“Fair Bodies of Young Men and Women, as Temples, to Rear Their Monstrous Generations”: The History of Race, Eugenics, and Modern Medievalism
Kaitlyn Hartings
Just over a month ago, the Maryland Renaissance Faire opened its doors for the 58th time and greeted hundreds of merry revelers (“Maryland”). For rennies like myself, Renaissance Faires like this offer a sense of escapism that has become especially desirable following the isolation caused by Covid-19 lockdowns (Bordsen; Knapp). It is an uncommon opportunity to step away from our fast-paced world; as Vice writer Mary Frances Knapp describes the appeal of New York Ren Faire: “We’ve made it out the other side…I take comfort in knowing that, once a year, I can hop on a non-stop bus from Manhattan to The Shire,” (Knapp).
I remember my first Maryland Ren Faire well, driving along the winding country roads, through the idyllic fields of Anne Arundel County. It’s the sort of scene that makes you think you’re travelling back in time. But just before reaching Revel Grove, a dark, derelict structure looms on the horizon. This is not some gothic castle out of a medieval fantasy realm, but rather Crownsville Hospital Center, formerly the Hospital of the Negro Insane of Maryland, a place that is deeply rooted in American racism (Nazaryan). The facility was known to institutionalize individuals for “nervousness” and “a lack of self confidence,” to keep patients in sweltering conditions, to perform non-consensual experimentation on children, and to put them in the same areas as registered sex-offenders (Skloot 265-6; Nazaryan). Whether you know this history or not, the sinister site stays with you as you make your way to the Faire.
What does an annual Faire have to do with a historical mental institution? It’s not the fault of the Faire that it happens to share such an uncomfortable proximity. However, the history of medievalism, the scholarly study of the era, and its enduring presence in our cultural understanding is inextricably linked with the history of white supremacy.
Medievalism saw its first great resurgence during the Victorian period, at the peak of colonial bravado and empire building. During this time, the US longed for a return to an imagined middle ages, one that was free of both industrialization and the massive influx of migrant populations (Béar 929; Lavezzo 42; Young). It was in this environment that the American activist and poet Percy MacKaye was raised, inspiring his later Progressive era writings (Béar 911). MacKaye’s corpus was defined by his love of medievalism, featuring ethnically homogenous renditions of Chaucer and Shakespeare (Béar 914). These works, including his 1903 The Canterbury Pilgrims and 1916 Caliban by the Yellow Sands, which glorify medieval characters in ways that depart from source material and incorporate elements of the medieval past in places they were not originally found, like characters singing medieval songs and dancing around a may-pole despite the early colonial setting of Shakespeare’s work (Béar 910-19). Both of these pieces feature an all-white or majority-white characters, with the exception of Caliban of the Yellow Sands, which portrays Caliban as a racialized, bestial Black caricature that poses a threat to white, female innocence (Béar 932). MacKaye found particular inspiration for medievalist literature such as those pieces in white, rural Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas; here, a lack of Black presence becomes increasingly problematic, as connections to an “ideal feudal past” can be directly linked to the states’ histories of enslavement (Béar 921-31).
Interestingly, the attractive aspects and themes of medievalism during the Victorian period aren’t all that different from today. The simpler, magical past advertised by Renaissance Faires is so attractive, in part, due to modern fears of the AI industrial revolution and violent political turmoil. The lack of people of color in medievalist media is also recognizable, with George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones – basically Ren Faire required reading – eschewing characters of color except in service roles (Dhar). This exclusion further perpetuates who is valued and celebrated within the Ren Faire environment.
During his lifetime, MacKaye’s impact expanded beyond literature; he had deep connections with individuals across the political spectrum. In 1912, MacKaye wrote the play To-Morrow, which used medieval motifs to glorify American westward expansion and eugenics (Béar 924-7). Medievalist Maia Ruth Béar considers the father-daughter relationship and the good vs. evil romantic interest in To-Morrow to be an allusion to Shakespeare’s Tempest, a play that in itself justifies colonialism and eugenics as a system of maintaining power, purity, and intelligence (Béar 924). The play, which lacks any characters of color outside of servants, depicts a young woman choosing a husband with whom she will bear the best children, fearing an anti-eugenic world that offers “the fair bodies of young men and women, as temples, to rear their monstrous generations,” (Béar 924). According to Béar, this play had a profound impact on the Vermont Eugenics Survey, which used much of MacKaye’s reasoning in To-Morrow to justify the forced sterilization of approximately 250 people, many native Americans (Béar 925-26). With this gruesome history in mind, it’s clear that the medievalism that Ren Faire is built on is far darker than just an escapist fantasy. Renaissance Faire communities are united by their love of medievalist literature, which inspires them to seek out bucolic, pseudo-medieval towns and epic fantasy adventures. But these communities are also built on narratives that historically shun or condemn racial minorities, like works by Shakespeare, MacKaye, Tolkien, and Martin. Shakespeare, whose work inspired MacKaye’s eugenicist opus, is memorialized on Ren Faire stages like the Globe Theater. Tolkien’s “Shire” has become a catch-all for Ren Faire, despite his racist depictions. Saladin Ahmed, an American comic book writer, argues that “to be dark-skinned in Middle Earth is to be part of a savage horde—whether orcish or human—rather than to be a true individual,” (Lavezzo 33). Game of Thrones is frequently referenced in Ren Faire entertainment, such as Pennsylvania Ren Faire’s Tournament of Guilds, even though his works would exclude any people of color from participating (Dhar, Savage). Although Ren Faire likes to advertise itself as a merry, escapist fantasy, it has built its image and community by glorifying the problematic ideas and ideals of racist authors over the past 400 years.
The past decade has seen the same medieval fantasy loved by Ren Faire enthusiasts become increasingly tied to modern white supremacy. The Q-Shaman on January 6th adapted the same Nordic symbols present in MacKaye’s work, and the Knights Templar imagery used in rennie costumes has been similarly adapted in the Unite the Right Rally and by the Christchurch shooter (Young; Schuessler). Even the broadly acclaimed and beloved Lord of the Rings saga has become a white nationalist recruiting tool on sites like Stormfront, with one poster claiming, “‘LOTR would be a great way to teach our children what is truly ARYAN,’” (Lavezzo 30).
It is extremely tempting to ignore this controversial history, to claim that Ren Faire and its rich roots transcend this singular, racialized element. Of course it does. Since their conception, Renaissance Faires have shunned historical accuracy in favor of creating a unique fantasy realm that lives both within and without human memory. Its very purpose is to encourage play and ignore the confines of everyday Western morality, which is why outfits range from floral crowns and plastic elf ears, to fursuits, to heavily-detailed and historically accurate Tudor gowns and armor. This is why queer people like myself and Knapp have found so much comfort in the Faire: it offers the chance to see an imagined past where people like us would be accepted and a safe space to experiment with different gender presentations (Knapp). But continuing to ignore racism within the very foundations of Ren Faire is to allow discrimination to stain Revel Groves and Shires into the distant future.
While MacKaye’s name is little-known among casual medievalists and rennies, his legacy of racial exclusion and eugenicism can be seen within both Mary Frances Knapp’s dream of Tolkien’s “Shire” and a Stormfront commenter’s dreams of “truly ARYAN” children (Knapp; Lavezzo 30). In an article on Tolkien’s exclusionary legacies, medievalist Kathy Lavezzo warned that “the appealing manner in which Tolkien’s epic fantasies give the field an unprecedented or ‘precious’ place in the contemporary world might be best perceived as a literary version of the Ring, a temptation we might do well to resist” (Lavezzo 47). I’d suggest that rennies appropriate the same mindset when interacting with past medievalist literature; these stories may be attractive, but they have a dark side that must be recognized.
If there ever was a time to reform Ren Faire medievalism, it is now. In 2018, over 600 scholars boycotted the Kalamazoo Medievalist conference due to a lack of self-critical reflection within the field and its failure to denounce white nationalism. Since then, academic journals like postmedieval have been working to publish more diverse and self-critical works (Rambaran-Olm et al. 361; Schuessler). Brian Morton, a Black magician at the Maryland Ren Faire for the past 25 years, has found that there has been a gradual increase in guests and performers of color, and he’s used his platform to educate audiences on medieval Arab history (Ciammachilli and Turner). Alexandra, a Black queer woman who attended New York Ren Faire, described the experience as uninclusive: “at face value, no…there was probably one Black person for every 100 white or non-white people,” but that she felt welcomed by those she met there (Knapp). It is clear that both Ren Faire and the medievalist field are gradually improving, but they will only be diverse spaces if they reject white majority and exclusionist portrayals. If they acknowledge and address the shared histories of Renaissance Faires, the Crownsville Hospital Center, and the Vermont Eugenics Survey. It is time for medievalists and rennies alike to ask ourselves, “What matters more, the stories we have historically found comfort in, or the people those stories condemn?”
References
Béar, Maia Ruth. “‘The Pure Springs of English Literature’: Percy MacKaye’s Eugenic Medievalism.” Postmedieval, vol. 15, no. 4, Dec. 2024, pp. 907–40. Springer Nature Link, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41280-024-00355-w.
Bordsen, John. “As Renaissance Festivals Reopen, Here’s How to Make the Merrie Most of Them.” The Washington Post, 24 June 2021. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/renaissance-festival-2021-tips/2021/06/ 24/e5054470-cee5-11eb-8cd2-4e95230cfac2_story.html.
Ciammachilli, Esther, and Tyrone Turner. “Meet The People Behind The Maryland Renaissance Fair.” WAMU, https://wamu.org/story/24/08/30/the-maryland-renaissance-festival-owners-have-built-a-ti ghtknit-empire-fit-for-a-king/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2025.
Dhar, Payal. “It’s Time for Fantasy Fiction and Role-Playing Games to Shed Their Racist History.” The Guardian, 3 Nov. 2020. Games. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/nov/03/racism-fantasy-fiction-role-playing-ga mes.
Knapp, Mary Frances “Francky.” “Reality Sucks. That’s Why I Love the Renaissance Faire.” VICE, 3 Oct. 2023, https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-i-love-renaissance-faires/.
Lavezzo, Kathy. “Whiteness, Medievalism, Immigration: Rethinking Tolkien through Stuart Hall.” Postmedieval, vol. 12, nos. 1–4, Dec. 2021, pp. 29–51. Springer Nature Link, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41280-021-00207-x.
“Maryland Renaissance Festival – Revel Grove.” Maryland Renaissance Festival, https://rennfest.com/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2025.
Nazaryan, Alexander. “Can a Decaying Hospital With a Grim History Be Brought Back to Life?” The New York Times, 17 Apr. 2025. Business. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/business/crownsville-maryland-development.html.
Rambaran-Olm, Mary, et al. “Medieval Studies: The Stakes of the Field.” Postmedieval, vol. 11, no. 4, Dec. 2020, pp. 356–70. Springer Nature Link, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41280-020-00205-5.
Savage, Henry. “Everything you need to know about the 2024 Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.” TCA Regional News, 27 Aug., 2024. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/everything-you-need-know-about-2024-pennsylvan ia/docview/3097476632/se-2.
Schuessler, Jennifer. “Medieval Scholars Joust With White Nationalists. And One Another.” The New York Times, 5 May 2019. Arts. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/05/arts/the-battle-for-medieval-studies-white-suprema cy.html.
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Young, Helen. “Why the Far-Right and White Supremacists Have Embraced the Middle Ages and Their Symbols.” The Conversation, 13 Jan. 2021, https://theconversation.com/why-the-far-right-and-white-supremacists-have-embraced-th e-middle-ages-and-their-symbols-152968.