Why the Medieval Aesthetic Never Dies: The History of Medieval Revival Fashion
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- Опубликовано: 26 апр 2023
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Few aesthetics are as historically persistent as the ones inspired by the Middle Ages. But why is it so evergreen, and what revival movements came out of it? Come learn with me about Fairy Tales, Psychedelic dr*gs, Witches and more!
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Sources
Culture, Identity, and the Medieval Revival in Victorian Wales by Huw Pryce
Consuming the Past: The Medieval Revival in fin-de-siècle France By Elizabeth Emery, Laura Morowitz
Modern Gothic: The Revival of Medieval Art by Susan B. Matheson, Derek D. Churchill
The Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns: Peacock and the medieval Revival by Alice Chandler
The Medieval Revival and Its Influence on the Romantic Movement By R. R. Agrawal
Revival: The Aesthetics of Revival Subcultures and Re-enactment Groups Explored through Fashion Image-Making by Nicholas Clements
The medieval revival: Romanticism, archaeology and architecture By Christopher Gerrard
Retro: The Culture of Revival By Elizabeth E. Guffey
Nostalgic Dreams and Nightmares by David Lowenthal
The Past is a Foreign Country - Revisited By David Lowenthal
Working Class Heroes: Rock Music and British Society in the 1960s and 1970s By David Simonelli
Fashioning Memory: Vintage Style and Youth Culture By Heike Jenss
Summer of Love: Psychedelic Art, Social Crisis and Counterculture in the 1960s edited by Christoph Grunenberg, Jonathan Harris, Jonathan P. Harris
All Dressed Up: Revivalism and the Fashion for Arthur in Victorian Culture by Inga Bryden
Victorian Medievalism: Revival or Masquerade? By Helene E. Roberts
Time Machine Fashion: Neo-Victorian Style in Twenty-First Century Subcultures by Christine Feldman-Barrett
Gothic to Goth: Exploring the Impact of the Romantic Era in Fashion By Susan Hodara for NYT www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/ny...
TikTok’s Whimsigoth Trend Is All About Energy by Lisa Stardust www.teenvogue.com/story/the-w...
Here's How Witch Clothing Has Evolved Throughout History by chicandcultural www.chicandcultural.co.uk/pos...
What Is Enyacore? Meet the Moody, Medieval Side of the Next Y2K Aesthetic by Mary Frances Knapp www.vice.com/en/article/y3pye...
Anyone who scolds today's young people for fixing their dreams in the past should ask themselves why the kids can't dream of the future, and who's responsible for that.
This comment goes so hard
@@a-10warthog78Thank you!
Ummm…ok.☹️
@@diannes3804 I just meant that I don't blame people for being fatalistic when those who are currently in power consistently uphold the interests of corporations while actively hurting everyone else and our little Earth, too. For my part, I think I'm constitutionally incapable of pessimism. If you can still dream of the future, too, that's awesome!
I'm immediately reminded of bardcore becoming a thing at the beginning of the pandemic. The music is what stuck around, but it was originally jokes about the parallels between our present moment and the 14th century: political unrest, food shortages, class inequality and serfdom, and plague. It wasn't escape so much as it was a desire to connect with a moment in the past that felt similarly world-ending and drawing hope from the fact that the world didn't end after all.
I have anemoia for the premodern eras before the Industrial Revolution from the Paleolithic to the renaissance period.
I'm a professional costume designer, and the way the internet has DESTROYED the meaning of Renaissance and Medieval in search engines drives me nuts.
As a history teacher and art lover, for me it's the "renaissance painting" trend when they clearly mean baroque painting 😪
Ugh yes, and it's not just really old stuff. Looking up Victorian nightgowns and finding actually historical references is basically not possible. What really gets me is that 1960s nightgowns DID look like the fake-victorian ones, whyyyy not just call them that!
Indeed. What is found in searches is often wrong or misleading.
"Vintage fashion not vintage values" had been around for an incredibly long time and that makes me ridiculously happy
Me too. The fashion are so fascinating.
Thank you, RUclips recommendations.
stay !
they are really good and their content is very interesting
@@winter9741 I know! Subscribed two weeks ago thanks to RUclips recommendations!
This channel really fits with my interests!
Welcome to the family!
welcome!
Stay they are literally the BEST RUclipsR i have never Once been even marginally disappointed by a video
Being French, I was really surprised to hear that the British consider this time period the "dark ages". Our literature and art were in full bloom during the Middle Ages, several of our most famous kings reigned during that period, from Charlemagne to Saint Louis. Alienor/Eleanor of Aquitaine is still hugely famous! It was the time of the crusades and courtly love, illuminated manuscripts and, later, Gutenberg's printing press.
Of course a lot of awful things happened too, but isn't that true of all time periods 😅
Anyway, great video! I enjoyed the little musical intervals and they actually reminded me of a band whose albums by parents had, called Malicorne - 70s French folk with a very strong medieval vibe!
Britain had among the roughest times in Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It had a massive population collapse after the withdrawal of Rome, invasion by the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons, and during the tail end of it, was deeply involved in the Viking Age.
Also, the 'dark ages' does not include the High (crusades) or Late Middle Ages. That is pretty particular to the Early, which is thereabouts from the decline of the Western Roman Empire through to the First Crusade.
The term Dark ages was also something attributed to the middle ages by Renaissance propogandists, trying to make Classicism appear to be the true fashion and peak of culture, and considering the Gothic architecture grotesque and ugly.
Its similar to how the Classical era labelled the Baroque in the 18th century as grotesque and excessive. Things tend to go in cycles, between complexity and simplicity when you look at general trends.
But the Dark ages is a misnomer for the arts and culture, i believe it more referring to the lack of records from the era - we dont have nearly as much information in Britain as the Norman Conquest caused an enormous purge of the Saxon and Gaellic culture (the Harrowing of the North being about the worst recorded example).
Tl;dr: Dark ages weren't dark, we just don't know as much and historical revisionism never dies.
Same here. I’m a Frenchie who lives in the USA and my specialized focus of study was late medieval - early Renaissance (England and France) …And the dark ages are traditionally considered the early medieval period, the dark ages wouldn’t apply to Middle Ages, nor the late and 3rd period right before the enlightenment and early ren. :) I think she just worded it that way to make it easy for green audiences to understand
In Germany we also had a Medieval style Band in the 70s. They were called "Ougenweide"and some of their songs were even in Middle High German - for example from the famous German Poet Walter von der Vogelweide. They also made their own songs but often with direct Medieval themes or stories like Till Eulenspiegel (a famous jester from Medieval literature that always played pranks on the rich, the nobles and the church). They belonged to the Krautrock genre but acutally singlehandedly started the German Medieval Rock subculture that still exists today.
Aswell as the reasons given by other one of the reasons it was known as the dark ages is because it was pre renaissance. During the rebirth anything before the enlightenment became "dark" and "unenlightened" it was an ego thing as well as a historical issue
I love how the 1960s did medieval inspired fashion, it combines two of my favorite periods in history! Ever since I was a kid I loved reading books like Ivanhoe, Le Morte d’Arthur, and Robin Hood, and my dad came of age in the mid 60s and he used to tell me all these stories about stuff he did like witnessing the Sunset Strip curfew riots of 1966 and going to a love-in with the Grateful Dead or bands he saw like The Beatles, The Stones, and The Beach Boys.
Sammme. It’s my favorite 💔
Same, the Love Witch film did a great job showcasing that era
@@LDuke-pc7kq Love that movie. The shorts community has done some amazing fan-made music videos with it.
It's interesting to me as an old (GenX) to see Enya now be a whole style that you relate to Medieval Aesthetic when her look at the time came from a revival of Celtic/Gaelic culture, music and yes romanticism of Gaelic history particularly those people of the dispora from the Irish famine and those of the people in Ireland post famine.
I live in an area that is home to the only Gaelic road signs in the Americas, and there seems to have been a resurgence of interest in it. The language, poetry, learning the dialect, the music... It's neat to see because for decades, if not longer, the region put such a high importance on fitting in, and having everything be English. I think Brave gets some credit for that, and the popularity of musical groups like Enya, Celtic Women and Celtic Thunder.
E Yao’s the goal, release a couple of popular albums, no concerts, and retire to a remote castle. My dream
So I know some think it's a bit cliche, but Enya was my support system for every labor; except my premie (it just happened too fast)... I kicked EVERYONE out, other than the nurses; including a doctor one time, lol. Only her calming vibes and me working through my birthing pains. Love her and much blessings to a chill witchy queen.
@@thehalfmoonmirrorsvenus1234i love this. Mine was the soundtrack to star wars. Lol. I had boy/girl twins. It felt fitting. The doctors said they felt like heroes.
Kaz got the 1960s vibe exactly right. I came of age then and I remember it well. I think Simon and Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair” fits in with their list of 60s medieval influenced music.
Steeleye Span, Silly Wizard, Pentangle!
The Rolling Stones' Lady Jane also has clear Medieval influence.
“Sun dappled” is the best way to describe Medieval sunlight even though the sunlight is technically the same. I lost my shit when you used that word because its in every one of my historical stories 😂
So as much as Victorians loved Medieval armor, collecting it, recreating it, faking it, "restoring" it, they were also scandalized by codpieces, which were sometimes suggestive or anatomically detailed. These were either discarded or not displayed, and many museums with substantial armor collections have drawers of these things in the back store room.
They weren't able to come up with a phoney-baloney made up description for them?
A Victorian novel I read called Lady Audley's Secret has a section where the narrator roasts a Pre-Raphaelite painting of the main character, including saying that the painter must have "copied quaint mediaeval monstrosities until his brain had grown bewildered"
I find it interesting watching these revivals as a Brit. I don't know if my country peeps all feel the same but sometimes the Ren core feels so much closer to how the American West is a fairytale of Buffalo Bill Cody and the many Wild West Shows. We even have them here in some of our castles bought up by Merlin Entertainment (the Six Flags of Britain). Yet they leave me kinda cold. The more I hear about the truer history from Kaz or Wondrium or Max Miller, I actually gain interest again. Because the medieval world without trade, changing church doctrine, Eastern and Western engagement and technology development just doesn't feel like.... It
I think that’s probably a very apt comparison. Maybe even bring it even farther forward to the Westerns of the 50s and their relationship to those Wild West shows and then the actual historical reality.
I've never been under the impression the ren faire and adjacent aesthetics are actually supposed to be historical, more just fantasy adjacent
You are quite right that the actually fascinating details of the time, found in places like a collection of letters between mediterranean jewish traders on the archive, are mostly absent from revivalism. I would suggest, without wishing to go after any practitioner, that this is because whiteness, implicit christianity and upper-classness are centered in these stylized accounts. To understand the richness, one has to confront the awfulness, they are related and reside together in the actual social history.
By awfulness i mean the actual systems and violence which provided the british and french upper classes with these garments.
@@5minuterevolutionary493 I whole heartedly agree and it's why I actually don't like Ren Faires or Revivalism. I am aware I have a bias and a privilege. My family is very mixed and eager historians. They actively incorporated as much world history into my childhood as possible and I didn't even realise until I started seeing in school and online discourse to realise most people don't have that.
I'm not sure if this place still does that but when I was a kid there was a reconstruction live performance museum thing in Nottingham near Sherwood (where Robin Hood is from) that actively discussed the Crusades from both standpoints and actively discussed the sheer amount of death on the ships to Jerusalem. Compared the treatment of prisoners of war, servants and the poor. It was rad as all get out. I went there when I was 9. This is the revivalism I want to see. I'm deeply uninterested in people's need to fantasize the past.
What’s funny about the cottagcore aesthetic, specifically, is that it idealizes country and sometimes off-grid living while oftentimes glazing over the not-so-pretty aspects of *Real* country life.
Example: I once came across a picture of an aesthetically pleasing picnic spread laid out in a grassy field… literally the worst place to have a picnic, do you know how many bugs and critters like to hide in tall grass??? Having a picnic in a grass field is just *asking* to get bit by ticks, chiggers, stung by mud dobbers, and a groundhog to come and steal your sandwich.
This has been a PSA, save your picnics for nicely maintained parks 😅
i also thought it was interesting how much queer/other marginalized folks were interested in it given the time period cottage life is associated with
@@sarahklein210 I was pretty surprised that so many people that had been historically discriminated against were very interested specifically in the cottage core aesthetic, but after a bit of digging around the time the pandemic started, I noticed many people talk about it as a reclamation of a past that so many of their ancestors or likeminded people were excluded from and sought to reimagine it as a trend or lifestyle that could be made more inclusive.
That had definitely changed my perspective on it’s revival in fashion or trends, since I’ve always been a history nerd and knew about the negative social aspects of the era/imagery that had been popularized with prairie/cottage core aesthetic.
@@sarahklein210 it seemed to me that that was the point, at least for queer people; running away from society so you could live freely.
Yes! The ticks! I actually got Lyme disease from walking on my property with my dog. The grass wasn't even long! I suspect it dropped down out a tree on me. Anyway it's so much work to have land! You aren't wearing pretty dresses to dig in the dirt or plant or take care of the animals! It would ruin the dresses immediately!! I do wear these jeans dresses because jean is really durable but nothing like the actual aesthetic.
I do get your point but do remember that there are different countries with different climates and such around the world. Here in the Netherlands I think we wouldn’t have to deal with most of the stuff you mentioned, though it’s been a good while since I had a proper picknick in the grass, when I was in primary school probably. I do pretty much agree with the first part of your comment^^
I love medieval style things. I personally wear a lot of Renaissance or medieval inspired clothing. It reminds me of going to the Renn Faire as a child, and reading Arthurian legends. “Mists of Avalon-core” is often what I call my style. It’s whimsical, fun and makes me feel my most confident. I’m so excited for this video and to hear the history of “medievalcore” but also, your take on it. The costuming in your videos is always spot on.
for anyone else looking for them in the video, /songs and musical artists mentioned/:
- the beatles (paperback writer, yellow submarine, sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band, help, strawberry fields)
-donovan (season of the witch, the seller of the stars, the song of wandering aengus, "living crystal faery realm")
-the incredible string band
-sunforest (overture to the sun)
-the fool
-enya (may it be)
but if you're looking for an artist who is sort of the cottage-core take on that style, i'd say cosmo sheldrake would be my recommendation
@@LexiePersonForever Based, Cosmo Sheldrake is my favorite singer. I would also reccomend The Oh Hellos, The Crane Wives, Erutan and Faun
KAZZZZZ!! THE MAKEUP, THE HAIR, THE OUTFIT!! Loving this look is gorg today! You’re always fashionable, but I was blown away by this different look!❤️
The hair brings it all together
Her eyebrows' power level is . . . OVER 9000?!
I just started the vid and I needed to comment on this asap! Absolutely loving this different look.
@@hank.hacking kaz uses they/them! ^^
🎶The middle ages were magic 🎶
Yay! So happy to see a new video by Kaz!! ❤
hello fellow deathling :)
I heard this in my head every single time.
@@hervvo, do you suppose we can get a chorus going?
There would be a Ask a Mortician and Kaz Rowe Fandom intersection, that makes sense 🖤🦴
@@macabrefanclub, oooo! Oooo! I know -- a collab on death fashions over the ages!
Because, of course, "The Middle Ages Were Magic!"
Had to add another comment when I got to Enya...OMG LOREENA MCKENNITT! If you like Enyan & haven't heard of Loreena... you're welcome 😏 this will be a treat.
Top recommendations-
The Visit
The Mask & the Mirror
The Book of Secrets (The Mummer's Dance is the track I found her with, life changing for me)
Her live stuff is truly as good as her albums. I didn't want to overwhelm but her discography is very much worth a deep dive.
This is the kind of music I wish I could have the pleasure of rediscovering again❤
One of my favorite books, _The Last Unicorn_ by Peter S. Beagle, is set in a medieval-esque world. It was written in 1968! After learning about the revival of the Middle Ages trending in the 1960s and 70s, it makes so much sense why such a beautiful novel emerged from that period. Thank you for the info!
One band you didn’t mention that I think you’d enjoy is Blackmore’s Night! They’re 90s-today-very medieval theme/aesthetic
And Medieval Baebes!
The absolute chokehold blackmore’s night had on my middle school self….. all my earliest OCs were directly inspired by their music hahaha
@@HeyLizardLeigh I discovered them after college, in the late 90s. I used to substitute teach, & even got one of my high school students hooked on them! Just got the anniversary edition of Shadow of the Moon on vinyl!
Love blackmores night!! I saw them live last year and it was so incredible
When you mentioned Enya, it all clicked for me. Grew up with Enya, and shaped a lot of my aesthetic taste.
One of my favorite thrift store finds ever is a record of exactly this kind of 60s medieval revival music. The whole album is modern interpretations of old bard songs, cover to cover. Love it.
What band/album is it, if its okay? I'd like to look it up
What album is this?
This The Craft version of Kaz is something I didn't know I needed, but I am SO GLAD it's here. You look amazing!
Can't agree enough, Kaz's hair has me in a chokehold
Definitely one hell of a look
She’s gorgeous.
She's got a 'different ' fashion sense..... & I like it! 👍😊.
@@DeidreL9 Kaz uses they/them btw!! (/lh, i know it was probably unintentional)
I will always stan this channel, one of the best made history focused channels on the internet!
Completely concur
Oh boy, I was a late 90s witch goth. That was a thing that happened. I wore so many pentacles and so much flowly black.
I lost the clothes, but I kept the music. My love for Enya, Loreena McKennitt, Dead Can Dance, and Mediaeval Baebes will never die.
Omg I love the Baebes!
i wasn't old enough to enter the 90s goth wagon but I was old enough to witness the people to kept it even through the 2010s. I dated a woman who was a 90s witch goth and she is like that even today. Her house its a beautiful space full of art and Dead Can Dance was the soundtrack :) The cool thing is that she made it with a twist, Tapping into Spanish renaissance influences for we are Latinos and wanted to take more from our ancestors.
OMG Dead Can Dance, yessss!!!
new channel slogan: “trying to undo the damage of victorian ideas”
I was a teen/young adult during the Buffy/Charmed era, so those "witchcore" looks will always have a special place in my heart. P.S. I'm relatively new here, so I had no idea about your book! 😱 I just pre-ordered it. 🙂
My wife and I went for a Medieval theme for our wedding, with our wedding bands being LOTR style Elvish Love Rings, and I'm literally watching your video while building a foam version of the Blades used by Rayla the Moonshadow Elf in The Dragon Prince for our Daughter. Yeah, we like Medieval in this house!
That's amazing! I hope someday to have a sort of fantasy or ren faire themed wedding myself, so it's really cool to hear someone else had a similar idea, many blessings for your awesome family ❤😊
I've been doing 14th century living history for about a decade now, and it's interesting to see the differences between actual medieval clothing and the fantasy version. Honestly I prefer the real thing. 100% linen and wool, simple patterns and no pants for anyone. Though the undies take some getting used to. No pockets either.
I try to put medieval inspirations into my daily wear. The fashion in medieval Italy is my personal favorite period for historical fashion. The clothing has dark, rich textiles that invoke feelings of tragedy and romance. Thank you for another great video!
Same here. And it's just a way of actually making your outfits fun to wear. Just a piece or two from medieval or antique times, mostly made in modern materials and techniques, from just a tablet-woven belt to a late medieval man's jacket (these go really well with skinny jeans). Having a good time with this, even if I do look like a particularly avid history professor 😅
Also fun: medieval layering. With one long-sleeved and one short-sleeved t-shirt you can really pull your look in the Vinlands Saga direction (they were quite accurate, btw). Works with several dresses, too.
One more movement you might want to look into was in England in the 1920’s called the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift (no, the acronym isn’t good) which had a LOT of medieval revivalism and mixed it with futurism and is generally just…fascinating. The costumes they made are really something and the story of them is…a lot.
(They have lingered in an odd way as their child centred spin off The Woodcraft Folk, still exists).
Idk why but the name/words “Kaz Rowe” rolls off the tongue. Very pleasant to say.
Right!?
“I see you, you were here, what you made is beautiful, can I keep you alive?”
You are a wordsmith and a poet.
Have to mention the band Blackmore’s Night, Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow along with Candace Knight, major Renfair and Middle Ages esthetics along with great music!
Too true! I loved Ghost of a Rose.
This is wonderfully comprehensive - have you ever considered collaborating? I can see you and HauteleMode working together for more fashion history videos.
In the 90s it was called "Perky Goth!" As a GenX legacy Goth, I love that it has evolved to "Whimsy Goth."
As a psychologist in training I study among other things how fluid and inaccurate human memory can be. There's a famous series of psych studies that found its fully possible to plant both mundane memories ("when you were 5 or 6 you had a red bike you got for christmas") and traumatic ("last year you witnessed an armed robbery when you were waiting in line at Starbucks") in pretty much any demographic of person. The studies were meant to call into question the weight we place on eyewitness testimony in legal proceedings, but I imagine the data can be useful for studying things like fashion history too! It's just interesting how fields can overlap that way.
“The direction of escape is toward freedom. So what is ‘escapism’ an accusation of?” - Ursula Le Guin
Enya's "Watermark" is a hugely important album for us! We used to listen to it in college and feel what we later realized was gender dysphoria, though we didn't have the language for it.
After we started transitioning, listening to it brings up so many happy but somber thoughts. Wonderful album!
This video is, as always, a banger. And Kaz, your sense of style is amazing!
I'm glad you're happy now
@@MichaelTurner856 Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!! (I LOVE the Monkey Island games and may have audibly squealed when I saw Guybrush as your pfp!)
Put this on to watch while cleaning my closet (because you’re my favorite ADHD task companion) …… and now I’m crying hugging my clothes🥲🥲🥲
This is such an interesting topic!! I was talking to my mom about how the medieval theme came back in the 90s as a way to self-sooth an anxious population and she mentioned how kid TV shows also reflected this- Little Bear, Beatrix Potter, Bear in the Big Blue House, etc. all had cottage core soothing elements.
'Bringing back the futurism of our childhoods, when that still seemed possible'... Ugh, as an 80s kid that really really hurts. 😥 The future I was pitched was so much better than what we ended up with.
As a 90s kid, I didn't expect much and I'm still sad and disappointed. :(
I was obsessing over Enya during my awkward teens in the 90s, it's great to know the love has flowed across generations.
They (Kaz) really pulled off that outfit their wearing.
The 60s is by far my favorite era. It’s my goal in life to become a psychedelic troubadour 😆
Love the aesthetic of the second part 🤌🏻 peak
Like the hood/cowl, the “tapestry”, the abundant pillows, the lantern, just *chef’s kiss*
Also the 90s witchy gothic look!
I think that you may be neglecting the massive influence Germany has had on medieval style, both at the time, and among cosplayers for centuries. perhaps that's because it has more of an impact on male style than female style. but as someone who speaks both French and German, i can tell you, the Germans are much more interested in this era of the past than the French are, who choose to focus on the era when France was the world's most powerful country. the Germany is much more into leather clothing than any other country i've been to as well, a lot of style ideas involving that material come from Germany.
Fantastic video. I especially liked how Kaz connected the Pre-Raphaelites & William Morris to the Middle Ages. (As my other favorite YT channel, Ask a Mortician, says, “The Middle Ages Were Magic!”)
IM RLY INTO MEDIEVAL FANART RN SO IM SO GLAD TO WATCH THIS!!!!
i wanna make a fantasy world with pretty medieval clothes....
You should!😁 go for it!
I wear a lot of vintage clothes but my specialty is late 80's (which itself drew some inspiration from Victorian and edwardian styles) so it's really cool to learn about other decades and their inspirations!
The one revival/retro thing I wish we could shake entirely is the 80s nostalgia which for some reason permeates modern culture, I'd love to see much more medieval revivalism in that sense, more fantasy shows n such
And it's the icky 80s, not the cool part where we were wearing vintage and carving out our own styles!
Ikr, it was fun at first, but now the 80s are just oversaturated.
I read an article about this called "Let's All Dress Like Maidens: Fairytale Revival in Fashion" - highly rec if you're interested in seeing how this affected movies of the 00s (niche but what can I say)
I love Fairport Convention in their Sandy Denny days, singing Child Ballads like Tam Lin.
Wow this is exactly what I needed for a personal project but didn't know where to start on 60s medieval stuff
Im alittle sad you didn't touch upon the birth and proliferation of Renaissance/Medieval Fairs/festivals across the United States beginning in 1963 with schoolteacher Phyllis Patterson to the multitudes of them that exist now in every state in US and have slowly been spreading abroad!
These festivals, i think, are a big part of the longevity of the medieval style and have spawned their own subculture of actors and performers.
Theres an excellent youtube channel called digital renfair that has a series on the history of renfests.
The festivals and fairs are also the perfect and sometimes only place where one can easily aquire clothes, shoes, accessories and jewelry that are medieval/Renaissance
That's a whole video in itself!
Historical Western inspiration has always been present in the goth subculture, especially in the romantic style of both clothing and music, but within romantic goth there's a sort of divide between Victorian-inspired and Medieval/Renaissance-inspired (though I've also seen Edwardian and Rococo). It's not a hard divide, in part because everyone mixes and matches or goes for one on a day and the other the next, as well as, like you said, because our current ideal of Medieval aesthetics is heavily influenced by how the Victorians reimagined it and we can safely say that if goths have any fascination with Medieval anything, it's through the Victorian call-back to it in gothic literature, architecture and art.
What's more marked in difference is that precisely 90s romantic goth was HEAVILY Medieval compared to 80s or 00s romantic goth. Sure, the 80s goth had the traditional winklepicker boots which are a call-back to Medieval pointy shoes, but for the most part when 80s goths went for historical inspo they ended up looking like a Victorian charicature (which isn't weird since 80s fashion in general took inspiration from late Victorian fashion), like, just look at Dave Vanian from The Damned. However, turn the decade, and we go from cravats, brocade vests and leg of mutton sleeves; to peasant shirts, capes and dripping bell sleeves.
This is very patent in the music itself as well. 80s goth was much more Rock or Synth based since it was just spawning off from Punk and New Wave (though, don't get me wrong, a lot of 90s goth music still had A LOT of guitars and synths in it), but in the 90s is when Ethereal Wave, Folk Darkwave and Neoclassical Darkwave peaked. Acts like Faith and the Muse, Lycia, Mors Syphilitica, Dead Can Dance, Miranda Sex Garden, Love Is Colder Than Death, Requiem in White, The Shroud, This Ascension, Sopor Aeternus, and many, many others were at the peak of their popularity within the subculture at that time. A lot of 90s goths LOVED Enya and Loreena McKennitt, coincidentally. Their music is barely a step or two removed from Ethereal Wave.
There's a RUclipsr named Angela Benedict who has been a goth since the mid 90s and she has lots of videos in her channel about the scene from back then, including videos in which she shows vintage pieces of now mostly defunct goth brands as she discusses them (it's one of her older videos). The medieval inspo is extremely visible.
i loved this episode but kinda shocked stevie nicks wasn't highlighted at all. Neither was the original line up of Fleetwood Mac. Santana's black magic woman was a Fleetwood Mac cover.
i adore your take on old clothes!! i've never heard of someone who sees the things like sweat stains and pulled threads as a part of the old clothing's charms, and i think that's a really cool way of looking at it :)
Kaz, I really enjoy your videos. While so much other RUclips content is over-stimulating and screaming about how the world is about to end etc, your content encourages us all to take a moment to appreciate what has come before and what it says about us today. It calms me the eff down. Your videos are thoughtful, creative, witty, and I always learn something. You go girl
spent all day making medieval hats out of old curtains, took a break to see a new Kaz video about medieval fashion. I feel seen.
HA and immediately see my pal Rocky in the pic at 0:58 , that's awesome.
I'm so used to Dapper Kaz that Witchy Kaz is... Like looking at an entirely different person.
That aside, as someone who loves the '70s there's a couple of different confluences there. The '70s weren't just the trailing end of the '60s love for the late middle ages due to things like the Hammer films featuring Robin Hood and American companies trying to emulate heraldry in their logos and product details . There was also this trend of Colonial Revival happening thanks to the upcoming U.S. bicentennial, a new interest in the Hollywood Golden Age due to the deaths of actresses like Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh, and Rosalind Russell making the news, and a bit of Edwardian Revival mixed in as the British looked back to the last time they were cultural powerhouses during the height of the governmental collapse that started in 1974. As such you got wicker chairs, glazed tile bathrooms, gaudy and ridiculously complex gold jewelry, thick waisted dresses, and the return of ornately braided hairstyles.
The 1970s are such a fascinating time to me because you've got all these disparate elements coming together into a totally incohesive set of styles in art, fashion, print, architecture, music, automotive design, interior design, and on and on.
There is also a sense of pushback against modernist styles that try to be intentionally alienating. I think about classical music, and how, for many composers of that era after WWII, they became obsessed with damning humanity and the public at large and wrote increasingly unlistenable, serialist pieces, with the intention of essentially telling the present and those in it to fuck off. What was left then for people but to look to the past, when the present trends were based on a rejection of them personally? Many antique revivals feel based on this, that the current trend of inhuman sludge, pushed by calloused academics, is nothing when compared to the often very warm and sensuous aesthetics of the past.
My love for the music of Loreena McKennitt and the TV series Cadfael during my 90's teen/early 20's years was very much of this ilk. 'The Storyteller' (1988) series that I loved as a child also has this flavour.
Calling the Medieval ages "barbaric" and the "dark ages" actually came waaay before the Victorian era. In the XVI century, Raphael called medieval art barbaric, and Giorgio Vasari pushed this idea further in his "Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori". At the turn of the XIXth century, the architectural néo-gothic movement saw the Gothic cathedral as a type of Gesamkunstwerk, a work of art that, by fusioning art, mathematics and life, could signify the worth of one's nation and history. At around the same time, authors of gothic litterature were inspired by the leftover ruins of pre Reformation churches and abbayes to write fiction that mainly focused on ambiance, atmosphere and sentiments, often featuring a byronic hero, ghosts, and a damsel lost in a dark castle. The Pre-raphaelite were artists longing for the non-historically accurate pre-Reformation christian ideals. They portrayed their women as either the pure Virgin, the Fallen woman (Mary Magdalena), or the Temptress (Eve, Lilith, Salomé). They also took inspiration from ancient Greek/Roman myths and the orientalist movement which, combined with Arthurian legends, heavily influenced the look of "medieval fashion" from this period as well as contemporary fashion.
.... just wanted to dump my thoughts here :)
Yeah, people have been propagating this narrative to place themselves as superior since the Early Modern Period immediately following it.
Edit: This song was a huge goth club hit during the 90's where you saw this medieval fashion pop up in the 90's.
Have you heard of The Legendary Pink Dots? Check out the track Just a Lifetime. The entire Crushed Velvet Apocalypse album is amazing.
Dead Can Dance has some amazing midievil sounding music as well.
Enya was more mainstream, but still lovely.
P.S. I have some gorgeously illustrated fairy tale books from the 70's that are incredibly detailed. Also, the Holly Hobby nursery rhymes book I have pre-empted cottage core, also from the 70's. Holly Hobbie epitomizes this fashion.
I wonder if the medieval aesthetic always comes about due to a fear of radical generational or economic shift. The Victorian age was moving towards a cold Industrial age, 60/70s rejected the judgmental views of 50s futurism opting for love, 90s saw the birth of the internet and the slow decline of socialization.
Does the romance of the medieval age come from a desire to hold on to the simpler way of life when the world feels like it's heading to a colder, uncaring future?
Just dropping by to say I adore your channel. The aesthetics, the history, the queerness of it all, I just love it. Thank you!
the last section of this video so beautifully articulated the value in these revival movements and why they are so popular right now. i could never quite put it into words myself, but its something i have been thinking about a lot these last few months (for context: i am an art student and a lot of my current work heavily draws on fairytale illustrations and historical fashion inserted into the everyday to create a both magical but also defamiliarising effect.) reducing this interest in the aesthetics of the past in particular to "escapism because Todays Kids are depressed and online" has always rubbed me the wrong way, and i think arguing for revivals as a mode of connection to other human beings who lived long (or not so long) ago is really beautiful. i will definitely put 'the past is a foreign country' on my summer reading list!
absolutely love this video. ive always tried to incorporate medieval elements into my fashion and the “whimsigoth” style grabbed me in a chokehold ever since i discovered it haha, i have spent hours and so much money in thrift stores and second hand sites collecting pieces for my summer wardrobe and i am so excited. you are very right about the whole “revival” thing, fashion trends will be always coming back due to nostalgia for times we weren’t alive for, and i think it’s beautiful because it shows the fascination and respect that the youth has for times that have already passed, keeping it alive
Lol this is the third comment I've read under this video that uses the word 'chokehold.'
Words cannot describe how much I loved this video ✨
Also your fashion was incredible as always, you are far too powerful
“I see you. You were here. What you made was beautiful. Can I keep you alive?” Legit brought tears to my eyes. You have a lovely way of putting things and expressing concepts that are easy to feel but harder to put in words. I know this video is old but i just found you recently and I have become obsessed 💜
The place I work is steeped in Pre-Raphaelite art and pieces from the Arts and Crafts movement, as well as William Morris designs because it was all so connected to Aestheticism which celebrated "art for art's sake", a movement hugely championed by Oscar Wilde. The principles of the Aesthetic Movement were followed to a tee by the family who lived where I now work after they attended Wilde's lecture on "The House Beautiful." Definitely something to be said about aesthetics being incredibly important to the Victorians!
If anybody wants a non-British/French medieval read, check out Vis and Ramin by Fakhruddin Gurgani. It's a Persian epic that slaps. Gurgani shows off the imagery that Persia popularized (ex., paradise comes from the Persian word for garden/park because their gardens were heavenly and symmetrical). It's beautiful and a fun read, especially the audiobook
4:18 one of my favourite items of clothing that I have made is a proper good medieval liripipe hood that I also wear as a chaperon, I even decorate it with badges to commemorate pilgrimage churches I visit (I'm Jewish but I like the aesthetic lol)
Oh the 1980s here in the States had a great Medieval revival with folks like Prince. His aesthetic at that time pulled heavily from that era so much so that he produced an album for Sheila E. called Romance 1600. She is featured on the cover in an amazing outfit and the band equally wore wonderful outfits too. Definitely worth a look.
Prince was partly drawing on a U.K. movement of the late ‘70s called the New Romantics or New Romanticism, if you’re curious, to which he added his own twist! One of his great talents was being an incredible synthesizer of ideas, like Bowie before him or St. Vincent today.
@@danopticon LOL yeah ok sir.
Y’all should go to some local SCA events! We’re a nonprofit group with members and local chapters all over the world, and we’re kind of a meta-hobby; you get in bc you like medieval fashion, or you want to try sword fighting, or you’re super into fiber arts, and then suddenly you have FIFTY new hobbies 😂
It’s a lot of fun, I highly recommend checking us out
As a musician, I have always had a soft spot for the troubadour aesthetic, traveling musicians/poets who dazzle crowds with their skills of story and song… it’s right up my alley.
I’m a big fan and I’m an academic medievalist 😊 graduated w my MA in old Nordic religion from the uni of Iceland. I can officially say that medieval fashion is -in an academic sense - cool as fuck 🎉 and honestly the aesthetic is part of what drove me to study the Middle Ages. Thanks for another amazing video.
I know this is a great episode when I have to pause 6 times to look up medieval revival music artists for my Ren Fair Spotify playlist. Thank you for the fashionable and fantastic information, Kaz!
shocked you didn't mention the SCA when talking about the 1960s and medieval revivals since that was kind of their whole thing
Watching this as a west coast Ren faire brat, deeply innundated in peasant medieval-esque fashions, hippie subculture, well as Victorian reenactment, this was a fascinating vid!! Thanks for this banger
Just preordered my copy of LIBERATED btw, so freaking cool! Waiting patiently for September :333
I didn't know the teens are filling up tiktok with Willow & Tara looks! I love it! I always look forward to your videos and this one was especially fun. Mazel tov on the graphic novel coming out!
That was a delightful journey! Although it feels necessary to add Blackmore's Night to the list of most iconic medievalists of the late 90's, I mean tell me it's not the best D&D tavern music you could ever imagine.
Facts
OMG, you are so right. I loved Ghost of a Rose.
@@Leslie12.66 under a violet moooooooooooooooon 🖤
I really liked this video, but as I'm in my 50s it was really weird seeing my youth in your video when usually they're about much further in the past. But the younger generation isn't the only ones that feels dismay at where we appear to be heading. This is one of the reasons I enjoy these videos. They're always a fresh take on the past.
I really get into reproductions of medieval clothes, though I like mixed aesthetics too, I just like to think ‘someone else wore this so long ago, they felt this’ kind of thing. But that said I do wish there was better tagging online for medieval vs medieval inspired. Trying to find visuals for research gets tricky sometimes 😭
"Historical accuracy be damned, the Victorians *will* have a take on your time period"
They sure do, and I hate it :( Their shiny white wigs and horrible lace bibs still plague 18th century film costumes to this day!
One great band worth mentioning also is Pentangle. Their song "Hunting Song" is heavily medieval inspired
As a living historian with a focus on Late-Medieval and Early Northern Renaissance, i have some struggles with "the derivative medieval romantic æstheatic" as it tends to seep into living history events and markets and other happenings that seek to recreate and reflect the material reality and actual fashion of the period. But i really do love the neo-folk from the 70s.
Hello bot, I do not micro dose. I mega dose!
Nice work Kaz. As a follow up can you come up with a theory for why so many fantasy novels, movies, LARP, and TTRPG’s tend to be set in medieval times. Does that play a role in keeping the fashion alive?
Everyone else is going to comment on yet another awesome video, so I'm going to say that those eyebrows are sharp af 🔥
I once attended a meeting of "the society of creative anachronism."
They put on a play that seemed to be set in 14th century Italy, as seen by writers in 16th century England, Shakespeare style, but original and with American accents.
I think that the clothing style was drawn largely from paintings from the Italian renascence,
I've been intensely interested in medeival revivals for years. I'm obsessed with historical fashion, and old music, and just before the pandemic I deep dived into the child ballads and celtic medeival art,lile Tam Lin and Willie O Winsbury. I find it comforting. Through that, I found amazing 60s bands and revival fashion that looks of course more like the 60s than the middle ages. I highly recommend the band Pentangle, they did amazing work at keeping old songs alive. There's a sort of aesthetic bliss to a lot of medieval inspired art that keeps me coming back
I am OBSESSED with every single look in this video (but the 90's witchy goth look takes the cake for me).
kaz is slaying in todays vid!
From The Craft to Harry Potter the witchy aesthetic has grown so much!
15:03 That immediately made me think of "vintage style, not vintage values". So being inspired by the aesthetics of an era but not actually the reality of life in that era has been around a long time.
AA WHY DOES PEOPLE ALWAYS LOOK SO GOOD 😭 anyways this video is technically a video essay, right?
One thing that most people don't understand about the 60's is that MOST of the country was very conservative...Hippies, Flower Children, and rebellious teenagers were only a tiny fraction of the population...To say these outlying groups were mainstream is the same as stating that everyone in the 90's were Goth...we seem to remember each decade for those who who were the most extreme...and, NO...not every in the 70's wore disco clothes...
You posting this while I'm listening to Hildegard von Bingen and trying not to play Pentiment because of finals is a message, not sure what it's about but it's a message.
I love those necklaces, especially the sun choker!