Statistics, said a French philosopher, are like dreams: a form of wish fulfilment. My wish has long been for more people to dig the Middle Ages. This week my dreams came true.
The polling company YouGov has carried out a survey into attitudes towards the medieval world. How often do people think about the Middle Ages? How much do they know or care? Who is the most famous medieval person today? If you could visit a castle or a cathedral, which would you choose?
The breakdown of the survey data is here.
I have been fully neeking out over the results. The data - which was compiled via interviews with more than two thousand Americans - reveals some very surprising things.
For example:
The two most likeable figures from the Middle Ages are Joan of Arc and Marco Polo. (Poor Eleanor of Aquitaine is languishing mid-table.)
Nearly one third of American men think about the medieval period at least once a month (compared with 19% of women); the Middle Ages consistently beats the Roman Empire in the ‘how often do you think about them’ stakes, which suggests that that 2023 TikTok trend was looking in the wrong direction.
The most popular aspects of the Middle Ages are castles (you’re welcome) and chivalry (you’re somewhat welcome). Most people - although weirdly, not all, we will come to this - are quite down on the Black Death.
As a whole, the Middle Ages have a net favourability rating three points higher than the 47th President of the USA.
You can read the report at your leisure if you have the time. But here, for your instant gratification, are my insights into attitudes towards the Middle Ages. Be prepared to be… surprised.
1. CASTLES ARE KING
What really gets your juices flowing when you think about the medieval world? The answer, according to the data is: castles. Three quarters of people have a very favourable opinion of medieval fortresses. The top five most-liked things about medieval history are castles (75% favourable), chivalry (63%), gothic architecture (61%), monasteries (52%) and Vikings (51%).
Over the next year or so, for subscribers, I’ll be posting a lot more castle content - next week’s post will be a tour around Windsor Castle. Sign up if you want to be part of that.
2. SOME PEOPLE JUST BASICALLY LIE OR ARE INSANE
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