National Medievalism in the Twenty-First Century: Switzerland and Britain

The idea of a "protean" national Middle Ages has reemerged as a source of anxiety about politics, history, and cultural identity in our time. This book explores how this concept is being reclaimed in Switzerland and Britain, and how it is being used to present ideas and ideals of modern nationhood. Examples include depictions of Robert the Bruce and Wilhelm Tell, medievalism in the discourse surrounding Brexit, novels like The Wake, community-based art, and elaborate public commemorations of Swiss victories. The author analyzes these examples using current theories of cultural memory, heritage, and nationalism.

Format: Hardback
Length: 270 pages
Publication date: 18 July 2023
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

After a period of dormancy, the connection established in the nineteenth century between the Middle Ages and national identity is once again being reclaimed, with numerous groups and individuals mining an imagined medieval past to present ideas and ideals of modern nationhood. Today's national medievalism asserts itself at the interface of culture and politics: in literature and television programming, in journalism and heritage tourism, and in the way political actors of various stripes use a deep past that supposedly proves the nation's steady exceptionalism in a hectic globalized world. This book traces these ongoing developments in Switzerland and Britain, two countries where the medieval past has recently been much invoked in negotiations of national identity, independence, and Euroscepticism. Through comparative analysis, it explores examples of reemerging stories of national exceptionalism - stories that, ironically, echo those of other nations. The author analyzes depictions of Robert the Bruce and Wilhelm Tell; medievalism in the discourse surrounding Brexit as well as at the Welsh Senedd; novels like Paul Kingsnorth's The Wake; community-based art such as the Great Tapestry of Scotland; and elaborate public commemorations of Swiss victories (and defeats) in battle. Basing his critical readings in current theories of cultural memory, heritage, and nationalism, the author explores how the protean national Middle Ages have once again become a convergence point for anxieties about politics, history, and cultural identity in our time - and why.

Weight: 542g
Dimension: 164 x 243 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781843846574