Terry jones: Beyond teh Python, a Life of Medievalism, Ale, and Unconventional Genius
A multifaceted talent – comedian, historian, author, and brewer – Terry Jones defied easy categorization, embracing a life as delightfully eccentric as his most famous creations. A new biography, Seriously Silly: The Life of Terry Jones by Robert Ross, paints a portrait of a man who, while celebrated for his work with Monty Python, possessed a depth and breadth of interests that extended far beyond the realm of sketch comedy.
Jones’s career was remarkably diverse. He penned jokes for Cliff Richard, launched a magazine dedicated to countryside ecology called Vole, and even founded his own real-ale brewery. In 2011, writing for this newspaper, he observed that the 14th century was marked by two pandemics: the black Death and the commercialization of warfare – a testament to his enduring fascination with history.While some might label him a “renaissance man,” Jones himself reportedly disdained the term, preferring the “earthiness of medieval times.”
His scholarly pursuits began with a reinterpretation of Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale,arguing that the poet presented the hero’s violence as something to be satirized and deplored. This passion for medieval history later informed his beloved children’s book, and subsequent film, The Saga of Erik the Viking. Despite being informed by an illustrator that Vikings did not wear horned helmets, jones insisted on their inclusion, demonstrating a willingness to prioritize imaginative storytelling over strict past accuracy.
The biography’s “spiritual heart,” according to Ross, lies in the north London pubs where Jones frequently discussed his projects. These conversations, fueled by numerous pints, provide a rich tapestry of anecdotes and insights into the comedian’s creative process. The book is filled with warm recollections from colleagues, including Eric idle, who fondly remembers playing ratty to Jones’s Toad in The Wind in the Willows, and also Michael Palin and Terry gilliam.
Jones’s final act was characteristically unconventional: his brain was flash-frozen and donated to science, a gesture that feels ripped from a Monty Python sketch. Seriously Silly traces his life from his childhood in Wales – a move to Surrey was a source of lasting discontent – through his formative years at Oxford. There, he was influenced by tutors like Graham Midgley, whose lecture on “Minor Poets of the 18th century” was famously followed by an addendum titled “18th-century poets More Minor Still.”
His involvement with the Oxford Revue led to writing jobs at the BBC, and eventually to the formation of Monty Python. The group coalesced organically, with its future members working in various combinations before uniting as a comedic force.After a prolific and vibrant career, the biography acknowledges a decline in Jones’s health, marked by an affair with an Oxford student who later became his second wife. In his final years,he battled frontotemporal dementia,which ultimately robbed him of his speech. Yet, friends like Ross continued to share a pint with him in the pub, a testament to his enduring “power of loyal friendship,” as Ross describes it.Palin poignantly recalled Jones as a “chum” – a distinction beyond mere friendship.
The book also delves into Python projects that never came to fruition,including a potential collaboration with the Muppets on Erik the Viking,a 1990s concept for monty Python and the Last Crusade featuring archive recordings of Graham Chapman as King Arthur’s ashes,and the tantalizingly titled Monty Python’s Third World War.
Pro tip:-jones reportedly disdained being called a “renaissance man,” preferring the “earthiness of medieval times.”
Seriously Silly: The Life of Terry Jones by Robert Ross is published by Coronet (£25) and is available to purchase at guardianbookshop.com.
