u/Hopeful-Egg-978

I see this claim all the time recently. The only reason we think ancient and medieval eras were hellish was because of the Victorians, they had such an inferiority complex that they had to constantly vilify previous generations, they were so messed up that they projected their hangups on the past, etc.

I’m not gonna say there’s no truth to this. I mean, we live in a post-Victorian world which is heavily shaped by their influence, so it would make sense their cultural behavior, including historical misinformation, has had such a cultural impact. The thing is, I really think it’s much more complicated than what people claim. For example, when I come across media from the Victorian era (literature, scholarly journals, etc.), I often do see admiration, respect, or even romanticization of classical and medieval times. Not only that, but anti-medieval rhetoric was really kicked off during the Renaissance, anyway. I don’t think it’s fair to pin this all on the Victorians.

I’d love to hear your guys’ insight on this.

Also, I find this all ironic considering how much BS people spread about the Victorian era online, but whatever.