Reviewed by:

• Politics and Medievalism (Studies) II ed. by Karl Fugelso
• Marina Gerzić

The most recent volume in the Studies in Medievalism series, Politics and Medievalism (Studies) II, continues the theme of its predecessor (Politics and Medievalism, Studies in Medievalism XXIX, reviewed by Kevin J. Harty in Parergon, 38.1 (2021): 219–21), and investigates how and why the Middle Ages have been invoked by politicians, and the way in which politics have influenced the development medievalism and its study. This volume falls somewhere between a special journal issue and a book collection. The volume offers nine essays on the topic of ‘Politics and Medievalism’ and is followed by shorter ‘open issue’ section that includes four essays on medievalism across multiple genres.

The opening essay by Louise D’Arcens addresses how Tariq Ali’s 2005 novel A Sultan in Palermo, set in twelfth-century Norman Sicily, presents a dynamic supranational community within and between the Mediterranean, Levantine, and Arabian regions. D’Arcens highlights how A Sultan in Palermo, published post-9/11, was written in a climate of increased suspicion of the Islamic world during a period of conflict between the East and West, and alludes to contemporary events, such as the US-led invasion of Iraq. D’Arcens shows how Ali’s novel ‘views the Middle Ages through a transnational and transcultural lens’ (p. 3) and works to challenge Eurocentric views of the medieval.

Stephen Lahey’s essay discusses Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Czechoslovakia’s first president, and his admiration of Petr Chelčický (1390–1460), a Christian spiritual leader and author from medieval Bohemia. Masaryk believed that Chelčický was the one figure who came closest ‘to embodying the Czech identity’ (p. 1). Lahey traces how the influence of Chelčický over Masaryk’s thinking and politics was reassessed during the shift from liberal nationalism, to Soviet nationalism, to, finally, post-Soviet years in Czechoslovakia.

Alexander L Kaufman’s essay offers a survey of political memes in the first two decades of the twenty-first century, featuring the iconic heroic figure of Robin Hood, created, and used by the far right in the United States of America. Kaufman interrogates these memes, highlighting their attempts to criticise politicians such as Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, through their warped representations of Robin Hood and his ideology. Robin Hood is recast from his former well-known role as saviour of the poor to someone with unscrupulous and sinister plans to introduce a corrupt political system that rewards the unworthy and benefits the few.

The reworking of iconic English figures and events are also discussed by Susan Aronstein and Laurie Finke, and John C. Ford, who offer two fascinating essays which focus on the intersection of medievalism, Brexit, and the myth of nations. These two essays highlight the link between medievalism and Brexit, demonstrating how allusions to past iconic English victories—both mythical (Saint George in Rory Mullarkey’s 2017 play, Saint George and the Dragon) and historical (the Battle of Agincourt)—have shaped the idea of the British nation, [End Page 255] and are reworked to both critique and support Britain’s campaign to leave the European Union.

Galit Noga-Banai’s essay examines in depth the architecture of the memorial for German soldiers at El Alamein, Egypt, the site of the World War II battle in 1942: the British victory here led to the end of the Axis threat to Egypt. Noga-Banai argues that the memorial’s form and content overtly reference medieval predecessors, and focuses in particular on the mosaic by Franz Grau and its Byzantine influences. The inclusion of saint-like figures in this mosaic, along with the medievalism-inspired design of the memorial, recasts visits to the space as a medieval pilgrimage that asks visitors to leaves aside the historical events of the battle, and instead emphasise the dead soldiers’ roles as political martyrs, ‘as victims’ (p. 104), something which Noga-Banai argues reflects how German authorities dealt with post-war guilt.

Leticia Álvarez-Recio’s...

审阅者：

• 政治与中世纪主义（研究）II版。作者：卡尔·福格尔索
• 玛丽娜·格齐克

中世纪主义研究系列的最新卷《政治与中世纪主义（研究）II》延续了其前身的主题（政治与中世纪主义，中世纪主义研究 XXIX，由 Kevin J. Harty 评论，Parergon，38.1 (2021): 219 –21），并调查政治家如何以及为何引用中世纪，以及政治如何影响中世纪主义及其研究的发展。本书介于特刊和图书集之间。该卷提供了九篇关于“政治与中世纪主义”主题的文章，后面是较短的“开放问题”部分，其中包括四篇关于跨多种流派的中世纪主义的文章。

路易丝·达森斯 (Louise D'Arcens) 的开篇文章阐述了塔里克·阿里 (Tariq Ali) 2005 年的小说《巴勒莫的苏丹》(A Sultan in Palermo)，以 12 世纪的诺曼西西里岛为背景，呈现了地中海、黎凡特和阿拉伯地区内部和之间充满活力的超国家社区。达森斯强调了 9/11 事件后出版的《巴勒莫的苏丹》是在东西方冲突时期对伊斯兰世界日益怀疑的气氛下写成的，并提到了美国等当代事件领导入侵伊拉克。达森斯展示了阿里的小说如何“通过跨国和跨文化的视角看待中世纪”（第 3 页），并致力于挑战以欧洲为中心的中世纪观点。

斯蒂芬·莱希 (Stephen Lahey) 的文章讨论了捷克斯洛伐克第一任总统托马斯·加里格·马萨里克 (Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk)，以及他对来自中世纪波西米亚的基督教精神领袖和作家彼得·切尔奇基 (Petr Chelčický，1390-1460 年) 的钦佩。马萨里克认为切尔奇基是最接近“体现捷克身份”的人物（第 1 页）。莱希追溯了在从自由民族主义到苏联民族主义，最后到捷克斯洛伐克后苏联时代的转变过程中，切尔奇基对马萨里克的思想和政治的影响是如何被重新评估的。

亚历山大·L·考夫曼 (Alexander L Kaufman) 的文章对二十一世纪前二十年的政治模因进行了调查，其中包括美国极右翼创造和使用的标志性英雄人物罗宾汉。考夫曼质疑这些表情包，强调他们试图通过扭曲的罗宾汉及其意识形态来批评巴拉克·奥巴马和希拉里·克林顿等政客。罗宾汉从他以前广为人知的穷人救世主角色被重塑为一个不择手段、险恶计划引入腐败政治制度、奖励不值得的人、让少数人受益的人。

苏珊·阿伦斯坦（Susan Aronstein）、劳里·芬克（Laurie Finke）以及约翰·C·福特（John C. Ford）也讨论了对英国标志性人物和事件的改造，他们提供了两篇引人入胜的文章，重点关注中世纪主义、英国脱欧和国家神话的交叉点。这两篇文章强调了中世纪主义和英国脱欧之间的联系，展示了对过去标志性英国胜利的典故——无论是神话的（罗里·穆拉基 2017 年戏剧《圣乔治与龙》中的圣乔治）还是历史的（阿金库尔战役）——如何塑造了这个想法英国民族的象征，[完第 255 页]并被重新设计以批评和支持英国脱欧运动。

加利特·诺加-巴奈 (Galit Noga-Banai) 的文章深入探讨了埃及阿拉曼 (1942 年二战战场) 的德国士兵纪念碑的建筑：英国在此取得胜利，结束了轴心国对埃及的威胁。诺加-巴奈认为，纪念碑的形式和内容明显参考了中世纪的前辈，并特别关注弗朗茨·格劳的马赛克及其拜占庭的影响。这幅马赛克中包含圣人般的人物，再加上中世纪风格的纪念馆设计，将参观该空间重新塑造为中世纪朝圣，要求游客抛开战斗的历史事件，转而强调死去的士兵”作为政治烈士的角色，“作为受害者”（第104页），诺加-巴奈认为这反映了德国当局如何处理战后的罪恶感。

莱蒂西亚·阿尔瓦雷斯-雷西奥的...