#3 - Religion vs. Science: Why Filmmakers Keep Getting the Middle Ages Wrong

When filmmakers overlook historical accuracy in movies, especially in their portrayal of the Middle Ages in film, they risk missing the richness of authentic medieval storytelling. In 1957, Walt Disney aired Mars and Beyond, the twelfth episode of their fourth season, bringing the promise of science and technology into the great American living room. Along with its predecessor Man in Space (1955), the show captured mid-century optimism about progress—but at the expense of history. To sell this futuristic vision, the Middle Ages were cast as history’s “dark slums.”

Within five minutes of Mars and Beyond, narrator Paul Frees declares that for “over a thousand years, free and logical thought was stifled by a black period of stupidity, superstition, and sorcery”—a narrative supposedly corrected by the Renaissance. This is one of the earliest televised examples of the religion vs. science trope that continues to shape how filmmakers portray the medieval world.

The Renaissance vs. Middle Ages: The Origin of the Religion vs. Science Trope

This narrative—that religion crushed science until the modern age—was first popularized by Italian humanists like Leonardo Bruni and Giorgio Vasari in the 15th and 16th centuries. They framed the Renaissance as a “rebirth” of classical culture, lost when “barbarian” invasions supposedly plunged Europe into superstition.

For film producers and screenwriters, this oversimplified binary of “religion versus science” has proven irresistible—but it ignores the realities of medieval innovation, philosophy, and culture.

From Dan Brown to Terry Jones: How Hollywood Films Reinforce the Dark Ages Myth

Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon franchise (The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Inferno), later adapted for screen, is perhaps the clearest example of how modern entertainment has capitalized on this Dark Ages myth. His thrillers imagine a secret, eternal war between science—humanity’s rational drive for progress—and religion—humanity’s desire for control.

Even acclaimed storytellers like Terry Jones, whose Labyrinth (1986) remains one of the most inspired medieval fantasies on film, leaned into this assumption. In his 1995 Crusades docuseries, he quotes the poet Abu al-Ala al-Ma’arri: “The world is divided in two: those with brains but no religion, and those with religion but no brains.”

The Reality of the Middle Ages: Innovation, Logic, and Institutions for Storytelling

Here’s the problem for filmmakers: the Dark Ages narrative is a distortion. The Middle Ages weren’t a millennium of ignorance. In fact, many institutions and ideas modern stories rely on—romance, logic, heroism, representative government—emerged from the medieval world.

• The first universities and banking systems appeared in the 12th and 13th centuries.

• Scholastic philosophers like Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham advanced human reasoning long before the Enlightenment.

For scriptwriters and producers, this means there is a huge untapped opportunity for authentic medieval storytelling that goes beyond clichés.

Case Study – The Name of the Rose: A Faithful Medieval Film with Missed Opportunities

When Jean-Jacques Annaud adapted Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose (1986), starring Sean Connery, Christian Slater, and F. Murray Abraham, the film brilliantly captured the medieval atmosphere. The novel remains one of the most faithful representations of the medieval experience, paving the way for historical dramas like Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth.

Yet even here, the Inquisition is framed as a cabal of corrupt clerics blind to human suffering—a reinforcement of the religion vs. science trope that Hollywood often defaults to.

Why Filmmakers Should Move Beyond the “Dark Ages” Trope

For producers and scriptwriters, avoiding this cliché is more than historical nitpicking—it’s a creative advantage. Audiences today are eager for historical accuracy in movies, nuanced conflicts, and authentic medieval worldbuilding.

The Middle Ages weren’t a war between superstition and science—they were the foundation of many of the institutions that shape our world today. By moving beyond the outdated Dark Ages myth, filmmakers can unlock richer plots, layered characters, and stories with deeper resonance.

And speaking of clichés, one of the most damaging to medieval representation—the portrayal of peasants as universally poor, dirty, and ignorant. For more on medieval stereotypes, check our upcoming post: Myth #2 – The Dirty Peasant.