Posted: February 07, 2000 at 14:23:23: by Forkbeard
: Re this never ending Medieval Middle-earth debate. Before any judgements can be made one way or the other I would like to see a clear definition of what "medieval" means. What are the defining characteristics of medievalism? Is it sensible to call anywhere but Europe "medieval" at any stage in its history? China? the Pre-Columbian America's? The Arab World? Middle-earth?As Martin has pointed out, medieval was a term coined by the humanists to describe Europe between the fall of Rome and their own time. It was a disparagement. However, in modern academic circles, the term has come to be applied to any civilization between 500 and 1500 CE. While this is a recognized falsity on the one hand, it also serves to be able to talk about similar movements and points of contact between China and Europe and the Middle East during the same period. At the same time, it is recognized that the "medieval" period begins at different times at different places--i. e. is Sub-Roman Britain really still "late antique" or is it "medieval" and to what degree is it a liminal period? Hopefully that helped rather than obscured.
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