Overview

Although scholars are increasingly engaged with medievalism as a global phenomenon, its manifestations in the popular cultures of East and Central Europe are relatively unexamined. In a period of regional unrest, invocations of the medieval in Slavic regions are often political. Politicians use the past for nationalistic reasons. Popular renderings, such as animated films, can also appeal to nationalist sentiment. Yet, although medievalist appeals have been fundamental to official myths of nation-formation, they are also integral to countercultural ideologies. Medieval fantasy literature has traditionally provided one such nexus. More recently, medievalism has emerged in carnivalesque elements of pop punk music. Medievalisms also exist in the play spaces of reenactments of medieval life and combat. Yet even in play, these acts are never neutral: controlling the story of the past always has consequences in the now. 

Full Product Details

Author:   Anna Czarnowus (Department of Literary Studies, University of Silesia) ,  Laurel Ryan (Department of English, University of Louisiana at Lafayette,)
Publisher:   Arc Humanities Press
Imprint:   Arc Humanities Press
Edition:   New edition
ISBN:  

9781802700985

ISBN 10:   1802700986
Pages:   192
Publication Date:   31 January 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Introduction. ""Creative, Political, and Lived Medievalisms in Slavic Popular Culture,"" by Anna Czarnowus and Laurel Ryan Chapter 1. ""The Wolin Village in Poland as a Site of Politicized Living History,"" by Anna Czarnowus Chapter 2. ""Modern Knights: An Analysis of the Tools and Modes of Medieval Combat Reenactment in Central and Eastern Europe,"" by Przemysław Grabowski-Górniak Chapter 3. ""Mieszko and the Piasts in Polish Law and Justice (PiS) Political Discourse,"" by Chris Halsted Chapter 4. ""Creativity and Interpretation: Medievalism in the Soviet Unofficial Culture of the Stagnation Period (1964–1984),"" by Pavel S. Bychkov Chapter 5. ""Medieval Figures of Reversal in Texts of Polish Alternative Music,"" by Adam Regiewicz Chapter 6. ""Satirizing Political Culture in the Animated Ilya of Murom and Nightingale the Robber (2007),"" by Anastasjia Ropa, Edgar Rops, and Maria Inês Bolinhas Index

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Author Information

Anna Czarnowus is Associate Professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice. She is the co-editor of volumes on national medievalisms. Laurel Ryan is Associate Professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She specializes in nineteenth-century Canadian medievalisms.

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