Terry Jones has died

[pseudolus]

Not only a comedian/actor/writer but also a fine medievalist who engaged in original scholarship. Some years ago he caused quite a stir in Chaucerian circles by arguing that the Knight in the Knight's Tale (Canterbury Tales) was not actually the ideal of a knight but rather a mercenary and further, that the Knight's Tale, rather than being an ode to chivalry, "emerges...as a hymn to tyranny, dressed-up in the rags of a chivalric romance."[0] This sounds fairly minor but it's an interpretation, albeit one not wholly accepted by many scholars, that upended centuries of scholarship. An impressive achievement.

[0] http://smuhlberger.blogspot.com/2007/03/chaucers-knight-by-t...

[vanderZwan]

> Not only a comedian/actor/writer but also a fine medievalist who engaged in original scholarship.

As much as I loved discovering Monty Python in my college years, I think I've watched more episodes of Terry Jones' history documentaries than Monty Python episodes. A lot of of them are on YT, uploaded way back when 480p was the best you could get. I would love to see them again in high quality some day though.

[bmmayer1]

For anyone interested in reading Terry Jones' book: https://www.amazon.com/Chaucers-Knight-Portrait-Medieval-Mer...

A true legend through and through. RIP.

[momentoftop]

He had a few director credits as well, with Cleese tweeting today:

"Of his many achievements, for me the greatest gift he gave us all was his direction of 'Life of Brian'. Perfection"

[danabrams]

I got to take a writing workshop with him once and I’m proud to say I made him laugh. He was very kind, and obviously had great stories.

Python was very much a group effort, but I think he made an enormous difference behind the scenes.

[kirubakaran]

Nice. I got to ask John Cleese "if it's not a personal question, are you a virgin?". I count that as one of my lifetime accomplishments.

[ryanmercer]

I got Kevin Smith laughing hysterically on stage once without even trying, I felt like I'd unlocked some life achievement, it was awesome. I can only imagine how great it would be to get a laugh out of a legend like Terry Jones!

[PaulRobinson]

The type of dementia he had - FTD - sounds particularly painful for somebody who had such a strong personality and who clearly loved writing and language as much as he did.

I've put together a JustGiving page to raise money for the leading charity in this area in the UK, with the hope that in Terry's memory a few people might be able to say thank you with a few quid.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Terry-Jones-RIP

RIP Terry.

[lentil]

Great idea. Thanks for setting that up!

[drawkbox]

Not ready for Monty Python crew to kick off, what legends that changed everything, for the better.

Some Terry Jones quotes:

> "Some people are passionate about aisles, others about window seats."

> "The funny thing about history is that we imagine that people didn't laugh in the old days, but of course they did, at stupid things."

> "Every age sort of has its own history. History is really the stories that we retell to ourselves to make them relevant to every age. So we put our own values and our own spin on it."

> "I'm cheerfully optimistic about life. Optimism is very important!"

We'll try to be optimistic Terry Jones, we'll try and thanks for helping by making us think critically and laugh at the absurdity of things. Always look on the bright side of life.

[0xff00ffee]

> "Some people are passionate about aisles, others about window seats."

What did he have to say about reclining seats?

https://www.gadgetduck.com/goods/kneedefender.html

[WalterBright]

> "Some people are passionate about aisles, others about window seats."

Isn't anyone passionate about center seats?

[mark-r]

Always look on the bright side of death.

[WorldMaker]

Terry Jones wrote the novelization (and voiced the audiobook of that novelization) of the videogame Starship Titanic. That novelization and its audiobook are two of the best things about the game Starship Titanic. The game is more associated generally with Douglas Adams, but the novelization was entirely Terry Jones. Worth a read or a listen if you get a chance, whether or not you have played or have any interest in playing the game.

(The game is a weird relic of a Myst clone that wanted to be a Parser IF game and had delusions/experiments of using early chat bot AI/ML that mostly fall flat.)

(The game was published through traditional book publisher Simon & Schuster, and requiring that novelization was probably the smartest thing they did. I will forever recommend the book.)

[0xff00ffee]

I remember getting emails from Stevedave and Davesteve for weeks after signing up!

Sadly, shortly after that Adams died. I bought "Salmon of Doubt" and it took me almost 10 years to read it because I didn't want to read his final words.

[vmarshall23]

I have a copy of that game sitting in my basement. Loved it, the book, and the whole package. I must go dig it out.

[Razengan]

One of the best "morbid motivations", from Terry:

https://i.imgur.com/5J0AH6T.mp4

[presiozo]

If you’ve already watched Holy Grail, Life of Brian and Meaning of Life so many times, you know them by heart. You should watch Monty Python’s Flying Circus - Season 4 next. It’s the one they did without John Cleese. Some of the stuff in there is so surreal and out there, that it feels different from the other stuff they did as a group.

It’s a great way to remember this beautiful man.

[clSTophEjUdRanu]

Years of living in a shoebox in the middle of the road will do that to you.

Rest in peace.

[deadbunny]

A shoebox? Bloody luxury!

[jrimbault]

Might also have to do with working 24 hours a day and being sliced in two.

Rest in peace.

[neilwilson]

If you love the Four Yorkshiremen sketch you'll love Capstick Comes Home

https://youtu.be/I2AcJSkUw6M

They are only slightly exaggerated from the war stories you got as a kid.

[arethuza]

Cardboard box?

[Angostura]

No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'!

So long Terry and thank you for making the world a better place.

[alexgmcm]

He's pining for the fjords!

[growlist]

Worth pointing out that the current political climate at the BBC would render Monty Python impossible to make today, and apparently this is considered progress.

[tajd]

Not entirely sure about that.

I enjoy listening to the shows "Dead Ringers" and "The Now Show" on Radio 4 which provide pretty accurate satire of current politics. Other enjoyable comedy sketch shows include "That Mitchell and Webb look" and "Harry and Paul".

There remains hope.

[goda90]

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM...

And hence we now call unwanted emails Spam. RIP Terry

[pfdietz]

Turing Award winner Robert Floyd also died of a form of FTD, Pick's Disease. He was only 65.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Floyd

[mmusson]

I was thinking that giant foot finally caught him.

[Graham24]

He's not the Messiah, he's...

[BuildTheRobots]

... the actor that played his mum.

[8bitsrule]

I bloody knew this would happen. I tried to warn them, but would they listen? no....

A world without the Pythons? Not my cuppa tea.

[scarecrowbob]

The other replies to this comment are a lot funnier if you read them in alternating gumby and pepper pot voices.

[Carpetsmoker]

The real question now is what will happen to his two sheds.

[dundercoder]

He’s on his way to deliver the Spanish Inquisition!

Thanks for the laughs, Terry!

[anon463637]

The devil will never expect it and beg God to get rid of this ruffian, troublemaker layabout.

[raverbashing]

RIP

It's funny how Monty Python humor seemed to have struck a chord with a technical audience (of course, not only them).

I wonder what the former-BDFL of Python has to say about it.

[ravenstine]

I'm sad to hear this, but also glad for him because he lead a very accomplished life.

For those of you who haven't seen Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, there are episodes on YouTube. Highly recommended.

[tempodox]

May Brian welcome him at the threshold of whatever comes after. He will not soon be forgotten here.

[redleggedfrog]

Just guessing, but he probably made people laugh millions of times. I know I did my part.

What a great gift to humanity. I'll revisit his works for the rest of my life.