Brown Ajah History week: Middle Ages and Literature

[Cross]

 

 

It's a common theme, the Middle ages, made exceedingly popular in literature. Especially the Fantasy genre. I mean look around, we have tv shows based on books based on the middle ages, story upon story. Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and of course Wheel of time. 

But what makes it so? Why is this time period so popular? What makes it so magical? Has the literature influenced the romance of the age or was there an inherent romance that literature grabbed hold of? Well this is where we'll attempt to find out! We'll discuss what we think makes this particular time period so popular in fiction. What attracts us to it.  And whether it's valid or just collective romanticism.

 

 

 

So to start, perhaps the most basic question. What is it about the Middle Ages that you feel is so attractive? 

[Dar'Jen Ab Owain]

A great deal of the romanticism of the era is that of castles, "knights in shining armor", and "damsels in distress".

 

There was an idea of courtly love, though the reality was more along the lines of, well, you married to be better placed and if you were the aristocracy, the woman was often used as a bartering tool to form alliances or to provide her family closer ties to those in power. The idea of "love" was possibly more available to the peasantry, though still, fathers would try to ensure that daughters were going to be cared for, but there was more opportunity, except for the options were rather limited. Most folks didn't really travel all that far from the place where they were born.

 

I think a lot of fantasy pulls on European Middle Ages for inspiration in using the idea of lords of the castle and epic battles. There was certainly political intrigue; the Tudors are indeed fascinating.

 

The reality is there was a separation of the classes, but fantasy seems to look at that with more of a modern perspective in that, regardless of birth, even the lowest person can have great consequences on the events of the world. Maybe there is some historical fact to that. Joan of Arc being a good example. She was a peasant girl that would eventually rally the French forces at the Battle of Orleans, though she would be burned at the stake by the Bristish, dead at about the age nineteen.

 

Both fact and fiction of the Middle Ages is fascinating and has inspired fantasy authors for decades. Though there is a shift to examining other eras and cultures, there is something about the European Middle Ages that identifies as fantastical.

[Gentled Ben]

Everything Da'Jen said, plus the fact that in the Middle Ages, they believed in elves, fairies, dragons, sea monsters, goblins, and all sorts of fun creatures of modern fantasy, just like we did when we were small children, and everything was new and wondrous, and the world was our toy. Well, all of the world that was within our reach anyway, and that our parents would let us have.

 

Nevertheless, I think that's it: the castles, the knights, the beautiful damsels, the political intrigue, the changing landscape of possibilities, with city-states and kingdoms rising and falling, great Houses rising and falling, royal bloodlines being cast from the throne only to take it back again three or four generations later before once again being deposed--it's a world in which anything can happen.

 

I know that for myself, what sold me on the Middle Ages was King Arthur. When I was little, we went to the library one day so that my mom and grandmother could check out some books, and in the children's section, I found a picture book about King Arthur that my mom checked out for me. I was captivated by it, and the Middle Ages are King Arthur come to life.

 

Edit: As something of an aside to that, I saw Excalibur as a teenager in the theater on opening day (I'm 53). I saw it three times that day (the third time, they laughed and said, "Just go watch it again, our treat), and I saw it a total of seven times before it left he theaters. I watched it on cable. I owned it on videotape. I have it on my hard drive too, although I haven't watched it in at least a decade. I mean, I've probably seen that movie thirty times by now, so what's the point, but man, that movie is King Arthur, and it is everything that makes fantasy and history appealing to me, done up on the big screen. 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Gentled Ben

[Adella]

Knights, castles, royalty, balls, grand battles, and the belief in the mystical.

 

Knights - The idea that someone in shining armor could ride in on his white steed to save you from mortal peril *swoons*

 

Castles & Royalty - I think this is an ideal that carried over from that age, the poor would always dream of living like the rich, in their huge and safe castles, with people at their beck and call, making whatever decisions suit their fancy. Or, that's the fantasy.

 

Balls - It may just be me, but the fashion of that age is entrancing and the idea of going to a masked ball, meeting a handsome stranger, falling in love, and living happily ever after... It's every little girl's dream.

 

Grand battles - Yes, we absolutely still have warfare, but it was so... personal. Running someone through with a sword took a skill that is rare today, and you had to look them in the eye as you did it. Personal killing is much more moving.

 

Mystical - As Ben said, back then anything that was difficult to explain was instead attributed to something mystical/magical. It created amazing fantasies and a whole new depth for us to imagine in the world.

[Ryrin]

Cross, I had seriously thought about getting a degree in Medieval Studies, but I knew that to get a job I would need a PhD. 

 

Today, I belong to a Medieval group called the Society for Creative Anachronism. The SCA is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. I was amazed that there were so many of us pulled to that time period. Our Great Western War can have thousands of people.

 

Can I explain it? Not really but it feels like "home" when I'm at an event. 

[Guest]

The lives of the nobles and people of power look pretty interesting and romantic, with the courtly love that Dar Jen mentioned, the knights, the importance given to honor and family.

Of course, if you dig deeper there are lot of dark areas (obscurantism and such,... ). And i guess no one would want to be a peasant/serf in these times

 

Still, I like to participate to medieval reenactement events but only as a fighter. I'll never agree on covering my head and on staying by the fire to act as a dutiful wife lol

Edited August 14, 2017 by Chaelca

[Ryrin]

Chae, I'm not a fighter and I never cover my head and stay by the fire. There are actually tons of things to do, arts and sciences, games of the period, archery, thrown weapons, etc. I don't even have time for them all. We do have female fighters if that would interest you. What we don't have is the plague.

[Ryrin]

As for the topic, I think story telling was an art and a favorite entertainment.

[Guest]

A pity I can't come in your group

 

In the ones I have been so far, women need to have their head covered if they are married -.- (if they don't, they get teased ... i can get a bit of teasing but sometimes i am just in a hulk mood lol)

and these are usually smaller communities with only a small choice of activities compared to what yours has to offer O.O

(the covered period is also the 14th century which wasn't the best fashion-wise )

Edited August 14, 2017 by Chaelca

[Elgee]

I think the times lend themselves more to magic than later years, but more is known of them than earlier years. They're therefore sort of in the "Goldylocks zone", which is why so much of our fantasy is based on that time. Or what we would like to think that time was like.

[Cross]

which begs the question. given what life was like for everyday people back then. and a lot of the realities of disease, poverty, cultural beliefs that led to well.....smelly conditions. at what point in time do you think we became infatuated with the middle ages? the renaissance had its own magic, and i doubt people were fantasizing about the middle ages then when they just came out of them. so ideas or thoughts on when we as a society began to look back and say 'hey this is magical?'

 

 

 

 

ryrin, that sounds awesome. and agree, this is a period in which if i had gone that route would have been a focus of structured study for me. the fact that so many people are drawn to such communities is a testament to the magic of the age

[blank]

I think a large part of it is the Romanticism but honestly I think it is useful from a writer's perspective too.

 

It's far more impressive to have a mighty magical sword when everyone else has dull iron ones and not fighter jets.

 

Then maybe it just became a tradition and everyone growing up on fantasy has been brought up with this idea. 

[Gentled Ben]

which begs the question. given what life was like for everyday people back then. and a lot of the realities of disease, poverty, cultural beliefs that led to well.....smelly conditions. at what point in time do you think we became infatuated with the middle ages? the renaissance had its own magic, and i doubt people were fantasizing about the middle ages then when they just came out of them. so ideas or thoughts on when we as a society began to look back and say 'hey this is magical?'

 

 

 

 

ryrin, that sounds awesome. and agree, this is a period in which if i had gone that route would have been a focus of structured study for me. the fact that so many people are drawn to such communities is a testament to the magic of the age

Probably the Victorian era, when the New World was no longer new, and everything was in flux. There was an industrial revolution, monarchies were being replaced with democracies, creationism was being challenged, and there was probably a sense of nostalgia for bygone eras just like there is in any time of great social and scientific upheaval. The Middle Ages represented a time when much of what felt like it was being lost in the mid-late 1800's was still in abundance and indeed, was the cornerstone of much of life, and it was also still in a time when medical advances and city sanitation hadn't improved to the point where medieval life would be seen as overly crude yet. I can't think of any literary support for that, though.

[blank]

Wow Ben, that's very insightful!

 

I think people have always yearned for a misremembered "Golden Age". People are also so much more rude "these days", the whole world is going to pot "in this day and age" which is of course a bit silly as people cherry pick the best parts from the past. 

 

So I think that maybe the middle ages are so romanticised because of things like "chivalry" and Knights when things were, of course much better. 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

I think it's entirely romanticism. This is once upon a time, the dark neverwhere where our myths and stories come from. Long enough ago that the reality of life at the time is lost and everything is sepia toned and the terrors are exciting instead of deadly. We can't smell the smells, and that single thing would shatter the illusion for most of us. We think we'd have been among the elite, as if even the elite had it anywhere near as clean and safe as the least among us do today. Most likely we'd be among the serfs and laborers, rarely fed, or warm, or clean, or clothed, or well. We'd die young of disease or in childbed, or in endless battles with humans and critters and the elements and...

 

Yeah, not in love with this time period, but it makes good fantasy.

Edited August 15, 2017 by Mrs. Cindy Gill

[Cross]

i dont think we can entirely write it off as romanticism, especially when nowadays there are more instances of looking at this era from a more common viewpoint. its seems that now the victorian era is romanticized and the middle ages is being looked at more historically. there is always SOME romanticism involved clearly. but the grit of the age is more attractive in entertainment and lit now.  

 

i do like what ben said, that makes a lot of sense. once the times really changed there would be a longing for 'days of old'  BUT does that fall in line with the wealth of fantasy literature? was there a lot of middle age literature written in the victorian era? 

[Gentled Ben]

I don't think so. That's why I said I couldn't think of any literary evidence.

[Cross]

so if we exclude the romanticism, and take a look at this era in literature, what do you think the draw is? is the fact that its limitations force characters into taking a more hands on approach to deal with issues a big factor?

[_Kynwric_]

A pity I can't come in your group

 

In the ones I have been so far, women need to have their head covered if they are married -.- (if they don't, they get teased ... i can get a bit of teasing but sometimes i am just in a hulk mood lol)

and these are usually smaller communities with only a small choice of activities compared to what yours has to offer O.O

(the covered period is also the 14th century which wasn't the best fashion-wise )

 

 

Chae,

 

Here's the local group info for the SCA in Beligum.

 

Belgium

Incipient Shire of Trivium

Seneschal: Rachel de Montfort

Name: Misty MacAnally

Email: racheldemontfort@gmail.com

[_Kynwric_]

The main literature of the Medieval Period, that being fictional is wrapped up in very few authors. One being Chretien de Troyes, and his works on Arthur under the patronage of Marie of France (a daughter of Elanor of Aquitaine). He is one of the forerunners of the idea of Courtly Love. You also, of course have Mabinogian cycle, which deals with many of the same themes. For the High Medieval period, these along with the Song of Roland comprise most of the well known works. You start getting into some others later in the period, but really they are running into the Renaissance, not really Medieval. 

[Guest]

 

A pity I can't come in your group

 

In the ones I have been so far, women need to have their head covered if they are married -.- (if they don't, they get teased ... i can get a bit of teasing but sometimes i am just in a hulk mood lol)

and these are usually smaller communities with only a small choice of activities compared to what yours has to offer O.O

(the covered period is also the 14th century which wasn't the best fashion-wise )

 

 

Chae,

 

Here's the local group info for the SCA in Beligum.

 

Belgium

Incipient Shire of Trivium

Seneschal: Rachel de Montfort

Name: Misty MacAnally

Email: racheldemontfort@gmail.com

 

OMG !!! thanks

[Cross]

so if we exclude the romanticism, and take a look at this era in literature, what do you think the draw is? is the fact that its limitations force characters into taking a more hands on approach to deal with issues a big factor?

 

 

 

in case the question was missed

[Dar'Jen Ab Owain]

Romanticism seems to be a part of the mystic of the period. However, I think there is something to be said for the human desire to press on through difficult times especially when there are a lack of resources, such as technology. Mind you, the era was ripe with superstition, and many of the tales include magic.

 

There is fantasy that looks at the agrarian versus industrial lifestyle, such as Lord of the Rings. It is about the change of ages, the time of man, the arrival of industry (Saruman and his manufacture of Uruk-hai, destroying the trees to burn to make machines of war, etc.) There are others, but that comes readily to mind.

[blank]

Also the mundaneness make magic seem more magical.

[Cross]

good poitn dar'jen, perhaps then its fair to say that the time period serves as a perfect foil to our everyday modern life? and that perhaps we as a people are drawn to it by a basic desire for the simpler things, or for a reminder that we dont need all this stuff to be successful and to press on?