International Medievalisms: From Nationalism to Activism

International medievalism explores the reception of the Middle Ages by juxtaposing two or more national cultures, offering an additional interpretive layer. It explores medievalist media from the textual to the architectural, ranging from The Green Children of Woolpit to Refugee Tales, and from Viking metal to Joan of Arc. The essays show how the medieval is repeatedly co-opted and recreated, inviting us to ask why and in service of what.

Format: Hardback
Length: 228 pages
Publication date: 14 February 2023
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

Medievalism, the reception of the Middle Ages, often evokes a set of tropes considered medieval rather than engaging with medieval cultures and societies. International medievalism adds an additional interpretative layer by juxtaposing two or more national cultures, at least one of which is medieval. Nationalism can be aspirational, referring to the area within agreed borders, the people who live there, or the people who understand or imagine themselves to constitute a nation. Once medieval becomes a collection of ideas, it can be re-formed as desired, cast as more geographically than historically specific, or function as a gateway to an even more nebulous past. This collection explores medievalist media from the textual to the architectural. Subjects range from The Green Children of Woolpit to Refugee Tales, and from Viking metal to Joan of Arc. As the contributors to each section make clear, for centuries, the medieval has provided material for countless competing causes and cannot be contained within historical, political, or national borders. The essays show how the medieval is repeatedly co-opted and recreated, formed as much as formative, inviting us to ask why and in service of what.

Medievalism, the reception of the Middle Ages, often evokes a set of tropes considered medieval rather than engaging with medieval cultures and societies. International medievalism adds an additional interpretative layer by juxtaposing two or more national cultures, at least one of which is medieval. Nationalism can be aspirational, referring to the area within agreed borders, the people who live there, or the people who understand or imagine themselves to constitute a nation. Once medieval becomes a collection of ideas, it can be re-formed as desired, cast as more geographically than historically specific, or function as a gateway to an even more nebulous past. This collection explores medievalist media from the textual to the architectural. Subjects range from The Green Children of Woolpit to Refugee Tales, and from Viking metal to Joan of Arc. As the contributors to each section make clear, for centuries, the medieval has provided material for countless competing causes and cannot be contained within historical, political, or national borders. The essays show how the medieval is repeatedly co-opted and recreated, formed as much as formative, inviting us to ask why and in service of what.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781843846062