Medieval Women on Film: Essays on Gender, Cinema and History ed. by Kevin J. Harty

Abstract

Reviewed by: Medieval Women on Film: Essays on Gender, Cinema and History ed. by Kevin J. Harty Ellie Crookes Harty, Kevin J., ed., Medieval Women on Film: Essays on Gender, Cinema and History, Jefferson, McFarland & Company Inc., 2020 paperback; pp. 216; 26 b/w illustrations; R.R.P. US $39.95; ISBN 9781476668444. Kevin J. Harty has been at the centre of medievalismist cinema studies since 1991 with the publication of his invaluable Cinema Arthuriana: Essays on Arthurian Film (Garland, 1991). His new collection—a compendium of fascinating and often innovative case studies on medieval women in world cinema—builds upon this work, centring gender in the discussion and broadening the scope beyond Arthuriana to encompass a multitude of cinematic medievalisms. The collection provides a sound basis for anyone interested in filmic medievalism (what Harty calls the 'reel Middle Ages') and/or in the intersection of medievalism and discourses of gender. Harty sets out to show 'just how multi-faceted medieval women's screen lives can be' (p. 3) and he succeeds, unpacking the long history of fictional and historical medieval women on film, in all their nuance. Seven of the eleven case studies of the collection work to draw out the history of cinematic medievalismist impulse over time and to interrogate how these impulses have intersected with gendered discourses, doing so by examining multiple filmic representations of one medieval woman (fictional and historic). Amy Kaufman's chapter draws together existing scholarship and new and innovative analysis to create a genealogy of Guinevere on film, uncovering links between text and context, and unpicking elements of character, plot, costuming, dialogue, and music to produce an in-depth overview. The chapter is medievalism at its finest, outlining the revelatory potential and porous nature of both medievalism and film. Usha Vishnuvajjala's essay focuses on Morgan le Fay, exploring the Arthurian figure on film from 1949 to 2014 to map her evolution. The chapter triumphs in reflecting on broader cultural trends around the representation of medieval women [End Page 219] in cinema, invaluably doing so by focusing on a relatively underdeveloped area of study, Morgan le Fay on film. Valerie B. Johnson's chapter on Maid Marian in cinema is concerned with the concept of neomedievalism, namely the way filmic representations of Maid Marian 'pull […] the past into the present without concern for accuracy' (p. 69), and how modern preoccupations 'dictate Marian's behaviour, her story potential, her narrative role, and ultimately her value (p. 69). Johnson's overall thesis is striking, asserting that filmic representations of Maid Marian from the 1920s to the 2000s have been shaped by modern fiscal conservativism (what studios think audiences want to see), bound up in a misogynistic impulse to centre men's stories in cinema and in medievalism. Joan Tasker Grimbert's chapter explores the history of Isolde in world cinema between 1909 and 2006, probing five films (from the USA, France, Ireland, Germany, and Iceland) and dissecting each in relation to the topic of female agency. The chapter's strength comes from its innovative analysis of Isolde's self-determination on screen as a reflection of the medieval source material, rather than as an anachronistic product of modern feminism. Alongside these essays that examine the afterlives of fictional medieval women in a series of films, the collection also performs this work regarding three historical women. Sandra Gorgievski performs analysis of the permeable nature of medievalism through an examination of Lady Godiva on film between 1911 to 2008, uncovering her shifting identity as erotic icon, dutiful wife, and feminist heroine. Fiona Tolhurst similarly examines the filmic history of Eleanor of Aquitaine (from the 1950s to the 2010s) as a reflection of fluctuating discourses around womanhood, and ultimately concludes that though diversely rendered, Eleanor has never been given the filmic treatment she deserves. Harty's own chapter, on the filmic afterlife of Joan of Arc, focuses on the notion of La Pucelle as an avatar for advancing multiple often contradictory agendas, providing a comprehensive history of Joan on film. Four of the eleven chapters perform in-depth close analysis of a particular medievalist film and its engagement with gendered discourse. Andrew B. R. Elliot skilfully takes up...