The Nation in Thread: Tapestries and National History in Britain and Beyond

Berger, Matthias (11 November 2020). The Nation in Thread: Tapestries and National History in Britain and Beyond (Unpublished). In: CUSO Doctoral Workshop in Medieval and Early Modern English Studies. Online via Zoom. 11.11.20.

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This paper argues that at this point in history, the Bayeux Tapestry holds the status of template for the visual representation of national history in many English-speaking countries, and England in particular. Rendering salient historical episodes and turning points in a medieval-coded medium, imitations, adaptations and continuations of the Bayeux Tapestry expressly or by implication purport to represent a total history of the nation. Chauvinistic rhetoric surrounds some of these textile narratives; this is the case with several recent tapestry medievalisms I discuss that originated in the discursive orbit of Brexit. Others speak to relatively apolitical conceptions of national identity while foregrounding the local bonds of solidarity of those that made them. Heritage tourism and international popular culture, too, contribute to the ongoing revival of the national narrative tapestry. That revival, the broader argument of my paper goes, is part of a more general recent surge in national medievalism: since the turn of the century, the Middle Ages have increasingly assumed their old role of doubling as the symbolic cradle of nationhood.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Division/Institute:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies > Institute of English Languages and Literatures
UniBE Contributor:	Berger, Matthias
Subjects:	300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology 700 Arts > 740 Drawing & decorative arts 800 Literature, rhetoric & criticism > 820 English & Old English literatures 900 History > 940 History of Europe
Language:	English
Submitter:	Matthias Berger
Date Deposited:	24 Dec 2020 08:29
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 15:42
Additional Information:	Wednesdays, 4.15-6.45 p.m., Room Phil 204 or online via Zoom
Uncontrolled Keywords:	medievalism; tapestries; nationalism; localism; cultural memory; cultural heritage; memory politics; authenticity
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/149190