If you've ever thought the study of history was boring, Matt Ponesse, who has a PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto and is a Professor of History at Ohio Dominican University, is here to set you straight. He's a well-established and respected teacher and scholar. He's also an absolute meme genius who spreads his love of medieval history—and humor—via his Instagram account, where he calls himself "Medievalist Matt." I've just spent the last few hours scrolling through his posts and I can't stop chuckling—AND learning about medieval history.
He has a whole series where he discusses how various films are "the most inaccurate movies of all time." Here's his analysis on how A Knights Tale gets it all wrong:
To minimize the risk posed to stuntmen, they used hollow lances filled with dry linguini to simulate wood splinters on contact. While spaghetti was introduced to Europe by Arab traders in the 8th century, linguine wasn't produced until the 1700s. That's why these scenes look so obviously premodern.
Great attention was paid to the details of the old London bridge in the scene leading up to the final tournament. Unfortuantely, all of this historical accuracy was ruined by the soundtrack in the background which played "The boys are back in town" by Thin Lizzy. London was a city in the Middle Ages, not a town. …
The great medieval poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, is introduced in the movie as a disheveled and naked traveler who has lost all of this posessions due to a gambling problem. If Chaucer had been walking for any time at all while naked, he would have been considerably more dirty and possibly even sunburned. Did they consult any experts when making this movie?
And here's his take on what's historically inaccurate in Disney's Robin Hood:
The optimal balancing point on a fox paw is the metacarpal, not the second digital pad.
Medieval kings always had more than one snake advisor.
The Oo-De-Lally song played by the Rooster is in the key of F major and does not contain a Gm7 chord.
Bears in the wild love digging up and eating carrots. Carrots are also packed with alpha-carotene, a nutrient proven to improve sleep.
He gives the same treatment to Disney's The Sword in the Stone, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast.
He also provides hilarious images and commentary on various aspects of Medieval history, often as depicted in medieval manuscripts. Here are some biblically accurate creatures (angel, fish, rats, and more!), some wild medieval couples, some disturbing medieval hands, funky medieval fashion (including these fantastic belts), beautiful calligraphy, and some truly bizarre animals. Enjoy!
For more of this medieval historical hilarity, check out Medievalist Matt's Instagram. Or for his more academic work, check out his page at Ohio Dominican University.
Previously:
• Medieval pet names included Sturdy, Nosewise, Tibert, and Meone
• DIY medieval tapestry
