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Description
This thesis will examine how the Middle Ages are historically interpreted and portrayed in the United States. In order to keep this study within reasonable bounds, the research will exclude films, television, novels, and other forms of media that rely on the Pre-Modern period of European history for entertainment purposes. This thesis will narrow its focus on museums, non-profit organizations, and other institutions, examining their methods of research and interpretation, the levels of historical accuracy or authenticity they hold themselves to, and their levels of success. This thesis ultimately hopes to prove that the medieval period offers the same level of public interest as popular periods of American history.
This focus on reenactment serves to illustrate the need for an American audience to form a simulated connection to a historical period for which they inherently lack geographic or cultural memory. The utilization of hyperreality as described by Umberto Eco lends itself readily to this historic period, and plays to the American desire for total mimetic immersion and escapism. After examining the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition of medieval history as high art and culture, the thesis focuses on historical reenactment, as it offers a greater level of visitor interaction, first by analyzing R.G. Collingwood’s definition of “reenactment” and it’s relation to the modern application in order to establish it as a veritable academic practice.
The focus of the thesis then turns to the historical interpretation/reenactment program identified here as historical performance, which uses trained actors in controlled museum conditions to present historically accurate demonstrations meant to bring the artifacts on display to simulated life. Beginning with the template first established by the Royal Armories Museum in the United Kingdom, a comparative study utilizing research and interviews highlights the interpretative methods of the Frazier History Museum, and those of the Higgins Armory Museum. By comparing both museum’s methods, a possible template for successfully educating the American public about the European Middle Ages; while a closer examination of the Frazier Museum’s survival compared to the Higgins Armory’s termination may illustrate what future institutions must do or avoid to thrive.
This focus on reenactment serves to illustrate the need for an American audience to form a simulated connection to a historical period for which they inherently lack geographic or cultural memory. The utilization of hyperreality as described by Umberto Eco lends itself readily to this historic period, and plays to the American desire for total mimetic immersion and escapism. After examining the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition of medieval history as high art and culture, the thesis focuses on historical reenactment, as it offers a greater level of visitor interaction, first by analyzing R.G. Collingwood’s definition of “reenactment” and it’s relation to the modern application in order to establish it as a veritable academic practice.
The focus of the thesis then turns to the historical interpretation/reenactment program identified here as historical performance, which uses trained actors in controlled museum conditions to present historically accurate demonstrations meant to bring the artifacts on display to simulated life. Beginning with the template first established by the Royal Armories Museum in the United Kingdom, a comparative study utilizing research and interviews highlights the interpretative methods of the Frazier History Museum, and those of the Higgins Armory Museum. By comparing both museum’s methods, a possible template for successfully educating the American public about the European Middle Ages; while a closer examination of the Frazier Museum’s survival compared to the Higgins Armory’s termination may illustrate what future institutions must do or avoid to thrive.
ContributorsHatch, Ryan R (Author) / Wright, Kent (Thesis advisor) / Warnicke, Retha M. (Committee member) / Fixico, Donald L. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Medieval European manuscripts contain a wealth of diverse and imaginative collections of illuminations. The margins are a perfect playground for unique, unusual and fantastic creatures, including an illuminated gradual from 1510 known as the Geese Book. In this paper, I have examined a single illumination from the book in depth. It depicts two female monsters, a wild woman and a female dragon, fighting desperately over a wild child. These two females are not only monsters and fighters, but also mothers. The unusual juxtaposition of the nurturing aspect of maternity and the brutal nature of combat is used to facilitate a discussion about women, violence, and the nature of the monstrous-feminine. The way women are presented and constructed in horror is far different than their male counterparts, as gendered expectations differ wildly. These manuscript illuminations contain combat and potentially horrific situations, but nearly always come off as humorous. I will also be discussing the importance of humor in difficult and potentially problematic situations. Comedy, particularly dark comedy, can scrutinize aspects of culture and society that may otherwise be considered improper taboo to touch upon. Unusual women behaving in an improper manner is a rare subject, and one that deserves to be discussed. By going through historical legends that also combine the usually disparate themes of maternity and violence, I attempt to both explain the image in the Geese Book and frame it in a broader context. The monstrous women from the illumination are compared to both artworks contemporary to the gradual and more modern media. By connecting representations from both the Middle Ages and today, we can better understand where feminine constructions originated and how they have changed. Today, portrayals of the monstrous-feminine have warped traditional maternal archetypes and are unafraid to lay bare the bizarre and grotesque potential of motherhood.
ContributorsMelo, Anna Isabel (Author) / Schleif, Corine (Thesis director) / Navarro, Rudolph (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05