Role of Medieval History in Modern Day

A common story plot in modern day films portraying mall Age themes is a damsel in distress being saved by a knight in shining armor. For instance, the popular animated childrens movie, Shrek, follows the story line of Shrek and his partner, Donkey, going off on a journey in order to save a princess imprisoned in a in height(predicate) castle tower and guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. The entire plot setting is based roughly around the same time frame as the actual middle ages, so the elements of medieval culture in this movie argon clear.The guarded castles, mythical creatures, and feudal system enforced between the peasants and royal family are all elements of medieval culture. One major scene that depicts the essence of the essence Ages best is when Shrek leads overlord Farquaad to Fiona as an exchange for guaranteed privacy of Shreks swamp. deuce main aspects of this scene to focus on is the interaction between Lord Farquaad and Shrek and also the use of Princess Fiona as an object of trade for Shreks reward.Traditional ranking of nobles and commoners are rooted within the Middle Ages, and although Shrek acts rather brutish and unpolished in Lord Farquaads presence, there is stillness an act of submission as render by Shreks delivery of Fiona. It was typical of knights in the middle ages to battle a constitutest one another or perform promotes and acts of bravery in order to gain favor in the eyes of a King. Lord Farquaads use of Shrek as a way of obtaining Princess Fiona would then give Shrek an opportunity to gain favor in Lord Farquaads eyes so that his request of gaining back full ownership of his swamp would be granted.Due to the treacherous nature of retrieving Fiona, this would constitute as one of many acts of valor that many knights would par repel in at the time. Princess Fionas part in this scene is as an object of bargaining, as shown when Shrek brings Lord Farquaad to her in order to fulfill his side of the arrangement. It should be no ted that Princess Fionas hand in marriage was necessary for Lord Farquaad to gain full subordination cover a larger jurisdiction and for him to have the title as King bestowed upon him.The use of marriage as a way of combining kingdoms and qualification negotiations derive from medieval culture and also emphasize the importance that the feudal system played during this time. Although Lord Farquaad had enough power to grant or take away land from landowners, such as the fairy tale creatures, the only way for him to become a real king was to unite a princess, which in this case would have been Princess Fiona.Similar situations like this regularly occur in modern popular culture, such as the film The Princess Diaries 2, where Princess Amelia is being urged by the Genovian government to marry someone who holds an official title as a prince in order for her to become a true queen. It has become common knowledge in right aways society that a Princess or Prince cannot hold the title as a Queen or King until they are marriedthis particular liking originating from the Middle Ages.By looking at these examples, one can see how ideals from the Middle Ages carried over into modern day popular culture. In fact, modern day knighting still takes place in the British government and is still based off of recognition of service and contributions to the British nation. The Order of the British Empire is perhaps the near common knighthood given today and is frequently awarded to British scientists, educators, doctors, and even Paul McCartney. This tradition is significant evidence of the carry over of Middle Ages in coetaneous culture.However, one of the many misconceptions of the medieval times is the mis interference and the demeaning of woman as being a prominent thing in society. This is portrayed in the treatment of Princess Fiona as a means for bargaining, and one should note that her objections to being married to Lord Farquaad held little to no weight when it came d own to her fate. Aside from Princess Fiona, the amount of part where women held significant character roles were almost nonexistent and further pushed the stereotype of how medieval women were disregarded in medieval times.On the contrary, women, such as St. Joan of the Arc, held positions of high authority in the time of the Middle Ages and were not treated with as little esteem as modern society thinks today. This kind of thinking encourages the damsel-in-distress scenario where the woman is rendered helpless and waiting for a strong and able man to come and save her. Such depictions associated with medieval society are emphasized over and over until the image of an bungling woman is incorporated into the general consensus of what medieval times were like.The use the medieval times as the setting for Shrek also played along with stereotypical Middle Ages as being a time of ignorant common people that blindly followed the rule of the king with off any question. The overall appear ance that the environment in Shrek gives off is a place that is unorganized and unhygienic, much like what modern society thinks of the middle ages today. Setting Shrek in the Middle Ages effectively played out the stereotypes and general idea of what medieval society means to popular culture.The exaggerated difference of living conditions between peasants and royalty, the disregard of women, the bartering by marriage, and even the uneducated and marshy lifestyles of many commoners exemplify common misconceptions of the Middle Ages that many people in society take as fact. Popular culture, in turn, starts to immediately associate a time of ignorance and uncleanliness as being characteristic of the Middle Ageswhether they are true or not.