Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
medievalism

medievalism

1 8.3
Interest in or copying of ideas, art, and life from the Middle Ages
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛdɪˈiːvəlɪzəm/
: medievalismo
  • The artist's work reflects a deep appreciation for medievalism, showcasing themes and styles from the Middle Ages.

While Europe was in the, you know, dark age of medievalism, Iran was a powerhouse of scientific research and technological innovation.

Examples

  • The Gothic revival is the most obvious example of nineteenth-century medievalism.

    Academic text (1992)

  • We're dealing with medievalism here.

    Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

  • In the meantime, I write in "Modern Medievalism" to show how the ideas

    Blog text (27)

  • My first session was on "Medievalism and the Uncanny."

    Blog text (26)

  • The tendency to recuperate the spiritual values of medievalism for Germany was conspicuous in later debates on art and architecture.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Dvorak was deeply drawn to the discursive promulgation of medievalism and its implications for the artistic expression of the Christian religious spirit.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The cities would corrode and crumble, great mournful hulks, the final monuments to medievalism.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • More than any other single figure, Scott lay behind the great nineteenth-century fad of ersatz medievalism, especially and emphatically including the mania for Highland regalia, "ancient" ceremonies, and invented customs.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Many fantasy novels draw on medievalism to create immersive worlds, filled with knights and castles.

  • In the museum, the exhibit on medievalism highlights the cultural and artistic achievements of the Middle Ages.

Surface Forms

medievalism singular
medievalisms plural

Morphology

medievalism = medieval (transparent) = medieval + ism

Formed by the adjective 'medieval' + productive suffix '-ism' meaning interest/ideology, so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

Medievalism comes from medieval, which is made from the Latin parts medius 'middle' and aevum 'age', plus the ending -ism that makes a word about a belief or movement. So medievalism is an interest in, or liking for, the 'Middle Ages' and the art and ideas from that time.