The European Middle Ages seem to be having a moment. Although it’s true that, essentially since the time they ended, the period has been used to justify the shape of an author’s contemporary world, the appropriation of the Middle Ages by white supremacists in the last few years has been particularly notable. These white nationalists have used the Middle Ages as the source of their own “Lost Cause,” referencing, for example, the medieval Crusades as a great defensive struggle in which a unified, white Europe defended itself from a hostile, non-white, Islamic invader—even though this understanding is a myth.
So too, they often rely on a narrative of the “Anglo-Saxons” as an English “race,” a concept that has played heavily in political discourse over the past few hundred years, often repackaged to include false narratives promoting their ideas about racial superiority. But in fact, they perpetuate a 19th century myth that centers on a false idea of what it means to be “native” to Britain. Real evidence from within pre-Conquest England reveals that the term was used almost exclusively in Latin charters, legal documents and early kings’ titles to differentiate the Saxons who lived in England from the Saxons of the continent. Following centuries of sporadic use after the Norman Conquest, the term “Anglo-Saxon” reappeared in the late 16th century and eventually, as the past was refashioned, became an ethno-racial identifier.
But plundering the Middle Ages in order to find the origins of the modern world doesn’t only happen in far-right corners of the web and at racist rallies. It also happens in academic circles, and even among those who may not know they’re doing it. And so it is crucial, even as laypeople, to be on guard against false narratives about the medieval period, to make sure that history is used responsibly.
Within the discipline of medieval studies, scholars have been concerned about the ethics of not just engaging the past itself but how people use it. Last year, scholars Helen King and Monica H. Green invited scientific and biomedical researchers to talk to historians more in order to better understand the state of current research and the implications of making certain claims about the past. The rest of the world would do well to follow their instructions, too. Historical sources, especially those that are translated from other languages, aren’t transparent, can’t be picked apart “cafeteria style” for data.
Source: Misuse of Medieval History Isn’t Limited to the Far Right | Time
