#5 - ACCURACY IN MEDIEVAL FILMS
Top 5 Mistakes Film Makers Make About the Middles Ages | historical film consulting
As a historical film consultant, I often see filmmakers repeat common Middle Ages movie mistakes—small inaccuracies that can break audience immersion. From costumes to combat, understanding these medieval film inaccuracies can transform your production and make your portrayal of the Middle Ages authentic. It seems a little uncharitable to call out how the film industry gets things wrong about the long-past, but many viewers will only ever look at the Middle Ages through the lens of modern storytelling, which means their understanding of history and thus of the wider world will be shaped by what they see through that lens even as changing ideas about history shape the kinds of stories we tell. As a historical film consultant, I often encounter filmmakers repeating the same Medieval film inaccuracies—small errors that can significantly impact audience immersion, leaving them carrying around ideas like “the greatest king of England during the fourteenth century was actually the son of William Wallace, a rebel ahead of his time who was murdered for his republican ideals of freedom” (from Mel Gibson’s 1995 Braveheart) or “if only the children of vikings had the benefit of a modern, scientific way of thinking, then their inherently violent and exploitative bigotry could be abandoned in favor of an ideal society” (Dreamwork’s whole How to Train Your Dragon franchise) reinforces the idea that the Middle Ages was a time of abject barbarism and ignorant, authoritarian bigotry.
Here’s how we’re going to crack into these middle-ages movie mistakes: Over the next few weeks I’ll post up one the five most egregious mistakes modern film-makers make. Here they are at a glance:
5. Basic Historical Facts
4. Grim, Grandiloquent Vikings
3. Religion vs. Science
2. Dirt
1. Material Culture
Some of these can be pretty controversial, so if anything jumps out as wrong or unfair just post it in the comments and I’l address it!
#5 - Basic Historical Facts that film makers get wrong
One of the most common yet easily overlooked Middle Ages movie mistakes in modern films is simply getting historical facts wrong. This doesn’t include artistic liberties like simplifying events or combining characters to improve storytelling—a technique seen in Ridley Scott’s historical films Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and Robin Hood (2010)—which often works well. Instead, this refers to inaccuracies so severe that they mislead audiences about the Middle Ages, creating false impressions of what happened and when. Avoiding these medieval film inaccuracies is essential for any production aiming for historical authenticity
Edward I - Longshanks
The poster-child for Middle-Ages movie mistakes is Mel Gibson’s wonderfully entertaining but laughably erroneous film Braveheart (1995). Just look at the Wikipedia page for the movie to see the tip of the iceberg, but not even the screenwriter’s appeal to using the account of Blind Harry as his basis excuses the construction of a narrative that presumes English oppression through “a hundred years of theft, rape, and murder.” (The Jews of England could very much complain of this abuse, however, but having been expelled from England in 1290 they weren’t saying much.) The reality was that Wallace was appointed the Guardian of Scotland in 1297 to protect the country during a contention over who should succeed as the Scottish king. Edward “Longshanks” I, who was a master of leveraging medieval law in his favor, offered to decide the question for them, but the nobles realized this would mean the king would then hold power over Scotland by virtue of Longshank’s authority.
Wallace and the Earl of Moray had stopped an English army enforcing Edward “Longshanks” I’s influence, culminating in the Battle of Stirling Bridge—though in the film, the bridge itself disappears entirely. These distortions are classic examples of medieval film inaccuracies, changing not only what really happened but also the political and cultural reality of the Middle Ages.
The point is that William Wallace wasn’t a rebel. He was fighting to maintain Scottish independence, not win it. Screenwriter Randall Wallace’s historical alterations completely alter our perception of not only what really happened but the political and cultural reality.
And incidentally, saying that setting the Battle of Stirling Bridge on an actual bridge “would’ve made it too puny” is a little absurd. Clearly Mr. Gibson has never seen any Victorian engravings of medieval bridge-battles …Avoiding such errors is why filmmakers often hire a historical film consultant to ensure authenticity in medieval productions.
Battle of Stirling Bridge
Speaking of getting things wrong, this general approach to medieval history that looks to make a modern point rather than cultivate an authentic discovery can lead to some problematic stereotyping, and the best example of this is how vikings tend to be portrayed. Avoiding these common Middle Ages movie mistakes will make your film more authentic. Read on for more