Medievalist movements in England, Germany and Japan, among other places, were the window dressing of racist, nationalist political movements in those countries.

Medievalist movements in England, Germany and Japan, among other places, were the window dressing of racist, nationalist political movements in those countries. They called to mind a simpler time when the Folk were pure of heart and blood, the elites had a natural right to rule, and everybody knew their place. They justified the sentiment that We are pure and blessed by the gods, while They are mongrels fit only to be slaves. The United States is too young to indulge in medievalist fantasies, but Southern minstrel shows were directly influenced by the fad for medieval minstrel shows in England, and were conceived specifically as a native American alternative. Minstrel shows served the same political purpose in America, presenting a vision of an idealized archaic South where the established social hierarchies, including those of master and slave, were presented as natural, fitting and just.