Anke Bernau & Bettina Bildhauer 
Medieval film 

Medieval film explores theoretical questions about the ideological, artistic, emotional and financial investments inhering in cinematic renditions of the medieval period. What does it mean to create and watch a ‘medieval film’? What is a medieval film and why are they successful? This is the first work that attempts to answer these questions, drawing, for instance, on film theory, postcolonial theory, cultural studies and the growing body of work on medievalism. Contributors investigate British, German, Italian, Australian, French, Swedish and American film, exploring topics such translation, temporality, film noir, framing and period film – and find the medieval lurking in inexpected corners. In addition it provides in-depth studies of individual films from different countries including The Birth of a Nation to Nosferatu, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Medieval Film will be of interest to medievalists working in disciplines including literature, history, to scholars working on film and in cultural studies. It will also be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and to an informed enthusiast in film or/and medieval culture.

Table of Content

List of figures
List of contributors
Acknowledgments
The a-chronology of medieval film (Bettina Bildhauer and Anke Bernau)
1. Cinematic authenticity-effects and medieval art: a paradox (Sarah Salih)
2. Forward into the past: film as a medieval medium (Bettina Bildhauer)
3. A time of translation: linguistic difference and cinematic medievalism (Carol O’Sullivan)
4. ‘Poison to the infant, but tonic to the man’: timing The Birth of a Nation (Anke Bernau)
5. The medieval imaginary in Italian films (Marcia Landy)
6. Towards a theory of medieval film music (Alison Tara Walker)
7. Border skirmishes: weaving around the Bayeux Tapestry and cinema in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and El Cid (Richard Burt)
8. Medieval noir: anatomy of a metaphor (John Ganim)
9. ‘Medievalism’, the period film and the British past in contemporary cinema (Andrew Higson) Further reading

About the author

Dr Bettina Bildhauer is Lecturer in German at the University of St. Andrews