Imagining the Middle Ages is an unprecedented examination of the historical content of films depicting the medieval period from the 11th to the 15th centuries. Historians increasingly feel the need to weigh in on popular depictions of the past, since so much of the public's knowledge of history comes from popular mediums. Aberth dissects how each film interpreted the period, offering estimations of the historical accuracy of the works and demonstrating how they project their own contemporary era's obsessions and fears onto the past.

John Aberthreceived his Ph.D. in medieval history from Cambridge University in England and teaches history at several colleges in Vermont. He is author of From theBrink of the Apocalypse: Confronting Famine, War, Plague,and Death in the Later Middle Ages , also published by Routledge.

Prologue 1 The Holy Grail of Hollywood: King Arthur Films 2 Lights! Camera! Pillage!: Viking Films 3 God (and the Studio) Wills It!: Crusade Films 4 Splendid in Spandex: Robin Hood Films 5 Welcome to the Apocalypse: Black Death Films 6 Movies and the Maid: Joan of Arc Films Afterword For Further Reading Index