Middle Ages in Modern Culture : History and Authenticity in Contemporary Medievalism

Alvestad, Karl (EDT); Elliott, Andrew B.r. (EDT); Houghton, Robert (EDT); Merritt, Adrienne (EDT); Young, Helen (EDT)

ISBN 10: 1350266000 / ISBN 13: 9781350266001

Published by Bloomsbury Academic, 2023

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 44697883-n

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Middle Ages in Modern Culture : History and Authenticity in Contemporary Medievalism
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350266000
• ISBN 13: 9781350266001
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This open access book brings together an international team of experts, The Middle Ages in Modern Culture considers the use of medieval models across a variety of contemporary media – ranging from television and film to architecture – and the significance of deploying an authentic medieval world to these representations.

Rooted in this question of authenticity, this interdisciplinary study addresses three connected themes. Firstly, how does historical accuracy relate to authenticity, and whose version of authenticity is accepted? Secondly, how are the middle ages presented in modern media and why do inaccuracies emerge and persist in these works? Thirdly, how do creators of modern content attempt to produce authentic medieval environments, and what are the benefits and pitfalls of accurate portrayals? The result is nuanced study of medieval culture which sheds new light on the use (and misuse) of medieval history in modern media.

This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched.

About the Authors

Karl Alvestad is Associate Professor of History at University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway.

Andrew B.R. Elliott is an independent scholar and has published a range of articles and essays on historical film, television and video games from the classical world to the present. He is the author of Remaking the Middle Ages (2010), which analyses medieval cinema, and he is the editor of Playing with the Past (2013; co-edited with Matthew Wilhelm Kapell), which examines the depiction of the past in video games, and The Return of the Epic Film (2014), which examines the return of the sword and sandals epic in the cinema. His latest book, Medievalism, Politics, and Mass Media (2017), explores the uses of the past in social media and mainstream news reporting.

Robert Houghton is Senior Lecturer in Early Medieval History at University of Winchester, UK. He is the editor of Playing the Crusades (forthcoming, 2021) and Research Consultant for Paradox Interactive on the digital game Crusader Kings II. He also edits the Games column for the online magazine, The Public Medievalist.

Adrienne Merritt is Assistant Professor of German Studies at University of Colorado Boulder, USA.

Helen Young is Lecturer in Writing and Literature at Deakin University, Australia. She is the author of Race and Popular Fantasy Literature: Habits of Whiteness (2015) and Fantasy and Science Fiction Medievalisms: From Isaac Asimov to A Game of Thrones (2015).