David H. Montgomery

NEW POLL: Just what do Americans think about the Middle Ages? For @YouGovAmerica, I asked Americans a host of medieval-related questions. For example, here's what Americans picked when asked to choose words that described the Middle Ages:

(Link to full report in replies!) 

Here's what Americans think about a range of things and concepts associated with the European Middle Ages — as you can see, it's a mixed bag! 

More charts to follow in this thread, but first, check out the full report — lots of data and crosstabs about how Americans view the Middle Ages: https://today.yougov.com/entertainment/articles/51889-violent-dark-dirty-americans-middle-ages

Do Americans think of the Middle Ages as a dark age, or as no better or worse than any other era? Turns out they're split, almost down the middle.

Younger Americans and those who know a lot about the Middle Ages are less likely to call them a dark age. 

Everybody loves Joan of Arc and Marco Polo, but majorities of Americans didn't know enough to have an opinion about important medieval figures like Thomas Aquinas, Eleanor of Aquitaine, or Saladin: 

In my favorite experiment here, I asked Americans about a host of years and events with a simple question for each: was this during the Middle Ages? Here's the years Americans did and didn't think were medieval. (See the article for the chart on events!) 

Finally (for now), I was curious how people learned about the Middle Ages. Lots of people said "school" and "movies or TV." But only those who say they know a bit about the Middle Ages were likely to have read books or watched documentaries: 

Check out the full results of this survey about how Americans see the Middle Ages in my writeup for @YouGovAmerica: https://today.yougov.com/entertainment/articles/51889-violent-dark-dirty-americans-middle-ages

@YouGovAmerica Do you wish you had a chance to answer polls like this? You can sign up to join @YouGovAmerica 's panel — and get paid for taking surveys: https://account.yougov.com/us-en/join/main