Middle Ages in film 1409438 223564963 2008-07-04T17:20:07Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Dvd-cover-el-cid-movie-1961.jpg|thumb|right|''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'' (1961) starring [[Charlton Heston]], a movie with direct heritage to the Romantics, it helped mould popular perceptions of the Middle Ages in the middle 20th century.]] --> '''Medieval films''' imagine and portray the [[Middle Ages]] through the visual, audio and thematic forms of [[film|cinema]]. ==Background== The 20th century is not the first to create images of life during medieval times. The Middle Ages ended over five centuries ago and each century has [[Middle Ages in history|imagined, portrayed and depicted the Middle Ages]] through [[painting]], [[architecture]], [[poetry]], [[music]] and [[novel]]. In the 20th century, film has defined Medieval history perhaps more so than any other medium. While the conclusions of academic research and findings of [[archeology]] have advanced knowledge of the Middle Ages, nothing has had more widespread influence on more people than the images created by film. Just as most peoples perceptions of the American [[Wild West]] were drawn from [[Film|cinema]], versus source material or academic research, so too most peoples perceptions of the Middle Ages were influenced by the powerful narratives and images of film. If film was the most influential medium, [[Hollywood]] was the most influential image maker. [[Hollywood]] films reached a global audience through big budget productions, and equally big distribution and advertising channels. Hollywood adapted works of the [[Romanticism]] movement to the screen, seamlessly forging a bridge between Romanticized [[historical novel]]s, operas, paintings, and music of the 19th century onto film in the 20th. The ideals of the Romantics were fully realized on the screen in such influential works as ''[[Ivanhoe (1952 film)|Ivanhoe]]'' (1952) and ''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'' (1961) which belong to the same late Romantic culture in their music, imagery and themes. Strong cinematic images of the Middle Ages can be found in European films. Influential European films included [[Fritz Lang]]'s two-film series ''Die Nibelungen: Siegfrieds Tod'' and ''Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache'' (1924), [[Sergei Eisenstein]]'s ''[[Alexander Nevsky (film)|Alexander Nevsky]]'' (1938) and [[Ingmar Bergman]]'s ''[[The Seventh Seal]]'' (1957), while in [[France]] there were many versions of the story of [[Joan of Arc (disambiguation)|Joan of Arc]]. The first Medieval film was also one of the earliest films ever made, ''[[Jeanne d'Arc (1899 film)|Jeanne d'Arc]]'' released in 1899. The first Robin Hood film dates to 1907 and was called ''[[Robin Hood and his Merry Men]]''. ==Historiography and Historiophoty== The [[historiography]] and [[historiophoty]] of medieval film is one of a new, evolving and dynamic field of study. The two terms were discussed in depth by noted historiographer Hayden White in an issue of [[The American Historical Review]] devoted to the subject, in which he elaborates a theory that one of the main sources of friction between History and Film is the problem of translating from a written discourse (hence the -graphy) to a visual one (-photy); he proposes that the problem can be resolved by the recognition that written History itself is a subjective and selective process.<ref>Hayden V. White, 'Historiography and Historiophoty', ''The American Historical Review'', 93 (1988), 1193-99.</ref> Taking up the gauntlet thrown down by White's earlier writing, the French historian [[Marc Ferro]] had already devoted his seminal work ''Cinéma et Histoire'' to precisely this question, which he theorised in Chapter 16 of this work, in which he asks "Can a filmic writing of History exist?"<ref>Marc Ferro, ''Cinéma et Histoire'' (Paris: Denoël, 1977).</ref> Although in general terms the relationship between film and history has been a subject of interest since as long as films have been made, it was only in the last decade of the 20th century that medievalists paid attention to film as a serious means of learning about the Middle Ages. As Arthur Lindley said in 1998 "One could note the absence of books by medievalists as well as books of any kind devoted to medieval film," however he prophetically observed "The situation may be beginning to change". This change took place in part by the recognition of the complex relationship between [[historiography]] and cinematic history, since it was not until the publication of [[Norman Cantor]]'s monumental ''Inventing the Middle Ages'' in 1991 that any serious work had been carried out on the influence of historiography on Medieval History. The work is among the first to challenge the [[hegemony]] of Medieval historians over the history which they narrate, and opens the door for historiophoty by the proposition that "we cannot interpret medieval culture, or any historical culture, except through the prism of the dominat concepts of our own thought worlds."<ref>Norman F. Cantor, ''Inventing the Middle Ages: The Lives, Works, and Ideas of the Great Medievalists of the Twentieth Century'' (New York: William Morrow & Company, 1991), p. 37.</ref> Until the publication of K.J. Harty's book ''The Reel Middle Ages'' (1999) there had been no comprehensive survey of medieval films, and John Aberth's book ''A Knight at the Movies'' (2003) can probably be called the first book in English dedicated solely to the subject of history and medieval history on film. One year later, in 2004, the eminent French historian François Amy de la Bretèque published his ''L'Imaginaire médiéval dans le cinéma occidental'', in which he proposes a number of useful theories to finally break out of the circle of historiography vs historiophoty. One of the most pervasive of these, and one picked up in Robert Rosenstone's ''History on Film/Film on History'' (2006) is that both History and Film are ways of narrating the past, both equally susceptible in theory (though not in practice) to perversion. As Rosenstone observes, "we always violate the past, even as we attempt to preserve its memory in whatever medium we use... Yet this violation is inevitable, part ofthe price of our attempts at understanding the vanished world of our forebears."<ref>Robert Rosenstone, ''History on Film/Film on History'' (Harlow, London and New York: Pearson, Longman, 2006), p. 135.</ref> Historiophoty today, therefore, is an ongoing process which recognises the inherent problems in bringing history in general- and medieval history in particular, given its vulnerability to be hijacked by the fantasy genre- to life on the screen. One of the major breakthroughs has been in finally overcoming the reluctance to accept film as history by the recognition that it is not a 'type' of history, but rather that cinema makes use of its own cinematic techniques in order to narrate its history, proposing not a challenge to historical records but simply an alternative way of narrating them. ==Select films== At over 900 films listed by Harty in 1999, it is beyond the scope of this article to create a complete list. Listed here are some of the best and most significant films in both quality and historical accuracy. Sorted by date. {| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" !Date !Era !Title !IMDB !Country !Reviews !Notes |- |1928 |1431 |''[[The Passion of Joan of Arc]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019254/] |France |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=The+Passion+of+Joan+of+Arc] |[[Joan of Arc in art|Joan of Arc]]. The film was so powerful that it was initially banned in Britain. |- |1938 |13th c. |''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029843/] |USA |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=The+Adventures+of+Robin+Hood+] |Prince [[John of England|John]] and the [[Norman Conquest|Norman Lords]] begin oppressing the [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] masses in King [[Richard I of England|Richard]]'s absence, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army. |- |1938 |13th c. |''[[Alexander Nevsky (film)|Alexander Nevsky]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029850/] |USSR |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=Alexander+Nevsky] |Russians defend against invading German [[Teutonic Knights]] during the [[Northern Crusades]] of the 13th century. |- |1957 |13th / 14th c. |''[[The Seventh Seal]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976/] |Sweden |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=The+Seventh+Seal] |about a knight returning from a [[crusade]] playing a chess game with death during the [[Black Plague]]. |- |1960 |13th c. |''[[The Virgin Spring]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053976/] |Sweden |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=The+Virgin+Spring] |Story of Christian medieval Swedish family whose daughter is raped by vagabonds. Directed by [[Ingmar Bergman]]. |- |1961 |11th c. |''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054847/] |USA |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?^El+Cid+(1961)] |Epic film of the legendary Spanish hero. |- |1964 |12th c. |''[[Becket (film)|Becket]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/Title?0057877] |UK |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=becket] |Based on [[Jean Anouilh]]'s play about [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] [[Thomas à Becket]] and King [[Henry II of England]]. |- |1965 |11th c. |''[[The War Lord]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059896/] |USA |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?^War+Lord,+The+(1965)] |Based on [[Leslie Stevens]]' ''The Lovers''. [[Charlton Heston]] is a knight invoking the "right" to sleep with another man's bride on their wedding night. |- |1966 |16th c. |''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060665/] |UK |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?^Man+for+All+Seasons,+A+(1966)] |The story of St. [[Thomas More]]. |- |1966 |15th c. |''[[Andrei Rublev (film)|Andrei Rublev]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060107/] |USSR |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=Andrei+Rublev] |Life of [[Andrei Rublev]] the great 15th century Russian icon painter ([[Andrey Tarkovsky]]). |- |1968 |12th c. |''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063227/] |UK |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?^Lion+in+Winter,+The+(1968)] |[[Henry II of England|King Henry II's]] three sons all want to inherit the throne. His sons and wife [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] variously plot. Based ten years after the events of the [[Revolt of 1173-1174]]. |- |1976 |7th c. |''[[The Message (movie)|The Message]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074896/] |UK/Lebanon |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?^Message,+The+(1976)] |Also known as ''[[Mohammad, Messenger of God]]''. Tagline: The Story of [[Islam]]. |- |1982 |16th c. |''[[The Return of Martin Guerre]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084589/] |France |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=The+Return+of+Martin+Guerre] |Fictional story, based on actual trial records about an impostor in 16th century Southern France. |- |1986 |14th c. |''[[The Name of the Rose (film)|The Name of the Rose]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091605/] |France/Italy/Germany |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=The+Name+of+the+Rose] |Based on the novel by [[Umberto Eco]]. |- |1988 |14th c. |''[[The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095709/] |New Zealand |[http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=The+Navigator%3A+A+Medieval+Odyssey] |Seeking relief from the Black Death, guided by a boy's vision, people dig a tunnel from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand. |- |1989 |1415 |''[[Henry V (1989 film)|Henry V]]'' |[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097499/] | | |[[Henry V (play)|Shakespeare's ''Henry V'']], [[Battle of Agincourt]]. Directed by [[Kenneth Branagh]]. |} ==See also== *[[Middle Ages in history]] *[[List of films based on Arthurian legend]] *[[List of films and television series featuring Robin Hood]] *[[Cultural depictions of Joan of Arc#Films|Joan of Arc in film]] *[[King Lear#Film adaptations|King Lear in film]] *[[Macbeth#Film versions|Macbeth in film]] ==References== *Books **John Aberth, ''A Knight at the Movies: Medieval History on Film'', 2003, ISBN 0-415-93886-4. **François Amy de La Bretèque, ''L'imaginaire Médiéval Dans Le Cinéma Occidental'' (Paris: Champion, 2004). **Anke Bernau and Bettina Bildhauer, ed. ''Medieval Film'' (Manchester: Manchester UP, 2008). **Richard Burt, ''Medieval and Early Modern Film and Media'' (Palgrave MacMillan, 2008) ISBN-10: 0230601251 **Nickolas Haydock, "Movie Medievalism: The Imaginary Middle Ages" (McFarland 2008). ISBN 978-0-7864-3443-5 **Nickolas Haydock and Edward L. Risden, eds. "Hollywood in the Holy Land: The Fearful Symmetries of Movie Medievalism" (McFarland, forthcoming 2008). *Articles **Richard Burt, "Getting Schmedieval: Of Manuscript and Film Parodies, Prologues, and Paratexts," special issue of ''Exemplaria'' on "Movie Medievalism," 19.2. (Summer 2007), 217-42, co-edited by Richard Burt and Nickolas Haydock. **Richard Burt, "Re-embroidering the Bayeux Tapestry in Film and Media: the Flip Side of History in Opening and End Title Sequences," special issue of ''Exemplaria'' on "Movie Medievalism," 19.2. (Summer 2007), 327-50, co-edited by Richard Burt and Nickolas Haydock. **Nickolas Haydock, "Arthurian Melodrama, Chaucerian Spectacle and the Waywardness of Cinematic Pastiche in 'First Knight' and 'A Knight's Tale'" "Studies in Medievalism" 12 (2002): 5-38. **Nickolas Haydock, "Shooting the Messenger: Luc Besson at War with Joan of Arc," special issue of "Exemplaria" on "Movie Medievalism," 19.2 (Summer 2007), co-edited by Richard Burt and Nickolas Haydock **Nickolas Haydock, "Digital Divagations in a Hyperreal Camelot: Antoine Fuqua's 'King Arthur'" in Helen Fulton, ed. "Blackwell Companion to Arthurian Literature" (Blackwell, forthcoming 2008). **David Williams, "Medieval Movies", ''The Yearbook of English Studies'', 20 (1990), 1-32. **Special issue of ''Cahiers de la Cinémathèque'', "Le Moyen Âge au Cinéma", 42/43 (1985). *Filmographies and Bibliographies **K.J. Harty, ''The Reel Middle Ages: American, Western and Eastern European, Middle Eastern and Asian films about Medieval Europe'', 1999, ISBN 0-7864-0541-4. The first comprehensive survey of films of the European Middle Ages. Over 900 films. **Paul Halsall, [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medfilms.html Medieval History in the Movies] Online list of over 200 movies depicting Medieval history. From the [[Internet Medieval Sourcebook]]. **Paul Halsall, [http://www.unf.edu/classes/medieval/film/medievalmoviesbibliography.htm Medieval Movies Bibliography] as part of class below. **David J. Williams, "Medieval Movies: A Filmography", ''[http://www.h-net.org/~filmhis/ Film & History]'' 29:1-2 (1999):20-32. <!-- this site is not being kept up and is out-of-dte. We'd prefer not linking--thanks**[http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/cmrs/cinema/Search.htm Annotated Catalog of Medieval and Renaissance Films & Bibliography] from the [[UCLA]] Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.--> *University classes **[http://www.unf.edu/classes/medieval/film/ HIST 3932: Myth, Epic, and Romance: Medieval History in Film] History class at [[University of North Florida]] by Paul Halsall. Last retrieved Jan. 2005 **[http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/medieval/film/film.shtml HIST 4950: The Medieval World in Film] History class at [[Georgia College & State University]] by Dr. Deborah Vess. Last retrieved Jan. 2005 **[http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/ncaputo/film-syllabus.htm HIST 3931: The Middle Ages in Film] History class at [[University of Florida]] by Dr. Nina Caputo. Last retrieved Jan. 2005 **[http://www.clas.ufl.edu/%7Erburt/Medieval%20Film%20and%20Media/ ENG 4133 Section 6439: Medieval Film and Media] English Class at [[University of Florida]] by Dr. Richard Burt. Last retrieved Feb. 2007 *Articles **Arthur Lindley, [http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fir598/ALfr3a.htm "The ahistoricism of medieval film"], from ''[http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/ Screening The Past]'' Journal. **Paul Halsall, [http://www.unf.edu/classes/medieval/film/thinkingabouthistoricalfilm.htm "Thinking about Historical Film"], [[University of North Florida]]. **David J. Williams, "Looking at the Middle Ages in the Cinema: An Overview." ''[http://www.h-net.org/~filmhis/ Film & History]'' 29:1-2 (1999): 8-19. **Martha Driver, "Writing About Medieval Movies: Authenticity and History.", ''[http://www.h-net.org/~filmhis/ Film & History]'' 29:1-2 (1999):5-7. **Pamela Mejia, [http://www.wsu.edu/~pamela_m/intro.htm "Introduction to Medieval Films"] *Online resources **[http://medievalstudiesatthemovies.org Medieval Studies at the Movies: An Online Reference Guide to Medieval Subjects on Film and Television] **[http://www.geocities.com/historicalmovies The Ultimate SCAdian Movie list] A list of medieval movies, arranged by genre, topic, or time period, designed for members of the [[Society for Creative Anachronism]]. [[Category:Films set in the Middle Ages| ]] [[fa:فيلم در زمان قرون وسطي]] [[fr:Moyen Âge au cinéma]]