Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture represents a second masterful effort of editor Gail Ashton to grow the literature surrounding ‘medievalisms’ ... This makes for a serious, but enjoyable and accessible read for those both within and beyond academia.
Cerae
This substantial collection comprises 29 essays on medieval culture in the present world … In the volume's five sections, ... Read morecontributors examine performative medievalisms, the Middle Ages as a media phenomenon, reimagining and reappropriating the medieval, cultural icons and artifacts, and networking and fan culture. There is something for everyone interested in medievalism, and the vast majority of the essays engage in new texts, spaces, and concepts. Things Arthurian are the focus of a number of essays, and Robin Hood is well represented. The most engaging essays are those that focus on the spread of the medieval to physical sites: Elizabeth Emery’s piece on medieval times in North America, Louise D’Arcens's contribution on Australian medievalisms, and Laurie Finke and Susan Aronstein’s interaction with Tintagel as a locus of tourism and national heritage. For this reader, the most significant contribution to this volume is Wendy Scase’s essay on medieval manuscripts and the benefits and problems of digitization. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above.
CHOICE
There is something for everyone interested in medievalism in this volume, and the many excellent contributions examine new cultural spaces in which medievalist tropes play out ... this book offers a comprehensive discussion of this rapidly expanding topic and highlights a number of new directions which will no doubt encourage further work by specialists and non-specialists alike.
Folklore
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