From George RR Martin to Umberto Eco, many writers have been inspired by stories of the middle ages. Here are some of the best
How far do hit television series such as HBO’s Game of Thrones and the BBC’s recent The Last Kingdom reflect the real medieval worlds of early (and late) medieval Europe and Asia, or of Anglo-Saxon England? The answer, as I found when I was researching the parallels between Game of Thrones and the medieval world for my new book, is: to a surprising degree. Both the show and the book sequence on which it’s based, George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, reflect very closely the cultures, beliefs and practices of this era. From the Mongols to the Vikings, from the Mediterranean trading ports to the Celtic lake-dwelling tribes, Martin’s imagined world brings the medieval vividly to life.
As a teacher of medieval texts to university students, I welcome with open arms young people whose imaginations have already been fired by the work of JRR Tolkien, TH White, Bernard Cornwell and now GRR Martin. For knowing about the cultures of Tolkien’s Middle-earth, or about White’s Merlin (who lived his life backwards and who taught his young charge Wart how to be King Arthur), or about the turbulent conditions of the reign of Alfred the Great, opens minds up to the Old English epic Beowulf, the novel-like Norse sagas, the social comedy of Geoffrey Chaucer and the skilful plotting of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Continue reading...
0 comments:
Post a Comment