Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Medieval Colours and Their Meanings...
In the Middle Ages scholars followed the idea from Antiquity that there were seven primary colours – white, yellow, red and blue, purple and black, with green in the middle, balanced between them. White was associated with purity, virginity and even wisdom but its ‘true’ opposite colour was not black but red, symbolic of love, the blood of Jesus Christ and the ‘Fires of Hell’ alike. Blue represented the Virgin Mary in both Church and art. To the early Christians, black was associated with the devil but later it became linked to priests and monastic virtue and became a symbol of luxury with courtiers, as was purple, one of the costliest colours to reproduce. But it was a combination of colours in the form of stripes that came to be known as ‘the Devil’s Cloth’. Welcome to Medieval Madness.
00:00 Introduction
01:16 Ebony, Ivory
02:47 And A Little Bit of Red
03:50 Not So Mellow Yellow
05:44 True Blue
07:24 It's Easy Being Green
08:55 Purple Swag
10:09 I Got Stripes
Narrated by James Wade
Written by Lisa E Rawcliffe
Edited by Jamit Productions
Thank you for watching.
DISCLAIMER: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are, or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video, and have an issue with the use of said material, please email us at info@top5s.co.uk
Copyright © 500 AD to 1500 Top5s All rights reserved.
Medieval Colours and Their Meanings...
In the Middle Ages scholars followed the idea from Antiquity that there were seven primary colours – white, yellow, red and blue, purple and black, with green in the middle, balanced between them. White was associated with purity, virginity and even wisdom but its ‘true’ opposite colour was not black but red, symbolic of love, the blood of Jesus Christ and the ‘Fires of Hell’ alike. Blue represented the Virgin Mary in both Church and art. To the early Christians, black was associated with the devil but later it became linked to priests and monastic virtue and became a symbol of luxury with courtiers, as was purple, one of the costliest colours to reproduce. But it was a combination of colours in the form of stripes that came to be known as ‘the Devil’s Cloth’. Welcome to Medieval Madness.
00:00 Introduction
01:16 Ebony, Ivory
02:47 And A Little Bit of Red
03:50 Not So Mellow Yellow
05:44 True Blue
07:24 It's Easy Being Green
08:55 Purple Swag
10:09 I Got Stripes
Narrated by James Wade
Written by Lisa E Rawcliffe
Edited by Jamit Productions
Thank you for watching.
DISCLAIMER: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are, or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video, and have an issue with the use of said material, please email us at info@top5s.co.uk
Copyright © 500 AD to 1500 Top5s All rights reserved.
