medievalism

American  

[mee-dee-ee-vuh-liz-uhm, med-ee-, mid-ee-, mid-ee-vuh-] / ˌmi diˈi vəˌlɪz əm, ˌmɛd i-, ˌmɪd i-, mɪdˈi və- /

Or mediaevalism

noun

1. the spirit, practices, or methods of the Middle Ages.

2. devotion to or adoption of medieval ideals or practices.

3. a medieval belief, practice, or the like.

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medievalism British  

/ ˌmɛdɪˈiːvəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the beliefs, life, or style of the Middle Ages or devotion to those

2. a belief, custom, or point of style copied or surviving from the Middle Ages

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Other Word Forms

• antimediaevalism noun
• antimedievalism noun

Etymology

Origin of medievalism

First recorded in 1850–55; medieval + -ism

Example Sentences

The medievalism that was first spotted by Architectural Digest in 2022, proliferated on Pinterest between 2022 and 2024, and is now pushing us into 2025 is a trend primarily by and for women.

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2025

Scratch the surface of American politics or culture, and medievalism seems to always be lurking just beneath.

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2025

One of the things that’s especially interesting about contemporary medievalism is that movies and TV shows will often film real medieval art or in real medieval locations.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2022

From Wagner to “Game of Thrones” and back again, pop-cultural medievalism has a habit of leavening sublimity and solemnity with heavy doses of intended or inadvertent silliness.

From New York Times • Jul. 29, 2021

It is the job of saving civilization from degenerating into a chaos besides which the dark ages, medievalism would seem Bericlean by comparison.

From The Book of Gud by Hersey, Harold