Intuiting the Past: New Age and Neopagan Medievalisms

Abstract

As distinct movements in contemporary spirituality, the New Age and Neopaganism share a complex relationship to the European Middle Ages. Revered for its closeness to the earth and reviled for its religious intolerance, the medieval past lends authority to Neopagan practice, provides evidence of universal truth to New Agers, and bestows a sense of enchantment to the daily lives of both groups. This essay defines the terms “medievalism,” “New Age,” and “Neopagan,” outlines previous scholarship that connects these areas, and considers the specific and differing contours of medievalism in both contexts.