The Devil's Historians: How Modern Extremists Abuse the Medieval Past

by Amy S. Kaufman, Paul B. Sturtevant

Amy S. Kaufman and Paul B. Sturtevant examine the many ways in which the medieval past has been manipulated to promote discrimination, oppression, and murder. Tracing the fetish for “medieval times” behind toxic ideologies like nationalism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, misogyny, and white supremacy, Kaufman and Sturtevant show us how the Middle Ages have been twisted for political purposes in every century that followed. The Devil’s Historians casts aside the myth of an oppressive, patriarchal medieval monoculture and reveals a medieval world not often shown in popular one that is diverse, thriving, courageous, compelling, and complex.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, Sociology, Politics, Social Justice

208 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 2020

About the author

Amy S. Kaufman is a medieval scholar and the author of THE TRAITOR OF SHERWOOD FOREST (Penguin Books, 2025), a Robin Hood retelling based on the original ballads.

Reviews

[Niġel Klemenčič-Puglisevich · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-intentioned book on the weaponisation of the Middle Ages by the far-right. While many of the points raised were indeed correct and needed, the way in which they were done weren't ideal.

Firstly, I'm not certain the book will fulfill its call-to-action as its audience is already aware of, and likely endorses, its thesis. Preaching to the choir feels good, but it will only get you so far.

Secondly, in many cases, the authors fall into the trap they caution against. They glamourise the Middle Ages and illustrate the time as one of not only diversity but equity and opportunity. Rather, the medieval Church letting women produce their own scholarship was still a method of control, and they did indeed control what it was those women were producing and how far they could take it. One can convey the facts of the Middle Ages without perpetuating a romanticised notion of a diverse utopia.

Another problem that arises is the eurocentricity of the content. I found this quite unexpected, but at the end it turned out that their attempt to diversify medieval history was merely an attempt to diversify medieval history in northwest Europe. In 2020, the year it was published, I feel medievalists should be well versed enough in their field to at least acknowledge the far reaches of the medieval label. In saying this, they also frequently use the term "Europe" without defining the scope of that term in the medieval context. England, France, and Scandinavia, perhaps? Where would Spain, Sicily, Eastern Europe, etc. fit into this? Would they?

I think many of this book's flaws could have been solved with a less broad theme. The approach was all-encompassing and well intentioned, but felt as though it never had a chance to land on its feet.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book enough. It is a fantastic guide into the concept behind the abuse of history to serve the ends of extremest groups. However, the book is greater than that and takes into consideration several other ways in which the Middle Ages are appropriated to serve a narrative.

It also mentioned the Society for Creative Anachronism along with several pop culture elements.

Again, cannot recommend this read more.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timely must-read.
Excellent book that brings to light the false narratives about the Middle Ages that we've all learned since childhood, and highlights how history is abused and why.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to rate and review. As someone who studied history and focused on the Middle Ages, I learned and worked on projects surrounding this topic. It is something I feel very passionate about. I love helping educate people on the Middle Ages and helping them understand history better. I feel very strongly about this topic and I was excited to finally get my hands on this book.

From a scholarly perspective, this book is basically worthless. That's a little harsh, but the formatting, research, and references are not at the level they should be. I don't think I would ever cite this book in actual scholarly work. There are not enough references, nor do the authors show where/how they got their information.

One of the reviews say that this book reads more like someone's tumblr post and, sadly, yeah. It kinda does. Things are not well researched, planned, or formatted. I don't want to get into a rant-y review, but I was very disappointed at something like this out of University of Toronto Press. The scholarship surrounding this topic should be doing much more, especially books like this that are reaching the mainstream a little more than most scholarly publications.

Overall, very disappointed by what I assumed was going to be a great work on an important, pressing matter in the field and in current events.

[Steven Batty · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read book. It really is quite shocking how the medieval past is twisted in the modern age. From middle-eastern terrorist groups to white Christian American God Botherer's. Sadly the bullshit they peddle is lapped up by not only the gullible but educated alike.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a good surface-level review of the topics it covers and would be accessible to both academic readers and the general public. I bought this book in 2021 after enjoying a lecture by one of its authors, and finally got around to reading it. Many of the examples shared in the lecture were discussed in the book. I was slightly disappointed that the specifics of what to look for in terms of neomedieval extremist terminology and symbols was not discussed. However, it was still an enjoyable read, and one that I would recommend. It's also equipped me with information I could use in conversation and enough resources to dig deeper on any topic presented.

I will say that, coming off of reading Babbitt, the prose initially threw me off. But with time I settled in and looked forward to a book I could read without looking a lot of things up.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and digestible. This book opened my eyes to the role that medieval history is playing in modern extremist movements and how different it is from the much more complicated history. Well written.

[Sophie Wieland · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not a particularly cheery book, this is a timely, just-sarcastic-enough, and well written book. The epilogue (which theoretically presents positive modern uses of medieval history) could have been longer and more developed, but I suppose the title did warn us that the book was about extremism.

[Justin P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wrote this review for a college class so it's rather long but hopefully helpful.

*Myth-Busting Medieval Extremism or Falling Into Partisan Rhetoric? A Review of "The Devil's Historians"*

In their book "The Devil's Historians", authors Kaufmann and Sturtevant set out to bust myths and critique interpretations of the Middle Ages that can be found in popular culture. The authors state that their primary goal is to counter "the rising tide of white supremacy and its tendency to adopt medieval symbolism", and ensure "scholars [...] speak to the public about these issues." Their book calls out white supremacy, sexism, religious intolerance, and other ideologies as latent bigotry masquerading in historical revisionism that originates from extremist agendas. Yet in their quest to bust these myths, the authors succumb to partisan politics that polarize critical readers. The book stumbles in achieving its lofty goal to engage the public in dialogue, so readers are left unarmed with the critical skills needed to detect and guard against abuses in the telling of history.

*The Perils of Pop Culture Medievalism*

The hook of this book sank into the readers’ minds by references to popular historical dramas, like Game of Thrones, Vikings, Braveheart, etc. The authors’ claim that popular dramas like these of the Middle Ages enable extremists to use distorted histories. Films like Braveheart are critiqued as romanticized nationalist narratives that can promote a false notion of ethnic purity, like that of the Highland Scots. Portions of the book link extremist groups to historical revisionism of the Middle Ages. If this link is unknown to naive readers and viewers, the book deconstructs myths in popular media to expose the underlying ideologies. The book’s argument is that extremists abuse the history of the Middle Ages, appropriate past people, and distort medieval symbolism and narratives to justify hateful agendas. The authors trace the origins of historical interpretation, or historicism, to identify when and how these narratives and symbols from the past were co-opted for extremist agendas.

Readers are guided through summary highlights of some Middle Ages history and these histories are compared to distorted representations in recent, popular culture. One argument is grounded in myths or reinterpretations that originated in the 19th-century Romantic Revival. These myths morphed the Middle Ages into nationalistic origin stories that were co-opted by 20th century ideologies like Neo-Nazism and the 2nd Ku Klux Klan. The book’s chapters spend good ink untangling the origins of medieval myths that remain ingrained in popular culture. A chapter deconstructs how the Brothers Grimm folktales became the genesis for Romantic Revivalists' reinterpretation and idealization of Middle Age ethnicity for the emerging German national identity.

Additionally, the origins of legendary English figures like King Arthur and the symbol of the red dragon are deconstructed, as well as Maid Marion’s love affair with Robin Hood, and how characters like St. George are borrowed by white supremacists in popular retellings of these legends. The book denounces neo-Nazis and white supremacists who use racist ideology rooted in medieval Germanic myths, like the Daily Stormer's promotion of sexism and paternalism under the guise of "traditional" medieval values. Readers are guided along several egregious medieval myths that have distorted interpretations of the Middle Ages. Kaufmann and Sturtevant are at their strongest when directly debunking these misappropriations of past people and inaccuracies of the Middle Ages.

*The Extremist’s Agenda and a Boogeyman*

While the authors' myth busting and condemnation of bigoted extremists must sound alarm bells to the public, their portrayal of the threat these groups pose to the public feels sensationalized. The reader imagines that extremist influence is pervasive today and everywhere. "Those who embrace this idea [that 'The West'...is superior] may not consider themselves racists," the authors claim, "but the medievalism inherent in their project...is a very sheer veil for prejudice". There are problems with such generalized claims as this. First, the authors poorly define “the West”. If a reader were to espouse the West’s economic system, like Milton Freedman’s ideas, then the person is prejudice or even racist. Second, it is not clear whether pride in some Western culture is sufficiently differentiated from nationalism, where the implication is a connection from nationalist tendencies to fascist eventualities. Third, it’s unclear whether medievalism can remain a neutral representation of the Middle Ages or a prejudiced appropriation of past people into current culture. The authors invoke such generalized statements and rhetoric in the book during weaker arguments, and often these claims are backed by evidence from infrequent, high-profile incidents or fringe communities. This hyperbolic rhetoric, coupled with a tendency to demonize large groups of people into bigoted ideologies, risks alienating readers who resist overgeneralization, emotive response, or expect a scholarly analysis.

The authors antagonize a large group of readers by boldly claiming that modern racism originated from religious differences in the Middle Ages. They assert: “modern racism originated from one historical factor: religion". This is an unconvincing oversimplification that relies on flimsy evidence like a single 12th century poem and a quote that equates the symbolism of white skin with spiritual purity. It also contradicts other scholarship about the Middle Ages. In the classic textbook "Medieval Europe: A Short History", began by Hollister and updated by Bennett, historians admit the limitations in interpreting how people of the Middle Ages thought and acted on modern, critical concepts like race, gender or sex, and classes. Bennett concludes that Middle Age people were aware of differences, especially differences in faith, but that scholars “simply do not know” how sexist or racist those people were – or were not. Proclaiming that a historical institution, like the medieval Church or Islamic caliphates, was the sole genesis of modern racism requires far more rigorous historical evidence and analysis than the authors provide.

Finally, the authors falter in properly contextualizing the role of revisionism in the academic study of history. Rather than explaining how re-examining the past with new evidence or through different lenses is a vital part of the scholarly process, they dismissively label "revisionist medievalism" as justification for modern ills like sexism. This betrays a lack of transparency about the historical process that enables pejorative accusations, and counteraccusations, of revisionist historicity. As James McPherson, former president of the American Historical Association, said: "Interpretations of the past are subject to change [...] The unending quest of historians for understanding the past – that is, revisionism – is what makes history vital and meaningful". The lack of transparency about the use of historical methods, like revisionism, prevents readers from understanding the changing historical interpretations of the Middle Ages.

*An Echo Chamber of Bias that Deafens the Alarm*

Part of the limitation in the book’s conclusions derive from the authors' inability to shed their own biases and political leanings, which tend to bleed through their analysis. Many of the book’s popular sources skew toward left-leaning newspapers like "The New York Times" or paywalled ones that cover politics like the "Washington Post". The authors also repeatedly cite their previous work on the website publicmedievalist.com -- a potential problem for an "echo-chamber effect" that precludes a comprehensive review of medieval scholarship. Reliance on partisan news make some of the book’s sources suspect for political bias and analysis framed by partisan politics. Kaufman and Sturtevant could have gained persuasiveness by acknowledging their partisanship upfront or simply not depend on such sources.

The authors word choices make glancing blows against conservative politics that confirm their implicit bias. Concepts like family and faith, which are often aligned with conservative politics, are portrayed as negative forces that "try to bind" people. Such emotive rhetoric is likely to polarize readers rather than offer a receptive ear from the reader or, much less, unify the audience into agreement. Another example is the fear mongering critique of politicians, like US President Trump and UK politician Nick Clegg. In the case of Clegg, the authors connect his use of the word “medieval” as being a man “lurking behind that was a thinly veiled racism […]”. As stated earlier, the contemporary concept of modern racism did not exist in the same form during the Middle Ages so this link to a contemporary politician sounds politically skewed rather than scholarly. This rhetoric and political tone bogged down the other scholarly critiques. On the one hand, readers celebrate the diversity and complexity of the Middle Ages, while simultaneously the authors prejudice many contemporary people as a homogenous bloc and gullible believers of myth. This reductive, us-versus-them generalization ignores the diversity of political perspectives and insights held by the public.

That's not to say that the alarms raised by the authors cannot still be heard. Indeed, the book informs readers by providing a helpful primer on theories used (and abused) to justify historical revisions. Theories mentioned include Gasset’s cultural amalgamation, Huntington’s civilizational conservatism, replacement theory, geographical determinism, and “bowdlerized” clean-up of medieval texts in the 19th century Romantic Revival. Many revisions are based on these interpretations and, the authors argue, foretell a predetermined narrative of the past. So readers are made aware of these revisions as a kind of detector against the weaponization of history. Nonetheless, a rigorous theoretical framework and critical methods are needed to discern historical accuracy from distortions, but the reader is left only informed while unarmed against harmful propaganda.

*Conclusions & Call-To-Action*

"The Devil's Historians" sparks a disturbing yet necessary conversation about confronting extremist bigotry that usurps historical interpretation of the Middle Ages. The connections in this book to popular culture and recent debate engages the reader’s potential to act. But this potential action stalls out. It connects extremists use of medievalism to focus a distorted lens on the past, but Kaufmann and Sturtevant appear guilty of succumbing to dividing people rather than uniting diverse readers in a strong call-to-action.

The book’s reliance on partisan politics and hyperbolic rhetoric undermines the authors’ goal, and it denigrates the potential for historical drama to re-engage people with the past. Popular culture like historical drama – which is the authors’ introductory hook for readers -- takes creative liberties that are known to be inaccurate, but it is hyperbolic sensationalism to suspect that anyone who watched a drama, like Game of Thrones, has been primed for extremist eventualities, or that the creators of such media are suspected of demonic manipulation of history telling, as the book’s title implies. Indeed, scholarly critique of historical drama, including the 1970s show Roots, concluded that the value of re-connecting people to the past outweighed historians’ criticisms of such inaccuracies in media. The public would be ill prepared for filtering out inaccurate films of the future after reading this book. The authors cover some myths and historical concepts that could be beneficial for detecting distorted revisions of history, yet the reader is not armed with critical skills to assess whether a story accurately interprets the past.

The alarmism in the book rings so loud that agencies of change are deafened. For example, the book tells the story of how a white supremacist, Derek Black, reflected critically and then rejected his prejudices after face-to-face dialogue and community building with people he previously had prejudiced, such as Orthodox Jews. This story is humanizing instead of hyperbolic and an excellent example of the powerful agency that people gain by simply being receptive to differing views. Our current world is diverse in ways that the authors champion for the Middle Ages, such as by race or ethnicity, sex or gender, religion, socioeconomic class, etc. And people are politically diverse. After reading the book, I am not convinced that extremist, hate-filled conservatives are devils lurking behind films any more than I’m convinced that left-leaning critics of Western capitalism are grooming future communists. Readers are informed after reading the book but not better or worse than reading a credible textbook on the history of the Middle Ages.

[Maryam · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far one of the best and most insightful reads I've finished this year! From ISIS to the Far-Right, Amy Kaufman and Paul B. Strutevant create a compelling analysis regarding how extremists manipulate and fetishize the medieval past in order to reinforce extremist views and ideologies which never existed in the Middle Ages. In truth, this period was far from an oppressive landscape filled with constantly patriarchal barbarians and war hungry peoples. The Devil's Historians is a book which reeks of passion, jam-packed with demystifying information that begs to be investigated even further.

Who knew that between the 12 knights of Arthurian legend, King Arthur's Round Table comprised of 3 Muslim knights and 1 knight from Africa? I sure didn't!

The true story of Robin Hood before the introduction of Lady Marion? I'd like to know.

Murasaki Shikibu, a woman as the person who wrote the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji? Bless.

What about Ali ibn Nasr al-Katib's Encyclopedia of Pleasure, which includes an Arabian lesbian love story between a Muslim and Christian woman? Someone needs to remake this narrative for our time!

From Presidential Speeches, to Videogames, to the Society of Creative Anachronism, there's content of interest for everyone.

[Ivri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought that this books arguments were silly. Arguing that modern extremists are using medieval past as an example of what we should be like is silly, because they are making the arguement that this is uinique to the middle ages, and that the middle ages many of their charachterizations are false. But highlighting how an islamic caliphate and the system dhimmis were more tolerant of religous minorities than catholic european countries at the time as an example of how that time period was not how portrayed, is silly, because I would argue that the charachterization midieval has a distinctly European, Christian connotation in modern paralnce, non withstanding the fact that life for dhimmis wasn't too great, depending on time period. Just one example of a couple that really annoyed me as I was reading this book. Was not a fan. :( But had to read it for school :(.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a terrible bore. I applaud the book’s efforts in exposing much of the bullshit around us, but the book was annoying to read. Go to a party where there is a lot of knowledgeable people chatting, cocktails in hand. One person constantly butts in and corrects everyone else. I know, this is a book built around how we are mistaken about what we think we know about the past. But damn.

the author’s political views permeate every page of the book. This isn’t a book of history correction, as it is a political book in historical guise. I get it, everything is politics, and it’s what I should expect from Haymarket Books, a political minded publisher.

I was happy to be done with this.

[Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't fundamentally disagree with the author's arguments but she chose an area thats so large it meant that this book barely brushes the surface of the topics it covers and has repeated mistakes and errors that even a layman can identify. Such as getting the ex-leader of the SNP's name wrong as Andy Salmon (its Alex Salmond) meaning that the accuracy of the whole text gets brought into question.

[Benjamin Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

Without a doubt one of the worst books I’ve ever read.
Under the guise of a true thesis (that right-wing extremists have abused a misunderstanding of the medieval past) it paints a polemical portrait of the MA for its own culture-warring.
This book contains many inconsistencies, misrepresentations, and “everyone who disagrees with me is Hitler” arguments and will do little to help students gain the skills of historical thinking or a form grasp of medieval history or culture.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Definitely recommend! Super interesting and important. I only wish it would have been a bit longer and more in depth with certain topics, especially when it comes to the medieval source material. However, as it is, very easy approach to the issue, should be taught in schools, to be honest.

[Valdemar Lenschow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exiting stuff with a lot of opinions, but also a bit too quick in jumping between the different topics and examples. A bit depth would have been appreciated, but of course it written for the lay reader as well as the academic, so it is understandable. Something it also comes off as just a tiny bit preachy maybe. However I still enjoyed it a lot.

[Emy]

28 July 2020: Had the fortune to join a fascinating lecture/discussion from the authors, hosted by the University of Leeds. They're both very accessible and able persons who are writing about this subject from a place of love, from the inside.

[Darima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good content, enjoyed the book, but I wish the references cited (especially when talking about surveys or statistics) involved fewer links to newspaper articles and more primary materials.
Nice and concise text overall.

[juli]

Read this for my medieval history in film and literature class and it was interesting to read about how media about the middles ages is often inaccurate and how extremist groups use these inaccurate stereotypes and images as reasons for their bigoted and dangerous views.

[Gary Spain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent introduction to the subject.

[C.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My biggest problem is that they conflate asexuality with celibacy.

[Alice Kwok · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very useful teaching resource. The first chapter especially would be great for the undergrad medieval classroom. On the whole, though, pitched a little more basic than I was hoping for.

[Books and the Bronx Gurrrrlll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this I'm my grad school class, "Getting Medieval." Loved it!

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to start by saying that the following review is UNFAIR. It is unfair because this excellent essay met with my probably over-demanding expectations.

This is an excellent refutation of all those who both romanticize the Medieval period while at the same time misrepresenting it in order to support their political, social or religious beliefs. The author knows her history and supports her assertions with sources. She effectively refutes all those who base their ideology on a monolithic and mythological medieval past - whether it being religious people arguing that their interpretation of their religion is right because it was original or those white supremacists who try to co-op Norse mythology and history. None of these extremist abuses are safe from the author's keen eye.

So, now, why is it only 4/5? Well, as a diatribe/lecture I would give it a 5/5... but I wanted more history in this and a more systematic analysis of the real history whereas the author's mission was different from what I was expecting. I wanted MORE of the good stuff they had. I wanted actual block quotes from sources; I wanted an examination of the good stuff and bad stuff from the period that is now being used by the extremists.

Read this but know that I wanted at least another hundred pages of material to make it great.

[magdalene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kaufman and Sturtevant aren't wrong, neccessarily, by saying that medieval ages function as a fantasy that is willfully exploited for both entertainment and propaganda, especially by far-right.
This said, though, this book is a badly researched, us- and western european centric, extremely chaotic mess; extremely oversimplified at best, willfully ignorant at worst, too preoccupied with enumeration of names or organisations to make any sensible observations, not to mention fairly absurd passages including, but not limited to: claiming that sexuality is a modern concept (which it is) and two sentences later that bisexuality was the norm in Ancient Greece, asking the reader whether the books they've read in school focused on European Middle Ages (as if Middle Ages wasn't a term refering to European history, in contrast to post-classical), or the enumeration of european legendary heroes - king Arthur, Robin Hood, Joan of Arc (?) and Saladin (??). This, in addition to the writing style being reminiscent of a high school paper, makes this an extremely disappointing book.
I genuinely cannot say who is this book even for.