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THREAD: Time for another tasty thread with resources. No matter if you're a scholar, student, or general public, if you're #antiracist & #antifascist, here's a thread abt misappropriation of medieval symbols. Enjoy/ be disgusted. 1/19 #medievaltwitter #academictwitter #shakerace
The runic symbol (called the 'Odal'/'Othala') represented the "O" sound in Germanic languages before adoption of the Latin alphabet. It's reconstructed proto-Germanic name means "heritage." The far-right adopted this symbol (early 20th cent) to construct a mythic Aryan past. 2/19
The Tyr/Tir rune: another symbol misappropriated by the far-right in their attempt to idealize Nordic &/or Aryan heritage. It represents the letter "T" in the runic alphabet & the symbol also represented the Norse god Tyr, originally steming from proto-indo/euro god Dyeus. 3/19
The black eagle was used in Nazi Germany & is still being paraded around in far-right circles, although as @medievalpoc pointed out here, it's the symbol of St. Maurice. https://bit.ly/2W0Xigd Take a long, look at who he was and he has been depicted throughout history. 4/19
Black sun wheel (Sonnenrad), 1st adopted by Nazis, still in use among far-right. Some historians suggest far-right took inspiration from Merovingian decorative sun wheels (a ruling family of Franks mid 5th-8th cent). NB: celebs often misuse these: https://bit.ly/2tY1rVp 5/19
Not so much a symbol, but an event. The Battle of Tours/Battle of the Highway of the Martyrs (Oct. 732) used to promote #Islamophobia in far-right circles. Debatable, but some historians believe Muslims merely lost out on pillaging a rich monastery & weren't after much else 6/19
This same picture is full of misunderstandings of facts. Robert Burns' 1788 line from his poem Auld Lang Syne adds to the garbling of history. Notice Celtic iconography flank the image. Celtic iconography is often misused by the far-right. 7/19
Heading into meme-world now, images of the Crusader with the red cross are misused by the alt-right. The crusade they are referencing btw, is the 3rd when the cross became a recognizable symbol. The alt-right thinks they are defending Christianity, the West & capitalism. 8/19
Same misuse of the red cross & 'Crusader' exemplifies how alt-right adopts & twists narratives of what a crusader was (I'm unconvinced they know there was more than 1) as part of toxic male culture, promoting hate, bigotry, misogyny. Do they know how the 3rd Crusade ended? 9/19
Lots of images/narratives depict Christians as knights or 'Crusaders' going to fight ISIS, but they extend violent rhetoric to Muslims in general b/c they ironically don't understand how sectarianism or fundamentalism works. Someone was very confused when they made this image. 10
Using Joan of Arc to champion whiteness and to promote nationalism is sad and pathetic (to say the least). 11/19
If you want to see good, funny (not always wholesome) memes, check out @AsinusDocet's work. He's not only a historian, he's a meme master. https://asinusdocet.tv/category/medieval-memes/ 12/19
Okay, time for some reading:
@slomuto wrote about symbolism, especially Celtic iconography and white nationalism here: http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2016/12/white-nationalism-and-ethics-of.html 13/19
@slomuto wrote about symbolism, especially Celtic iconography and white nationalism here: http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2016/12/white-nationalism-and-ethics-of.html 13/19
How white supremacists re-imagine the past and how we can take it back as scholars, students and the general public, written by @dorothyk98
https://time.com/5569399/viking-history-white-nationalists/ 14/19
https://time.com/5569399/viking-history-white-nationalists/ 14/19
Co-opting the Middle Ages and what we should do, written by @Lollardfish. You can find his article here: https://psmag.com/ideas/how-to-fight-8chan-medievalism-and-why-we-must-notre-dame-christchurch 15/19
How Islamophobes are creating a fictional past about the Crusades, written by @prof_gabriele https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/06/06/islamophobes-want-to-recreate-the-crusades-but-they-dont-understand-them-at-all/ 16/19
How white nationalist are misusing medieval imagery, written by Becky Little: https://www.history.com/news/how-hate-groups-are-hijacking-medieval-symbols-while-ignoring-the-facts-behind-them 17/19
And a decent resource to look up hate symbols, misappropriated from the Middle Ages and otherwise: https://www.adl.org/hate-symbols?page=1 18/19
Finally, this doesn't mean we can't use these symbols or teach about them. Not every use is racist, but we need to be alert & know context. It's useful to know how these medieval symbols are misused in ways to promote hateful ideologies. Feel free to add more. 19/19
Side note: We've been alerted there's a small group of medievalists screenshotting everything I, @erik_kaars @adam_miya @dorothyk98 @kacaliendo @EileenAJoy @margiehousley et al say to criticize us as ppl & our antiracist work. Show us what you're doing to make the world better.
Addendum: additional reading by @RFMacLellan
is essential. His article discusses "Far-right Appropriations of Medieval Military Orders" in Britain. So worrying that these same things are spilling over into countries like Ireland. Read here: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.TMJ.5.119916
is essential. His article discusses "Far-right Appropriations of Medieval Military Orders" in Britain. So worrying that these same things are spilling over into countries like Ireland. Read here: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.TMJ.5.119916
