| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
Fiscal Year 1996: ¥400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000)
Fiscal Year 1995: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The three-year research entitled "The Medieval Revival and its Transfiguration in Eightengh- and Nineteenth-century Brutain" first focuses on the figure of the Druid, the religious leader in ancient Britain and on how the figure transformed during the century.
In the beginning of the eighteenth century, William Stukeley, for example, demonstrated his interest in archaeological remains such as Stonehenge and Audry. He associated these ancient monuments with druidical monuments. Such interest in British ancient relics reflects the changing intellectual climate, the positive reassessment of their own past, as represented by figures such as the Druids.
The eighteenth-century view of the Druids notably changes from a fanatic barbarous figure to the defender of liberty ; William Mason's Garactacus and Thomas Gray's The Bard are among the examples. Celtic Revival movement in Wales prepared English Medievalism : the movement aimed at preserving ancient manuscripts and made English antiquarians, including Thomas Gray, accessible to ancient Welsh manuscripts in English, thus enhancing medieval interest. The interest in the Middle Ages brought out the editions of Sik Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, the story of King Arthur. The popularity of King Arthur quickly attested the frequent reprints of the work, creating the reader, and dearing fruit in mid-nineteenth century Arthurian Revival. The druid yielded its place to King Arthur : the druid, often associated with liberty, may have been regarded as radically dangerous emblematic figure, while King Arthur is a king after all, embodying safe reassuring Toryism.
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