Constructing the Middle Ages:
Neo-medievalism, hyperreality and digital environments
In his essay 'Dreaming of the Middle Ages', Umberto Eco (1998:72) concluded that "we have the moral and cultural duty of spelling out what kind of Middle Ages we are talking about". Others, most recently Veronica Ortenberg (2006), have subsequently demonstrated the sheer diversity of 'medieval worlds' that have been constructed in the Western imagination since the sixteenth century, at a seemingly exponential rate. This includes academic constructions of the Middle Ages, and the issue of presenting information to a broader audience has led some to:
"...try to construct a bridge between the poles of popularisation and historical research so that the imaginary and "real" Middle Ages can be brought together."
(Programme Raffaello)
Archaeologists, in particular, have become increasingly interested in digital reconstructions of past buildings and environments; their agenda is different to that of film-makers but the desired end-result and impact seems to be the same! In any such reconstruction it is necessary to explicitly outline detailed methodologies and objectives; the notion of ‘virtual reality’ reconstructions as persuasive fantasies (Eiteljorg 2000) seems to deter many researchers from experimenting with or encouraging this medium of presentation.
Generally, virtual reality tends to be viewed as a quest for imitating reality, although it provides endless possibilities for research (Gillings and Goodrick 1996; Masuch et al 1999). From the perspective of presentation, interactivity is the raison d’etre of virtual reality (Roussou and Bizri 1998) and archaeological uses of virtual reality have generated both simplistic and extremely detailed landscapes and monuments (Barceló, Forte and Sanders 2000; Forte 1997). Medieval virtual reality reconstructions are becoming increasingly popular and range from basic models of castles (e.g. Huggett and Guo-Yuan 2000) and monasteries to more complex projects such as the Viking town of Birka (Sweden) and medieval Turku (Finland), which include a variety of atmospheric and cinematic settings. Understanding, utilising and expanding this technology will become fundamental to communicating ideas about the past effectively to future audiences.
References
Barceló, A., Forte, M., and Sanders, D.H. (eds.) (2000) Virtual Reality in Archaeology, BAR International Series 843, Oxford, ArcheoPress.
Eco, U. (1998) Faith in Fakes: Travels in Hyperreality, London, Vintage (reprint, trans. Jovanovich, H. B.).
Eiteljorg, H. II. (2000) The compelling computer image: a double-edged sword.
Internet Archaeology, 8
Forte, M (ed.) (1997) Virtual Archaeology: Great Discoveries Brought to Life through Virtual Reality, London, Thames and Hudson.
Gillings, M. and Goodrick, G.T. (1996) Sensuous and reflexive GIS: exploring visualisation and VRML. Internet Archaeology 1.
Huggett, J. and Guo-Yuan, C. (2000) 3D interpretative modelling of archaeological sites. A computer reconstruction of a medieval timber and earthwork castle. Internet Archaeology, 8.
Masuch, M., Freudenberg, B., Ludowici, B., Kreiker, S., and Strothotte, T. (1999) Virtual reconstruction of medieval architecture. Proceedings of EUROGRAPHICS 1999, Short Papers. 87-90.
Ortenberg, V. (2006) In Search of the Holy Grail: The Quest for the Middle Ages, London, Hambledon.
Roussou, M., and Bizri, H. (1998) Mitologies: medieval labyrinth narrative in virtual reality. Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Virtual Worlds, Paris, France, 07/01/98-07/03/98.
|