Generally, the whole era is quite misrepresented. Well, let's take this list and Medieval expert's observations as a chance to educate ourselves a little bit today, shall we?
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The Middle Ages, or medieval times, was a period in history that lasted approximately from 500 to 1500 AD. This interesting historical period brought the world major developments whose influence is felt even today.
And so, to talk about it, Bored Panda got in touch with Tim Eveland, who has been studying the medieval ages on his own and in university for over 10 years. He also has a blog, “The Medieverse,” related to the subject.
Speaking of studying the Middle Ages in university, our interviewee said that many people aren’t aware that it’s a whole separate field from history. Many universities around the world have a medieval studies department. Typically, students in these programs study medieval historical events more closely than general history students.
Sadly, in many universities, these departments are underfunded. For instance, at the University of Victoria, where Tim studied, this department might be shut down soon as it's deemed not important enough.
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This lack of education about the Middle Ages leads to scary consequences. For example, people associate medieval pagan symbols with modern racist groups. As Tim said, “Today, we see alt-right political groups commandeering medieval symbols, such as pagan devices and the Templar cross, to strengthen their arguments, and they obviously don't know what these symbols actually mean.”
Generally, people tend to imagine the Middle Ages quite inaccurately. Typically, the images of knights, swords, horses, and other similar things come to mind.
Our interviewee Tim pointed out that the media people consume shapes how they understand the medieval period: “Unless someone is taking the time to study the real Middle Ages on their own, it's really easy to assume the stuff you're reading in fiction, the stuff you're seeing on TV, and the stuff you're doing in video games might have some historical sense to it.”
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Once a person takes time to study the period, they can clearly see how misrepresentative certain media can be. Tim gave an example – the myth that the Vikings wore horned helmets. This idea dates back to 19th-century opera, when opera singers wore them likely because they saw some kind of artistic illustration. Then, films in the early 20th century carried this misconception on.
Nowadays, due to textual and archaeological evidence, we know that Vikings never wore horns on their helmets. So, we have Vikings in TV shows wearing mascara and raw leather armbands instead. Yet, the situation isn’t inherently better. “While we no longer see horned helmets, the problem doesn't seem to be getting any better, and every time someone working in media invents a new misconception, it has the chance to lead their viewers astray.”
The Vikings’ helmets aren’t the only misconception about the Middle Ages. Here, Tim also gave some examples. This time, it’s fire arrows and sword-fighting techniques used in movies: "Fire arrows did exist in the medieval period; however, they acted and looked much differently than fire arrows in movies."
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"In movies, fire arrows are massively deployed and used against personnel. In medieval times, fire arrows were used sparingly and were expensive to produce, and they weren't used against personnel per se but rather against buildings during riots or sieges."
Then, with the swords and their techniques, the situation is even worse. Tim revealed that he hasn't seen a movie where sword fighting has been presented accurately! “Actors use choreography, which is based on Olympic fencing and looks more akin to ballerina dancing than real medieval sword fighting.”
If a person wants to see a realistic sword fight, they can go see events of a sport called historical European martial arts (HEMA). If you watch any of their events, for instance, the Swordfish Tournament, and compare it to sword fights in Hollywood movies, the difference is clear as day.
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That’s what annoys Tim – why is Olympic fencing-based choreography used for medieval sword fights in movies if those that HEMA does not only look better but are also way more accurate? “In HEMA sporting events, they use synthetic armor, and not every little aspect about it can be 100% historically accurate, but it's a way better system for filmmakers to use to portray sword fights if they were willing to switch away from the ridiculous ballerina moves that we're used to seeing today.”
Thankfully, due to online discussions nowadays, many medieval misconceptions get debunked pretty quickly. Yet, Tim identified a bad side of this, too – the debunked theories are being replaced by even weirder ones. Well, the internet being a weird place isn’t a new thing, is it?
Well, if it weren't for the internet, our ability to find fascinating facts about the Middle Ages, like the ones in this list, would be limited. So, let’s enjoy this privilege, and let’s upvote the most interesting ones!
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