Neo-medievalism
Encyclopedia
Neo-medievalism is a neologism that was first popularized by Italian medievalist Umberto Eco
in his 1973 essay "Dreaming in the Middle Ages". The term has no clear definition but has since been used by various writers such as medieval historians who see it as the intersection between popular fantasy and medieval history
; as a term describing the post-modern study of medieval history; and as political theory about modern international relations
.
, especially computer games
such as MMORPG
s, film
s and television
, neo-medieval music
, and popular literature
, has been called neomedieval. Critics have discussed why medieval themes continue to fascinate audiences in a modern, heavily technological world. A possible explanation is the need for a romanticized historical narrative
to clarify the confusing panorama of current political and cultural events.
in The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics (pg. 254-55). Hedley Bull suggested society was moving towards a form of "neomedievalism" in which individual notions of rights and a growing sense of a "world common good" were undermining national
sovereignty
. He saw a complex layering of international, national and subnational organizations which might help "avoid the classic dangers of the system of sovereign states by a structure of overlapping structures and cross-cutting loyalties that hold all peoples together in a universal society while at the same time avoiding the concentration inherent in a world government."
Stephen J. Kobrin in 1998 added the forces of the digital world economy to the picture of neomedievalism. In an article entitled "Back to the Future: Neomedievalism and the Postmodern Digital World Economy" published in 1998 in the Journal of International Affairs, argues that the sovereign state as we know it—defined within certain territorial borders—is about to change profoundly, if not to wither away, due in part to the digital world economy created by the Internet, suggesting that cyberspace is a trans-territorial domain operating outside of the jurisdiction of national law.
Although Hedley Bull originally envisioned neomedievalism as a positive trend which might help "avoid the classic dangers of the system of sovereign states", neomedievalism has its critics. Bruce Holsinger in Neomedievalism, Neoconservatism, and the War on Terror (2007) argues that neoconservatives have exploited neomedievalism's conceptual slipperiness for their own tactical ends.
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
in his 1973 essay "Dreaming in the Middle Ages". The term has no clear definition but has since been used by various writers such as medieval historians who see it as the intersection between popular fantasy and medieval history
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
; as a term describing the post-modern study of medieval history; and as political theory about modern international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
.
Culture
The widespread interest in medieval themes in popular culturePopular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, especially computer games
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
such as MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, neo-medieval music
Neo-Medieval music
Neo-Medieval music is a term used to describe a variety of styles within modern popular music. A common characteristic of these styles is that they contain elements of Medieval music and early music in general...
, and popular literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, has been called neomedieval. Critics have discussed why medieval themes continue to fascinate audiences in a modern, heavily technological world. A possible explanation is the need for a romanticized historical narrative
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
to clarify the confusing panorama of current political and cultural events.
Political theory
The idea of neomedievalism in political theory was first discussed in 1977 by theorist Hedley BullHedley Bull
Hedley Bull, FBA was Professor of International Relations at the Australian National University, the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford until his death from cancer in 1985...
in The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics (pg. 254-55). Hedley Bull suggested society was moving towards a form of "neomedievalism" in which individual notions of rights and a growing sense of a "world common good" were undermining national
Nation-state
The nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity...
sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
. He saw a complex layering of international, national and subnational organizations which might help "avoid the classic dangers of the system of sovereign states by a structure of overlapping structures and cross-cutting loyalties that hold all peoples together in a universal society while at the same time avoiding the concentration inherent in a world government."
Stephen J. Kobrin in 1998 added the forces of the digital world economy to the picture of neomedievalism. In an article entitled "Back to the Future: Neomedievalism and the Postmodern Digital World Economy" published in 1998 in the Journal of International Affairs, argues that the sovereign state as we know it—defined within certain territorial borders—is about to change profoundly, if not to wither away, due in part to the digital world economy created by the Internet, suggesting that cyberspace is a trans-territorial domain operating outside of the jurisdiction of national law.
Although Hedley Bull originally envisioned neomedievalism as a positive trend which might help "avoid the classic dangers of the system of sovereign states", neomedievalism has its critics. Bruce Holsinger in Neomedievalism, Neoconservatism, and the War on Terror (2007) argues that neoconservatives have exploited neomedievalism's conceptual slipperiness for their own tactical ends.
External links
- NeoMedievalism, a collection of links and a general evaluation
- Pulling Back from Neo-Medievalism, a discussion of neo-medievalism in relation to the Hungarian Status Law
- NeoMedievalism, academic look at the study of medievalism through a literary criticism lens