In the first meeting of my medieval survey class, I try to bring these
modern misconceptions to the fore. First I ask them what they think of
when I say "Middle Ages" or "medieval." I write their responses on the
board as they call them out, dividing them into two columns. In one
column goes such responses as "Dark Ages," "barbarian," "filth," etc. and
in the other goes "Age of Faith," "castles," and "knights in shining
armor," etc. Then I show two clips from movies that correspond to the two
sets of images: a feasting scene from The Vikings (with Kirk Douglas), in
which people are shouting, gnawing on large bones, and throwing knives,
and the wedding scene from Camelot (also a celebratory gathering), which
is much more "courtly." Next I explain the origins of the two
conceptions: the first is the legacy of the Renaissance's invention of
the Middle Ages, and the second is the legacy of the Romantics'
rediscovery of the Middle Ages (here I give examples of 19th C
medievalism, like pre-raphaelite painting and the Houses of Parliament).
Finally, I point out that we in the twentieth century are heirs to both
images of the MA, and we have to keep our preconceptions in mind as we
study the sources.
Teresa Rupp
Department of History
Mount Saint Mary's College
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
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