Universitatea de Arte G.

Enescu Iai
Centrul de Cercetare a Artei Medievale Vasile Drgu
READING CONTEMPORARY
IMAGINARIES INSPIRED BY
MIDDLE AGES NARRATIVES
THROUGH MASS MEDIA IMAGES

READING CONTEMPORARY IMAGINARIES
INSPIRED BY MIDDLE AGES NARRATIVES
THROUGH MASS MEDIA IMAGES
Teresa Torres Ea
International Society for Education
Through Art
www.insea.org
Research Institute in Art !esign and Society "i#A!S$ School of
%ine Arts University of &orto &ortugal
Rosngela Ap
'AT e GII& Instituto de Artes da U(ES& S)o &aulo *ra+il.

Keywords: Contemporary
imaginaries, Middle Ages
narratives, mass media images,
MMORPG (Multi Massive
Online Role-Playing Games)

A role-playing gae !RPG an" #oe$ie# roleplaying gae% i#

a gae in &'i(' player# a##)e $'e role# o* ('ara($er# in a
*i($ional #e$$ing+ Player# $a,e re#pon#i-ili$y *or a($ing o)$ $'e#e
role# &i$'in a narra$i.e/ ei$'er $'ro)g' li$eral a($ing or $'ro)g' a
pro(e## o* #$r)($)re" "e(i#ion-a,ing or ('ara($er "e.elopen$
A($ion# $a,en &i$'in any gae# #)((ee" or *ail a((or"ing $o a
*oral #y#$e o* r)le# an" g)i"eline#+

T'ere are #e.eral *or# o* RPG+ T'e original *or/ #oe$ie#

(alle" $'e $a-le$op RPG/ i# (on")($e" $'ro)g' "i#()##ion/
&'erea# in li.e a($ion role-playing gae# !LARP% player#
p'y#i(ally per*or $'eir ('ara($er#0 a($ion#+ In -o$' o* $'e#e
*or#/ an arranger (alle" a gae a#$er !GM% )#)ally "e(i"e#
on $'e r)le# an" #e$$ing $o -e )#e" an" a($# a# re*eree/ &'ile
ea(' o* $'e o$'er player# play# $'e role o* a #ingle ('ara($er+

Se.eral .arie$ie# o* RPG al#o e1i#$ in ele($roni( e"ia/ #)('

a# )l$i-player $e1$--a#e" MUD# an" $'eir grap'i(#--a#e"
#)((e##or#/ a##i.ely )l$iplayer online role-playing gae#
!MMORPG#%+ Role-playing gae# al#o in(l)"e #ingle-player
o**line role-playing .i"eo gae# in &'i(' player# (on$rol a
('ara($er or $ea &'o )n"er$a,e 2)e#$#/ an" ay in(l)"e
(apa-ili$ie# $'a$ a".an(e )#ing #$a$i#$i(al e('ani(#+ T'e#e
gae# o*$en #'are #e$$ing# an" r)le# &i$' $a-le$op RPG#/
-)$ ep'a#i3e ('ara($er a".an(een$ ore $'an
(olla-ora$i.e #$ory$elling

Ma##i.ely )l$iplayer online role-playing gae !MMORPG% i#

a genre o* role-playing .i"eo gae# or &e- -ro&#er -a#e"
gae# in &'i(' a .ery large n)-er o* player# in$era($ &i$'
one ano$'er &i$'in a .ir$)al gae &orl"+

A MUD !456"47 originally M)l$i-U#er D)ngeon/ &i$' la$er

.arian$# M)l$i-U#er Dien#ion an" M)l$i-U#er Doain%/ i# a
)l$iplayer real-$ie .ir$)al &orl"/ )#)ally $e1$--a#e"+ MUD#
(o-ine eleen$# o* role-playing gae#/ 'a(, an" #la#'/
player .er#)# player/ in$era($i.e *i($ion/ an" online ('a$+
Player# (an rea" or .ie& "e#(rip$ion# o* roo#/ o-8e($#/ o$'er
player#/ non-player ('ara($er#/ an" a($ion# per*ore" in $'e
.ir$)al &orl"+ Player# $ypi(ally in$era($ &i$' ea(' o$'er an" $'e
&orl" -y $yping (oan"# $'a$ re#e-le a na$)ral lang)age+

Tra"i$ional MUD# ipleen$ a role-playing .i"eo
gae #e$ in a *an$a#y &orl" pop)la$e" -y *i($ional
ra(e# an" on#$er#/ &i$' player# ('oo#ing (la##e# in
or"er $o gain #pe(i*i( #,ill# or po&er#+ T'e o-8e($i.e o*
$'i# #or$ o* gae i# $o #lay on#$er#/ e1plore a
*an$a#y &orl"/ (ople$e 2)e#$#/ go on a".en$)re#/
(rea$e a #$ory -y roleplaying/ an" a".an(e $'e
(rea$e" ('ara($er+ Many MUD# &ere *a#'ione"
aro)n" $'e "i(e-rolling r)le# o* $'e D)ngeon# 9
Dragon# #erie# o* gae#+

Are young people and young adults
interested in images and games
influenced y narratives influenced
y Middle age!
"o#!
$%ere!
$%y!


&rom t%e moment you egin to play Agamemnon you ecome a part
of ancient medieval life' (%e time #%en medieval )nig%ts #ere t%e
icons of valour and protectors of t%eir %ome-land' *ou #ill find t%e
time of t%e Middle Ages %ere in all its glory' *ou #ould do #ell to
dig deeply into t%is #esite, especially if you %ave not played a
M+, or an online RPG efore: Agamemnon can e t%oug%t of as a
part of t%ese categories' (%e te-tual aspect of Agamemnon can often
e very daunting' "o#ever, do not let t%is dissuade you' (RPG
Agamemnon' (.//0 c)' Retrieved from %ttp:11###'agamemnon-
rpg'com1introduction'%tml)

Visual image research
2y means of images #e engage
#it% #idely s%ared social
assumptions aout t%e #ay t%e
#orld is, s%ould e, or s%ould not
e' All imagery is ideological in
t%e sense t%at imagery arises
from a matri- of competing
ideas, values and eliefs and is
al#ays made #it% a purpose
(,uncum, ./3/, p'3/)'

4mages often e-press
ideologies t%roug%
metaphors and metonyms.
(%roug% metaphors and
metonyms #e ma5e sense
of t%e #orld and #e ma5e
relations%ips accessile to
our senses'

4mages are often inspired in
ot%er images and stories'
7tories of art are narratives
profusely used and aused y
media products in t%e
entertainment industries, and
t%e so called 8creative
industries9'

#%en #e use film images or play
virtual games emodied in stories
and images evo5ing a certain
period of time, #e ma5e a uni:ue
appropriation of t%e imaginaries
of t%at time, t%roug% t%e lens and
mediation of #%at ot%er imagined
aout t%at time' $e e-perience
collective metap%ors in t%e 8in-
et#een8 space of interpretation

;#e are c%imeras t%eori<ed and
faricated %yrids of mac%ine
and organism= in s%ort, #e are
cyorgs> ("ara#ay, p' 3?/)'

$e are creatures of ot% fiction
and lived social reality, playing
our different identities, our
different avatars using %yrid
tec%nologies to understand and
recreate t%e #orld' And in t%at
#ay #e uilt our #orlds #it%
interte-tual information conveyed
y availale narratives'

&ilms, comics, video games are constantly
referring to images from stories of art, and
from all periods of #estern culture' Myt%s
and legends #%ic% are evocated y
literature, film and t%eatre are re-
interpreted in t%e so called
re-mix culture
re-mix culture
adapted #it% digital tools t%roug%
collaoration and s%aring process used y
individuals groups or companies (@essig,
.//A)'

Middle Ages artifacts, images, tales
and stories evo5ed in t%ese media
products are reinterpreted according to
contemporary concerns and conflicts

Alt%oug% popular media
products do not directly
ac5no#ledge Middle Ages
sources - t%ey don8t claim to
depict t%is period in time - ,
t%ey often are produced
using e-tensively searc%es
on Middle Ages stories and
images

Beomedieval attraction in gamingCfor
e-ample Ccreates cultural palimpsests,
multiply-layered trans-temporal artifacts'
And video and internet players of suc%
games do not only uy products
associated to t%e rand or game, ut t%ey
also produce t%em in edupun5 learning
processes' 4ndividually players searc% for
tutorials and information in 4nternet
forums to uild #%at t%ey need to perform
t%e virtual e-periences of t%e game in real
life

4t is interesting to oserve %o#
c%ivalric codes of e%avior are
reproduced and recreated in
contemporary internet and video
games (MMO and MMORPG
games) #%ere t%e players assume
roles e-plicitly inspired y
5nig%t%ood orders codes of
e%avior.


Assassin's Creed is a video and internet game series pulis%ed y +isoft Montreal and
consisting of five main games and a numer of supporting materials' (%e series too5
inspiration from t%e novel Alamut y t%e 7lovenian #riter Dladimir 2artol




Re*eren(e#
Collier, M' (.//.)' Approac%es to analysis in visual ant%ropology' 4n: van @eeu#en, (' E
Fe#itt, C' (Gds') Handbook of Visual Analysis. @ondon: 7age Pulications' pp' 0?-H/'
,uncum, P' (./3/)' 7even principles for visual culture education' Art Education, H-3/'
"ara#ay, ,onna (3II3)' JA Cyorg Manifesto 7cience, (ec%nology, and 7ocialist-&eminism in
t%e @ate (#entiet% Century,J 4n Simians, Cyborgs and omen! "he #ein$ention of %ature.
%ew &ork! #outledge. pp.'()*'+'.
)line, D.T. (!"#$. ,igital -aming #e*imagines the .iddle Ages' %ew &ork! #outledge.
@essig, @' (.//A)' #emi/! making art and commerce thri$e in the hybrid economy' @ondon:
2loomsury' Retrieved from:
%ttp:11iaH//./K'us'arc%ive'org1301items1@a#rence@essigRemi-1Remi--o'pdf, accessed ..-/.-30