Medieval life: bad and worse

Knights who lost battles died badly, while some other people lived worse.

[This was one way to die in a medieval battle. Photo from The Economist.] 
 
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In an article titled Nasty, brutish and not that short, The Economist newspaper describes what archeologists have learned from the mass grave in Towton, England. It contains the remains of soldiers killed in 1461 in the final battle of the War of the Roses. "Medieval warfare was just as terrifying as you might imagine," the article warns.
http://www.economist.com/node/17722650?story_id=17722650

Meanwhile, someone had to make all the lances that were shattered and the chain mail that was chopped to bits during a typical chapter of Amadis of Gaul.

The Worst Jobs in History was a television series hosted by Tony Robinson on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. He discovered that making lances was tedious and exhausting, making chain mail was tedious and painstaking, and being a squire was tedious and unglamorous.

The Worst Jobs in History - The Royal Age - Part 1 (of 6)
Tony Robinson learns how to make lances and chain mail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjyVs5yKKh8

The Worst Jobs in History - The Royal Age - Part 2
Chain main (continued), falconry, and food taster....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkWH91glFsw

The Worst Jobs in History - The Middle Ages - Part 1 (of 6)
Squire, leach collector....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZrE1mVcB2k
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