Normanis Peasantry
"Norman Peasantry" is a series of 20 photographs depicting re-enacted scenes of everyday life in medieval England, staged to reflect historical events. This project aims to provide a more authentic and accurate visual representation of the medieval period, which differs from the grim and dark portrayal typically found in popular media. I drew inspiration from historical manuscripts, artwork of the period, archaeological finds, and academic studies. I have constructed a body of work that brings to life a period often overlooked but one that I have a great interest in. As I explore the realities of ordinary people during the Norman era, we gain a deeper understanding of how people lived throughout history, which helps us consider how we live now.
Many representations of the medieval period, seen in films and television series such as Vikings on Amazon Prime, The Last Kingdom, and The King on Netflix, lean heavily into a bleak and gritty aesthetic. The characters in these shows are often depicted wearing poorly fitting, drab clothing and living in dark, joyless environments. While these looks can be engaging, they frequently disregard accuracy in favour of drama. Often, these depictions are attributed more to Victorian-era moral judgments than historical facts. The Victorians, with their rigid societal norms, frequently portrayed medieval people as dirty, ignorant and uncivilised. Reshaping history to align with their values. Unfortunately, this distorted view continues to influence how we see the medieval Ages today.
Through Norman Peasantry, I aimed to challenge those misrepresentations, as many of the claims we see are blatantly wrong, yet they claim to be historically accurate. One of the main issues I explored is the inaccuracy of costuming in modern portrayals of the era. Despite extensive archaeological findings, surviving clothing items, and depictions in medieval art, costume designers still rely on Victorian or even Wagnerian fantasy interpretations, such as horned helmets and rough-spun tunics, when dressing characters. These inaccuracies perpetuate misconceptions that medieval people were primitive or
