HIST 107 Introduction to Medieval History Lecture 1 Images of the Middle Ages in Popular Culture Main Question What is the place of the Middle Ages in modern popular culture Key Points A Popular culture as a pervasive and influential source of ideas and images Characteristics emphasis on the visual in a variety of media Popular culture needs to simplify the world to avoid chaos B Why do we need the past in the first place All cultures engage with the past though in different ways Issues of identity individual and collective and sense of time Example statue of Arminius from 19th century C How complete is the past that a society needs Extreme selectivity is the norm Institutions for preserving the past only since the 19th century Very limited reach of generational memory and time immemorial D What are the chief characteristics of popular culture s uses of the Middle Ages Key adjectives i selective gaps can be very large but feels complete example Pulp Fiction getting medieval ii changeable variety of forms and adaptable to change example Conan the Barbarian again iii relative the need for the Other example Connecticut Yankee childlike superstitious origin of the terms medieval Middle Ages iv contested debates over conflicting interpretations Conclusion The Middle Ages occupy an important but multifaceted and comples place in popular culture This helps to sharpen our understanding of the real medieval world Proper Nouns and Technical Terms Arminius Detmold Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino 1994 Mark Twain A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur s Court 1889 Key Images 1 Poster for 2011 remake of Conan the Barbarian 2 Daniel Beard illustration for first edition of Mark Twain s A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur s Court 1889 3 Sir Frank Dicksee La Belle Dame Sans Merci 1902 based on John Keats ballad of the same name 1819
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