Medievalism
Also known as: Mediævalism
- 1Medievalism is inspired by the Middle Ages of Europe.
- 2It has influenced architecture, literature, art, and philosophy.
- 3Key movements include Romanticism and the Gothic Revival.
- 4The concept has been utilized as a creative model since the 17th century.
- 5Applying the term to non-European histories is a point of scholarly debate.
Medievalism is a system of belief and practice inspired by the Middle Ages of Europe, or by devotion to elements of that period, which have been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and various vehicles of popular culture.
Connections1
ideological foundation of the press
The press was deeply rooted in the romanticized view of the Middle Ages, which Morris saw as a period of superior craftsmanship and social cohesion.
Medievalism is a broad system of belief and creative practice that draws inspiration from the Middle Ages in Europe. It involves a deep fascination with the art, architecture, literature, philosophy, and social structures of the medieval period, often reinterpreting these elements to serve contemporary cultural or aesthetic goals.
The Middle Ages in art: a Pre-Raphaelite painting of a knight and a mythical seductress, the lamia ( Lamia by John William Waterhouse, 1905)Wikimedia Commons: File:Redgirl_and_knight01.jpgVoltaire, one of the key Enlightenment critics of the medieval eraWikimedia Commons: File:Nicolas_de_Largillière_-_Portrait_de_Voltaire_(1694-1778)_en_1718_-_P208_-_Musée_Carnavalet_-_2.jpgNotable neo-Gothic edifices: top – Palace of Westminster, London; left – Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh; right – Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk, OstendWikimedia Commons: File:Neo-Gothic001.jpgWilliam Blake 's The Lovers' Whirlwind illustrates Hell in Canto V of Dante 's Inferno.Wikimedia CommonsJacob encountering Rachel with her father's herd by Joseph von Führich 1836Wikimedia CommonsThomas Carlyle by John Everett Millais (1877)Wikimedia CommonsJohn Ruskin by John Everett Millais (1854)Wikimedia Commons"Artichoke" wallpaper, by John Henry Dearle for Morris & Co., circa 1897 ( Victoria and Albert Museum )Wikimedia Commons Since the 17th century, various movements have utilized the medieval era as a foundational model. Notable examples include Romanticism, the Gothic Revival, and the Arts and Crafts movement. These movements often sought to recapture the perceived integrity or craftsmanship of the past. While the concept is primarily European in origin, historians have debated the application of medievalism to non-European contexts, such as the histories of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, where the term's relevance remains a subject of scholarly controversy.