First Name:
Samantha
Last Name:
Lane
Major Department:
History
Thesis Director:
Scott Jessee
Date of Thesis:
May 2012
The immediate, reactionary images conjured by the words medieval or Middle Ages are not unfamiliar to anyone who has been exposed to the tales of kings and knights and damsels in distress. The king sits proud and tall on his throne, bathed in the sunlight of glory, surrounded by his faithful subjects. Or perhaps the king is leading his army of knights into battle, each of them astride a noble steed, clad from helm to foot in a suit of armor, gleaming in the daylight. But why does the mind picture this, and is this a true depiction of the war and chaos that ruled the European continent for almost a thousand years? And do these perceptions, either true or false, come across in modern interpretations? Are the origins of any misconceptions about the Middle Ages the result of exposure to images shown in film from the last century? Perhaps those same images are simply the result of society's need to interpret and reshape the tales and legends for its own purpose. More likely it is a combination of both. First a person is exposed to what is classified as an embellished history, where only some parts are true and others are fabricated or exaggerated. Then, once those images are set firmly in the mind, they are refashioned multiple times as the person tries to share their vision with the rest of the world.