PLUME: You return to certain time periods more often than others. It seems like the Medieval period really fascinates you.
JONES: Well, I think that’s the sort of period I know a little bit about, so I’ve been sort of inhabiting that world, because of Chaucer, for a while. It fascinates me. It’s like with, you know – the more you know about something, the more interested you get sometimes.
PLUME: And I thought your Chaucer book was wonderful…
JONES: Oh, Who Murdered Chaucer?… I think that’s one of my favorites, actually.
PLUME: Has there been any thoughts of turning that into a program?
JONES: I did try the BBC on it when it came out, but they’d done two half hour cartoon versions of The Canterbury Tales, and they said, “No no, that was enough. Enough Chaucer for one year,†you know?
PLUME: Well, there’s always another year…
JONES: Yeah! (laughing)
PLUME: I thought it was really engrossing. And again, I think the great thing about what you bring to it is the investigative approach from a humanist point of view. What was the germ that launched Who Murdered Chaucer?…
JONES: I always thought it was odd that he just disappeared and nobody really knows what happened to him. And the fact that he disappeared so soon after Richard II, who I’d always been told was his protector – or he was closely associated with him. I always thought it was odd, so I thought maybe there could be some connection. And especially when an idea like the actual burning of heretics was brought in so soon after Henry IV takes over. And so it does really seem like a turbulent time. And it was sort of like, I could quite imagine Chaucer having sort of gone down in it. I just really wondered whether there was some connection. And I’m sure – I’m absolutely positive – there is, now. I don’t think there can be any doubt about it. Chaucer had just survived the coup of 1387 when the Barons took over, basically. They call it the Appellant Period, but it was actually the Barons taking over this government for about 18 months, I think it was. And Chaucer just disappeared during that time, and doesn’t really reappear until Richard takes over command again in 1389. And then Richard suddenly comes back and Chaucer suddenly gets appointed Clerkship of the King’s works, and things like that. But he got out of it, and survived – whereas a lot of people in his position – sort of civil servants in the regime – they were executed. Eleven of Chaucer’s closest friends were executed during the Appellant Period. So he just survived that, but the coup of 1399 was much more serious business.
PLUME: And obviously, having survived the first, he had a much higher profile when the field had been cleared a bit, I’m assuming…
JONES: Well, he certainly had a high profile anyway. Chaucer represents Richard’s age, and that’s why Hoccleve was so keen to have a picture of Chaucer in his book, Regiment of Princes– it’s a book of rules for princes on how to rule. And so it’s important to have Chaucer there because he represents Richard’s age.
PLUME: In which time period was it most dangerous to be a political humorist?
JONES: Well, I suspect it was very dangerous in Henry IV’s rule. I think anybody who had any sort of doubts didn’t muck around with Henry at that point. (laughing) I don’t really know about other periods, really, but you can see what happens to English literature in the 15th century. It’s just destroyed, really. I mean, there’s nothing… you know, you’ve got things really flowering at the end of the 14th century, and then a period of nothing in the early 15th century when, I think, people shut up, basically. The only people who keep writing are the really dull, wordy, non-controversial types.
PLUME: You touch upon it in most of your series, the sort of history of political comedy and commentary.
JONES: Yeah.
PLUME: And just how it sort of morphs. Post-Chaucer, it seemed like there was a bit of a lull in any real humor…
JONES: There is, really. I mean, I don’t know much about 15th century literature, but certainly you look at the writings and oh god, it’s so dull. Gower keeps writing until the first ten years of Henry IV’s life, and I’m afraid my good friend Robert Yeager – who worked on the book with me – is a great Gower scholar. He does his best to revive Gower as, but it just kills me.
PLUME: There’s a reason why it rhymes with dour.
JONES: (laughing)I think could be, yes.
PLUME: When we spoke previously, you had talked about the anti-Renaissance show that you had done for the radio…
JONES: Oh that’s right, yeah.
PLUME: And I know one of the suggestions I had made, that you seemed keen on at the time, was including that on the eventual DVD release of Medieval Lives.
JONES: I just think these great ideas go in one ear and out the other. I’ll make a note here… Anti-Renaissance…
PLUME: And I’ll keep my fingers crossed for The History of History…
JONES: Okay! (laughing)
Comments: 1 Comment
One Response to “FROM THE VAULT: Terry Jones Interviews”Leave a Reply |
March 12th, 2021 at 12:50 pm
Man, I wish you had audio of these interviews. I LOVE listening to Terry Jones speak. He was a magnificent gem of a man, and I was greatly sorry when he lost the ability to speak, and even more sorry when he passed away. But also a little bit relieved for him, knowing how distressed he was at the end.
I’ve found a couple of his history series over the years, and thoroughly enjoyed them.