Introduction

Abstract

The roots of Victorian medievalism are various, but the movement largely stems from ongoing research in antiquities starting with The London Society of Antiquaries in the early 1700s.¹ This interest became more intense with the popularization of the Graveyard poets, the birth of the Gothic novel, and the republication of Malory’s Morte d’Arthur² along with the increased availability of medieval texts (mostly French, German, and Icelandic) in translation. Some relied on these translations for their work and adaptations while others, like William Morris and Algernon Swinburne, produced their own translations of original texts; however, popular culture embraced medievalism so much that the historic Middle Ages became, in many ways, of secondary importance to the majority of Victorians. In fact, most Victorians drew their impressions of the Middle Ages from Sir Walter Scott’s novels rather than from any historical medieval text.³ As Clare A. Simmons asserts, Victorian medievalism focuses on “the individual’s needs and desires” rather than in “discovering the authentic past.”⁴ Thus, everything about this “history” became a matter of interpretation, not an “authentic past” but an authentic fantasy.