medievalism

or me·di·ae·val·ism

[ mee-dee-ee-vuh-liz-uhm, med-ee-, mid-ee-, mid-ee-vuh- ]

noun

1. the spirit, practices, or methods of the Middle Ages.
2. devotion to or adoption of medieval ideals or practices.
3. a medieval belief, practice, or the like.

medievalism

/ ˌmɛdɪˈiːvəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the beliefs, life, or style of the Middle Ages or devotion to those
2. a belief, custom, or point of style copied or surviving from the Middle Ages

Other Words From

• anti·medi·aeval·ism noun
• anti·medi·eval·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of medievalism¹

First recorded in 1850–55; medieval + -ism

Example Sentences

This idea had emerged from the fascination with medievalism prominent in 19th-century England and embraced by the South’s planter class.

From Slate

Medievalism appealed to the South’s conservative culture.

From Slate

One of the things that’s especially interesting about contemporary medievalism is that movies and TV shows will often film real medieval art or in real medieval locations.

From Los Angeles Times

“Medievalism to me seemed a door into something that always interested me,” Getz told me recently, “the axiomatic notion in so much of the history of science that we bear witness to the unfolding of a master narrative of progress from a dark age into an enlightened era.”

From Slate

From Wagner to “Game of Thrones” and back again, pop-cultural medievalism has a habit of leavening sublimity and solemnity with heavy doses of intended or inadvertent silliness.

From New York Times