I wanted to share this article about how the alt-right — attracted by the myth of an all-white medieval Europe –…

I wanted to share this article about how the alt-right — attracted by the myth of an all-white medieval Europe –…

I wanted to share this article about how the alt-right — attracted by the myth of an all-white medieval Europe — has infiltrated ttrpg and adjacent fields of interest like larp: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-alt-right-is-taking-over-renaissance-fairs.

I think it’s important to critically examine whether we — as players, GMs or designers — have contributed to the myth of an all-white medieval Europe. I know I have. Until very recently, I thought that the presence of a character of color in any pseudo-historical medieval game setting required special explanation. I later revised my position to: If there are elves, then why can’t there be PoC? — as if the two were equally fantastical!

My revised position still left the problem: If I was playing in a game that aimed at greater historical accuracy, then I still felt like whiteness had to be the norm. Games that I otherwise really enjoy unfortunately fall into this trap — for example, in Witch: The Road to Lindisfarne, all of the characters are drawn as white (with the exception of Elouise, who is not illustrated at all).

I think we have a responsibility to disabuse ourselves of the myth of an all-white medieval Europe and make sure we aren’t propagating that myth in our games. Otherwise, we are reinforcing a viewpoint that is not only historically inaccurate but also exclusionary, that effectively tells players of color that if they want to play a character who looks like themselves then their existence in this imaginary space requires special justification, and that feeds into a sick fascist fantasy of racial purity.

I’m still educating myself on this  topic. Here’s a great place to start: https://www.publicmedievalist.com/race-racism-middle-ages-toc/.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-alt-right-is-taking-over-renaissance-fairs

16 thoughts on “I wanted to share this article about how the alt-right — attracted by the myth of an all-white medieval Europe –…”

  3. I’m reminded of that thing where Witcher 3 tried to defend itself from complaints of having only white people by saying it was set in faux-Poland, as if that explained anything.

  4. I’m reminded of that thing where Witcher 3 tried to defend itself from complaints of having only white people by saying it was set in faux-Poland, as if that explained anything.

  7. Some great articles here, both real world and gaming related. I especially liked the article Schrödinger’s Medievalisms for the insight into how to think about and deal with white supremacists and others hijacking historical – and pseudo-historical – symbols.

  8. Some great articles here, both real world and gaming related. I especially liked the article Schrödinger’s Medievalisms for the insight into how to think about and deal with white supremacists and others hijacking historical – and pseudo-historical – symbols.

  13. I always feel that zealots of any nature have no problem ignoring reality no matter how you try to show them otherwise. Often because they arrive a viewpoint themselves and perform confirmation bias to protect it. Anti-evolutionist and anti-vaxxers are the good examples.

    I think better spent is energy increasing and running diverse groups. Inviting more folks to the table.

    Nazis will always see a white Europe— it’s why they are Nazis.

  14. I always feel that zealots of any nature have no problem ignoring reality no matter how you try to show them otherwise. Often because they arrive a viewpoint themselves and perform confirmation bias to protect it. Anti-evolutionist and anti-vaxxers are the good examples.

    I think better spent is energy increasing and running diverse groups. Inviting more folks to the table.

    Nazis will always see a white Europe— it’s why they are Nazis.

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