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Medievalists say the darnedest things, you know. While studying for my medieval history and medieval literature exams, I keep finding the silliest sentences, especially in books about the middle ages in film. For some reasons, medievalists, especially those who are also interested in film, are way more informal in their writing than you'd expect. Older medieval historians are silly in their own stuffy-prose sort of way, of course. Here is a small sampling:

First, John Aberth writes

But historians are not ones to be dictated to by cranky literature professors.

I really enjoy this quote because this semester I've been the equivalent of the cranky literature professor. Yes hello, historians? It does not really matter who the "real" Robin Hood was. It has no bearing whatsoever on the legend, which has evolved to become a literary thing, whatever historical roots it may or may not have. GIVE IT UP. Ahem.

Next, Fredric L. Cheyette writes

For the word "feudalism" is not a simple universal concept like "table" or "unicorn".

Now, table is possibly a fairly universal concept (questionable: sideboard?), but unicorn? Is "unicorn" really a universal concept? Why bring mythical creatures into this? What an unexpected concept that Mr. Cheyette asks us to grapple with while we simultaneously work out what feudalism is.


Lastly, an essay in The Medieval Hero on Screen describes Lancelot as "beefy but sensitive", which is just hysterical. Lancelot the Beefy But Sensitive. Heh.


Listening to me cackle over my books one time too many, my flatmate shoves "Causes of Acceleration and Newton's Laws" into my hands and says, "Here, read something sensible."

Sensible, indeed.