Medieval Girl Winter

coloring bleak winterscapes with vermillion and ochre

Tiktok’s teeming with Cherry Cola girls, vanilla girls, balletcore girls, cottagecore girls, and a dozen other microtrends. But has anyone yet gone… castlecore? (Edit: But not in a Disney princess way?)

We were in the middle of reading Middle High German Minnesang poetry, when the professor passed out paintings of medieval knights. They were so beautiful with their joyfully festive colors, I trimmed and framed them and hung them on the wall of our newlywed house in Michigan.

I’m cheered to this day by the period colloquially known as “the Dark Ages.” This month, I’ve been leaning into the vibe. It’s a great form of escapism when SAD season hits because the culture is so alien and the colors so bright. But the wildest part is that it’s not sci-fi or fantasy—it’s history, and myth, and oftentimes, a mix of both. I wanted to share some recent discoveries.

1. The Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy

Set in medieval Norway, this 1,000 page novel tells the life tale of the strongwilled, nobleborn Kristin Lavransdatter as she struggles with sin, thwarted desire, and repentance in a series of events that leads her through haystack trysts, pilgrimages, childbirths (seven total), and political intrigue.

The book is feminist in the best sense of the word. It’s hard for me to think of another heroine whose character arc is so based on self-mastery. Kristin travels from the untrammelled willfulness of youth to the controlled strength of a mature matriarch. I think what’s so unusual is that Kristin takes her strength seriously, recognizing that she alone is responsible for her fate. Even when she would be justified in playing the victim, she doesn’t. Instead, she recognizes her agency, becomes master of herself, and wins the respect of those around her.

But Kristin’s is also a cautionary tale. At 15, she chooses a man who is her inferior in every way but physical strength. He’s ten years her senior but behaves like a teenage boy. He blames her for his own weakness, breaks his promises, and mismanages his property. As Kristin’s initial infatuation fades, she begins to realize her mistake and struggles with bitterness even as she strives to protect her husband’s interests and improve his estate.

Highly recommend.

2. Princess Mononoke

Set in medieval Japan, this story follows tragic hero Prince Ashitaka as he seeks to make peace between human industrialists and the nature spirits whose domain they have invaded.

Ashitaka is a pacifist at heart, who longs for beasts, humans, and the gods of the forest to live in harmony. But when a pig demon stampedes into his village, he is forced to kill it in defense of the innocent. The demon curses him with a blackening blood infection that sometimes possesses his arm with the demon’s rage, granting him supernatural power to kill. A seer tells him this spiritual-physical infection will eventually make its way to his heart and kill him. In a scene that evokes the biblical exile from Eden, Ashitaka is ordered to leave his village permanently and travel west (a reference to Western industrialization?) to seek out the root of the evil that turned the pig god into a demon.

Fate deals Ashitaka a bad hand, but he refuses to let the knowledge of his impending doom to enervate his will. Instead, he puts himself at the service of everyone he meets. He also proves his strength and wisdom when he uses his demon-infected arm of rage to slay marauding samurai, but manages to hold it back when, possessed with a supernatural will of its own, it seeks to kill out of hate or retribution. In the end, it is this humility and self-control that allows Ashitaka to bring peace to the land.

I love this movie for Ashitaka’s heroism but also for its theme of Man Versus Nature.

Ashitaka’s antagonist, the industrialist Lady Eboshi, is no simple villain. Despite her cruelty towards the nature spirits, she is tenderhearted and just towards her fellow man, rescuing lepers and prostitutes from the gutter to work in her iron factory. When we see villages ruined by landslides and samurai beating women, we realize that Lady Eboshi’s fortress and lightweight rifles are meant to protect her people from similar fates. Her goal is to develop technology in order to give the sick and weak an advantage they wouldn’t have where Nature rules “red in tooth and claw.”

The director, Miyazaki, clearly recognizes the difficulty of balancing human interests with sustainable practices. Rather than give a pat ideological answer, his film asks the viewer the fundamental question of civilization—what would it look like for man to harmonize human artifice with Nature in pursuit of The Good Life?

3. Anastasia Fascia’s 10 minute facial massage before bed

This is not explicitly medieval, but it’s an ancient practice that integrates a holistic view of health and beauty. Unfortunately, this particular creator markets her work as “face sculpting” (please ignore that). I’ve found that doing this massage before bed helps me to sleep. It relaxes tension in my neck and face in a soothing ritual that leaves me feeling warm and glowy.

4. Tea poured from a tiny Polish teapot

Note the medieval color scheme.

This week, I broke down over a dollhouse. I thought, being an artistically inclined person, that painting a dollhouse without a plan should be a piece of cake. It wasn’t. My friend Caitlin rescued me from despair by telling me its purpose was to bring joy to my toddler. It’s okay if the paint job is globby.

Little things like this handmade teapot remind me the world is not divided into The Practical and The Lovely. The home is neither an efficiency machine, nor a Vogue interior design feature. At its best, it’s a work of functional art. Folk art, if you will. It should be beautiful, but only insofar as it brings warmth and health to those who inhabit it.

5. Measuring time with candlewax

This liturgical calendar by artist owencyclops is my dream gift.

I have memories of dark winter nights, the smell of fading potpourri in an old china cabinet, and my mom’s voice singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” in a voice quiet and quavering like the candle flames before us.

This is my first year creating my own evening Advent practice. As a Reformed Protestant, I’ve inherited a very minimalistic style of spiritual practice that purposely strips away distractions (fancy altarpieces, crucifixes, incense) in order to allow direct communion with God through his Word. I’m thankful for this because it’s made me very aware of the danger of idolatry. But as I grow in my faith and begin to teach my babbling toddler, I’ve adopted more object lessons and rituals. Like these candles!

I’ll end by sharing a stanza of what is, in my opinion, one of the most romantic poems in history. For all of you who thought the Dark Ages were, well, dark—this might change your mind.

“Unter den Linden”
Walther von der Vogelweide (c 1170-1230), Raymond Oliver's translation

Under the lime tree
On the heather,
Where we had shared a place of rest,
Still you may find there,
Lovely together,
Flowers crushed and grass down-pressed.
Beside the forest in the vale,
Tándaradéi,
Sweetly sang the nightingale.

Edit 12/17: I could not resist adding in an old favorite: Music legend Jeff Buckley singing the Middle English Corpus Christi Carol with ethereal grace. The lyrics are thought to refer either to the Arthurian legend of the Holy Grail, or to Christ’s Passion.

Readers, I’m fairly certain some of you also enjoy medieval girl winters. Please share any recommendations in the comments.

Walther von der Vogelweide himself. What a dreamboat!