Medieval Gaming: The (Re)Construction of the Germanic Heroic Tradition

MEDIEVAL GAMING: THE (RE)CONSTRUCTION OF THE GERMANIC HEROIC TRADITION Enrique Torres-Hergueta Dir. María José Gómez Calderón Escuela Internacional de Doctorado, Universidad de Sevilla Programa de Doctorado en ESTUDIOS FILOLÓGICOS Línea de Literatura y Cultura en Lengua Inglesa Tesis presentada para la obtención del título de DOCTOR DEPARTAMENTO DE FILOLOGÍA INGLESA (LITERATURA INGLESA Y NORTEAMERICANA) UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA Sevilla, 2024 On the black wind forever We ride on together Destroying your evil With freedom our guide When the master will call us He’ll stand high before us Our hearts filled with splendour Our swords will shine over the light “Valley of the Damned” DragonForce (2003) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing a quest is not easy… Perhaps the most challenging part is starting it. It does not matter if you are a condemned man on your way to execution, unaware of your destiny as the world’s saviour, an exiled demigod trying to fulfil your late wife’s last wish, a Viking leader guiding your clan across the sea in search of new lands, or simply a doctoral candidate. Most of the times, success or failure in a quest will be determined by perseverance and the support of all the heroes and heroines who accompany you along the way. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude for the selfless work of my advisor, Dr. María José Gómez-Calderón, for accepting to guide me in such a complex project. Her patience and immense ability to distil academic content from among my enthusiastic ponderings have been of incalculable value in attaining my PhD degree. The fires of her knowledge will forge all my future works. Likewise, I would like to extend this gratitude to my alma mater, the University of Seville and, notably, to all those professors from the Department of English and North American Literature who have influenced my education as a philologist and researcher in one way or another. My academic achievement owes much to them. I’m particularly grateful to Dr. María José Mora Sena for her words of encouragement and suggestions, and Dr. Rafael Portillo García for first introducing me to English literature. Special thanks to Dr. Oren Falk from Cornell University, and Dr. Maria de Jesus Relvas and the LE@D team from Universidade Aberta for making my research stays at their institutions enjoyable. I really appreciate their generous sharing of knowledge through refreshing conversations and advice that helped broaden my perspectives and see things differently. Eternal gratitude to my friends who, though mostly “exiled,” have been the warrior’s respite for me. I thank them for the amusement, the laughs, the trips, and the games. There is no better magical potion to restore hit points. I am very grateful and indebted to my parents, Juan Miguel and María de los Ángeles, for giving me a wonderful life and education and transmitting me strong values. They always took good care of me, ultimately allowing me to reach where I am today. Also, many thanks to my sister, Ángeles, for sharing hobbies and interests in these realms of geekdom, and for never failing to find a moment to share a laugh. Finally, thanks to the most important person in my life, the strongest supporter for the final accomplishment of this project, the Lady Commander of the Brenan Force. My deepest and everlasting gratitude to Patri for being my anchor to reality, shedding light even in the darkest of nights, teaching me countless lessons in humility, and being the voice of reason keeping my feet on the ground. Thanks for the affection and unwavering encouragement, and for believing day in and day out that I could do it. This thesis would not have been possible without her. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 1. THE POPULAR MIDDLE AGES IN THE 21ST CENTURY: REVISITING, REWRITING, REPURPOSING ..................................................................................................................... 21 1.1. The Road so Far: Some Theoretical Considerations ............................................. 21 1.2. Medievalisms: The Medieval after the Middle Ages ........................................... 28 1.3. The Popular Middle Ages ........................................................................................ 30 1.3.1. Defining Popular Culture: Canon and Margins............................................ 30 1.3.1.1. Popular versus High Culture: The Medievalist Tradition ................... 36 1.3.1.2. From Popular Culture to Mass Culture .................................................. 40 1.3.2. Popular Appropriations of the Middle Ages: Procedures ........................... 47 1.3.2.1. Defining Cultural Appropriation ............................................................ 48 1.3.2.2. Defining Adaptation.................................................................................. 52 1.3.2.3. Pastiche and Simulacrum ......................................................................... 56 2. THE STAGES OF POPULAR MEDIEVALISM: FROM BRITAIN TO THE GLOBAL MARKET 61 2.1. The Renaissance and the Middle Ages: The Anglican Take ............................... 62 2.2. The Age of Enlightenment and the Middle Ages: Constitutionalism ............... 67 2.3. Romanticism and the Middle Ages: Nation, Race and Imagination ................. 75 2.4. The Victorian Age and the Middle Ages: Imperial Images ................................ 81 2.5. 20th-Century Medievalism: Fantasy and Spirituality ........................................... 89 2.6. Towards Globalisation: 21st-century Neomedievalism and Mass-Market Medievalism ............................................................................................................... 99 3. THE GERMANIC TRADITION IN THE GENRES AND MEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE (1970S-2020S) ................................................................................................................... 105 3.1. Popular Literature ................................................................................................... 105 3.2. The Audiovisual Media: Cinema and Television ............................................... 113 3.3. The Graphic Novel .................................................................................................. 124 3.4. Popular Music .......................................................................................................... 127 4. MEDIEVAL GAMING: PERFORMING THE PAST ............................................................... 133 4.1. Remediation: From the Page to the Interactive Digital Screen ......................... 134 4.2. Gamifying the Medieval Heritage: From Tabletop to Digital Realms ............ 136 4.3. Video Games and Game Studies ........................................................................... 140 4.4. The Universe of Historical Video Games ............................................................ 144 4.5. The New Middle Ages and Video Games (1980s-2020s) ................................... 150 5. THE (RE)CONSTRUCTION OF THE GERMANIC HEROIC TRADITION: PLAYABILITY AND MOTIFS ............................................................................................................................. 153 5.1. The Video Game Hero ............................................................................................ 162 5.1.1. The Germanic Hero Revisited........................................................................ 166 5.1.2. The Germanic Hero and Racial Discourse ................................................... 172 5.1.3. The “Muscular” Hero: Strength and Courage ............................................. 177 5.1.4. The Heroic Ethos ............................................................................................. 180 5.1.5. The Hero’s Quest ............................................................................................. 183 5.2. The Video Game Antagonist ................................................................................. 191 5.2.1. The Human Enemy ......................................................................................... 192 5.2.2. The Monstrous Enemy .................................................................................... 201 5.2.2.1. Draugar, the Germanic Walking Dead .................................................. 202 5.2.2.2. Trolls, the Beastly Threat ........................................................................ 206 5.2.2.3. Giants, the Massive Threat ..................................................................... 210 5.2.3. The Ultimate Enemy: The Dragon ................................................................ 216 5.2.3.1. The Germanic Dragon ............................................................................. 218 5.2.3.2. In-Game Dragons ..................................................................................... 222 5.3. The Treasure ............................................................................................................. 226 5.3.1. The Germanic Treasure .................................................................................. 227 5.3.2. The Treasure Hunt: Gold and Points ............................................................ 230 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................................... 241 WORKS CITED ....................................................................................................................... 247 APPENDIXES .......................................................................................................................... 281 Appendix 1: Song Lyrics ............................................................................................... 281 Appendix 2: Video games Images ............................................................................... 287 6 ordinary farmer who eventually becomes a king on his own merits. This transformation aligns with the self-made man modern ideal, evidencing a cultural makeover of early medieval topics that “provides identities that seem to fit naturally into the requirements of society” (Catano 421). That is, the semilegendary figure of Ragnar has been updated to suit contemporary societal expectations and models of success. Likewise, video games have become significant among medieval-derived commodities in the last years. They are a universally popular form of entertainment, and it is unlikely nowadays to encounter people who do not recognise products like Super Mario Bros. or have never come close to a video game console –be it a Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii or Microsoft Xbox. The first video game exclusively designed for leisure was demonstrated in 1958 as part of an experiment conducted at Brookhaven Laboratory in Upton, New York. Following this pioneering experience, the inception of the medium as a popular form of entertainment is commonly dated to 1972, when “Ralph Baer’s Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game system, [was] released, [and] Nolan Bushnell’s PONG appears in the arcade becoming the first hit game” (Wolf, “Brief” XVII). The commercialisation of these products quickly spread internationally in a few decades. For instance, even though Spain may not be renowned for its groundbreaking digital industry, the video game business grew successfully in the early years here, too. The 1980s are often called the Golden Age of Spanish Software, 7 mainly due to the release of games like the pioneering Bugaboo (1983). 3 Between 1983 and 1992, Spain became Europe’s second-largest software producer of eight-bit computer software games, the dominant gaming platform at the time. Spanish coders and Spanish software companies developed a unique style of video games and text adventures. Many of these made-in-Spain games, and their characters and artwork, are still featured as classics in video gaming publications and culture today. (Gladwin) Evidence demonstrates that in the last 30 years, the number of players has grown exponentially. In 2023, the amount of active gamers worldwide has reached 3.22 billion. Between 2015 and 2023, the figure has risen from 2.03 billion to 3.22 billion, representing 37% of the historical total. This compares to 63% over the previous 43 years (Howarth). The rapid progression is reflected in the profits of the industry. In 2000, profits reached 7.98 billion dollars, escalating to 19.7 billion before 2010 (“Total Revenues”). By 2015, they had surpassed 90 billion, and by 2020, revenues had reached nearly 175 billion. By 2022, this figure had surged to 184.4 billion (“Games Market”). The impressive growth of the video game industry has led to a considerable increase in employment opportunities nowadays, creating a myriad of job openings in various sectors. Content production for video games has become one of the most 3 Created by Extremaduran developers Paco Portalo and Paco Suárez under the brand Paco & Paco, this game received very positive reviews, specially from British specialised press (“HOP, SKIP & JUMP”). In 2021, the Spanish Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte awarded them the Medalla de Oro al Mérito en Bellas Artes Prize for their contributions as game developers (Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte 166601). 8 prominent career fields, requiring the expertise of professionals in areas such as level design, interactive storytelling, and character conception. In the same way, the work of creative script writers is crucial to producing new narratives for the games. Furthermore, collaboration with famous illustrators and musicians has become a common practice in the industry, generating employment for interdisciplinary artistic teams. 4 Among the many topics video games exploit, historical ones have consistently inspired developers, and revisiting the medieval heritage has been particularly productive, as said above. By 2018, the research project “History and Video Games: The Impact of New Entertainment Media on the Knowledge of Medieval Times,” conducted at the University of Murcia, had catalogued more than 700 medievalthemed products released between 1980 and 2015. This investigation categorises them into two groups: historical and hybrid. The former category includes games that attempt to recreate the Middle Ages realistically, while those belonging in the latter display topics and aesthetics inspired by the medieval past but also introduce fantastical elements into their storylines (San Nicolás Romera et al. 522). The first medieval video game, however, predates the titles included in this catalogue. The pioneering Adventure (1980) is, in a broad sense, an adaptation of Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval, the Story of the Grail (c. 1190). The romance narrative is reduced dramatically, but still, the game features “an open medieval-fantasy environment where the hero, a 4 The American firm Rice Games is an interesting example of this artistic and technological collaborative venture. As a matter of fact, there are also many universities that offer both undergraduate and masters courses on video game design and development, such as Harvard (https://bit.ly/3x6Urcv), Purdue University (https://bit.ly/43tn8wd) or Newcastle University (https://bit.ly/3VvnHn8). Spanish universities also feature examples like the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (https://bit.ly/4aqDaZZ) and the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (https://bit.ly/3IQ4CVf). 9 single pixel square, had to find a magical chalice and return it to a golden castle” (Bostal 380). Medieval-themed video games with either historical or literary content have become a global phenomenon in the last decades, presenting a particular vision of the European barbarian and chivalric legacy that has evolved into the universal medieval heritage. Players from all over the world are familiar with its tropes regardless of their own national historical background. Significantly, the appropriation and commercial exploitation of the European Middle Ages by video games are influenced by the Anglophone culture. This is unsurprising because this cultural tradition had already guided the previous transference of medieval themes and topics from the written to the audiovisual medium. This influence is explained in the fact that the major film and television studios and production companies with international distribution are American; therefore, their cultural traits are rooted in British culture. The sales figures of these products reflect the international success of the Eurocentric perspective on the medieval heritage articulated by video game. According to the sales tracking website, VGChartz, a classic medieval-inspired title like The Legend of Zelda saga (1986-) has sold over 146 million copies in more than 25 instalments; Final Fantasy (1987-) has reached 110 million copies sold after 20 instalments; The Elder Scrolls (1994-) has surpassed 90 million copies sold with six games released; The Witcher (2007-), with just three issues, boasts more than 50 million copies; and Hogwarts Legacy (2023), the role-playing video game set in the neomedievalist Wizarding World franchise of Harry Potter, has accumulated more than 15 million copies in the first six months since its release. As Tom Henderson 10 points out, four of the top eight best-selling games of 2023, namely Final Fantasy XVI (+3 million), Diablo IV (+12 million), Hogwarts Legacy (+15 million), and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (+18.5 million), exploit this kind of topics. The predictable success of all these products attests to contemporary society’s prevalent interest in all things medieval. Taking all this into consideration, the ultimate goal of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive explanation of the reasons behind the intersection of the appropriation, gamification and commodification of a specific part of this medieval heritage, the Germanic heroic tradition, and its transformation from the manuscript to the digital screen. To do so, this study primarily adopts a postmodern critical angle. This is justified in the premise that any process of revisiting and appropriating the medieval past by the popular genres and media involves deconstructing the discourse official culture holds about it to later reconstruct it according to the ideological and aesthetic standards of the new creators and target audiences. In this regard, the Reception Theory approach aids in understanding how the interest in the Germanic medieval heritage has transitioned from being an academic line of enquiry to becoming a significant trope in contemporary global popular culture. To explore this process, the analysis developed in this thesis also incorporates the concept of historical consciousness. This term, theorised by Jörn Rüsen, refers to “how young people (and cultures as a whole) use narratives of the past—and how they might progress in those uses—within the conditions of modernity” (Seixas 61). This idea is complemented by the premises of historical culture, which encompasses “the complete range of activities of historical consciousness” (Rüsen, “Geschichtskultur” 38). In fact, the continuous 11 construction of the Middle Ages within a given society depends not only on its access to the primary sources of information about the past, but also on the contextualised historiographical interpretations those sources have received over time within this cultural matrix. While this task is entrusted to the academic and cultural agents that elaborate the official interpretation, there exists a parallel popular construction of the medieval heritage that escapes scholarly control, encompassing the generation and consumption of mass-market products that re-create it. Thus, the contemporary perception of the early Middle Ages operates within the interpretative framework of the popular medievalist tradition, established by a long list of previous literary, graphic, musical, audiovisual, and digital works receiving it. This low-brow culture construct of the Germanic heritage oversimplifies, and often distorts, the more intricate and richer medieval reality that historians and philologists have researched. It also consolidates a collection of clichés and stereotypes that have become the average consumer’s widely accepted vision of the past. As a result, the popular Middle Ages is largely self-referential. In this sense, medieval video games contribute to reinforcing the collective image of the Germanic Middle Ages as a world of adventure, wonder, bellicosity, and heroism. In order to examine the case study of the medievalist video game, it is essential to consider two fundamental factors inherent to the medium. Firstly, there is the idea of re-mediation, which implies the observance of the strategies that intervene in “the representation of one medium in another” (Bolter and Grusin, “Immediacy” 45). In the idiosyncratic context of video games, this relates to the reworking of written narratives as interactive digital products designed for entertainment. Secondly, we 12 must pay proper attention to gamification procedures. These transform a linear narrative into an open one by incorporating a range of variable choices that reshape the story as gameplay. The question is particularly interesting in the case of the more historicist games, as they rewrite the Middle Ages events in alternative ways every time the product is played, while hybrid ones are inspired by medieval literature and history in a looser way. These two factors determine the reconfiguration of the medieval heritage, rendering it comprehensible and enjoyable for gamers who most likely do not have a specific background on the period’s history, literature and culture, but are still attracted by its popular recreation as long as it sticks to the medieval video game narrative and aesthetic standards. The gamification of the Germanic heroic tradition redefines how its distinctive motifs are re-mediated. It is then necessary to adopt a narratological approach to describe this procedure of adaptation to ensure its playability. For a start, the original plot of the heroic quest is transformed: the warrior’s quest is reformulated as a gameplay in which the protagonist, now reissued as the player’s avatar within the digital interface, fights against a series of villainous character types for safeguarding his people and gaining wealth. Thus, the episodes of the story accommodate to the mechanics of the video game as the different phases and levels of difficulty at which the player’s physical and intellectual skills are tested. Therefore, the heroic challenges are recodified as problem-solving situations within the playthrough. On the other hand, the adventure narrative is configured as an immersive experience that takes place in the early medieval space-time framework. To this end, the playthrough is 13 located in an evocative barbarian Nordic setting, whose aesthetics are artistically crafted by the product’s visual design. This doctoral dissertation is innovative in several aspects. Even though some previous studies on medieval video games have appeared in the last twenty-five years, there are very few comprehensive publications studying titles based on the Germanic heroic theme. Most importantly, none of them addresses their discussion as part of the cultural phenomenon of contemporary popular medievalism. Thus, most often the scholarly works have explored medieval-themed games from the point of view of historicist simulation, such as Steven E. Jones’s interesting The Meaning of Video Games: Gaming and Textual Strategies (2008), Matthew W. Kapell and Andrew B. R. Elliott’s Playing with the Past: Digital Games and the Simulation of History (2013), the latter author’s article “Simulations and Simulacra: History in Video Games” (2016), or the collection of essays edited by Daniel T. Kline in Digital Gaming Re-Imagines the Middle Ages (2013), followed by his more recent book chapter on “Participatory Medievalism, Role-Playing, and Digital Gaming” (2016). Similar approaches are followed in “Video Games Set in the Middle Ages: Time Spans, Plots, and Genres” (2018) by C. San Nicolás Romera et al.. On the other hand, several studies have focused on the didactic potential of medieval-derived video games, like Harry J. Brown’s Videogames and Education (2008), Adam Chapman’s Digital Games as History: How Videogames Represent the Past and Offer Access to Historical Practice (2016), and Jeremiah McCall’s Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History (2022), but again these works were not systematic in the study of the video games’ specific repurposing of the Germanic past. Closer to our research interests is the book chapter 14 “‘I Braved in my Youth-Days Battles Unnumbered’: Beowulf, Video Games, and Hack- and-Slash Medievalism” (2020), written by the aforesaid Andrew B. R. Elliott in collaboration with Victoria Cooper, which deals with the video game based on the 2007 film adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon poem. There are also some recent studies on individual titles, like Celia Trenter’s “Remediation of Cultural Memory in the Dragon Age Videogame Series” (2021), and even a monography on one of the works analysed in this thesis, Mike Piero and Marc A. Ouellette’s Being Dragonborn: Critical Essays on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2021). Nevertheless, as far as we are aware, none has pursued the research of the specific representation of the Germanic heroic tradition any further, and to date there has been no comparative analysis conducted on a representative corpus of video games that allows for a comprehensive description of the cultural strategies employed for the re-mediation and repurposing of the heroic Middle Ages for the gaming universe. In order to offer an informed discussion of the question, this thesis focuses on the study of the three most representative Germanic-themed video games of the last 15 years: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, God of War, and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Necessarily, all of them recreate a narrative universe based on a large variety of medieval sources, including epic poetry, sagas, and historical texts. The close-reading analysis conducted on these digital works helps us better understand the significance of the cultural phenomenon known as the contemporary Middle Ages. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a role-playing video game set in the mountainous realm of Skyrim, a medieval fantasy environment. This land is reminiscent of the early Scandinavian kingdoms of the Viking Age. Players take on the role of the warrior hero, 15 named Dragonborn, and embark on an epic quest to prevent the return of the evil dragons and restore peace to this world. The Nordic ambience is evident in the physical setting, featuring wild landscapes, humble sheds, rich halls, and (somehow anachronistically) stone castles decorated with armours and bladed weapons. 5 Likewise, the ranks of early medieval society are mirrored in a hierarchy that ranges from peasants to powerful nobles. The inclusion of fantastic characters within the ingame mythology, such as the dragons, draugar, and giants of Germanic folklore, but also magical creatures like necromancers, vampires and werewolves, connects the historical element with both the referential world of Germanic epic literature and modern terror and sword and sorcery high fantasy. This work has been chosen because it recreates the barbarian Middle Ages by means of fusing historical verisimilitude and fantasy, operating within the imaginary universe of the Germanic legends. On its part, God of War is an action-adventure video game franchise. In its fourth instalment the epic narrative focuses on Kratos, the Greek (demi)god of war featuring in previous issues, who has now been relocated to the Germanic pantheon. The storyline unfolds a tale of courage, loyalty and self-quest, developed in a world teeming with mythological creatures. The Nordic theme is evidenced mainly through the characters of gods Odin and Thor, and a Scandinavian-like, awe-inspiring setting with lush forests of fir trees, mysterious fiord lands and snowy mountains. The inclusion of this title in the study corpus serves to illustrate a more fantastic take on 5 This anachronism is particularly noteworthy since, in the early Middle Ages, the construction of stone buildings, such as castles, was not common practice in Scandinavia. According to Jens Eike Schnall, wood was indeed perceived “as the most original of all building materials used by Germanic peoples” (102). 22 cultural norms, assumptions, and criteria shaping the way in which readers understand and judge a literary work at a given time” (Baldick 116). Extrapolating it to how a society relates to its historical and cultural heritage, the paradigm of the Reception Theory offers a suitable framework to analyse the modern reception of the Middle Ages as a cultural construct and assess its persistence in collective imagination through time. To do so, we must take into account that each later period envisions the medieval heritage imposing on it its own concerns. Consequently, the medieval past has often been invoked to legitimise present-day social, cultural, religious and political practices. This use and reification of the Middle Ages as the mythical origin of Western culture connects with what theorist Hans-Georg Gadamer pointed out about the procedures of historical reception: Gadamer’s hermeneutics and his critique of historical consciousness assert that the past is not like a pile of facts which can be made an object of consciousness, but rather is a stream in which we move and participate, in every act of understanding. Tradition, then, is not over against us but something in which we stand and through which we exist; for the most part it is so transparent a medium that it is invisible to us –as invisible as water to a fish. (Palmer 176- 177) Following this principle about the construction of the past, Jörn Rüsen elaborates on the function of “historical consciousness,” in which the narrative competence (concerning experience, interpretation and orientation) of the historical analysis intervenes to produce the collective memory of the past (“Historical Consciousness” 69-70). As this scholar claims, “historical consciousness should be 23 conceptualized as an operation of human intellection rendering present actuality intelligible while fashioning its future perspectives“ (“Historical Consciousness” 67). In this sense, our contemporary perceptions of the Middle Ages are necessarily determined by the ideas and values our own times impose on it. This, in turn, adds to the previous readings of the medieval heritage developed through centuries of revision and reinterpretation. That is, we cannot look at the Middle Ages without, for example, being aware of Romantic or Victorian perspectives, or ignoring its commercial reworking in 20th-century Hollywood films. Significantly, we cannot approach, assess, and repurpose the medieval past ignoring the two-century old white supremacist discourses of heroism and racial identity elaborated on it, as the European Middle Ages has been presented to the rest of the world conventionally as the epitome of bravery, honour and determination. In addition to the ideas of Jauss, Gadamer, and Rüsen, Stuart Hall’s critical contribution is noteworthy to understand contemporary perceptions of the Middle Ages. In 1973, he formulated the Encoding/Decoding communication model, which emphasises the receiver’s pivotal role in any communicative process. According to Hall’s theory, receivers interpret messages based on their specific sociocultural backgrounds, personal situations and collective sensibilities. This implies that the reception process is an active one shaped by the individual’s former life and cultural experiences. As a result, the meaning of the message and, specially, of the literary or artistic work is not solely derived from its content; instead, it is constructed in the dynamic interplay between the text/object and the reader/observer (Hall 4). 24 However, Hall’s theory does not account for the possibility of a decoding process failure, wherein a receiver assumes a meaning that might be perceived as simplistic, incomplete, or inappropriate by those who have access to the cultural competence and capital –to use Pierre Bourdieu’s terminology– that would allow for the full decoding of a message. 6 This question becomes even more problematic when the message generates within very different sociocultural and discursive paradigms from those of the recipient, as is the case of medieval historical, artistic and cultural questions. A decade earlier, Umberto Eco, a semioticist and medieval studies expert, had introduced the concept of “aberrant decoding” to “describe what happens when a message that has been encoded according to one code is decoded by means of another” (Fiske 1). Although Eco had initially applied this concept to his analysis of television products, it can be extrapolated to any mass-media product indiscriminately broadcast to a large number of recipients. Massive consumption makes aberrant decoding a probable occurrence, as senders may employ codes depending on a certain background knowledge that not all receivers share (Eco, “Towards” 5). All these questions affect the reception of the medieval past in the genres and media of popular culture, as we can see illustrated in the following example of a medieval-inspired novel series later reissued as a television show. George R. R. Martin’s saga A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-), adapted for television as Game of Thrones (2011-2019) by HBO, offers a noteworthy instance of (possibly) aberrant decoding of its medievalist contents. The novels feature the War of the Five Kings, a conflict involving five self-proclaimed monarchs vying for the control of the 6 On Bourdieu’s approaches to popular culture, see pp. 37ff. 25 Iron Throne. The reception scenario of these works leads to three distinct possibilities of decoding: 1. The receiver lacks knowledge of British history and culture. The decoded message suggests a fictional conflict fabricated by author Martin. The reader/spectator fails to establish connections between the contemporary work and the real Middle Ages, resulting in an aberrant decoding because of the limited interpretation of the story. 2. The receiver possesses some familiarity with British history and culture. The reader/spectator understands the question as a fictional conflict inspired by the War of the Roses (1455-1487), a reading that is facilitated by the similarity between the personalities and names of two of the main contestant kings and the houses involved: House Stark corresponds to the House of York, and House Lannister to the House of Lancaster. Additionally, the geographical resemblance between medieval Great Britain and the cities, villages and ports of Westeros, the saga’s fictional location of the War of the Five Kings, supports this interpretation. All these elements result in an expected non-aberrant decoding, but still some references may pass unnoticed for the less alert viewer. 3. The receiver has a more comprehensive background in British history and culture than in case 2. In addition to the War of the Roses reference, the decoded message suggests a fictional conflict inspired by the historical Norman Conquest of England of 1066, supported by another set of visual references remarking the geographical resemblance of an earlier medieval scenario, as well as by the specifics of the situation concerning the kings’ rivalry. To begin 26 with, the seven kingdoms of Westeros are reminiscent of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. Furthermore, this decoding is reinforced by the parallel established between the personalities of the five different claimants to the Iron Throne, Joffrey Lannister-Baratheon, Stannis and Renly Baratheon, Robb Stark and Balon Greyjoy, and the protagonists of the succession crisis leading to the Norman Conquest: Edgar Ætheling, Harold and Tostig Godwinson, William of Normandy, and Harald of Norway. This decoding is expected to be nonaberrant and more extensive than the previous one, as it largely depends on the spectator’s sound knowledge of British medieval history. As medieval-themed products continue to proliferate, understanding how popular audiences engage with them becomes crucial to assess Western societies’ cultural dynamics in the (re)construction of the Middle Ages. In his analysis of the contemporary forms of medievalism, Andrew B. R. Elliott highlights that “any notion of authenticity within a given form of representation (novel, film, TV series) is created in part by the audience’s horizon of expectations, which govern and define the expected form of the narrative” (“Authenticity” 215). Thus, receivers may be misled by the fact that these representations are basically simulacra of the medieval; that is, they are further revisitings of medieval-inspired works. The receivers’ acceptance of their historical authenticity hinges solely on their familiarity with prior medievalist recreations. In this context, “to be considered authentic, the representation needs only to conform to those expectations” (Elliott, “Authenticity” 215). Elliott’s observation is mainly based on the analysis of medievalist written and audiovisual media because, in contrast with architecture and the visual arts, they 27 allow for the development of complex stories set in or evoking the Middle Ages. However, its applicability is not limited to the narrative genres and extends across diverse media and formats. Regarding music, for instance, there are interesting studies, like János Fejes’s (2017), that scrutinise the rhetorics of metal’s appropriation of early medieval topics for its lyrics and aesthetics. 7 The critical paradigm employed to examine the phenomenon are not different from the ones adopted for the study of medievalist literature, films and television shows, and are also the same followed in this thesis: it takes into account the role of historical consciousness in order to look “for the connections of the reception of ancient topics in contemporary society;” the Reception Theory “to understand the general processes behind reading and producing texts;” and the insight of Cultural Studies to “have a deeper insight [in]to the genres standing on the edge of mass and high culture” (37). Medievalist works, as agents and products of the reception of the Middle Ages heritage, have been most often approached through the wider lens of Cultural Studies rather than just through historiography. This line of enquiry focuses on the response to medieval themes over time, acknowledging that their perception is shaped mainly by each subsequent period’s prevailing academic and ideological discourses. However, alongside these official readings, popular works have also contributed to the evolving construction of the modern Middle Ages. Since this doctoral thesis discusses video games as the most recent medievalist expression, we must frame their study in their immediate medievalist tradition. Evidently, video games draw upon and reinterpret the medieval topics inherited from contemporary popular literature 7 For further discussion on the appropriation of the Germanic tradition in heavy metal music, see pp. 127ff. 28 and audiovisual works that are of the interest of their target consumers. It is then necessary for our analysis to consider the evolution of the Germanic heroic tradition within these earlier media in order to fully comprehend how it is used in the digital one. 1.2. MEDIEVALISMS: THE MEDIEVAL AFTER THE MIDDLE AGES Western popular culture manifests a clear interest in reimagining the past, the Middle Ages being the period most widely exploited. In our times, stances of such rewriting and repurposing are pervasive and extend to various domains of activity, including reading fiction, visiting Disney parks and theme restaurants, attending musical theatre, or watching cinema and television franchises. Medieval topics are globalised commonplaces, and so for example Vikings and knights are ubiquitous in advertising and sports, as they seem to be an effective publicity gimmick appealing to different target audiences. Also, neomedieval custom parties, fairs and street markets, fashion, jewellery or tattoos, architecture or painting seem to be eternally in vogue. What proves most intriguing is how “these reimaginings of the Middle Ages appear in popular genres […] across the full gamut of entertainment media” (H. Young 1). The academic discipline of Medievalism analyses this disparate revisiting and assesses it critically. The term was initially employed in the 19th century to denote the modern fascination with the Middle Ages through the generation of medievalinspired works. Its earliest occurrence traces back to the article “The Topics of the Times: Monachism,” written in 1844 by an anonymous author and published in the magazine The British Churchman (291). This evidence disproves the claim of the first 29 attribution to John Ruskin’s essay “Pre-Raphaelitism,” dating from 1853, formerly considered the initial occurrence (Matthews, “Mediaeval” 704-706). In any case, it is plain that 19th-century creators and critics, like Ruskin himself, were aware of the rising phenomenon of medievalist appropriation. As an academic field, Medievalism falls within the purview of Medieval Studies. Louise D’Arcens defines it “as the reception, interpretation or recreation of the European Middle Ages in post-medieval cultures” (1). Thus, Medievalism was initially understood “as a term describing a largely amateur nineteenth-century interest in what had since become the venerable twentieth-century discipline of medieval studies” (Emery and Utz 1). While many researchers have contributed to this field insightfully, Medievalist Studies owe a particular debt to Leslie J. Workman and Kathleen Verduin. Both tirelessly strove in the 1970s to stimulate interest in the academic research of the contemporary reception and interpretation of the medieval heritage. The establishment of the journal Studies in Medievalism in 1979 played a pivotal part in consolidating the scientific character of these studies that, by the end of the twentieth century, had become an integral part of English Medieval Studies. This is proved by the panels devoted to Medievalism at the most prestigious conferences like the International Congress on Medieval Studies (University of Michigan), the International Medieval Congress (University of Leeds), or the MLA Annual Convention (Modern Language Association). Since the early days, popular Medievalism Studies have significantly expanded their research scope. David Matthews summarises its recent evolution: “Once confined to the very fringe of medieval studies, medievalism [...] is now an almost obligatory feature of the larger 30 conferences in medieval studies. A host of major scholarly works in recent times testifies to the seriousness with which the field has come to be regarded since its early beginnings” (“Chaucer’s” 758). The connection between Medievalism and popular culture studies is very close, as the theoretical discourse on popular medievalism is “as influential on mass-market productions as it is in academia” (Haydock, “Meat” 146). Whereas high culture medievalist works target an educated reader or spectator, knowledgeable of the medieval literary masterpieces and history, popular medievalism goes beyond appreciating the past heritage. It projects medieval topics on the imagination of all sorts of citizens. Consequently, as Andrew B. R. Elliott puts it, “medievalisms in the modern world are no longer limited (if ever they were) to ‘producerly’ reincarnations of the past” (“Not Dead Yet” 13). 1.3. THE POPULAR MIDDLE AGES 1.3.1. DEFINING POPULAR CULTURE: CANON AND MARGINS One of the most challenging aspects of studying popular culture medievalism is defining the term and delimiting its object of research. In reference to a 1964 trial involving the audiovisual pornography industry in the United States, the polemical author Holt N. Parker remarks that “[p]opular culture is like pornography […]: we may not be able to define it, but we know it when we see it” (147). The concept is certainly tricky, even for scholars working in the field. Dominic Strinati’s An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture (2004) states that: “Although this is a book 31 about popular culture, not much time will be wasted defining it” (“Introduction” xiv). In the same way, in Popular Culture: An Introduction (1999), Carla Freccero uses “the concept of ‘popular’ […] to talk about the everyday terrain of people without being sure […] who is being referred to by the term ‘people’” (14). Likewise, in his article “Popular Culture: A Teaching Object” (1980), Tony Bennett cautioned researchers about the challenges of working with popular culture as a category in cultural analysis, stating that the term “popular culture is virtually useless, a melting pot of confused and contradictory meanings capable of misdirecting inquiry up any number of theoretical blind alleys” (“Popular” 18). After the initial warning, Bennett’s article nonetheless outlines four main points for defining popular culture that are pertinent for our discussion of popular medievalism. 8 John Storey subsequently expanded this list in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction (1997), which many scholars still regard as the most systematic attempt to define the term. 9 For the sake of convenience, we will adopt Storey’s description as the starting point for this discussion: 1. The first aspect to consider is quantity. Clearly, “popular culture is simply culture that is widely favoured or well liked by many people” (Storey, “What Is” 5). The issue with the quantitative criterion is that if we cannot establish upper and lower limits; it is, as this critic himself acknowledges, “useless as a conceptual definition of popular culture” (Storey, “What Is” 5). 2. The second criterion is qualitative, implying that popular culture is “the culture that is left over after we have decided what is high culture” (Storey, “What Is” 8 See Bennett, “Popular” 20-22. 9 See Callahan et al. 155; H. N. Parker 148; and Grig 3. 38 Bourdieu’s perspective is somewhat analogous to earlier Marxist critique. In his approach, culture is produced and legitimised by individuals whose aesthetic standards are those validated and approved by the cultural authorities, such as the academia and the critics. Then, a series of works are enshrined as belonging to high culture, while the remainder is relegated to the fringes. These distinction dynamics impose a fundamental requirement: to appreciate and consume the products of high culture, individuals must acquire specific training provided by official cultural and educational institutions. This implies possessing a “cultural capital,” as Bourdieu terms it, that is not universally accessible. In this context, individuals with fewer economic resources encounter significant barriers when accessing the training necessary to create and consume the intellectually complex and aesthetically sophisticated products of high culture. Consequently, “working-class people expect every image to explicitly perform a function,” while people from upper social classes appreciate culture because of their intrinsic artistic value: “pure aesthetic is rooted in an […] ethos of elective distance from the necessities of the natural and social world” (Bourdieu 5). High culture, therefore, remains the domain of the upper social classes. Today, this has changed slightly as access to education has spread since World War II. Working-class people can consume high culture provided that they have the required educational background and, assumedly, the economic cost of this intellectual and aesthetic training is nowadays covered by the more democratic welfare states. However, strict adherence to this class division deprives individuals from lower social extraction of 39 the opportunity to consume and ultimately appreciate any work categorised as high culture. So, as Bourdieu points out, The denial of lower, coarse, vulgar, venal, servile –in a word, natural– enjoyment, which constitutes the sacred sphere of culture, implies an affirmation of the superiority of those who can be satisfied with the sublimated, refined, disinterested, gratuitous, distinguished pleasures forever closed to the profane. That is why art and cultural consumption are predisposed, consciously and deliberately or not, to fulfil a social function of legitimating social differences. (7) This debate continues within the realm of medieval-themed video games, as they have become a prominent culturally significant corpus of works that reflects an earlier medievalist tradition and shapes present-day popular culture’s reception of the European past. They appropriate, adapt and repurpose canonical texts, either literary or historical, for pure leisure ends. This procedure, which places video games within a complex net of cultural practices, remains the subject of ongoing scholarly research. 17 As said above, video games designers depend on the prior medievalist tradition, trusting potential buyers will choose their product precisely because they are familiar with the idea of the medieval it exploits. This newest Middle Ages construct owes much to the influence of the older visual media, since it exists, in Avery Lafortune’s words, 17 On the relevance of video game as cultural artefacts, see Shaw 403-424, and Muriel and Crawford’s monography Video Games as Culture: Considering the Role and Importance of Video Games in Contemporary Society (2018). 40 not only in a layperson’s understanding of medieval culture learned in history class, but also across an ever-increasing body of media that includes film, television, and video games. These media rely on and reinforce through repetition established tropes and symbols […] to bring the medieval world to life on screen. So pervasive is this iconography that it serves as a kind of cinematic shorthand for the Middle Ages enabling viewers to quickly and easily identify the when and where of the story. (129) To all effects, popular culture medievalism follows its own codes and conventions, which are passed on from one media to the next, progressively detaching itself from the academic understanding of the Middle Ages. The ways in which the medieval heritage is transformed and appropriated (re)construct it as a global commodity. 1.3.1.2. FROM POPULAR CULTURE TO MASS CULTURE As discussed above, contemporary popular culture is necessarily synonymous with mass culture. In contrast with the traditional long-term forms and practices of folklore, contemporary popular culture is attentive to the current trends of the market, modifying the products to make them appealing to as many people as possible. The explosion of mass culture is actually “the brainchild of the industrial revolution, […] the formation of universal literacy of the population, [and] the degradation of many forms of traditional everyday culture of the pre-industrial type” (Pirnazarov and Sultanov 40). Thus, rather than stemming from communal efforts sustained over time, and being associated to different stages of the development of a historically defined civilisation, mass culture is considered popular because it is widely consumed, 41 although it may not necessarily be created by “the people.” Nick Perry, therefore, defines mass culture as “that culture which emerges from the centralised production processes of the mass media” (2821). It is important to note that profit-driven companies are always behind the process of production and consumption of popular culture commodities. Consequently, as Dominic Strinati stresses, “we can say that mass culture refers to popular culture which is produced by the industrial techniques of mass production, and marketed for profit to a mass public of consumers” (“Mass Culture” 10). The mutation of traditional popular culture into mass culture accelerated in the 20th century. Researchers believe this paradigm shift occurred in the Western world during the 1920s and 1930s. With the rapid development of the press, cinema, radio, and television, profit-driven companies produced and disseminated the new works and constructs of popular culture. In an era marked by aggressive industrialisation and capitalism, private firms and corporations became cultural agents, catering to the tastes of increasingly homogeneous societies. Most importantly, in contrast with the folkloric work, the industrial popular one is not attached to any form of national or communal identity strand. On the contrary, it targets at ample sectors of the global population. The motto of globalisation seems to be the larger the market, the greater the profits, and this fact affects its cultural dynamics deeply. The commercialisation of mass culture products led academia to question whether these works could be considered “authentic and genuine works of art” (Strinati, “Mass Culture” 4). As the link between “the people” and the generation of cultural practices and works became less certain, authors like Dwight MacDonald 42 denounced that mass culture is progressively more and more alienated from its intended receivers: Folk art grew from below. It was a spontaneous, autochthonous expression of the people, shaped by themselves, pretty much without the benefit of High Culture, to suit their own needs. Mass Culture is imposed from above. It is fabricated by technicians hired by businessmen; its audiences are passive consumers, their participation limited to the choice between buying and not buying. 18 (60) In the earlier decades of the 20th century, Modernism, as a cohesive aesthetic movement, was likely one of the first critical schools to address mass culture as a negative phenomenon: “the principle around which modernist literature and culture fashioned themselves was the exclusion of the masses, the defeat of their power, the removal of their literacy, the denial of their humanity” (Carey 21). Modernist critics observed the spread of mass culture with fear, concerned that high culture would die out “of contamination by its other: an increasingly consuming and engulfing mass culture” (Huyssen, “Introduction” vii). Thus, Modernism “divides the public into the two classes of those who understand it and those who do not” (Ortega y Gasset 6). As Bourdieu puts it, cultural manifestations are not just aesthetically defined but also conceptually and socially categorised. In terms of the reception of the Middle Ages, Modernist perspectives differentiate between high-culture approaches and popular ones. This established a clear boundary that separates original artworks of medieval inspiration from those that rely on the replication of well-known formulas and clichés 18 For further discussion on the topic, see Rosenberg and White’s Mass Culture: The Popular Arts in America (1957); Bennett, “Theories” 26-51; and Modleski 37-52. 43 in the representation of the medieval. This prejudiced distinction would categorise mass market medievalist works such as popular fiction, films or video games simply as entertainment goods of little cultural value. Contrary to Modernism, the postmodern perspective on mass culture is nonjudgmental. In fact, “(p)op in the broadest sense was the context in which a notion of the postmodern first took shape and from the beginning until today, the most significant trends within postmodernism have challenged modernism’s relentless hostility to mass culture” (Huyssen, “Mapping” 188). Postmodernism also contrasts with the elitist perspective of Structuralist criticism, which focuses on the works legitimised by the official cultural agents, “while light-weight cultural analysis [was] given over to the more forgettable images of everyday life” (McRobbie 13). Structuralism considers high culture as exclusively associated to those works and receivers that observe the rules of the academically-approved aesthetic canon, whereas Postmodernism “challenges the narrowness of structuralist vision, by taking the deep interrogation of every breathing aspect of lived experience by media imagery as a starting-point” (McRobbie 13). Postmodern critique rejects any distinction between levels of culture (that is, the acceptable versus the unacceptable) and the notion that the difference between the complexity of high culture and the accessibility of popular culture is decisive in determining what can be considered a true cultural product. Therefore, average citizens find their place within the postmodern cultural agenda as validating agents themselves, just like mass culture studies find their place among scholars. In this line, the Counterculture movement of the 1960s significantly contributed to the vindication of marginal forms of culture, eradicating prejudices 44 based on aesthetic sophistication, intellectual complexity, originality, and uniqueness. As the peak of “the historical constellation in which the postmodernism of the 1960s played itself out,” the Western world reacted against the political and ideological establishment that also imposed censorship on creative and artistic manifestations and cultural practices (Huyssen, “Mapping” 191). This perspective would validate popular artistic trends and the products of the new mass media as legitimate expressions of cultural interests. Another aspect to consider is the conceptualisation of mass culture as a homogeneous category that defies the authority of the traditional cultural agents. This notion positions mass culture as a threat to high culture because it “is a dynamic, revolutionary force, [that breaks] down the old barriers of class, tradition, taste, and [dissolves] all cultural distinctions;” and most importantly, it also “destroys all values, since value judgements imply discrimination” (D. MacDonald 62). Ironically, this most rejected type of culture also encapsulates freedom and democracy: “it absolutely refuses to discriminate against, or between, anything or anybody” (D. MacDonald 62). Taken as a whole, and in contrast to the individualistic aspect of high culture works – which claim their value is rooted on being unique and original– popular culture ones typically exhibit a formulaic and repetitive nature that resonates well with global audiences. In fact, the consumers of popular culture products often favour familiarity and predictability in their cultural experiences. While high culture works often challenge conventions and strive for innovation, popular culture ones rely on archetypes, well-known tropes, and recurring narrative structures that strike a chord with audiences, providing a sense of comfort and connection to the already known. 45 This would explain the success of medieval historical novels, films, comics or video games that employ a consolidated repertoire of formulas that are known to be appealing to their consumers. They do not seek originality, but rather conform to certain patterns of the popular medievalist tradition. From the point of view of Postmodernism, the reiteration of these formulas does not imply a lack of artistic value, as many popular culture works can be appreciated for their ability to connect with the essence of human experience in an accessible and entertaining manner. This is why mass culture medievalism also benefits from the ongoing process of globalisation of the cultural industry. The term globalisation “refers to the relentless global flow of capital, commodities, and communications across increasingly porous territorial boundaries” (Storey, “Popular Culture as Global” 107). This process has hastened the dissemination of Western mass culture over other cultural traditions, which capitalism had already significantly extended in the first half of the 20th century. Globalisation predominantly hinges on two key elements: “global village” and “timespace compression.” Marshall McLuhan coined the former in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964). It refers to how “our specialist and fragmented civilisation of center-margin structure is suddenly experiencing an instantaneous reassembling of all its mechanised bits into an organic whole” (93). Similarly, David Harvey introduced the concept of “time-space compression” in The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change (1990), that also affects the way in which mass-culture products are generated and consumed today. Communications and social relations are no longer bound by spatial and temporal constraints, and new 46 media grant individuals access to a world that is vastly larger than their local community. Hence, As space appears to shrink to a “global village” of telecommunications and a “spaceship earth” of economic and ecological interdependencies […] and as time horizons shorten to the point where the present is all there is […], so we have to learn how to cope with an overwhelming sense of compression of our spatial and temporal worlds. (240) In this mindset, human civilisation has evolved into a global village where time and space no longer hinder the creation and spread of cultural works. Thus, globalisation “offers the possibility of cultural mixing on a scale never before known. This can […] produce the fusing of different cultures and the making of new and exciting forms of cultural hybridity” (Storey, “Popular Culture as Global” 117). In this regard, popular culture products cater to a global audience, shaping all manifestations, practices, and specific items as consumer goods exhibiting universally comprehensible and relatable characteristics. To achieve this, it is necessary to eschew local references and address complex ideas and processes inserted in the cultural matrix just superficially. This factor helps explain the universal appeal of the Eurocentric Middle Ages of popular culture and the commercial success of its associated literary works, audiovisual productions, or video games among international audiences with no historical connection with them. Globalised popular culture works, designed primarily for entertainment and enjoyment of leisure time, and with no intellectual or aesthetic ambitions, can find a market even when they revolve around specific spatially and temporally codified 47 themes. Medieval cinema serves as an excellent example of this phenomenon. In this medium, specific historical and cultural references have devolved into clichés of vague accuracy. Nevertheless, this lack of historical concern is inconsequential for the profitability of the products as long as they align with the expectations of the film’s audience. They are not interested in acquiring knowledge or delving into European history in depth; they rather seek to enjoy and reinforce prevailing tropes, commonplaces and references in the representation of the Middle Ages. The viewers of medieval films rely on a long tradition of medievalist fiction that has already shaped their outlook about any new item. The same principle applies to video games, arguably one of the most globalised media today. Game developers often leverage themes and do not tailor their products to specific local audiences, assuming they will appeal consumers worldwide. Video games in general posit a homogenised cultural expression, and among them the medieval-themed product rightfully occupies a place of prominence. It plays an important part in the reception and construction of the Middle Ages, turning the European past into a cultural phenomenon worth studying. 1.3.2. POPULAR APPROPRIATIONS OF THE MIDDLE AGES: PROCEDURES In this section of the current thesis, the concepts of cultural appropriation and adaptation are explored in connection to the reception of the medieval heritage. This theoretical frame will provide the basis to assess how video games approach this theme. Appropriation and adaptation are cultural phenomena that entail the repurposing of something already existing to new ends. First, the concept of cultural 54 specific purposes. Hutcheon divided the latter category into two subcategories: processes of creation and processes of reception. 1. Hutcheon’s first category considers an adapted work as a “formal entity or product” whose essence is derivative, that is, “an adaptation is an announced and extensive transposition of a particular work or works” (7). This involves a change of medium, genre or consumption context, and can also imply adapting actual historical sources into fiction. Medieval-themed video games adapt literary or historical works or revise significant historical events from the 6th to the 15th centuries (whose sources, nevertheless, are necessarily either textual –no matter how informal or offshoot they might be– or archaeological). The adaptation operated involves a shift in medium, transforming the original written work into an interactive digital product. Video game developers also alter the original narratives by repurposing the source material to allow for its playability. Furthermore, it is common for video games to reimagine historical events by including fictional elements, enabling players to make decisions that diverge from actual historical occurrences. Examples of this include the aforementioned Paradox’s game series Crusader Kings and Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come: Deliverance, in which the outcome of historical processes such as the Crusades and the internal fights within the Holy Roman Empire is open to new courses and endings every time the game is run. 2.1. Regarding processes of reception and creation, Hutcheon’s first subcategory acknowledges adaptation as a “process of creation.” In this case, “the act of adaptation always involves both (re-)interpretation and then (re-)creation” (8). In this sense, creating a medieval-themed video game entails a continual reinterpretation 55 and recreation of cultural and narrative tropes from the Middle Ages. Developers reevaluate the culture, history, and topics of the period to make them suitable for the interactive format of the game. This process includes recreating medieval settings, adapting historical or legendary characters, and reinterpreting plots and narratives to align with the interests of present-day players. This operation is evident in most games, as they need to accommodate the diverse value systems of various sociocultural backgrounds, nationalities, and ideologies of their potential customers to remain economically viable products. 2.2. Hutcheon’s last subcategory deals with adaptation exclusively from its “process of reception.” As she claims, “we experience adaptations […] as palimpsests through our memory of other works that resonate through repetition with variation” (8). This subcategory introduces the idea of palimpsest, which is particularly interesting to define our contemporary reception of the medieval heritage in general. It actually works together with the receiver’s previous experience with a given subject matter. Players engaging in medieval video games frequently encounter a large variety of elements, including settings, characters, plots, and motifs, that are familiar to them due to their prior medievalist experience. Their knowledge of medieval history, literature, or culture is most often shaped by the history of the popular culture reception of the Middle Ages, not by their expertise in medieval studies. These popular constructs resonate with players’ memories of former medievalist experiences. As they engage with the new video games, they can appreciate how developers have adapted and accommodated the subject to the ludic. 56 Given the nature of our corpus of research in this thesis, applying Hutcheon’s categorisation of the politics of adaptation improves on Fischlin and Fortier’s in terms of concreteness. In addition, it allows to “treat not just films and stage productions, but also […] video games and interactive art” (Hutcheon 9). For the purposes of the present discussion, Hutcheon’s principles allow us to better understand how video games have appropriated and adapted the medieval tradition for modern audiences in the digital era. 1.3.2.3. PASTICHE AND SIMULACRUM As stated above, popular audiences’ new experience with the medieval past largely depends on its former adaptations to new genres and media. Unsurprisingly, pastiche and simulacrum are often associated with the postmodern stance towards the revision of the cultural heritage in any number of ways. Even though postmodern critique has popularised them, the two concepts are undoubtedly ancient, as C. Bowen claims (1005). For a start, pastiche can be defined as a “work of art that imitates the style, gestures, or forms of an older work or antique model [which implies] a lack of originality or coherence, an imitative jumble” (Bowen 1005). Basically, pastiche meets one of the principles of Postmodernism, that of “recombining previously articulated styles” into new works that are neither wholly original nor entirely imitative (Duvall 4). The idea of postmodern pastiche is present in contemporary media, especially video games. 22 22 For further information on pastiche in contemporary film, television and music, see Sim 307 and D’Angelo 40; Sánchez-Biosca 33; and F. A. Baker 142–144, respectively. 57 As a medium whose development has accelerated since the beginning of the 21st century, video games strongly connect with postmodern aesthetics and attitudes. One of the most common ways of analysing historical-inspired video games is to consider them “playable explorations of the past” (Sloan 44). The act of “performing the past” through video games actually connects the reception of the medieval heritage with the idea of pastiche since, according to Ingeborg Hoesterey, pastiche comprises “a complex medley and layering of different styles and motifs” (46). Although this author analyses cinema only, it is evident that video games also incorporate different styles and motifs as cultural references in their revisiting of the Middle Ages. Most often, developers combine elements from different eras and cultures to appeal to their audience under the pretence of recovering the imagined past. Furthermore, as Richard Dyer states, “pastiche imitates its idea of that which it imitates” (55). Essentially, this is what video games do: designers deal with pastiches of original sources, creating works that are collage-like combinations constructed by means of revisiting diverse former contemporary medievalist instalments of the past. The category of simulacrum also intervenes in the video games’ appropriation of the medieval tradition. Postmodern French theorist Jean Baudrillard’s ideas are interesting for the study of video games as he defined simulacrum as “the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal” (1). Baudrillard proposes a four-type classification to categorise simulacrum, defining the progress of the simulacra according to the degree of similarity with the original work: a stage-one simulacrum “is the reflection of a profound reality” (Baudrillard 6); that it, receivers would take the original work as its recognisable reference. On the other hand, a stage- 58 four simulacrum would make it impossible for receivers to find a recognisable reference since this kind of simulacrum “has no relation to any reality whatsoever: it is its own pure simulacrum” (Baudrillard 6). This falls within the hyperreal, where simulacra reflect other simulacra as the final product no longer belongs to “the order of appearances, but [to] simulation” (Baudrillard 6). Simulacrum influences contemporary media’s revisiting of the past, conditioning the video game medium’s approach to the medieval. 23 Medieval-themed video games are not concerned with accuracy in the reproduction of medieval cultural models or historical factuality but with the inclusion of medievalist references familiar to the consumers. As Andrew B. R. Elliott points out, “as enjoyable simulacra, historical games can simulate certain modes of ‘doing’ history with great promise which deserves much greater critical scrutiny” (“Simulations” 38). 24 Nevertheless, it is essential to note that not all cases of appropriation and adaptation of the past require the imperative use of pastiche and simulacra. This highlights the flexibility of approaches within the gaming industry. The convergence of adaptation, pastiche, and simulacrum categories in the appropriation of the Middle Ages by popular culture, particularly in the realm of video games, prompts reflection on the dynamic and intricate nature of historical representation in the collective imagination. Beyond the boundaries of historical fidelity and philological studies lies the fictional reference point that can be termed 23 For further information on simulacrum in contemporary literature, film, television and music, see Schwab 177; Sharrett 82-83; Kroes 423; and Manuel 232-233, respectively. 24 Video games are valuable tools to teach specific aspects of medieval history, as many studies have demonstrated. This is also validated by didactic projects such as “History and Video Games: The Impact of New Entertainment Media on the Knowledge of Medieval Times,” based at the University of Murcia. 59 “the popular Middle Ages.” This narrative construct becomes, at its core, a pastiche of readings and interpretations of Western medieval history and literature. It is a blend of images, symbols, and narratives, often diverging from the medieval reality portrayed in original sources. This is where the self-referential simulacrum arises: a representation that refers back to itself, detached from its historical context and transformed into an autonomous entity. In this context, the perception of which game is “more faithful to the ‘real’ Middle Ages” or “more fantastical” becomes a subjective judgement that depends solely on any individual video game creator’s design and narrative choices. Hence, medieval video games do not seek to deepen the understanding of the original subject matter but rather exploit it as a profitable source of inspiration in the entertainment industry. They draw upon the previously established popularity of medieval topics inherited from earlier media, such as historical fiction and cinema, which have built a strong base of enthusiasts willing to consume all sorts of products related to these fictional Middle Ages. These enthusiasts are not solely limited to video games but engage in a variety of activities, including visits to medieval fairs and theme parks, adopting medieval symbols in tattoos, and following television series like Vikings, The Last Kingdom (2015-2022), or Knightfall (2017-2019). It is essential to acknowledge that these fans appreciate and enjoy the fictional Middle Ages as a subject in its own right, inevitably becoming a space for exploration, imagination, and escapism for those who immerse in it. The enduring fascination with the medieval of contemporary popular culture is not just a passing trend but an essential part of it. 61 2. THE STAGES OF POPULAR MEDIEVALISM: FROM BRITAIN TO THE GLOBAL MARKET More than five centuries have passed since the end of the Middle Ages, yet its influence remains profoundly significant at many levels. The reexamination of the period is pivotal in the construction of Western historical conscience and cultural identity. No other historical period “ha[s] had the influence the Middle Ages has had upon the mind of modern man, nor has persisted with such tenacity and believers as the history of the Middle Ages and Medievalism” (Bloomfield 27). In Listening for the Text: On the Uses of the Past (1990), Brian Stock supports this idea by summarising the attitudes of the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, and Romanticism towards the Middle Ages: “The Renaissance invented the Middle Ages in order to define itself; the Enlightenment perpetuated them in order to admire itself; and the Romantics revived them in order to escape from themselves” (69). We must also be aware that this perspective is clearly Eurocentric and that within the frame of the Western reception of the medieval heritage, the Anglo-American tradition is the most influential one to the point that it has completely shaped popular media’s readings. From Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) to Noah Gordon’s The Physician (1986) or Nicola Griffith’s Menewood (2023), works of the English-speaking tradition have set the pattern for the international medievalist market, prompting uncountable epigones. The establishment of a globalised mass culture in the 21st century has consolidated the dominant position of the Middle Ages as a favourite theme for all kinds of goods associated with the entertainment industry. Consequently, since the 1950s, numerous medieval products spanning over various genres and media such as 62 literature, cinema, television, or tabletop and video games, confirm the enduring interest in all things medieval. As said above, the reception of the Middle Ages has experienced substantial changes over the centuries. From the Renaissance to the Victorian Age and to the present day, there exists evidence that it has captivated people’s imaginations across time and space in different ways. This chapter delves into how the early part of the Middle Ages has been commodified as a narrative niche and evolved into an iconic transnational cultural construct. 2.1. THE RENAISSANCE AND THE MIDDLE AGES: THE ANGLICAN TAKE Renaissance humanists regarded the Middle Ages as an unknown and barbarous time that eclipsed the cultural and scientific splendour of classical antiquity. The Christian church was often blamed for this, as it was “alleged to have placed religious authority above personal experience and rational activity” (Lindberg 7). Therefore, early modern thinkers sought to distance themselves from the medieval past, emphasising the classical heritage of Greece and Rome as the cradle of Western civilisation. According to Deanne Williams, “Middle Ages” comes from “translating a Latin term, medium aevum, devised by Petrarch and other humanists to denote the period between the ancients and the moderns” (213). Hence, it was considered a time of religious and political conservatism, grave social inequality, ignorance, and superstition, which should be superseded to embrace the ideals of Humanism and rationality. The post-medieval age was, therefore, rooted in the European reaction against the three elements configuring medieval reality in the Western areas: the Germanic migrations/invasions, the dominion of Catholic scholasticism and 63 monasticism, and the foreign menace of Arabs and Turks. In Herbert Weisinger’s words: “The first were held to have destroyed the culture of the ancients, the second were thought to have deliberately refused to appreciate the merits of the classics, and the third were ever-present threats to European civilisation at the very moment the humanists were writing” (462). Focusing on the English-speaking medievalist tradition, it is important to notice that the Germanic past was practically disparagingly ignored or simply forgotten in the early Renaissance in England. The Anglo-Saxon civilisation had been subdued by the Norman Conquest and its cultural, linguistic, political and administrative models replaced with continental ones. This negative perspective began to change in the first half of the 16th century when Italian historian Polydore Vergil edited Gildas’s work, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, in 1525, in which is considered to be “the first critical edition of an English historical text” (Hadfield 38). Gildas had explicitly condemned the Anglo-Saxon invasions as divine punishment, describing the collapse of Britain at the hands of the terrible Germanic pagans. 25 However, the recovery of De Excidio led to a better understanding of early Britain’s history and laid the foundations for subsequent research. This resulted in the publication of Polydore Vergil’s own Anglica Historia (1534), whose chapters 3 to 8 cover the period between the arrival of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes to the island (mid-5th century) and the conquest of England by William of Normandy in 1066. The resurgence of mainstream interest in Anglo-Saxon England and Old English texts has its roots in the Reformation. Henry VIII’s Anglican Reformation and 25 See Ruin 26-27. 70 sociopolitical advancement, as well as the search for a prestigious Northern cultural tradition, were sufficient reasons for this medievalist effort. British constitutionalism developed in this cultural context. The Whig Party enjoyed political hegemony for much of the 18th century. During this period, there was a conscientious search in the Anglo-Saxon past for a precedent of the constitution, parliament, and law. For the Whigs, the prevalence of an Anglo-Saxon Ancient Constitution was undeniable, as they “maintained that the English constitution was an inheritance, a set of Anglo-Saxon institutions that had guaranteed the liberties and rights of the people for more than a millennium” (Wood, “Anglo-Saxonist” 160). Concerning parliament, inquiries were made about its origins and evolution in order to legitimise its modern counterpart. Hence, Whigs politicians insisted on that “the Germanic council provided a prototype for a specific institution: the witenagemot,” which was the direct ancestor of present-day parliament (Wood, “Anglo-Saxonist” 163). Regarding the country’s law, while it was impossible to identify all the changes that occurred over the centuries, it was established that “[t]he real origins of a systematic common law lay in the folc riht developed by Alfred by collating and updating the law codes issued by his predecessors” (Wood, “Anglo-Saxonist” 170). This quest to reclaim the Anglo-Saxon legal heritage also reflected the struggle against what was termed the “Norman Yoke,” a political myth denoting the oppressive measures derived from the feudal system imposed since the times of William the Conqueror. Among those scholars that promoted this anti-Norman stance, historian Catherine Macaulay stands out for suggesting that “history was the story of struggle 71 to recover those ancient rights” (Hill 31). It was then deemed that the authentic roots of Englishness were precisely in the pre-Conquest Germanic tradition. It is also in this context that scholars such as Richard Gough appeared. According to Rosemary Sweet, he was “the most significant of the British antiquaries of the second half of the eighteenth century” (“Antiquaries” 183). Three specific projects published between 1768 and 1799 made up his legacy as an antiquarian: British Topography (1768); a new expanded and revised edition of William Camden’s Britannia (1789); and the Sepulchral Monuments (1786-1799). With a particular interest in recovering British, Saxon, and Danish antiquities, Gough and many other researchers in his wake consistently conceived their endeavour as an act of patriotism and public service. These scholarly efforts were also appreciated outside academic circles, prompting dozens of historical plays and poems that celebrated the Anglo- Saxon past and contributed to the popularisation of medieval questions among the uneducated. 27 Another leading figure in this patriotic quest for recovering the national Anglo- Saxon heritage was Thomas Percy. His work combines antiquarian research with the popularisation of the early medieval literary heritage. Percy’s revision of the Middle Ages follows two different approaches to make it accessible for a broader readership. On the one hand, the “Norse line” aimed at the recovery of the legendary heroic tradition with Five Pieces of Runic Poetry (1763) and Northern Antiquities (1770). The Five Pieces is a collection of five Old Norse epic poems Percy found in “some of the most influential works of seventeenth-century Scandinavian scholarship in Old Norse 27 See Scragg and Weinberg’s Literary Appropriations of the Anglo-Saxons from the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Century (2000). 72 studies” (Ross 3). Northern Antiquities is a translation of the works Introduction à L’histoire du Danemarch où l’on traite de la religion, des moeurs, des lois, et des usages des anciens Danois (1755) and Monuments de la mythologie et de la poesie des Celtes, et particulierement des anciens Scandinaves (1756) by Swiss author Paul Henri Mallet, which included recensions on early Germanic civilisation and religion, the Norse art of warfare, and the maritime expeditions of the Scandinavians. These translations ensured Percy’s recognition by the academic world but it is the “seminal role played by Northern Antiquities and Percy’s earlier work Five Pieces of Runic Poetry in the dissemination and popularisation of Northern myth and poetry” what marks his contribution (Collins 209). On the other hand, the author cultivated the “English line” with Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765), a collection of ballads revolving around the national medieval tradition. Percy defined these popular ballads, songs, and romances as the “remains of our ancient English Bards and Minstrels […] who were once greatly respected by our ancestors, and contributed to soften the roughness of a martial and unlettered people by their songs and by their music” (X). The author also mentions that his primary source when collecting the Reliques was “an ancient folio manuscript […] which contains near two hundred Poems, Songs, and Metrical Romances,” a striking fact that contributed to creating more interest in the recovery of the long-lost texts (X). 28 Like his former Nordic renderings, the Reliques brought Percy recognition in the academic world but also quickly became a best-seller among the popular 28 This manuscript, later called the Percy Folio, was a vital element in the reception of medieval and Renaissance works as it contained “compositions of all times and dates, from the ages prior to Chaucer, to the conclusion of the reign of Charles I” (Percy X). 73 classes, making it one of the most influential literary works of the time. Percy’s editorial intervention heavily altered the original texts but, as Michael Alexander points out, Reliques facilitated the circulation of medieval metrical romances and ballads and “made the 1760s the decade in which […] antiquarianism became widely fashionable and then popular” (M. Alexander, “Advent” 15). This led to a renewed general interest in the pan-Germanic medieval heritage and paved the way for future generations not only of scholars, but also of enthusiastic readers, who would study and appreciate these medieval works. The Western cultural scene of the second half of the 18th century also experienced a significant transformation. There appears to be a new stress on the sentimental element that would culminate in the aesthetics of the Age of Sensibility and Romanticism. This progression, together with the rise of nationalism in European politics, brought about the reconsideration of the medieval heritage. In literature, one of the earliest manifestations of this phenomenon, and probably the most influential one, is the Gothic novel. This genre took a stand against a modern, technological world, aiming at recovering the “natural vision” offered by the past. Thus, as Lisa Kröger points out, the depiction of nature spaces in the Gothic novel had three specific purposes: “solace, renewal, protection,” and it was connected with the idealisation of pre-industrial times and traditions (17). Nostalgia led to an idealisation of the Middle Ages in general, and of its earliest stages in particular, as a time of communal endeavour that, compared to the modern world, prevented the alienation of human beings in an increasingly individualistic civilisation. The dehumanising effect of the incipient Industrial Revolution was attacked by the Gothic authors and medievalism 74 served largely as escapism from an uncertain present. It found its best vehicle in very imaginative novels “which attempted to defend gothic art and romance on its own merits, and so to recover the world of fine fabling” (Kilgour 12). Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) is considered the first Gothic novel. However, the label “gothic” did not appear in the title until the second edition in 1765. Since it made no sense for a modern work to include the concept of “gothic” in its title, “[t]he addition was a flippant paradox chiefly intended […] to annoy stuffy critics who objected to the experiment” (Clery 21). However, in the preface to the second edition, Walpole stated that his work “was an attempt to blend the two kinds of romance, the ancient and the modern” (65). He sought to appeal to contemporary readers by recreating a suggestive atmosphere of reverence for the past. The stories exotified the past by highlighting medieval paraphernalia, such as armour fragments, underground walkways, shady cloisters, mysterious portraits, or even bleeding statues, and appealing to the presumed medieval principles of heroism, patriotic devotion, and piety. All this (re)creates the fictional Middle Ages as a legendary time of authentic moral values and adventure despite the fact that “Walpole’s allegedly medieval heroes and heroines are temperamentally eighteenth-century gentlemen and ladies with whom his readers can identify” (Chandler, “Origins” 20). After The Castle of Otranto, many other works such as Clara Reeve’s The Old English Baron (1778) or Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) significantly increased the popularity of Gothicism and, indirectly, of the Middle Ages outside academic circles. All things medieval were, at least for popular imagination, surrounded with an aura of mysticism, mystery, and wonder, seeking to impress and awe readers. 75 Additionally, in the English-speaking world, the nostalgia for the medieval past also had an imperialistic component. If during the Enlightenment period it had been agreed that the Anglo-Saxon legacy had forever shaped the political nature of Britain, by the turn of the century the early Middle Ages was claimed to be the precise time when national excellence had originated. This idea, closely connected with racial pride, would be further developed within the Romantic reassessment of the Germanic legacy. 2.3. ROMANTICISM AND THE MIDDLE AGES: NATION, RACE AND IMAGINATION Romanticism changed the philosophical perspective on the relation of man and the universe, reason and feelings, emphasising the individual as the absolute protagonist figure; nature and its beauty were regarded as the driving inspiration, and fantasy and powerful emotions as art sources. 29 It also reconceptualised the relation of modern societies with their national pasts and deeply influenced their historical conscience. Medievalism stood out among the new aesthetic trends. In its revisiting of the past, Romanticism articulates a “revival of the life and thought of the Middle Ages” in very positive terms, leaving behind the infusion of medieval themes with the horror elements and conservative mindset characteristic of the Gothic genre (Phelps 1). This new take on the period fostered the interest in the searching for and glamourising of the cultural origins set in pre-industrial Europe, responding to “a wish to re-enchant a world which Natural Philosophy had rendered too clear, and 29 The term Romanticism has its origin in the medieval genre of romance. The image of the Middle Ages during the late 18th and early 19th centuries was subjected to a process of change, so fantasy elements such as dragons, magic, knights errant, and damsels in distress were used to evoke the period (Lewis, “Medieval” 8-9). 76 trade and industry made too commonsensical” (M. Alexander, “Advent” 12). Romantics sought to escape the Industrial Revolution’s rationalism and mechanisation by embracing the beauty and mystery of the natural state, whose contemplation they found deeply moving and inspiring. Their medievalism sought to reclaim the values and ideals of the past, which were seen as a more straightforward and authentic. The Middle Ages were hence configured as a period of idealism and patriotism, true Christian faith, social order, and creativity. In Britain, feudalism was no longer considered a negative legacy of the Norman rule; instead, it was now perceived as a paternalistic socio-political regime in which the leading upper classes cared for the welfare of the whole nation and whose religious and moral bases gave cohesion to the country. In the end, medievalism “became a metaphor both for a specific social order and, somewhat more vaguely, for a metaphysically harmonious world view” (Chandler, “Introduction” 1). Romantics were basically concerned with three key questions of their time: the radicalisation and violence springing from the American and French Revolutionary processes, the technological materialism of industrialism, and what they regarded as the excessive rationalism of the Enlightenment. That is, under the influence of cultural primitivism and idealistic nationalism, people in the late 18th century sought to escape from modernity to an idealised medieval past that never existed. On the other hand, as the century progressed, Englishness became the hegemonic force in the political and cultural arenas, displacing the practices, customs, traditions and languages of the other three nationalities of Britain to what has been termed as the margins of “the Celtic fringe” (S. G. Ellis 221). Even though Romantic nationalism supports identitarian ideology, 77 the idiosyncratic and independentist character of the medieval history of the Celtic nations was conveniently overlooked, and in these decades the English trait became the dominant narrative on the configuration of the United Kingdom’s medieval past and national identity (Carruthers and Rawes 6). Interestingly, Sir Walter Scott, a Scotsman, was one of the leading figures of the English medieval revival. He established himself within the Romantic literary tradition through both his famous historical novels and antiquarian endeavour. Thanks to him, English speakers worldwide could envision the European Middle Ages as a shared heritage of heroism and authenticity. Although David Hume’s influential The History of England (1754-1762) had somehow established the official vision of the British Middle Ages, at the beginning of the Romantic era, “Scott devised a form of fiction which seemed historical” that was much more appealing to wide audiences (M. Alexander, “Chivalry” 28). Scott presented positive renderings of complex historical processes, in which the political, social and racial inequality issues of medieval communities were resolved within an idealised mutual obligations system. Thus, the author depicted chivalry not only as an aspirational model of behaviour, “but also a vital civic principle which allowed social and political change and development” (M. Alexander, “Chivalry” 29). He also addressed the problem of Saxon constitutionalism and the Norman Yoke myths, a pivotal aspect of national debate in the previous century, as challenges that had been overcome through the racial and cultural fusion of both peoples. Scott’s original work was extensive. His Waverley Novels consisted of 26 historical narratives covering various settings and periods. On its part, his most 78 famous work, Ivanhoe: A Romance (1819), is a notable case as it was “set for the first time not in post-Reformation Scotland but in pre-Reformation England” (M. Alexander, “Chivalry” 30). The story recreates the 12th-century conflict between Saxons and Normans during the Plantagenet rule. Victorian scholars like Newman, Carlyle, and Ruskin would later attribute to Ivanhoe the merit of stimulating a whole generation of medievalist readers. As Chandler points out, “Newman could say that Scott ‘had first turned men’s minds in the direction of the middle ages’; Carlyle could believe that he had revived the art of history; [and] Ruskin could call himself a Tory of ‘Scott’s grand old school’” (“Walter” 315). Scott built a fictional medieval world so convincingly that many readers perceived it as actual history, and his version of the integrative national medieval past, in which the Saxon and Norman elements melted, remained unchallenged for nearly a century. Scott was also actively involved in editing and translating medieval texts. Percy’s Reliques significantly influenced him, igniting his interest in traditional balladry, and this fascination for the country’s medieval cultural heritage prompted him to compile and edit Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1802), a two-volume collection of 48 traditional ballads, 26 of which had never been published before. His editorial revival of medieval literature is also exemplified by his edition of the romance Sir Tristem (1804). Scott’s work made the Middle Ages significant for his contemporaries. The harmonious feudal world that he depicted in his fiction inspired a nation divided over 19th-century issues: social and political inequality, poverty, and the hardships of industrial life for the lower classes. His antiquarian efforts prompted Englishspeaking peoples all over the world to take pride in their common ancestry. In essence, 79 Scott’s medievalism answered the deepest yearnings of his time, the national “wish to make the individual life heroic and yet to unify and order society” (Chandler, “Origins” 51). Romantic scholars were determined to rescue the non-classical cultural heritage of the European peoples. The cataloguing, editing, and translating of the early medieval texts became part of the agenda of the different nations. This gave momentum to philology as a science and ignited the revival of public interest in the various national epic poems. Patriotic readers demanded the translations of works like the Nibelungenlied (1782) in Germany, the Cantar de Mío Cid (1779) in Spain, Beowulf (1837) in England, and La Chanson de Roland (1837) in France. All these texts, in turn, would greatly influence future artistic creations in their respective languages. 30 The reception of Beowulf is illustrative of the treatment the early medieval heritage received in the early decades of the 19th century. The first three translations of Beowulf were published: by Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin in Latin (1815); by N. F. S. Grundtvig in Danish (1820); and by John Mitchell Kemble in English (1837). The rediscovery of the great Anglo-Saxon epic poem had a profound impact on the construction of the Germanic Middle Ages within the pan-Germanic cultural tradition, especially among English speakers. Following this rediscovery, disputes arose between the Germans, the Scandinavians, and the British over who could claim to be the most distinguished Beowulfian scholars. For the British, and subsequently by extension for the Americans, reclaiming Beowulf was a kind of national cultural 30 On the Romantic approach to the so-called national epics, see Gerritsen and van Melle on the Nibelungenlied (256); R. Chandler and Schwartz on the Cantar de Mío Cid (29); Magennis on Beowulf (“Beowulf” 13); and Burgess on La Chanson de Roland (7). 86 Michael Ballantyne’s Erling the Bold (1869), which drew inspiration from the sagas and adapted their narratives for young British readers. Thus, he “also mythologise[d] British culture through its association with the Viking invasions” (McKeown 4). On the other hand, Anne Manning’s The Chronicle of Ethelfled (1861) demonstrated that freedom-fighter Anglo-Saxon patriots did not have to be exclusively men. Her historical novel, set in the Viking Age, features Ethelfled, the famous Lady of the Mercians and daughter of king Alfred, as its remarkable protagonist. Likewise, Sir Henry Rider Haggard’s best-selling novel Eric Brighteyes (1891) can be considered itself ”a ‘neo-saga,’ pointing back to the ‘recovered’ past of the historical and literary saga-world” (Hammer 138). In Haggard’s wake many other writers, like George Alfred Henty, revisited patriotic icons like king Alfred and Harold Godwinson in adventure novels like The Dragon and the Raven (1885) and Wulf the Saxon (1894), respectively. 33 These works constructed an imaginary national Germanic past of adventure and heroism in which Saxons and Vikings embodied ideals of leadership and honourable masculinity. Medievalist fiction consolidated the Germanic hero archetype, encouraging virtues such as courage, honour, and patriotic resilience in modern readers. in tune with 19th-century societal expectations. At a time when the educational movement of Muscular Christianity was in full swing, this kind of novels served a didactic purpose, becoming recommended reading for Victorian and Edwardian schoolboys. In this way, aspirational medieval masculinity models were adapted according to turn-of-the-century societal expectations. 33 For further information, see Chandler’s A Dream of Order: The Medieval Ideal in Nineteenth-Century English Literature (1970); Wawn’s The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in Nineteenthcentury Britain (2000); J. Parker 257-273; and O’Donoghue 616-631. 87 Within Victorian literature, the figure of William Morris stands out. A prolific writer with an enduring influence on English literature, Morris exhibited an intense interest in medieval literature from an early age. At seven, he had already “read all of Sir Walter Scott’s novels, and was known for haunting Eppington Forest clad in a miniature suit of armor” (Himes 304). Morris undertook extensive travels throughout Europe, guided by the aesthetic and spiritual allure of the medieval. He had the opportunity to study Icelandic under the guidance of Eiríkur Magnússon, the most renown Norse scholar in Cambridge. 34 This period marked a shift in Morris’s intellectual pursuits, as noted by Himes: “Morris’s chief literary occupation during the 1870s, that of translating Norse sagas and Edda poems, [was] interspersed by two trips to Iceland” (305). From these journeys emerged the translations of Grettis Saga: The Story of Grettir the Strong (1869), The Story of Gunnlaug the Worm-tongue and Raven the Skald (1869), The Völsunga Saga: The Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs, with Certain Songs from the Elder Edda (1870), and Three Northern Love Stories, and Other Tales (1875). Additionally, Morris published his own translation of Beowulf, titled The Tale of Beowulf Done out of the Old English Tongue in 1895. Morris’s translations are remarkable for its mastery of the original language and the meticulous attention to detail, together with his deep knowledge of the Norse medieval setting and culture. All this reflects in his own literary production and, as Jonathan Himes highlights, his “romantic view of nature can be seen in the descriptions of landscapes and scenery in his fiction” (306). Morris skilfully integrated elements of folklore and mythology into his fiction texts, which evidence “efforts to 34 See MacCarthy 279 88 embrace the mythic heritage of the North as well as the gothic traditions of Britain to recover ancient stories and clothe them in fresh imagination” (Mathews “Forging” 38). This author’s works significantly popularised the Middle Ages for British Victorian and American readers, fostering a renewed interest among writers, artists, and scholars alike. Interestingly, Morris also played a pivotal role in the rise of what is now known as the high fantasy genre, which exerts much influence on contemporary popular medievalism. His latest novels The Wood Beyond the World (1894), The Well at the World’s End (1896), and The Sundering Flood (1897) integrate different medieval traditions, “materials from saga literature, Arthurian legend, Old French romances, Anglo-Saxon philology, utopian visions, and vigorous medieval and gothic scholarship [that] rapidly evolved in the first few decades of the twentieth century” (Mathews, “Antiquity” 21). These works had a profound impact on the masters of the emerging genre in the next generation, Oxfordian scholars and novelists J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, and thus, albeit indirectly, Morris’s legacy has left its mark on much later mass culture products. Conclusively, it is evident that Victorian perspectives on the Germanic Middle Ages have permanently shaped popular culture perceptions. Literally, this “nineteenth century’s explosion of medievalisms, which […] influenced the development of contemporary ideas about the Middle Ages,” extends to present day, leaving their imprint on genres and media that had not yet been invented (Cecire 397). 89 2.5. 20TH-CENTURY MEDIEVALISM: FANTASY AND SPIRITUALITY The 20th century presents a substantial and nuanced reassessment of the approaches to Middle Ages, inaugurating a new era of research and scholarship whose impact would persist in the next millennium. The study of medieval literature, history and culture consolidated as a distinct research field in the early 20th century, marked by the establishment of specialised academic departments and scientific publications. This aligned with a broader trend in academia towards the professionalisation of humanistic disciplines. The perceived remoteness of the Middle Ages by contemporary society prompted scholars to pursue a more encompassing understanding of a period that, as the medieval studies professor and literary author C. S. Lewis notes, “was invented by and for men who felt the real world, in its rather different way, to be also cryptic, significant, full of voices and ‘the mystery of all life’” (“Anthropological” 310). As Lewis suggests, audiences may not fully comprehend and really appreciate the Middle Ages as the former knowledge about it was somehow fragmentary and biased by a modern sense of false superiority. In this context, the academic interest of the Middle Ages as a subject of investigation brings about the creation of a whole academic system to study it. The prominence of European (especially British and French) and American Humanities university departments completely determined the way in which medieval culture, history and literature were interpreted, favouring the professionalisation of the areas of history, philology and literary studies. The approaches of Modernism, Structuralism and deriving schools like the New Philology and New Medievalism greatly affected the reception of the medieval heritage in the first half of the 20th century. In Norman F. Cantor’s words, 90 this new perception has “been molded together in the lives, work, and ideas of medievalists and the schools and traditions they founded” (“Quest” 38). 35 In parallel to this important scholarly development, and likely as its by-side effect, the early 20th century saw a “pronounced medieval presence” in popular culture too (Verduin 396, emphasis added). This pronounced interest outside the educated circles mirrored Romantic and Victorian medievalisms, stressing a pervading sense of nostalgia for an idealised past and accommodating its popular representation to the standards of contemporary artistic sensibilities. As a consequence, in those decades “medievalism, in both its scholarly and popular varieties, is almost synonymous with escapism,” which led to the rise of the literary genre of medievalist high fantasy (Ganim 148). The term “high fantasy” was introduced by Lloyd Alexander in 1969. 36 This is defined by its medieval inspiration, featuring imaginative epic narratives that incorporate magical or supernatural elements to the action plots. The stories spin around warriors, adventures and quests in search of fame and treasures, battles, and other heroic deeds set in an evocative pseudo-medieval scenario. High fantasy is also characterised by its expansive scope, typically encompassing multiple interconnected plots and a large cast of characters, often published as novel series. 37 In many aspects high fantasy is reminiscent of the enchanted world of medieval romance, but its moral and social values are neither determined by the Christian faith nor the aristocratic ideal of courtesy. 35 See Freedman and Spiegel 677-704; and Wenger 12-26. 36 See L. Alexander 577-584 37 On high fantasy, see Sullivan III 436; and Trigg 99-118. 91 High fantasists frequently base their works on medieval sources such as “Germanic and Norse mythology, the Welsh Mabinogion, and the Arthurian legends” (Halsted 240). This serves to create a sense of familiarity for the reader with preexisting narrative universes since the original works already deal with adventure, wonder and mystery framed in a legendary past. Consequently, high fantasy merges the medieval historical and literary tradition with modern characters more appealing to contemporary popular audiences. Therefore, the presence of creatures such as dragons, elves, dwarves, direwolves, and other imaginary beings in the company of self-sufficient heroines or low class protagonists is not uncommon. Even though high fantasy operates on more democratic bases than the elitist medieval tradition of heroic poetry or the romance, the medieval legendary actually brings in a certain derivative prestige for the genre, as it “heightens the effect of the quest theme and strengthens the potential for nobility and a kind of grandeur” (Halsted 240). On the other hand, the high fantasy evokes different medieval cultural heritages altogether, adding depth and complexity to the newly created fictional worlds. One of the most defining features of high fantasy is that it “consists entirely of fiction set in secondary worlds” (Stableford 198). According to Nikki Gamble and Sally Yates, these secondary worlds are classified into three distinct categories. In the first one, a “primary world does not exist,” so the story transports the reader “directly to the alternative world” (102). An example of this category is J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middleearth in The Lord of the Rings, which is a peculiar mixture of medieval inspiration and late Victorian references. Next, we find works where an “alternative world is entered through a portal in the primary world,” allowing the story “to make a direct 92 comparison between the two worlds” (103). C. S. Lewis’s Narnia novels would be a good instance of the Middle Ages scenario repurposed for new stories. The last category includes products where the “alternative world is a world-within-a-world, marked off by physical boundaries” (103). J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter wizarding world (1997-), full of medieval reminiscences but set in the present time, would be an interesting example of this. In all cases, the medievalist references are easily recognisable for readers, who appreciate the use of stock characters (warriors, magicians, aristocrats, peasants, smiths, etc.) and situations (rescue of kidnapped victim, treasure hunt, restoration of wronged monarch, etc.). High fantasy plots often involve “the epic and never-ending struggle between good and evil” as well as “the relationship between human beings and the gods, with ordinary human beings risking all, often alone, in their attempts to perform seemingly impossible tasks” (Halsted 240). authors that best illustrate this are the aforementioned Tolkien and Lewis, both Oxford professors specialising in medieval studies. Their works have influenced not just the future of contemporary medievalist literature but also radically impacted on the global understanding and construction of the Middle Ages, at all levels and in all genres and media, since the 1950s. The filmic adaptations of their novels, which emerged at the turn of the 21st century, serve as the ultimate proof of their enduring presence in popular imagination. British scholar and novelist Tolkien is best known outside the academic circles for creating the Middle-earth, a world based on the European early medieval literary tradition. This imaginary land provides the setting for his globally recognised works The Hobbit (1937), The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Silmarillion (1977). He obtained 93 his English Language and Literature degree in 1915 from the University of Oxford, and after that, he enlisted in the British Army to fight in World War I. This traumatic experience marked his writing, where the theme of the struggle between good and evil is a central concern. Interestingly, this author addresses it through the lens of epic high fantasy, and his fictional Middle Ages is the scenario for the discussion of moral values. 38 Since his childhood, Tolkien was fascinated with the Middle Ages in general and Germanic antiquity in particular. Later, his academic pursuits centred on Old and Middle English language and literature, as well as “the language of the great Norse sagas and the fountainhead of most Northern European legend and mythology” (Grotta, “Professor” 79). His expertise earned him his Rawlinson and Bosworth Anglo-Saxon professorship in Oxford between 1925 and 1945 and gained him an international academic reputation. As a scholar, Tolkien published on and translated the Middle English romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1925), but his finest achievement would be his Beowulfian research. In his groundbreaking lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” (1936), he emphasised the importance of studying this poem as literature rather than as a historical piece about the early Germanic civilisation. He argued that “the critics had lost sight of the work itself and become more involved with its supposed meaning than with its story” and vindicated the marvellous within the heroic tradition (Grotta, “Professor” 87). Deeply influenced by his philological training, Tolkien would apply his vast knowledge of medieval literature to his popular novels. The motifs of early medieval 38 For further information on Tolkien’s life, see Daniel Grotta’s J. R. R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle Earth (1976). 94 heroic literature “the hero, the quest, the struggle with monstrous forces of evil, the ordeal and its outcome,” which, as Verlyn Flieger highlights, “recur in all mythologies and which tale-tellers have used time out of mind,” would from now on be the object of appropriation for popular medievalist fiction (123). As a result, many of Tolkien’s characters were crafted in the likeness of figures from medieval sources, such as Beowulf or the cycle of Arthurian romance, including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (14th century) or Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. For instance, the human protagonists of The Lord of the Rings, like King Aragorn, Boromir, Faramir, Eomer, and even the shieldmaid Eowyn, among others, emerge as heroic figures embodying virtues like honour, loyalty, dignity, generosity, and bravery, akin to the portrayal of Beowulf and the knights of the Round Table. In addition, realistic features based on the customs and culture of historical Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian societies are incorporated into their characterisation. same pattern is observed in the imaginary races and nations inhabiting the Middle-earth. For instance, the elves reflect the Celtic tradition; trolls, orcs, and dwarves are based, like the human heroes, on Germanic legends; and, on their part, the hobbits mirror the idealised farmers and country gentry of Victorian and Edwardian England. Tolkien’s configuration of the imaginary Middle Ages is so pervasive in the high fantasy genre that in the future decades, no matter the authors’ provenance, their medievalist worlds would often have a peculiar English feel to them. 39 The literary formulas and clichés he used to build the heroic medieval world will, as a collective fantasy, transition into the audiovisual medium, and from that, they will later migrate to those of the table top role-playing and video games. 39 Examples of this are works as different as Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind (2007), G. R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, or Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher (1993-2013). 95 Similarly to Tolkien, Clive Staples Lewis was a reputed scholar of medieval and Renaissance literature who authored popular high fantasy novels that cater to a wide audience, including children and young readers. Lewis majored in English Language and Literature at University College, Oxford, later becoming professor of English at Magdalen College himself. His scholarly publications dealt with authors from Chaucer to Dante and Spenser, addressing “the fusion of antique Latin erudition and courtly love in major poets of the later Middle Ages and into the Renaissance: Guillaume de Lorris, Jean de Meun, Chaucer, Gower, Usk, and Spenser” (Fleming 17). His ideas were transformative in the field of modern medieval studies by stressing the importance of literary research which had, until then, “developed in a somewhat peculiar way, as an adjunct to or implication of the study of philology” (Fleming 18). Lewis exerted a profound influence on the popular perception of the Middle Ages by translating his “medieval learning into mythopoetic fiction, fantasy literature for a mass audience that communicated the sensibility of medieval epic and romance” (Cantor, “Oxford” 208). Like his friend Tolkien, he was deeply concerned with spiritual and ethical aspects, which is most evident in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950- 1956), his most important fiction work. A seven-book series, it narrates the tale of a magical realm inhabited by talking animals and extraordinary beings in which moral conflict is explored. Lewis bestowed upon his narratives a unique quality, establishing “numerous aspects of medieval life in the Narnia Chronicles: language, dress, polity, geography, cosmology, and cartography are all presented so as to communicate a sense of the Middle Ages” (Ward, “Silence” 19). 102 The process of continuous cultural appropriation, adaptation, and revision of all things connected with the medieval heritage over time determines the contemporary perception of the Middle Ages as a consumable product. In the early 21st century, the popular Middle Ages, encompassing postmodern pastiche and simulacra, is codified based on the preferences of a customer demographic unconcerned with sound knowledge or academic interest in the historical Middle Ages. Their attraction to the period lies in the employment of the medieval theme as the narrative niche for products designed for entertainment. This idea of the Middle Ages as a commodity can be extrapolated to numerous products the global audience purchase. As a result, we have reached the phase in the history of its reception that David W. Marshall defines as “mass-marked medievalism:” I can sit on a wooden monks’ bench in my living room decorated with fauxruined medieval arches and tapestries […] while I watch a documentary about knights and tournaments or the latest cable-release movie about King Arthur […]. Or perhaps I might rather enjoy spending several hours forming alliances and waging war against weak vassals in a computer strategy game […] while I listen to some of Man-o-War’s greatest hits –a stack of medieval comic books or medieval mysteries awaiting me should I need a break. […] If medieval is what you want, medieval is what you can get. (Marshall 6-7) Mass-market medievalism can be credited with making us reconsider our interpretation of the medieval heritage. The diverse array of entertainment products includes uncountable medieval films, television shows, comic strips and graphic 103 novels, theme parks and vacation resorts, board games, and lastly, video games, whose treatment of medieval questions largely relies on the massive success of the earlier media. The hundreds of monographs and articles published each year examining these manifestations of popular Medievalism Studies testify to the lasting importance of the phenomenon. 105 3. THE GERMANIC TRADITION IN THE GENRES AND MEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE (1970S-2020S) The global fascination with the European Middle Ages has served as a catalyst for the emergence of video games. Pioneers in the gaming industry have successfully capitalised on the allure of medieval topics favoured in traditional media such as literature and film. This transition has positioned video games as an innovative platform for reimagining and revitalising the Middle Ages, captivating audiences worldwide. Therefore, video games not only sustain our interest in this historical period but also play a crucial role in shaping its ongoing reception. It is necessary to examine how the popular media appropriate the Middle Ages before addressing video games as the core topic of the thesis. In order to facilitate this, the analysis is divided by media according to their chronology, and for reasons of scope and extension of this research project, it will focus especially on the reception of the Germanic heritage. 3.1. POPULAR LITERATURE In popular literature, the genres of fantasy and historical fiction play a central part in the exploration of medieval questions. As discussed above, the literary tradition is the most influential, with one figure prominent: J. R. R. Tolkien. He had already published The Hobbit in 1937, but the real success of his work takes place in the 1950s, leaving a permanent imprint on the subsequent approaches to the medieval. In addition, he is regarded as “the only author of fantasy to be regularly considered as (potentially) belonging to the canon of general literature, as well as often hastily 106 perceived as the father of fantasy” (Moran 24-25). This probably has to do with the fact that Tolkien’s academic expertise informed his fiction but, interestingly, the same consideration does not apply to his friend Lewis’ medievalist work, which is still confined to the field young adults’ literature. Medieval-inspired popular literature dealing with the Germanic past consisted mainly in historical fiction in the early 1960s. There are works such as Alfred Duggan’s The Cunning of the Dove (1960) and The King of Athelney (1961), about King Edward the Confessor and King Alfred the Great respectively, and Doris Sutcliffe Adams’s The Price of Blood (1962), about the latter monarch. However, due to the proliferation of Tolkien’s imitators, by the mid-1960s, “there was a swell of interest in what then became identified as ‘Sword and Sorcery’ or, somewhat less pervasively, ‘Heroic Fantasy’” (Williamson 2). Opportunistically, Ace Books published in 1965 its unauthorised edition of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, describing it as “a book of sword-and-sorcery that anyone can read with delight and pleasure” (Williamson 2). This edition was quickly replaced by the author's revised version, published the same year by Ballantine Books. The book sold very well not only among the Sword and Sorcery fans but also among the general readership, thus becoming a medievalist bestseller and conditioning the publisher’s immediate strategy. A new edition of The Hobbit followed The Lord of the Rings in late 1965, and the remaining works were gathered in The Tolkien Reader (1966) and Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham (1969) (Williamson 3). Their influence can be detected not only on literature, but also on the wave of medievalist music, comics and films of the next decades. 107 During the 1970s, the interest in medieval fantasy grew dramatically thanks to the publication of two particular series: the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series (1969- 1974) and the Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library (1973-1980). The former included 65 works, many of them reprints of late-19th-century and early-20th-century authors like George MacDonald, William Morris, H. Rider Haggard, or Lord Dunsany. The latter library was inspired by the Ballantine series and consisted of 24 works mostly by the same writers. As Mark J. P. Wolf indicates, the two collections “reinvigorated interest in the fantasy genre, introduced it to a new generation, and encouraged a new crop of fantasy authors and world-builders” (“History” 133). Medieval topics are likewise exploited in fantasy novels such as Evangeline Walton’s The Island of the Mighty (1970), a reimagining of the Welsh Mabinogion; Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni Rising (1970), also set in a Celtic world; and Joy Chant’s Red Moon and Black Mountain (1971). Among the medieval fantasists of this generation, it is interesting to note two authors whose revision of Beowulf is representative of the approaches to the Anglo- Saxon heroic tradition. In 1961, Rosemary Sutcliff published Beowulf: Dragonslayer, a retelling of the epic poem aimed at a juvenile audience. Later, John Gardner published Grendel (1971), an existential novel departing from the parameters of the popular fiction works of Tolkien or Morris. This work is particularly interesting because it reinterprets the poem from the perspective of the monster Grendel, who appears as a sympathetic anti-hero rather than as an enemy, thus calling into question the dichotomy of good and evil in the Anglo-Saxon text. According to Marie Nelson: 108 John Gardner borrowed a story from the past. He worked backward and forward through the details of the story he chose to borrow. He made decisions about which parts of Beowulf he would retell. He incorporated stylistic features he found in what must have been countless readings of the poem he took for his starting point. And then he allowed a personal, real life experience to take over. The result of his submission to the requirements of the story he borrowed and to a fear that was part of his own human awareness is a transformation that stands, I believe, not just as a retelling of an enduring story, but as a splendid illustration of some of the things that can be learned from the retelling process. (359) There are numerous revisitings of Beowulf, most of them novelisations of the poem. There have also been some interesting narrative experiments, like the science-fiction series Heorot by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournell and Stephen Barnes (1987-98), which have achieved some degree of popularity. Lately, Maria Dahvana Headley’s feminist reworking of the poem in The Mere Wife (2018) has also received favourable reviews. 43 Apart from these authors, American writer Poul Anderson was noted for his work in reviving the Norse tradition. His novel The Broken Sword, although originally published in 1954, was republished by Ballantine Books in 1971 as part of the aforesaid Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series. Essentially, it was “a violent, sometimes confused, plot-dominated tale set in a Dark-Age England occupied by humans and wainscot societies of elves and trolls” (Clute 28). Drawing on the Germanic past, it revisited the topic of the conflict between Saxons and Vikings popularised in Victorian fiction, but 43 See Upchurch. 109 without the patriotic bias that dominated 19th-century approaches. According to Everett F. Bleiler, the novel was “perhaps the finest American heroic fantasy, with good characterizations, excellent surface detail, good plotting, and an admirable recreation of the mood of the Old Norse literature” (5). In addition to The Broken Sword, Anderson’s production includes Hrolf Kraki’s Saga (1973), a rewriting of the story of the eponymous Danish king, whose medieval sources include Danish texts such as Chronicon Lethrense and Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum, Icelandic works such as Hrólfs Saga Kraka, Skjöldunga Saga and Ynglinga Saga, the Norse poems Skáldskaparmál and Gróttasöngr, and Anglo-Saxon ones such as Beowulf and Widsith. Like The Broken Sword, Hrolf Kraki’s Saga “is told with a similar full-blooded bleakness; [and] it won a 1975 British Fantasy Award” (Clute 28). The revival of fantasy as a commercial genre of the 1980s saw the publication of interesting contributions. In 1983, Terry Pratchett published The Colour of Magic, the first novel in the famous Discworld series. Written as a parody of the fantasy genre, Pratchett’s novels include many cultural references to the Norse tradition, enjoying unprecedented success. Similar traits are observable in the work of Guy Gavriel Kay, whose trilogy The Fionavar Tapestry (1984-1986) has as its protagonists creatures from the Norse legendary like dark and light elves as well as Arthurian characters. Over the last 30 years, popular medievalist revisitings have been on the rise. The publication of medieval pastiches, featuring elements from different periods and traditions, has produced series such as Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time (1990-2013), which narrates the journey of Rand al’Thor and his friends to confront forces of evil within a magical world, in an eternal cycle of rebirth and struggle against the final 110 enemy, the Dark One. The Wheel saga last three novels were completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan’s death. Sanderson himself has published several fantasy series, as for example The Stormlight Archive (2010-), in which noble houses struggle for power in a setting of medieval-inspired intrigue and warfare. Also noteworthy is Patrick Rothfuss’s (still unfinished) trilogy, The Kingkiller Chronicle (2007-). Set in a medieval-like magical world, the novels delve into the story of Kvothe and how he became one of the most powerful wizards. J. K. Rowling’s successful Harry Potter series (1997-2007) does not revisit the Middle Ages properly but incorporates cultural references from the period. In this sense, the novels feature a contemporary revisiting of medieval bestiaries through different fantastical creatures. Clearly, the Germanic trope of the dragon as the guardian of treasure is included. For example, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) depicts the Triwizard Tournament, in which the first task involves avoiding a dragon’s attack and stealing the golden egg it guards. Similarly, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) includes a dragon as the keeper of the most valuable treasures at the Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Importantly, George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire presents the most famous instance of fantastic medievalism of the last decades. Due to its singular blending of fantasy and realistic recreation of the early medieval past, this saga of novels and its television adaptation have set the latest medievalist trend. The five novels appropriate themes and topics of English medieval history, as said earlier, and heavily rely on the Germanic tradition for the configuration of imaginary cultures, religions, and languages. Martin, for example, recreate the Viking civilisation in the 111 Ironborn people. Inhabitants of the Iron Isles, these sea raiders are ruled by the House Greyjoy. Their warlike culture is inspired in the Norse tradition, and their history is reminiscent of the events and episodes we find in medieval Scandinavian sources. As critics have pointed out, there is serious research behind this work of fiction that evidences, for instance, in the narrator’s verisimilar “account of the Battle of the Shield Islands [which] gives an authentic sense of Viking-style sea-battles of the type recounted in the sagas” (Larrington, 173). Similarly, the region of the North, ruled from the castle Winterfell by House Stark, is very similar to the historical Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, especially 10th-century Northumbria. As Joanna Szwed-Śliwowska points out, Martin’s representation of “the Starks as leaders and lords reflects certain patterns present in Anglo-Saxon poetry […] [including] honour, loyalty and kinship” (178). Parallels can then be established with the heroic code we find in famous Old English texts like The Battle of Maldon (c. 10th century) and The Battle of Brunanburh (c. 10th century). Contemporary popular literature does not exclusively repurpose the Germanic medieval tradition for fantasy novels but also employs it in the historical fiction genre. A curious case is Michael Crichton’s novel Eaters of the Dead (1976), which reworks 10th-century Arab chronicler Ibn Fadlan’s account of his travels with a group of Vikings in eastern Europe and blends it with a historicist retelling of Beowulf. In this text, Grendel and his mother are rendered as the leaders of the “wendols,” a matriarchal civilisation of primitive human beings that oppose the occupation of their ancestral land by more evolved human species. Among the many works of historical fiction dealing with the barbarian Middle Ages available, the revisiting of Anglo- 118 Bengtsson’s Swedish novel of the same title, is a highly romanticised adventure film depicting Vikings as daring explorers and warriors, seeking mythical treasures, engaging in battles, and interacting with various exotic cultures. Typically, Hollywood prioritised spectacle over historical accuracy, but the film added to the popularity of the topic (in part because its famous cast included stars like Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier). Additionally, Clive Donner’s Alfred the Great (1969) adapts part of the life of King Alfred the Great ranging from 871 to 878. The film portrays a turbulent Anglo-Saxon England, marked by Viking invasions, political fragmentation, rural simplicity, and a cultural and religious transition under Alfred’s transformative leadership. The king himself is depicted as “a monarch who reflects the skepticism and brutality of the age,” insisting on depicting the early Middle Ages in negative ways (Snyder 39). There are not many titles featuring the Germanic Middle Ages in the 1980s and 1990s. However, several Icelandic productions revisiting the Norse tradition aimed “to create a more authentic portrayal of the harsh life of the medieval period” (Iversen 49). For example, Ágúst Guðmundsson’s Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli (1981) was praised as a fairly accurate adaptation of the homonymous saga. Another interesting example is Hrafn Gunnlaugsson’s The Raven Trilogy (1984-1991). The first one, When the Raven Flies (1984), is a story of revenge that, as the director claimed, was inspired by the sagas but did not adapt any original source. Instead, his declared aim was to depict “a more authentic portrayal of the Viking era and its dirty and nihilistic killers” (Sundholm et al. 205, emphasis added). The second film, In the Shadow of the Raven (1988), was inspired by the legend of Tristan and Isolde and basically exploits the 119 sentimental conflict. The last title in the trilogy, The White Viking (1991), is set both in Iceland and Norway and narrates “[t]he clash between traditional Viking paganism and the new Christian religion” during the reign of Olaf Tryggvason of Norway (995- 1000) (Harty 214). The latest release of Viking cinema is Robert Eggers’s The Northman (2022), mostly based on Saxo Grammaticus’s legend of Amleth but also influenced, according to the director, by several other source texts such as Egil’s Saga, Grettir’s Saga, and the Saga of Hroflr Kraki (Stefansky). Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli, The Raven Trilogy, and The Northman stand out in their presentation of Nordic culture and history. They offer a more naturalistic portrayal compared to the standardized vision of Hollywood films. Outlaw and Raven are representative of Icelandic and Nordic cinema, which seldom reaches international audiences. Their exhibition outside Scandinavia underscores the popularity of the subject matter, despite being categorised as niche works. In contrast, The Northman has achieved mainstream success, thanks to its Hollywood backing and wider distribution. There are many more recent revisitations of the Germanic tradition in cinema, although all of them share a particularity: they are mostly audiovisual adaptations of former medievalist literary works (which were also discussed in the previous section of this thesis). Thus, in this category we find examples like Peter Jackson’s trilogy on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and The Hobbit (2012-2014); the Narnia novels by C. S. Lewis were adapted as The Chronicles of Narnia films (2005-10); and the Harry Potter film series (2001-2011), along with its prequels. They are a good example of what Carol L. Robinson and Pamela Clements call instances of “post-postmodernist 120 medievalism: fragmentary, fluid, attempting to encompass all truths, yet also brazenly fictionalizing these apparent truths” (61). The same applies to television series. The popularity of medieval-themed shows has increased in the 21st century, primarily due to their adaptations of successful literature titles of medievalist content. Products like Game of Thrones and The Witcher (2019-), have captured the imagination of viewers around the world and introduced them to the fantastic Middle Ages. Most recently, House of the Dragon (2022-) and The Rings of Power (2022-), both audiovisual spin-offs of the filmic versions of the literary originals, have been watched by millions of spectators through television streaming platforms. Thanks to lavish design production budgets, these shows offer a unique visual recreation of the fantastic early Germanic Middle Ages. Apart from these shows, there are more historicist approaches to the barbarian past like Vikings (2013-2020), created by Michael Hirst for the History Channel. Since it was released, the series got excellent reviews for its realistic rendering of medieval Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon societies. It is thoroughly researched, thus becoming an interesting source of information on Norse culture. The most important medieval texts Hirst used for his series were the English Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (c. 9th century) and Asser’s The Life of King Alfred, the Icelandic Book of Settlements (c. 9th-10th century) and, to a greater extent, the Danish Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum (12th century) and the Icelandic Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok. It should be noted that although the sagas were considered historiographical texts by the time they were composed, the inclusion of implausible elements led to their dismissal as reliable sources today. In accordance with these medieval works, which at times do not clearly distinguish between 121 literature and history, the characters of the television show inhabit a realistic world where some supernatural intervention is both possible and perceived as credible. Nevertheless, there is no room for extreme forms of fantasy as these situations are limited to a few characters’ religious visions and to what we could consider serendipity. This is exemplified in the series’ opening scene in which Ragnar tells his sons stories about the Norse gods, claiming that he has had “a vision of Odin visiting the battlefield after the fighting is over” (Nordfjörd 308). Considering that the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok is Hirst’s source text, it is to be expected that Vikings counts on that the historicity of this semi-legendary hero had always been questioned, but this kind of low-key otherworldly element is accepted as plausible within the show’s dynamics. As Katherine Holman states, “there is no evidence that Ragnar himself ever lived, and he seems to be an amalgam of several different historical figures and pure literary invention” (220). The choice of the largely fictional figure of Ragnar as the protagonist of Vikings is Michael Hirst’s own decision, as the gaps of information about it allowed for fabulation: “I needed a hero for the series. I needed a lead character. The lead character in television drama doesn’t have to be a good person. They often have to have the power of life and death over other people. And so I was looking for an important Viking. I was looking for a Viking who made a difference” (“Secrets of the Vikings” 00:01:03-21). Ragnar’s sons also appear as major characters in the series, but their historicity is undisputed since they are attested in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle or in Saxo’s Gesta Danorum. They launched the Great Heathen Army against the Anglo- Saxon kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria in 865, and also 122 helped establishing the Danelaw. In order to render these historical figures, the showrunners resorted to the archetypal Viking character inherited from 19th-century historical fiction novels, and updated it to the interests of 21st-century audiences. The notion of Vikingness as the quintessential expression of Germanic heroism owes a great deal of its fame to the audiovisual medium. Building on the precedent of Victorian historical fiction, the portrayal of Vikings in contemporary shows is more nuanced. Like their 19th century predecessors, these characters embody the ideas of valour and directness, self-reliance, loyalty and honesty, but despite their characteristic brutal use of violence, the contemporary Norsemen also face moral conflicts and contradictions. Additionally, Vikings also offers an interesting depiction of women. The series features a host of female warriors leading men into battle. Characters such as Lagertha, Torvi, Astrid and Gunnhild became hugely popular with the audiences during the broadcast of the show, thus proving that “History Channel made a good choice in showing that Viking society was not necessarily so patriarchal” (Puchalska 97). As this author claims, the Germanic tradition encompasses “many brave women, some fairly respected by their societies, and some even fighting with sword in hand” (96). This has been confirmed by the latest archaeological findings, but this kind of women did not feature in popular fiction until the second half of the 20th century. 44 Like the shield-maid heroines depicted in the sagas, females in Vikings participate in dangerous journeys and battles alongside their male companions and are leaders on their own right. 44 On female Viking warriors, see Gardeła. 123 In fact, Viking women are recreated in the series from a 21st-century perspective. Hirst basically incorporates to his show the idea of heroic warrior femininity already prevalent in contemporary popular culture. Examples of female action leaders range from successful television characters such as Xena from Robert Tapert’s Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001) to Buffy Summers from Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). They also appear in other media as the comic superheroines, with examples like DC Comic’s Wonder Woman or Supergirl, or more recently Marvel Comics’ Daisy Johnson (Quake), created by Brian Michael Bendis and Gabriele Dell’Otto for the Secret War series (2004-2005). The archetype of the feminine adventurer is best represented by Lara Croft, the heroine of Core Design’s famous video game Tomb Raider (1996), later adapted into a successful film franchise. 45 The advancement of feminism in Western culture and the fact that half of the consumers of entertainment industry products are female are certainly responsible for this gender paradigm shift in heroism. Clearly, contemporary audiences support and identify with powerful female figures rather than with the romance princesses and ladies-in- distress of, for instance, 20th-century classic Hollywood films. The Vikings action woman character resonates with modern females’ aspirations of self-realisation. This reconfiguration of the Germanic hero cutting across conventional gender lines will leave its imprint on video games too, in attention to the increasing number of female and non-binary gamers. 45 On the controversial objectification and sexualisation of popular fiction action heroines, see J. A. Brown’s Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture (2011); and Pennell and Behm-Morawitz 211-220. 124 3.3. THE GRAPHIC NOVEL The general audience’s interest in the graphic novel has grown over the past 50 years since the artistic quality of this medium has raised significantly. Besides, with the success of medievalist graphic novels adaptations into film and television products, more people are inclined to explore the original sources. Likewise, this process can also occur in reverse, leading to cinematic sagas and television series transitioning to the graphic medium. There have been medieval-themed comics since the 1930s, blending historical topics with the adventure and fantasy plots typical of the superhero comic book series. For example, Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant (1937) is set in the Arthurian world, while Manuel Gago García’s El Guerrero del Antifaz (1944), the popular Spanish comic, depicts a swashbuckling hero who fights against injustice and evil during the late 15th century. Likewise, Stan Lee and Joe Maneely’s Black Knight, created in 1955, has its roots in Arthurian legend. On the other hand, Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert’s Viking Prince, also created in 1955, follows the adventures of Jon Haraldson, a young Norse warrior of the Viking Age. In the last quarter of the 20th century, comic book revisitations of early medieval literature became fashionable. One of the most adapted texts is Beowulf. Between 1975 and 1976, DC Comics published the first graphic novel reimagining of the Anglo- Saxon hero, Michael Uslan and Ricardo Villamonte’s Beowulf: Dragon Slayer. Although initially following the poem’s narrative, with Beowulf coming to the aid of Hrothgar to combat Grendel, the work quickly deviated into its own original storyline and adapted the plot to the adventure genre and the aesthetics of the 1970s pop comic 125 books. Uslan and Villamonte’s work was followed by comics more respectful with the source text. Jerry Bingham’s adaptation in 1984, for example, offers a more literal rendering of the Old English text. 46 The first decade of the 21st century proved more successful, with up to six adaptations of the poem: Gareth Hinds’s The Collected Beowulf (2000); Stephen L. Stern and Christopher Steininger’s Beowulf: The Graphic Novel (2007); David Hutchinson’s Beowulf (2007), a revision of the poem as a cyberpunk work; Chris Ryall and Mark A. Nelson’s Beowulf (2007), a graphic novel version of Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary’s screenplay for Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf film released in the same year; and Paul D. Storrie and Ron Randall’s Beowulf: Monster Slayer (2008). The most recent adaptation is Spanish authors Santiago García and David Rubín’s Beowulf (2017), which, according to the publisher, is: a new version that is neither revisionist nor postmodern, but captures the tone and important details of the poem, translating its potent, epic resonance and melancholy into a contemporary comic that isn’t standard swords and sorcery or heroic fantasy fare, but rather an ancient story with a modern perspective that remains respectful of the source material. (“Beowulf HC”) Topics from Norse mythology have also been the subject of graphic novel adaptations. In Journey into Mystery #83 (1962), celebrity authors Stan Lee and Jack Kirby transformed the Germanic pantheon into an alien race, the Asgardians, with Thor as the main character. This product was born out of a renovated interest in vindicating the non-English European cultural and racial heritage as a profitable line of business. Attracted to Germanic culture, the many readers of German and 46 See Gómez-Calderón, “Beowulf” 107-127. 126 Scandinavian descent in the United States contributed to the widespread popularity of this comic book, and the work also sold well in Europe, which boosted the company’s profits. The result is that for more than 60 years, “Thor has had a continuous presence in US culture, and in many other countries where US culture is consumed” (M. Arnold, “Thor” 137). Nowadays, Marvel Comics continues to publish the Thor stories, being one of the most successful products in their catalogue. It has reached 769 issues as for March 2024, thus “exceeding in volume any other single body of work associated with the thunder god, including the Eddas” (M. Arnold, “Thor” 137). 47 The character of Thor has also become part of the history of graphic novels for being “the first successful attempt to harness existing mythology on a large scale to construct the mise en scène of a superhero” (Reynolds 54). The tetralogy of Thor films released between 2011 and 2022 greatly benefited from the comic’s profitability. One of the most fascinating elements of this adaptation of the Germanic heroic matter is that the land of the gods is reconstructed into a science-fiction planet. Therefore, Asgard is “strange, exotic, breath-taking, but not completely uncanny,” as the creators resort to the popular clichés of the representation of barbarian Middle Ages (Reynolds 54). The same applies to the character of Thor, a curious hybrid of traditional comic superhero and futuristic Viking through which this adaptation accentuates its modern mindset while still exploiting the story’s medieval allure. Since religious belief and the spiritual tropes do not fit very well in the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee’s rewriting of Asgard into an alien civilisation sets a compelling precedent as 47 See Immortal Thor Vol. 1 #7. 127 a posthumanist approach to Germanic mythology. 48 All the elements are then represented “in an accessible, science fiction/fantasy style” (Reynolds 54), which suits the Marvel Universe fans’ secular paradigms. Curiously enough, the interest in revisiting the European medieval heritage has reached graphic novels created in the Far East, too. Thus, Makoto Yukimura’s famous manga Vinland Saga (2005-) adapts elements from two Icelandic texts, the Saga of the Greenlanders (14th century) and the Saga of Erik the Red (14th century). Its uniqueness lies in that it is the sole Japanese manga entirely devoted to Norse themes (Danesin 187). This case demonstrates the reification of the Germanic Middle Ages as a narrative niche for comics from all over the world and this medium’s contribution to the globalisation of popular medievalism. 3.4. POPULAR MUSIC Reworkings of the medieval tradition are also frequent in the field of popular music, being especially persistent in the heavy metal genre. This style was born in the 1970s as a derivative of rock music, but with very different thematic interests. Those included “frequent references to the occult, mythology, satanic worship, and witchcraft,” thus creating “a dark, foreboding fantasy world for fans to immerse themselves in” (Larson 207). Since its inception, heavy metal has evolved into virtually limitless variants: “from the power metal of bands like Iron Maiden to thrash bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, and from lite-metal (hard rock/pop) to 48 In “Towards a Posthumanist Methodology: A Statement,” Francesca Ferrando points out that posthumanism “criticizes anthropocentric humanism and opens its inquiry to non-human life: from animals to artificial intelligence, from aliens to other forms of hypothetical entities related to the physics notion of a multiverse” (10). 134 4.1. REMEDIATION: FROM THE PAGE TO THE INTERACTIVE DIGITAL SCREEN The video game as a medium follows previous media in its appropriation and repurposing of the medieval past. In this case, it is rendered as an audiovisual but also digital and interactive experience. As it has been discussed in Chapter 1, the Reception Theory examines the relationship between a media message and its audience taking into account the media’s formulas and conventions and the cultural context in which a message is decoded. As we saw in the previous chapter, the contemporary reception of the Germanic medieval heritage has been mediated –in all the possible senses of the term– by popular literature, the audiovisual, the graphic novel, and music. In addition to the Reception Theory, Remediation helps to explain the way in which the video game repurposes medieval themes. In 1999, Jay D. Bolter and Richard Grusin devised “Remediation” as a valuable methodology to explore how content is adapted from one medium to the next in order to reach new audiences or offer them new experiences. Thus, Remediation is “the representation of one medium in another,” implying that there is a process by which content is reconstructed and reformatted (“Immediacy” 45). This would be the case of a film being adapted into a television series, or a book reworked as a video game. Remediation and reception are bound in various ways. Actually, it is essential to consider how an audience might interpret and consume media content that is originally offered in a format (let’s say, as written text) when it is reformatted to suit the new requirements as video game (audiovisual interactive product for playing). According to Bolter and Grusin, from the Renaissance onwards, any single medium has been fluctuating “between immediacy and hypermediacy, between transparency 135 and opacity” (“Immediacy” 19). This fluctuation also plays a crucial role in comprehending how a new medium reshapes former products depending on new technologies (filming, digital gamification) that may alter their original content’s nature. In constant feedback, media establish a relation among themselves that logically affects both the original and the adapted work. This means that “all current media function as remediators and that remediation offers us a means of interpreting the work of earlier media as well” (Bolter and Grusin, “Mediation” 55). Remediation is, therefore, not an exclusively linear process but a cyclical one since “older media can also remediate newer ones” (Bolter and Grusin, “Mediation” 55). Remediation has become an increasingly prevalent practice in the mass media working for the entertainment industry. From streaming television platforms like Netflix or HBO to print news articles on their products republished on websites and fans’ blogs, the boundaries between media are collapsing in the digital age. This highlights the ongoing process of media convergence and their ubiquitous fluidity. Hypermediacy creates new opportunities for storytellers and product creators, but also poses challenges for the traditional forms of cultural production and consumption. Ultimately, this project aims to demonstrate the critical role that the remediation of the Germanic Middle Ages as a participative ludonarrative experience plays in how the past is received and reconstructed by modern consumers. These derivative neomedieval products are in fact the primary means by which the Middle Ages is present in contemporary popular culture, and determine how it is received by a large number of people with different social, racial, cultural, and educational backgrounds. 136 The way Remediation operates in video game can be illustrated with the example of Mythic Entertainment’s Dark Age of Camelot (2001). This product remediates the Celtic Arthurian world by appropriating the aesthetics and topics associated with chivalry, but it also integrates Germanic thematic lines becoming a three-realm medieval pastiche: Albion, Midgard, and Hibernia. The first line draws upon the Welsh Arthurian tradition, the second upon Norse mythology, and the last upon Irish Celtic legends. Players choose to align with one of these three legendary realms and, throughout the course of the gameplay, engage in combat with gamers playing for the other rival kingdoms, thus simulating conflicts reminiscent of those occurring among diverse historical nations during in the early Middle Ages. Additionally, during the gameplay players can undertake different secondary quests. These unfold narratives of the popular medieval repertoire, such as the defence of the kingdoms from attacks by imaginary creatures like giants, ogres, trolls, revenants, dryads, or elves, the search for magical objects (taking after the Holy Grail legends or the cauldron of Celtic legends), or the retrieving of enchanted treasures (like in the Nibelungs tradition), etc. That is, video games mainly render the Middle Ages mainly as a playable commodity composed of fragmentary literary and historical references. 4.2. GAMIFYING THE MEDIEVAL HERITAGE: FROM TABLETOP TO DIGITAL REALMS The two fundamental pillars of the video game as a digital medium are interactivity and narrativity. The former allows players to customise history and literature within the digital world and engage with them in individual ways, creating a dynamic personalised experience, while the latter provides context and purpose for 137 the playthrough, increasing immersion in the fiction of the game. Since video games re-mediate medieval narratives originally devised to be conveyed by the written medium, they rely on their previous gamification passing through a crucial intermediate step: tabletop role-playing games (RPGs). In the 1970s, tabletop RPGs emerged as a new vehicle to experience the medieval fantasy worlds of literature by remediating them: these special board games allow players to create their own characters and interact with a game master-narrator, who controls the story’s unfolding in episodes and sets the scene. Tabletop RPGs enhance the mechanics of traditional board games and thematic war strategy games in that they involve performance and re-enactment. This medium is, to some extent, comparable to audiovisual medium in that it combines features from earlier media: from literature, tabletop RPGs inherit their narrative character; from the comic book, the centrality of graphic design; from cinema and television, that share the centrality of narrativity and visual interest with the previous ones, the idea of exploiting a selfcontained story as ludic experience, often shared with other participants. All these aspects culminate in the digital medium of video games, as it will be demonstrated in the following chapter of this dissertation. The transition from fantasy literature to tabletop RPGs and from here to ludonarrative video games is a testament to the enduring appeal of the medievalinspired fantasy genre. This process developed linearly and continuously in the last fifty years, so “in the same way that Tolkien’s fantasy fiction inspired the first roleplaying games, D&D provided a model for the first video games” (Ewalt 182). As a matter of fact, it is no coincidence that Dungeons &Dragons, a medievalist product, is 138 considered the pioneer role-playing game: “the usual custom is to point to the 1974 publication of Dungeons & Dragons by Tactical Studies Rules” (Mason 1). The product, created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, allowed players to create characters, explore a vast fantasy world, and simulate medieval battles, which included knights, archers, and even dragons. The first editions of Dungeons & Dragons were characterised by their apparent simplicity, and the mechanics “mainly consisted of pretending to be a character who would descend into a subterranean cave complex […], fight monsters, and recover treasure” (Mason 3). Within this simple plot laid the concept of the quest, taken from the medieval literary tradition. Hence, by performing the role of heroes such as Beowulf, Sigurd, or King Arthur in-game, players undertake missions to defeat monsters, save the land, rescue maidens, or gain treasure. Designers and players began to seek more open-ended gaming experiences as the medium evolved. This led to significant changes in the 1980s, one of the most important ones being the shift towards more encompassing, interconnected, and complex game worlds. This was partly driven by the introduction of more complex plotlines and play strategies known as “campaign settings.” Within the universe of role-playing games, Matt Barton and Shane Stacks define the concepts of “campaign” and “campaign setting” as “the series of interconnected adventures” and “the shared setting of these campaigns,” respectively (30). Often, these stories deal with adventures of war and conquest, such as those in the popular Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms. They feature rich backstories inserted in well-developed cultural and social settings, creating a sense of immersion in the fictional world much superior to that of earlier game versions. 139 The first computer-based RPGs appeared in the late 1970s. These new products also belong to the medieval high fantasy genre, like their predecessors, but they operate in entirely virtual environments this time. This implies a new process of remediation, as the combination of narrative and participative entertainment on which tabletop RPGs were based is enhanced by the audiovisual component. As the newest medium of all, video game relies on the medievalist tradition of the audiovisual and conventional gaming. The roleplaying game for computers is the next step towards the more sophisticated console video games. The first commercially successful computer RPG with an identifiable medieval theme was Richard Garriott’s Akalabeth: World of Doom, published by California Pacific Computer Company (CPCC) in 1980. The product sold only 30,000 copies but obtained significant profits. The author got 5 dollars per copy sold, so he considered it was not “a bad return for 3 hundred hours of work by a high school kid” (Asher 39). Despite the substantial gains Akalabeth brought to CPCC, it received poor critical reviews and was categorised in the magazine Dragon as “a poor cousin in relation to Wizardry and some of the other recent role-playing computer games” (Humphrey 74). In Akalabeth, the player’s avatar is a knight errant who is entrusted with a series of quests by Lord British (Garriott’s alter ego). He must kill a succession of ten increasingly difficult monsters. Most of the game story takes place in an underground dungeon, but there is also an above-ground world, whose map and text descriptions are provided to complete the rest of the adventure. Hence, just as with tabletop RPGs, the connection between Garriott’s medieval-themed video game and the tradition of high fantasy and medieval epic literature is palpable, as 140 characters/players perform deeds of courage in search of treasure (King and Borland 37). The author even pretended he had invented an exotic word for the title, but, as critics point out, it “sounded suspiciously close to “Akallabeth,” a word in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional Númenórean language” (King and Borland 38). Akalabeth preceded Garriott’s massively popular series, Ultima (1981-1999), published by Origin Systems, which set the standard for computer RPGs in the following years. It would be imitated by other best-selling games, including Sir-Tech’s game trilogy Wizardry (1981-1983), Interplay Productions’ game trilogy The Bard’s Tale (1985-1988), or the first instalment of the Might and Magic game franchise by New World Computing, Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum (1986). Hence, the evolution from tabletop role-playing games to video games has been a long and fascinating journey. 4.3. VIDEO GAMES AND GAME STUDIES The purpose of video games is entertainment. As the final medium, it merges the favourite topics of medievalist literature with the plastic and musical aspects of the audiovisual and the gameplay characteristic of board and role-playing games. The result is a digitally immersive product that abandons linearity, offering a different experience with each use. According to Mark J. P. Wolf, “[w]hereas works in traditional media are made up of fixed, linear sequences of text, image, or sound (or combinations of them) which remain unchanged when examined multiple times (apart from effects of wear and tear), events experienced in a video game will vary widely from one playing to another” (“Video Game” 13). 141 Regarding gameplay mechanics, these products require players to have a combination of quick reactions and decision-making skills. Since the majority of video games are designed for single-player experiences, players typically engage with computer-controlled opponents in contextualised scenarios, and may also compete with other gamers to achieve the highest score. Due to the computer’s rapid response speed, “video games are often designed to require fast action and reflexes” (Wolf, “Video Game” 15). The ability to react, along with the strategy followed to advance through the game’s plot, are essential to achieve what Wolf terms as the “valued outcome,” that is, “winning vs. losing, or the attaining of the highest score or fastest time for the completing of a task” (“Video Game” 14). Several academic disciplines converge in the analysis of video games. Game Studies originated as “a multidisciplinary field of study and learning with games and related phenomena as its subject matter” (Mäyrä, “Introduction” 6). Publications such as Game Studies (2001-) have facilitated scholarly research and witnessed its development within academia. It emerged in the late 20th century as scholars acknowledged the increasing importance of video games as a complex global cultural phenomenon. Its foundations are rooted in various areas, including “literary, film or media studies, […] communication research, sociology, psychology, [or] computer science” (Mäyrä, “Introduction” 5). In the last category, Game Design and Development is possibly the best-researched line among all those pertaining to Game Studies. 51 The process of creating a whole video game work is complex, and it must 51 The technical aspects of computer programming and design fall outside the scope of this thesis. Further information can be found in publications such as Michael E. Moore’s Basics of Game Design (2011), Briar Lee Mitchell’s Game Design Essentials (2012), and Ernest Adams and Joris Dormans’ Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design (2012). 142 attend to many technical aspects, such as product programming mechanics, graphics, soundtrack effects, etc., as well as narratological ones, since modern video games depend on stories. In parallel with this, Player Studies provide compelling insights into video games’ social impact. Positioned within the social sciences, this branch of the analysis examines video games through the lenses of “interactivity, entertainment, fun, enjoyment, [or] simulation” since, for a start, “they often [define] video games as experiences” (Muriel and Crawford 1). This involves psychological investigation of the behaviour associated with gaming, taking into consideration the motivations of players, observing their interaction with the product, and the acquisition of new gaming skills along with it. This type of studies also comprises the analysis of players’ response to the game (immersion, enjoyment, satisfaction, frustration, and addiction), alongside the examination of other social factors affecting their performance, such as gender, class, and race differences among players. Researchers also explore how players engage with diverse game types, ranging from casual mobile games such as King’s Candy Crush Saga (2012) to competitive eSports like Riot Games’ League of Legends (2009). 52 In the end, this discipline of Player Studies contributes to our understanding of new tech-based leisure options. 53 Another very interesting line of research within Game Studies is the discipline of Gamification, which explores the employment of games for didactic purposes, that 52 According to Juho Hamari and Max Sjöblom, “eSports commonly refer to competitive (pro and amateur) video gaming that is often coordinated by different leagues, ladders and tournaments, and where players customarily belong to teams or other ‘sporting’ organizations who are sponsored by various business organizations” (212). 53 For further reading on Player Studies, see Fox et al. 4056-4073, Ghazali et al. 646-667, Denisova and Cook 161-168, Pallavicini and Pepe 195-210, Chang and Kim 822-831, Lopez-Fernandez et al. 1-14, Hilvert-Bruce and Neill 303-311, and Aziz et al. 996-1013. 143 is, for learning development and training purposes. Gamification techniques are used to teach new abilities or to train and consolidate specific skills within different fields of knowledge. This applies to various contexts, from K-12 classrooms to corporate training programs. Game-based learning strategies aspire to create engaging and interactive study environments that promote active participation and facilitate the memorisation of procedures and data on the part of the player. Thus, the training simulations offered by gaming allow users to practice real-world skills in an immersive way within a safe and controlled setting. 54 All this considered, this thesis is framed in the research area of the so-called Game Cultures, which approach “games as a particular form of culture” and study them within their specific social and cultural contexts (Mäyrä, “Game Culture” 13). Hence, scholarly works focus on the study of the communities and practices that emerge around games, observing the role they play in shaping social identities and relationships within a given human group. As we can see, nowadays games are no longer limited to “children’s rooms and arcade game parlours, but are conquering the living rooms and stepping out from the computer screen” (Mäyrä, “Game Culture” 13). Consequently, this line of study aids in understanding better the social and cultural transformations intervening in the use of video games. Lastly, the significance of video games in contemporary culture can be observed through their connections with the other arts. Even though video games are very recent productions, they possess unique qualities that make them worthy of 54 Because of the many advantages it offers for teaching and learning, Gamification studies is an emerging discipline. See Fuchs et al.’s Rethinking Gamification (2014), Werbach and Hunter’s For the Win: The Power of Gamification and Game Thinking in Business, Education, Government, and Social Impact (2020), and Toda et al.’s Gamification Design for Educational Contexts: Theoretical and Practical Contributions (2023). 246 Eventually, video games are the last stage (so far) in which the Germanic heritage is updated to present-day preoccupations and concerns. It has been universalised, becoming the site of nostalgia for the international community of gamers. Looking ahead, the complexity of the questions addressed in this research opens multiple ways for studies that strengthen the understanding of the relationships between video games, historical reinterpretation, and the construction of European identity in a globalised world. Literature, Cultural, and Game Studies offer a suitable critical framework to assess the participation of players in constructing narratives on the medieval heritage, and to observe how video games are to be received in diverse cultural contexts and periods in the future. From a comparative perspective, it would be interesting to examine how specific video games address topics such as ethics and inclusivity in the implementation of heroic models, and how their treatment of polemical issues like race and gender, and also violence and political discourse, evolves over time. Likewise, the field of gamification opens interesting possibilities for the use of Germanic-themed video games as interactive educational tools to improve the knowledge of younger generations about medieval literature and history as well as to foster their foreign language proficiency. 247 WORKS CITED 1. VIDEO GAME SOURCES 1.1. CORPUS Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Ubisoft, 2020. God of War. Santa Monica Studio, 2018. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bethesda Game Studios, 2011. 1.2. OTHER GAMES CITED Adventure. Atari, 1980. Akalabeth: World of Doom. California Pacific Computer Company, 1980. Ancestors Legacy. Destructive Creations, 2018. Beowulf: The Game. Ubisoft, 2007. Bugaboo (The Flea). Paco & Paco, 1983. Candy Crush Saga. King, 2012. Civilization. MicroProse, 1991. Civilization VI. Firaxis Games, 2016. Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Westwood Studios, 1996. Crusader Kings. Paradox, 2004. Crusader Kings III. Paradox, 2020. Dark Age of Camelot. Mythic Entertainment, 2001. Diablo IV. Blizzard Entertainment, 2023. Final Fantasy. Squaresoft, 1987. Final Fantasy VI. Squaresoft, 1994. Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix, 2010. Final Fantasy XVI. Square Enix, 2023. God of War: Ragnarök. Santa Monica Studio, 2022. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Ninja Theory, 2017. Hogwarts Legacy. Avalanche Software, 2023. Jotun. Thunder Lotus Games, 2015. King Arthur: Knight’s Tale. NeocoreGames, 2022. Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Warhorse Studios, 2018. 248 Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders. Phantagram, 2001. League of Legends. Riot Games, 2009. Medieval II: Total War. Creative Assembly, 2006. Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum. New World Computing, 1986. Mount & Blade. TaleWorlds Entertainment, 2008. Munin. Gojira, 2014. Northgard. Shiro Games, 2018. Ōkami. Clover Studio, 2006. Pong. Atari, 1972. Rune. Human Head Studios, 2000. Serpent in the Staglands. Whalenought Studios, 2015. The Banner Saga. Stoic, 2013 The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo, 1986. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo, 2023. The Lost Vikings. Silicon & Synapse, 1993. The Road to Canterbury. Choice of Games, 2018. Tomb Raider. Core Design, 1996. Too Human. Silicon Knights, 2008. Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. Creative Assembly, 2018. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Naughty Dog, 2007. Valheim. Iron Gate Studio, 2021. Valkyrie Profile. tri-Ace, 1999. Viking Squad. Slick Entertainment, 2015. Viking: Battle for Asgard. Creative Assembly, 2008. Vikings: Wolves of Midgard. Games Farm, 2017. War of the Roses. Fatshark, 2012. 2. OTHER MEDIA SOURCES 2.1. LITERATURE Adams, Doris Sutcliffe. The Price of Blood. Scribner’s, 1967. Anderson, Poul. Hrolf Kraki’s Saga. Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy, 2015. 249 ---. The Broken Sword. Open Road Integrated Media, 2018. Ballantyne, Robert Michael. Erling the Bold. Blurb, 2022. Brooks, Terry. The Sword of Shannara Trilogy. Del Rey, 2002. Chant, Joy. Red Moon and Black Mountain: The End of the House of Kendreth. Bantam, 1983. Cornwell, Bernard. The Saxon Stories. Harper Collins, 2004-20. Crichton, Michael. Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in AD 922. Vintage Books, 2018. Duggan, Alfred. The Cunning of the Dove. Bello, 2012. ---. The King of Athelney. Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd, 2018. Follett, Ken. The Evening and the Morning. Viking, 2020. Gardner, John. Grendel. Gollancz, 2015. Gordon, Noah. The Physician. Barcelona Editions, 2013. Griffith, Nicola. Menewood. MCD, 2023. Haggard, Henry Rider. Eric Brighteyes. Musaicum Books, 2017. Harrison, Harry, and John Holm. The Hammer and the Cross Trilogy. Tor Fantasy, 1994-97. Hartsuyker, Linnea. The Golden Wolf Saga. Harper Collins, 2017-19. Headley, Maria Dahvana. The Mere Wife. MCD, 2018. Hemans, Felicia D. The Forest Sanctuary and Other Poems. W. Blackwood, 1854. Henty, G. A. The Dragon and the Raven. e-artnow, 2020. ---. Wulf the Saxon. Dancing Unicorn Books, 2017. Jordan, Robert. The Wheel of Time Boxed Set. Orbit, 2021-22. Kay, Guy Gavriel. The Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy. Harper Collins Canada, 2013. Kristian, Giles. Raven. Corgi, 2010-12. ---. Rise of Sigurd. Corgi, 2014-17. Knowles, James Sheridan. Alfred the Great, or the Patriot King: An Historical Play, in Five Acts. Forgotten Books, 2022. Kurtz, Katherine. Deryni Rising. Ace Books, 2014. Le Guin, Ursula K. The Books of Earthsea. Saga Press, 2018. Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Full-Colour Hardback Collection. Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2015. Lytton, Edward Bulwer. Harold: The Last of the Saxon Kings. Forgotten Books, 2022. Manning, Anne. The Chronicle of Ethelfled. Forgotten Books, 2022. Martin, George R. R. A Song of Ice and Fire. Bantam Books, 1996-. 250 Morris, William. The Sundering Flood. Double 9 Books, 2023. ---. The Well at the World’s End. Double 9 Books, 2023. ---. The Wood beyond the World. Double 9 Books, 2023. Niven, Larry, et al. Heorot Series. Baen, 2021. Pratchett, Terry. Discworld Novels. Penguin Books, 2022-23. Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials. Everyman, 2011. Radcliffe, Ann. The Mysteries of Udolpho. Penguin Books, 2001. Reeve, Clara. The Old English Baron. Oxford University Press, 2008. Rothfuss, Patrick. The Kingkiller Chronicle. DAW Books, 2007-. Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter: The Complete Collection. Bloomsbury, 2015. Sanderson, Brandon. The Stormlight Archive. Tor Books, 2010-. Scott, Walter. Ivanhoe. Edinburgh University Press, 1998. ---. Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Edinburgh University Press, 2022. ---. Rob Roy, and, The Pirate. Forgotten Books, 2022. Sutcliff, Rosemary. Beowulf: Dragonslayer. Red Fox, 2013. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit. Harper Collins UK, 2023. ---. The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set. Harper Collins UK, 2022. ---. The Silmarillion. Harper Collins UK, 2022. Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. True Sign Publishing House, 2023. Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story, and The Mysterious Mother: A Tragedy, edited by Frederick S. Frank, Broadview Press Ltd., 2003. Walton, Evangeline. The Mabinogion Tetralogy. Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd., 2012. 2.2. FILM AND TELEVISION Alfred the Great. Directed by Clive Donner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1969. Beowulf. Directed by Graham Baker, Dimension Films, 1999. Beowulf. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007. Beowulf & Grendel. Directed by Sturla Gunnarsson, Truly Indie, 2005. Beowulf: Prince of the Geats. Directed by Scott Wegener, David Garrison Productions, 2007. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Created by Joss Whedon, The WB and UPN, 1997-2003. Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King. Directed by Uli Edel, Sat. 1, 2004. 251 Game of Thrones. Created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, HBO, 2011-19. Grendel. Directed by Nick Lyon, SciFi Channel, 2007. Grendel Grendel Grendel. Directed by Alexander Stitt, Umbrella Entertainment, 1981. Harry Potter. Directed by Chris Columbus (1-2), Alfonso Cuarón (3), Mike Newell (4), and David Yates (5-8), Warner Bros. Pictures, 2001-11. House of the Dragon. Created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal, HBO, 2022-. Ivanhoe. Directed by Richard Thorpe, Loew’s Inc., 1952. Knightfall. Created by Don Handfield and Richard Rayner, History Channel, 2017-19. Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli. Directed by Ágúst Guðmundsson, Isfilm, 1981. The 13th Warrior. Directed by John McTiernan, Buena Vista Pictures, 1999. The Chronicles of Narnia. Directed by Andrew Adamson (1-2) and Michael Apted (3), Walt Disney Studios (1-2) and 20th Century Fox (3), 2005-10. The Hobbit. Directed by Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, 2012-14. The Last Kingdom. Created by Stephen Butchard, BBC Two, 2015-22. The Long Ships. Directed by Jack Cardiff, Columbia Pictures, 1964. The Lord of the Rings. Directed by Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, 2001-03. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Created by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, Amazon Prime Video, 2022-. The Nibelungs. Directed by Fritz Lang, UFA, 1924. The Nibelungs. Directed by Harald Reinl, Constantin Film, 1966-67. The Northman. Directed by Robert Eggers, Universal Pictures, 2022. The Raven Trilogy. Directed by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, Svenska Filminstitutet, 1984-91. The Vikings. Directed by Richard Fleischer, United Artists, 1958. The Witcher. Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, Netflix, 2019-. Vikings. Created by Michael Hirst, History Channel, 2013-20. Xena: Warrior Princess. Created by Robert Tapert, Syndication, 1995-2001. 2.3. COMIC Beowulf. Created by Santiago García and David Rubín, Image Comics, 2017. Beowulf. Created by David Hutchinson, Antarctic Press, 2007. Beowulf. Created by Mark A. Nelson, IDW Publishing, 2007. Beowulf: Dragon Slayer. Created by Michael Uslan and Ricardo Villamonte, DC Comics, 1975-76. 252 Beowulf: Monster Slayer. Created by Paul D. Storrie and Ron Randall, Graphic Universe, 2008. Beowulf: The Graphic Novel. Created by Stephen L. Stern and Christopher Steininger, Markosia Enterprises Ltd, 2007. Black Knight. Created by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely, Marvel Comics, 1955-. El Guerrero del Antifaz. Created by Manuel Gago García, Editorial Valenciana, 1944- 66. Prince Valiant. Created by Hal Foster, King Features Syndicate, 1937-. Secret War. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Gabriele Dell’Otto, Marvel Comics, 2004-05. The Collected Beowulf. Created by Gareth Hinds, thecomic.com, 2000. Thor. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Marvel Comics, 1962-. Viking Prince. Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, DC Comics, 1955-. Vinland Sag. Created by Makoto Yukimura, Monthly Afternoon, 2005-. 2.4. MUSIC Brothers of Metal. “Death of the God of Light.” Prophecy of Ragnarök, AFM Records, 2017. ---. “Ride of the Valkyries.” Emblas Saga, AFM Records, 2020. ---. “Theft of the Hammer.” Emblas Saga, AFM Records, 2020. ---. “Yggdrasil.” Prophecy of Ragnarök, AFM Records, 2017. Turisas. “The March of the Varangian Guard.” Stand Up and Fight, Century Media, 2011. Twilight Force. “Battle of Arcane Might.” Heroes of Mighty Magic, Nuclear Blast Records, 2016. ---. “Sunlight Knight.” At the Heart of Winter Vale, Nuclear Blast Records, 2023. 3. MEDIEVAL SOURCES: EDITIONS Eyrbyggja Saga. Ed. and Tr. Hermann Pálson and Paul Edwards. Penguin Books, 1989. Fagrskinna: A Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Ed. and Tr. Alison Finlay. Brill, 2004. 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Blackwell Publishing, 2009. 281 APPENDIXES APPENDIX 1: SONG LYRICS Turisas – “The March of the Varangian Guard” – Stand Up and Fight (2011) Stanza 1 The sun rose over the wasteland As far as the eye can see Sand fills the vast plains of Serkland It’s vultures jeering at me But they can circle until they drop dead I have not come this far To end, but to pursue my own thread To join The Varangian Guard Chorus Guards of glory and of might Red as blood and black as night Flies our banner as we march In the East, for the king of the Greek Stanza 2 There’s men of the cross and the hammer A few of the moon crescent Men simply searching for glamour Some concealing their royal descent The axe-bearing foreigners they have aptly named us All we’ve come from afar Diversity is what unites us We are The Varangian Guard Chorus Guards of glory and of might Red as blood and black as night Flies our banner as we march In the East, for the king of the Greek Bridge Miklagard, in the second indinction, in the 6542 year of the world To Holmgard and beyond This is where the winds have us guided For fame and for gold We once set sails for these lands unknown Chorus Guards of glory and of might Red as blood and black as night Flies our banner as we march In the East, for the king of the Greek 282 Brothers of Metal – “Death of the God of Light” – Prophecy of Ragnarök (2017) Stanza 1 Out on the fields where the lonely horizon lies So cold to the touch, every valley is made of ice Fairest of gods, he was forced to be put on trials Facing his end staring into the trickster’s eyes Bridge Metal and steel, fire and ice Was thrown at his naked brow They all were repelled, no matter the might Nothing could harm him now Chorus God of light so wise and strong, the fairest of them all His downfall was a mistletoe, now hope is bound to fall Loki's plan so evil and so vicious in its way Now only tears can save the worlds from Ragnarök’s dismay Stanza 2 In search for the truth, he came up with a grand disguise One conversation that lit up his evil eyes For Loki, the envy was too much for him to bear A secret revealed of a flower with skills so rare Bridge Metal and steel, fire and ice Was thrown at his naked brow They all were repelled, no matter the might Nothing could harm him now Chorus God of light so wise and strong, the fairest of them all His downfall was a mistletoe, now hope is bound to fall Loki’s plan so evil and so vicious in its way Now only tears can save the worlds from Ragnarök's dismay Bridge Metal and steel, fire and ice Was thrown at his naked brow They all were repelled, no matter the might Nothing could harm him now Chorus God of light so wise and strong, the fairest of them all His downfall was a mistletoe, now hope is bound to fall Loki’s plan so evil and so vicious in its way Now only tears can save the worlds from Ragnarök’s dismay 283 Brothers of Metal – “Yggdrasil” – Prophecy of Ragnarök (2017) Stanza 1 Rising up from a day of plunder The ale of yesterday has gone down under The battlefield awaits my soul to Odin (For whom I wait) Thor guide me through my battles Lead me home (To Asgard) The victorious will rise to the glory of the gods Chorus Rise above the mountains Light a fire in the sky For the blood is running still From the roots of Yggdrasil Rise above the mountains Light a fire in the sky Carry me to the hill To the top of Yggdrasil Stanza 2 In the hour of final judgment Allfather, lead my way When the fire of war reign I will watch my brothers fall Our names will be long forgotten We live on forever The victorious will rise to the glory of the gods Chorus Rise above the mountains Light a fire in the sky For the blood is running still From the roots of Yggdrasil Rise above the mountains Light a fire in the sky Carry me to the hill To the top of Yggdrasil Bridge In the dust, I swore my hatred From seeing unborn children die The mother's weeping wakes my sword for vengeance (The sword cries) I ride into infinity and as I fall I rise (In Asgard) The victorious will rise to the glory of the gods (Rise, rise, rise) Chorus Rise above the mountains Light a fire in the sky For the blood is running still From the roots of Yggdrasil Rise above the mountains Light a fire in the sky Carry me to the hill To the top of Yggdrasil To the top of Yggdrasil 284 Brothers of Metal – “Theft of the Hammer” – Emblas Saga (2020) Stanza 1 He woke up in fear and doubt Hammerless and mad “Give it back at once you thief Or I’ll go tell my dad” Giant slayer, Jotun bane Mjölnir is its name It was stolen and defiled Held as hostage in the giant’s games Interlude 1 The adventure of the bride And how Thor regained his pride Chorus Stealing from a god You clueless fools I am the god of thunder I will show you theft Your world will fall And crumble down before my might Stanza 2 Lightning and thunder, follow their path As they hastily cross the sky Bridesmaid and bride, ready for death And the bloodbath that was nigh “Look there” Loki said, as he pointed to the west “A castle in the night” The rage of Thor shone through the night The thunder in his heart Chorus Stealing from a god You clueless fools I am the god of thunder I will show you theft Your world will fall And crumble down before me Bridge Thunder followed by lightning I’m crossing the sky With vengeance in mind Hear me, hammer of glory I am on my way Interlude 2 As our bride waited for his first true kiss His heart did beat with worry The hammer must return His dress fell to his feet As he felt Mjölnir in his palm - Hammer time The hammer has returned Stanza 3 Weapon in hand, he sprung from his seat Crushing the skull of his groom A massacre of a tremendous scale Spreading blood across the room The joy in his heart could not be met The slaughter was truly obscene The darkness within the lightning god And a carnage seldom seen Chorus Stealing from a god You clueless fools I am the god of thunder I will show you theft Your world will fall And crumble down before my might 285 Brothers of Metal – “Ride of the Valkyries” – Emblas Saga (2020) Stanza 1 I hear the horns are calling, the fight is drawing nigh Let them bring their thunder, and their puny battle cries Forging an alliance with my courage and my steel I am not afraid to die, and I will never kneel Stanza 2 I don’t give a FIRE if I win or if I lose Surviving is a cowards wish, and death is what I choose My stamina depleted, but I am standing still When the final blow will fall I’m ready to be killed Bridge Behold The sky is burning Fight For the sake of death Brace For your true ascension This is the ride of the Valkyries Chorus We are warriors The bravest in the lands Chosen by the maidens And united once again Mighty warriors We’re the bravest in the lands Chosen by the maidens We’re the kinsmen of the slain Stanza 3 I hear the horns are calling, I’m ready for the fight (fight) Emptying the barrels before the fall of night To prove that I am worthy before the Valkyries I crack a skull, I pour four more I'm on a drinking spree Breakout Are you ready for your destiny?! Bridge Behold The sky is burning Fight For the sake of death Brace For your true ascension This is the ride of the Valkyries Chorus We are warriors The bravest in the lands Chosen by the maidens And united once again Mighty warriors We’re the bravest in the lands Chosen by the maidens We’re the kinsmen of the slain 286 Twilight Force – “Battle of Arcane Might” – Heroes of Mighty Magic (2016) Stanza 1 Fields on fire, flames in the sky Raging furious battlefield And across the mountains And across the valleys, wailing cries of fear Bridge 1 Mages hearken the call Arcane might will prevail Journey through the astral plains To aid Chorus For the fallen ones, we will ride into the sky Riding over the rainbow’s light For the flames of magic, we will rise again In the battle of arcane might Stanza 2 Lightning bolts shoot across the skies Storms of magic, powerwinds And the hordes of unlight Dying by the hands of twilight The kingdom was saved again Bridge 2 Shadows conquered and gone Arcane might has prevailed Magic hope and glory has returned Chorus (x3) For the fallen ones, we will ride into the sky Riding over the rainbow’s light For the flames of magic, we will rise again In the battle of arcane might 287 APPENDIX 2: VIDEO GAMES IMAGES (a) (b) (c) Fig. 1. Covers of the three video games comprising the thesis corpus: (a) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; (b) God of War; (c) Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla 294 Fig. 16. Vikings arriving at an English monastery for a raid in Valhalla Fig. 17. An assault on an Anglo-Saxon fortress in Valhalla Fig. 18. Skyrim’s highest mountain, the Throat of the World, crowned by the monastery of High Hrothgar 295 Fig. 19. The city of Whiterun with its keep Dragonsreach in Skyrim Fig. 20. Swamp landscape in Skyrim Fig. 21. Nordic landscape in God of War 296 Fig. 22. Kratos and Atreus at the bridge to Jötunheim in God of War Fig. 23. Kratos at Helheim in God of War Fig. 24. Norwegian landscape in Valhalla 297 Fig. 25. English landscape in Valhalla Fig. 26. Athelney and the swamps of Somerset in Valhalla Fig. 27. The hall of Dragonsreach in Skyrim 298 Fig. 28. The hall of Jorrvaskr, the Companions’ longhouse in Skyrim Fig. 29. The Blackreach complex of caves and tunnels in Skyrim Fig. 30. A cave in God of War 299 Fig. 31. The interior of Jörmungandr, the World Serpent in God of War Fig. 32. The giant Surtr’s sword in the arena of Muspelheim in God of War Fig. 33. The interior of a longhouse in Valhalla 300 Fig. 34. The interior of a monastery in Valhalla Fig. 35. The interior of Winchester Cathedral in Valhalla Fig. 36. Skyrim weaponry 301 Fig. 37. Skyrim’s male and female versions of the Nordic carved armour, together with the Dragonplate armour, forged using dragon bones and scales Fig. 38. Skyrim jewellery Fig. 39. A wall carved with dragon runes in Skyrim 302 Fig. 40. The Leviathan Axe, Kratos’s signature weapon in God of War Fig. 41. Thor’s Mjölnir at the end of God of War Fig. 42. The runes in God of War’s logo and their meaning 303 Fig. 43. Valhalla axes Fig. 44. The runes used to upgrade the weapons in Valhalla