Inventing the Middle Ages

By: Davidson Cantor

Narrated by: Davidson Cantor

Our modern image of the Middle Ages—filled with vivid scenes of chivalric tournaments, epic battles, devastating plagues, revered saints, powerful kings, noble knights, and courtly ladies—was not simply uncovered through objective historical research. Rather, it was largely shaped and even invented in the 20th century. The medieval world did not emerge fully formed from the archives; it had to be imagined, interpreted, and constructed. This is the story of how that vision came to life.

In this compelling narrative, focuses on the lives and intellectual contributions of twenty of the most influential medieval scholars of the modern era. He reveals how their personal experiences, emotional struggles, philosophical beliefs, and cultural contexts deeply influenced the way they understood and portrayed the Middle Ages. Their scholarship was far from detached or purely academic—it was a passionate, deeply personal endeavor, charged with creativity and often controversy. Through their strong personalities and imaginative minds, these medievalists didn't just study the past; they helped to reshape it, giving us the rich, dramatic, and enduring picture of the medieval world we know today.

©2025 Davidson Cantor (P)2025 Davidson Cantor