Imagined worlds. The fantasy genre has entered the mainstream in recent years. First, we had Peter Jackson’s epic adaption of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Now HBO’s Game of Thrones, a much nastier world than Middle-Earth, has engrained itself in popular culture. Many of the authors leading this charge to mainstream consciousness are Americans. American fantasy writers include luminaries such as Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss and many, many other fine writers. I want to draw attention to the nationality of these authors. Despite living in a nation with its own rich history, American fantasy authors have a penchant for settings influenced by Medieval Europe. Yet the United States has no experience of Medieval history. American fantasy authors are looking across the Atlantic when creating their worlds. They are imagining Europe. I want to explore this idea, but first I need to ask, what is fantasy?
“Fantasy” is an extremely broad genre that can be divided into endless subgenres. For the purposes of this post, fantasy refers to epic fantasy, rather than young adult series like Harry Potter or subgenres such as steampunk. With that in mind, fantasy literature can be described as fictional history. The worlds created by the likes of George RR Martin, Patrick Rothfuss and a plethora of other modern writers are recognisable to the reader. They take our world to extremes, blend cultures, reorganise history and fuse it with magic, often against a backdrop of epic struggle or political intrigue. Fantasy literature takes intrinsic elements of human history and imbues them with a sense of wonder. Battles are joined by dragons and sorcerers, as well as axe and sword. Storylines often feel like the grand narratives we impose on real history. Just as the Second World War is laden with apocalyptic language and overtones of good versus evil, so too are fantasy storylines given the feel of epic struggle. When we open a fantasy novel, we are reading the epic struggles and historical turning points of an imagined world. In this way, the broad concept of fantasy really amounts to the history of a fictional world.
Fantasy literature is heavily influenced by Medieval Europe. The Medieval period covers a broad portion of history. Yet the period contains everything you need for creating an epic struggle. Swords, axes, knights, peasants, religious crusades and constant warfare. The mists of history cover the Medieval era just enough to create a sense of mystery. We can view the time between the fall of Rome and the rise of Enlightenment as a mystical time of Arthurian chivalry, or we can see it as a brutal period of unending warfare, a dark time in human history. Either scenario provides fodder for a fantasy writer.
Unlike their British and European counterparts, American fantasy writers find themselves writing in a period absent from North American experience. The USA had no feudal period. No Medieval period in the European sense. The United States had no serfs, no knights or lords dividing the land into small pieces. Yes, the thirteen colonies had monarchical rule, but the Revolution rolled around to free Americans from the perceived tyranny of George III. The United States isn’t marred by centuries of religious antagonism or warring royal dynasties that characterises European history. Yet the influence of this European history is exactly what we find in the work of American authors.
Why the ascendancy of European settings over American settings? A difficult question, no doubt authors are influenced by their own history and surroundings, but they seem less inclined to put dragons in the American Civil War than the War of the Roses. There is more inclination to dress a character in the armour of a knight than the war gear of a Native American, more stabbing with a sword than hacking with a tomahawk. The answer to this question may lie in a central characteristic of transatlantic cultural exchange, proposed by Malcolm Bradbury. Bradbury argues that the United States has looked to Europe for a sense of history. In his words, Europe is ‘past to America’s present.’ Americans seek a history stretching beyond their own shores, more ancient than that of settlers in a New World. Bradbury also argues that Americans have a ‘relatively unchanging’ view of Europe. This is a view coloured by gothic castles and peasants, rather than a modern Europe.
American fantasy literature reflects both this desire for an ancient past and the unchanging portrayal of Europe. Three of the most successful fantasy series in recent years reflect European medieval settings. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series contains a wealth of cultures, but these are primarily European. Through character names and daily life in rural settings, we see nods to European history and culture. Character names include Tuan, lifted from Irish mythology. Names such Galad, Egwene and Artur Hawkwing nod towards Arthurian mythology. Jordan’s initial setting is the Two Rivers, a rural village isolated from the dangers of the wider world, or so they believe at the onset of the series. Characters farm, receive travelling merchants and celebrate religious festivals. In my view, this is a place reflective of how Americans imagine historical Europe, as a place of isolated peasants, to whom the next town over is a mystery.
Elsewhere, George RR Martin freely admits to the influence of European, particularly British history, on his Song of Ice and Fire series. Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles is another series situated somewhere in Europe’s long Medieval period. The setting is initially one of rural country life, travelling bards and Kings at war.
These series represent only a fraction of fantasy output by American authors. So I cannot suggest that all American fantasy writers are creating their worlds with Europe in mind. Yet the series discussed above represent some of the bestselling fantasy literature of the twenty-first century, with clear nods to a history that the United States didn’t experience. I recently purchased Brian McLennan’s Promise of Blood, a book described as, ‘A French Revolution with wizards.’ So the trend of Americans reimagining Europe continues in the fantasy genre. European history provides rich fodder for American authors. Yet the influence of the medieval represents more than just a penchant for axes and knights. Imagining Europe in a fantasy setting appeals to a sense of history Americans crave, a deeper history stretching beyond their shores.
Timelines and Tantrums 