and ink making bits (and now this). We don't engage in medieval warfare anymore but we do still cook, farm, observe holidays, etc.; so it's interesting to see the parallels and differences between us.
Looking forward to Future episodes. ✌️
I share this exact same feeling!
Medievial warfare has been substituted by professional sports and college football with it's pageantry and fans following the hometown team
“So, I guess you could say it was a celebration, and you had to pay money.”
So, pretty much like Christmas.
I will never stop complimenting you on your beautiful horses and how well cared for they are. I read you do the majority of their care yourself. That is so admirable. Yet you still make time to provide this great content! Well done.
Thanks. Much appreciated.
He is very informative. I believe he is a master horseman.
So glad I found this channel, its great!
MichaelKingsfordGray chill out, it’s TH-cam.
ME 2, I found this channel 2 days ago! And I may or may not have watched a dozen of hours of video already ^^
Jason's stories are so much more engaging than history textbooks :)
Mr. Kingsley and lindybeige know how to make a topic interesting.
It's still an important day in Catholic Bavaria. St. Michael is a very popular patron, too.
Thank you for your very intetesting videos. Loved everyone I watched... and I watched all I could find. Greetings from the Alpine Region 😊
In my childhood (50sand60s) this myth about the devil and blackberries was still spoken off. I remember going blackberrying and someone saying we had to go now before they reach their "spat on by the devil" date. Great work Jason. Your films are really interesting and informative.
We call it "Erntedankfest" in Germany, which basically means "thanks for the harvest fest" in german. I don't know why, but this was celebrated a lot in my childhood in school and in the local (protestant) church. You would thank for the harvest and also hope for a good next harvest.
We still celebrate "Harvest Festival"
But Michaelmas (Michaelistag) and Thanksgiving (Erntedankfest) are on different dates. 29 Sep. and 25 Nov.
Okay, so this is weird, but at 1:49 the beat kicks in and then he starts to say "On a farm like this" and it's on beat with the song and it sounds like he's about to start singing. Lol
So...yeah, 1:49 lol
Hahaha you're right man, now I wish it actually continued as a song.
Hahaha thats awesome!
Knight Extras: The Musical!
I'm in.
Wow, it really does... when I heard it I expected that :'D
@@Defender_of_the_realm without a doubt! Lol
Love this! I went ferreting through my bookcase and found some old books which have in them details of the Feast of St Michael. There I found images of Archangel Michael, dragons being hurled to earth, Champions and Churches, Michael depicted on his white steed (pat on the nose for Warlord) and falling stars - and yes - the warning against the evils of blackberries after Michaelmas. I also found a harvest loaf recipe, stories and song. Thank you for this instalment, I just love these videos.
Kerry Hockey my pleasure, glad you enjoyed it.
May I ask which book is that?
I have blackberry bushes, and they do start tasting bad about that time.
Kerry; will you share the harvest bread recipe?
@@carolinegray7510 Hello Caroline, here is the harvest loaf recipe: 1 kg wholemeal flour, 500ml warm milk, Large tsp brown sugar, 25 g (approx 5 tsp) dried yeast, 50g melted butter, tsp salt, 75g white sugar, 150g currants, 1 egg yolk, 25g sesame or sunflower seeds, little beaten egg or milk. Dissolve brown sugar in warm milk and add yeast - set aside 12-15 mins for yeast to 'feed' - pour yeast mix into flour, add white sugar, salt, currants, egg yolk to form dough, add seeds - knead dough - set aside to rise - knead again briefly, and place on tray - brush with beaten egg or milk - leave again to prove (30-40 mins) then bake in hot oven for about an hour (or until golden brown and give a hollow sound when tapped underneath)
I got this recipe from a book called 'All Year Round' by Ann Drutt, Christine Fynes-Clinton, Marlje Rowling - they have outlined the recipe in such a way as to tell the Michaelmas story while the loaf is being made ie. model landscape in flour to describe a good land - pour yeast mixture in for darkness falling on land with dragon destroying the land and leaving it barren and frozen with ice - spinkle sugar and salt to denote people freezing and Michael looking down and feeling compassion for the people - throw in currants - Michael plucked stars and flung them down to earth - add egg yolk for Michael gathering sun-gold from sky and sent it to earth - stars (currants) became iron deep in the earth, sun-gold melted the ice and warmed the people and when you begin mixing the dough - the people begin ploughing the land - sprinkle seeds - and planting. The iron strengthened the crop - when autumn came Archangel Michael spoke to the farmers and told them to harvest the good grain, grind it into flour and mix a dough and knead it well - "Bake it in the oven until it is done. Place the loaf in the centre of your table and share it with your family and friends. For this will be the Harvest Loaf: each slice that is cut in friendship will warm your hearts, and each slice that is eaten will give strength and power to overcome the dragon" (page 142).
I had no idea about Michaelmas, you are so knowledgeable about medieval life, thanks for taking the time to make these amazing informative videos.
There is still an old style "game" of football held at Shrovetide, in Alnwick Northumberland. Played on the castle pastures. It's one half of the town against the other. A good time to settle grudges!
im from holland but i heard about that indeed its more like rugby i thought but good the let of some steam
Yes too bad we use professional teams here in the states instead of "settling grudges" in a tamer fashion. Because sometimes we end up with deadly riots.
Among all of the interesting facts, what stood out to me was the exact date after which you were not supposed to pick blackberries anymore. It stands out to me, because it is fully 3 months later than blackberries go "wormy" here in the midwestern US! I have a patch in my backyard and harvesting them is one of my key summer activities. It just highlights the differences in weather patterns.
This is so informative about farming and the seasons. So much knowledge lost that deserves to be remembered. The way you and your horses love each other is very touching, too.
In the region I live in, the "Michaelismesse" is the largest fair happening. It was granted as an annual fair to the town of Miltenberg in 1367 and moved to the day of St Michael in 1425. Like the famous Oktoberfest in Munich, it was moved a few weeks towards the warmer season of summer (now it happens in late August & early September) when it turned into a more commercial festival.
Incredible work, will watch every video on this channel.
Very good work, done with a grace of respect and interest.
hear hear!
That basket full of apples really gives me September vibes. I can smell autumn just looking at them
Just found this video and had to giggle! I celebrate this every year and have for several years. My friends think I'm strange but I love it as a time of taking account (physical life and everything else). Thank you for teaching me more about this!
I could listen for hours .... :)
My university is divided into Michaelmas term, Lent term and Summer term and I just need to know what this Michaelmas is. Thanks for the clarification!
It's amazing to me that the medieval hand cart at 2:08 looks exactly like one I can buy at Home Depot today! 😎😎
Thanks. I was aware of the term "Michaelmas" but did not know what sort of day it was.. It is a term that I ran into in the many 19th and early 20th century novels from ye old British Isles.
Really interesting indeed. I did not know about Michaelmas before.
A farm like this...
How big IS that farm I wonder, stables, crop fiels, orchard, and sheep, must be paradise to live there.
It’s just under 200 acres, so possibly a small knight’s fee in size, and yes, it’s a modest paradise. I am very lucky.
@@ModernKnight In Canada that's a quarter section and some! Are you able to harvest enough hay for the horses just from your farm? Do you have other animals or is it just horses?
Very suscently described glad to know the history of Michaelmas in a nutshell. Thanks
Oddly enough, there's a Michaelmas celebration in a county in central Pennsylvania, simply called Goose Day. It is very localized, it's about the only chance a lot of people get to taste goose, and its origin is at best guess English rather than German, but it's a bit of a mystery how it survived near Lewistown but nowhere else near that anyone local has heard of
The entire series is extraordinary, Jason is a natural teacher and scholar. This particular installment is doubly useful as 29 Sep is my wedding anniversary. I'll have something else to help jog my memory.
Never heard much about this holiday- our big fall festival was of course Halloween on Oct 31st and Thanksgiving on the 3rd Thursday of November. Where I live will likely be just breaking into cooler weather and that- if nothing else is reason to celebrate.
Thank you for the great work, I really enjoy all your videos, alas this is one of the best
I love this. It is so entertaining and so educational. Thank you! 🙏💚
I got to play the devil at our Michelmas Renaissance faire. It was a blast to go around pranking people.
These Modern History TV series are so well made, great production, well paced and presented. I love hearing your voice, it has a calming effect like asmr.
Glad you like them!
Your knowledge is so extensive. Thank you for sharing it!
Great as always!
It's so nice to see someone living and teaching their passion. Thank you for the knowledge and the amazing trips to the past.
Our pleasure!
Not sure what it is about those videos but they are incredibly calming and wholesome,not to mention educational and interesting. I have come to love this channel !! I hope I can live like that one day
Interesting. Thanks for uploading!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow!! What an awesome presentation!! Excellent..!!
I enjoy learning from you; you're a good teacher 😊
Very glad I found your channel. Could you do a vlog on pleeching and possibly foraging. How difficult was it to forage? Were the people who pleeched the hedgerows able to keep the leavings as firewood?
Thank you, very nice video! I learned quite a bit about Michelmas. :)
this channel is amazing
Very interesting channel, thank you!
Wow, I loved the intro to this one! 😮 Short, stylized, and well-edited. How come I haven't seen it more often? Maybe just clicking on the wrong videos?
Also glad to found this channel, I think that you are doing a wonderfull job.
Please continue to create this videos about the middle ages 🙏.
I have a question for you maybe a topic for a next one :)
How did the middle-ages people track time and date, do they bought a calendar, watch?
Thanks again and please keep up the good work.
Fabulous lecture. Very interesting!
I love this channel! Any chance we can get some videos talking about the differences between the early and late middle ages? I know you touch on it in some videos but I am really curious to know the more detailed answer. Well as detailed as 10 minuets or so allows. Please continue making these videos. They are informative and facinating.
Entertaining and very well explained. Thanks.
HAPPY #MICHAELMAS!
I remember Michaelmas term at school. A very informative video.
Fascinating to learn this, I had never heard of this day. Thank you! BTW, that's a beautiful crop of hay.
thanks for the insight! :-)
Love your channel! I am sort of obsessed with how the real medieval times were and I think while we can gather historically accurate information from that era...there is still and always will be so much more in the way of how people lived in that time but you definitely go in depth and I love your wardrobe! Lol makes everything so much more fitting. When you go grocery shopping do you wear the medieval garb as well? Because if you dont? You absolutely should! Lol
thanks much. you always make things fun! :) i didn’t know anything about this celebration - though it must have replaced a pagan harvest festival! religious/pagan holidays are always so interesting. here in america, of course, we have Thanksgiving - pretty much the same celebration. and what’s weird is that, people with backyards often play american football with the kids! :) 🍁🌾🌱
Ahhh, now I know why they call the autumn term the Michaelmas Term at Cambridge.
Do more medieval food episodes dude!
Great channel!
1322: BLOODY FOOTBALL KOMBAT
2022: “He pinched me!” *proceeds to dive and make a fuss*
Great video 👍🏻💚
Thanks for this informational video- I always wondered about Michaelmas- was curious even how to pronounce it.
I've heard it pronounced "Mick-all-mas" with a short i vowel sound, like, "That there's Mick..."
😁Mum, though from England, didn't really talk about, but we sort of knew about it anyway. Farm life and seasons vary depending where your from. There's a narrow window for plant in Spring in Canada...
Amazing content
Thank you.
The vast majority of transactions in medieval England did not involve coinage.
Rather they used tally sticks.
The crown issued tally sticks by spending them into the economy then imposed taxation payable in its' tally sticks.
A tally stick, like coinage & other forms of money, is simply a debt of the issuer and asset of the bearer.
This channel always has interesting content. I'm trying to figure out what type of tree that is behind you.
I would very much like to know more about other Medieval holidays and festivities, even from different parts of the world.
Alisdair Beckett-King absolutely ruined this thing for me XD
Not in a bad way, I just can't take this name serious at all after watching his short, and I love it.
That sounds like a lovely festival.
I wonder if the medieval people would put on extra weight after this festival with all the food, which could be practical for the winter as well.
Now I'm getting hungry.
You have Michaelmas daisies. On a grim note there was the Michaelmas Slaughter where cattle and stock were killed because there would not be enough fodder to feed them.
This is a fascinating channel and I am so glad I stumbled up on it. Anybody has any tips for similar content from different cultures? Would be interesting to see the differences and maybe more importantly the similaritiest.
This always fascinated me. People in different parts of the world often came to very similar solutions to problems.
Um, similaritiest?
That's really interesting what you say about the devil landing in a blackberry bush on the 10th of October and then people not being allowed to eat blackberries from then on. Long ago here in Ireland after Halloween night it was said the fairies and pixies would pee all over the blackberry bushes, so from then on nobody would eat them.
My aunt in Cornwall used to say the same thing
@@pamelagartner3759 Interesting to know. We actually already have some blackberries showing here in the south of Ireland this year.
@Obsidian Zarok Same here on the south coast of England - blackberries already ripe. Very early
@@pamelagartner3759 Very nice, you never know maybe by the end of October there won't be any blackberries left might let you know just for the fun of it.
@Obsidian Zarok I think you’re right, so I might hear from you again!
I bet the chickens would love those diablo blackberries !
We eat Coco on Michaelmas in my country!
I eat the most!!!!
Nifty! I checked this video out because I recognized the name from Farmer Giles of Ham, (by JRR Tolkien)
🥰❤❤❤
This was a better portrayal of medieval life than reading hundreds of the modern books used in schools
you are awesome!
the towns of Helston and Porthleven here in Cornwall still played the old version of "football" once a year up until recently when people started getting arrested and the event was disallowed. imagine how long that must've gone on for, just for it to be ruined - by the English, no doubt.
Here in NZ Michaelmas is the beginning of Spring, whilst and other quarter day Lady Day is the start of Autumn!
@A Tangerine Michaelmas is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September
I’ll never understand why people dislike these videos
The Reason St. Michael the
Archangel was so celebrated is because it was he who Fought with Satan and Kicked him out of Heaven to land on a Thorny
Blackberry bush!
Nice video, thank you!
I also suspect with the blackberries that as with the worminess, you never want to pick all of any fruit. Leave some for the birds or other wildlife for, yes the balance of nature, but for reseeding.
I love the fact that you credit the horses lol
At my schools 'michaelmas' was always the name given to the first term, I never knew what it meant, though
Thanks :)
Cursing those poor blackberries wasn't my finest moment. I'm demon enough to admit that..
Lol, you naughty agent of evil.
We gotta bring this back
im just glad abk saved michaelmas this year
I knew Michaelmas as close to my late Mum's birthday on 19th September. The others after Christmas are of course Lady Day in March and Midsummer Day in June.
I thought blackberries shouldn't be picked after Hallowe'en as the Devil has spat on them.
Jason another excellent and informative video, a question if I may, I don't know how many acres you have on your place but I was wondering how many people that land would have supported in medieval times and how much it would have produced compared to today. Steve.
I have about half a knight's fee very roughly, so about 200 acres of very mixed quality land. My guess is that it would have generated enough food for perhaps 10 families, who also worked the land? That's an educated guess though
while I,m watching my mouth is watering. ))))
Michaelmas is existing in Germany to! Here we got lots of fairs... called Michaelis-fair , at the same time...so folks : Michaelmas is still there , people did forget only the reasons of our fairs...
Michaelmas is still celebrated in the Catholic Church
Yes. :) Happy belated Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael to all. 👼👼👼
Michaelmass sound like the American Thanksgiving with the idea of a end of the harvest festival.
Winter butter is harder to spread than summer butter because the nutrients available to cows are different.
Huh... That's my first name, with my initials at the end.
New favorite holiday.