Candlepunk in magic screen: Medieval cultures and civilisations interpretation in scifi shows

What sparks the imagination with Science Fiction is that it brings the curious mind almost every time in an interstellar journey, lets you travel across dimensions and meet with advanced alien species, sometimes allied and sometimes foes.

Though with the head in the stars, one can find a feudal interstellar society. Giving a glimpse of the dark ages outside of a time travel plot, is what candlepunk is about, a sort of "technologically driven alternative course of history"[1] or an alternative set in the future based on "retrofuturistic instances, which use [the Middle-age] period as a starting point"[2].

Looking for candlepunk literature, one can think about Connie Willis' Doomsday Book[3], Michael Crichton's Timeline[4] or Charles Stross' Merchant Princes series[5]. The Medieval cultures and societies make recurrent intrusion in science fiction literature and on the big screen[6]. A film like Outlander, where Vikings fight against Alien[7] while merging the low tech iron technology to the more advanced Alien knowledge is a good illustration of candlepunk. In the small screen also numerous introduction of the subgenre can be found. In December 1973, The Doctor was already making an incursion in the Middle Ages[8].

There are three obvious ways to plot the Dark Ages intrusion in a Science Fiction story: the Time Travel plot, the Alternate Universe plot, the Faraway Galaxy plot.

The Time Travel plot can vary slightly, but, essentially, it consists to bring a future character and/or object in the past. With the "Time Warrior" episode, the Doctor investigate the disappearance of scientists, who, in fact, had been brought back eight hundred years in the past by an alien who had crashed on Earth during the Middle Ages.

Crichton's Timeline is a more classical rendering of the Time Travel plot. Group of researchers are sent to Dordogne, France, in 1357, by the way of quantum technology. There, in the past, they are confronted to a lot of misadventures, they are almost trapped in the past as the device to bring them back is destroyed, and they are almost miraculously returned to their period when the device is finally repaired. In between, they lived a series of action filled adventure, and one of them even remains behind as he found the life he wanted to live.

Though the Time Travel plot is an easy way to plot a candlepunk story, the Alternate Universe and the Faraway Galaxy leaves more room to imagination and fantasy than the former which requires to be more accurate on the historical facts.

In an Alternate Universe, one can bring elements of the past and the present or the future together, having them fit in an equilibrated way to build a whole sensible world. No historical precision is required as it is all a new World.

The Faraway Galaxy plot gives even more way for an introduction of "retrofuturistic instances". One just has to think about the 'Star Trinity' to find those instances. Star Treck, Stargate and Star Wars dabbled in candlepunk here and there, either by presenting worlds with a Middle Ages flavour, with societies closer to an interpretation of the Dark Ages, or showing more SCiFi-ish worlds including medieval aspects.

With the concept of travelling through Galaxies to observe interstellar societies, Star Trek has the right premises for the presentation of a futuristic feudal based world. In 1967, in the original series, episode 27, "The Errand of Mercy", a seemingly unprotected medieval society is at the heart of the conflict between the Klingon Empire and the Federation[9]. Seemingly unprotected, as they don't own any apparent technology they could use to defeat any enemies.

The medieval society in candlepunk episodes is often considered weak and to be protected, because of its low-technology level of development. It is mainly the case as set in "Homeward" episode of Star Treck Next Generation[10], or when SG-1 set foot on Cimera[11], planet under the Asgard protection, or when they met with the Medieval Christian people[12]. In these three example, the people are set on their medieval ways and appeared defenceless.

In the first case, "Homeward", the crew of the Next Generation tries to protect the people from a dying planet. In this plot, the question of the technology en the course of a society development is highlighted by the attention the crew of the Enterprise is taking to avoid any interaction between the villagers and the technology, even though they were transported to the Hollodeck without any knowledge of having left their planet.

The medieval villagers in "Homeward" are somewhat an exception in the candlepunk picture. It is quite frequent to find a middle-aged society dabbling with some more advanced science. Most of the people SG-1 met in some of the planet mentioned, though they are low tech society, are not ignorant of more developed technology. In Cimera, Thor's Hammer[13] is a high tech device designed to eliminate any Goa'uld who would menace them. The rulers of the Medieval Christian Planet uses a weather control ring[14] ascertain their control on the population. In these two examples, the candlepunk plot introduce a piece of high technology in a mainly medieval oriented society. The most advanced technology is but a small part of their society, the course of their life follows a more classical Middle Ages pattern.

Though the most common candlepunk plot introduce a complete medieval society, some aspect of the Dark Ages can be found in a more modern or fantasy setting. Themes of medieval folklore are revisited in the subgenre.

The first theme coming to mind is the one related to the Knights and the Chivalry Code. How can one see Star Wars and not think of the Jedis as some fantasy version of the Arthurian Knights[15] or even Monk Knights? An even stronger interpretation of the knighthood theme can be found in Star Treck and the portraiture of the Klingons. Klingons warriors can be seen as a mix of European medieval knights[16], following a strict code of chivalry, and proud Japanese samurais living according to a strict code of honnor[17]. Stretching the theme, some can even find an interpretation of the medieval warriors in armour in Battlestar Gallactica's Cylons; the many fanarts found online attest the parallel.

The link with the Arthurian legends is even more marked following Marylin Sherman's observations of Star Wars Episode IV: "The parallels to the Arthurian cycle are obvious and numerous. For example, Luke gets his knowledge of the Jedi Knights and their noble values from the wise, mystical, an Merlin-like character, Obi-Wan Kenobi. These knights are custodians of peace and justice in this galactical civilization, and they are armed with appropriate weapons. Luke Skywalker's Excalibur is a light saber, not a clumsy storm trooper blaster that kills at random, but a clean clear ray that dispatches its deserving victim with finality."[18]

Sherman's words are precursor in the study of the medieval interpretation in Star Wars. Dr Lee extended this study of the influence of the Medieval literature on Lucas' film[19]. The new parallels cover various themes from the Anglo-Saxons dark ages, such as: the doomed empire found in "The Ruin"[20], an anglo-saxon poem; the wyrd[21], or Fate, which can be interpreted as "The Force"; the Wasteland where banished heroes or prying ascetic affront demons and other monsters; or the Father&Son story of a filial confrontation found in the Hildebrandslied[22].

As much as the Arthurian myth is interpreted in Star Wars, as mentioned above, with the parallel between Luke Skywalker and Arthur, other great figures of our past are taken as base for fictional characters. Karolus Magnus, Charlemagne, is the ideal character profile for a great Klingon ruler, Kahless[23].

Taking inspiration in the medieval literature or figures of the epoch or transplanting a medieval society in a more high technology environment are some of the aspects of the candlepunk plot. Mainly, the general themes of the Middle Ages can be found in a society deemed to be a representation of a certain past. Stargate proposes an interesting review of these themes with season 9 of SG-1[24]. In this season of episodes, SG-1 team is confronted to the Ori, "a group of "ascended" beings who use their advanced technology and knowledge of the universe to attempt to trick non-ascended humans into worshipping them as gods."[25]

It is quite easy to make a parallel between the structure of the Ori organization and the Medieval Church. "The Ori conceived the Origin faith, one that placed them in the center of creation, and wrote down their guidelines in the Book of Origin to be administered to followers through Priors, missionaries and teachers of Origin." [26]

The Ori ascertain their presence using their Priors, whose chief is the Doci[27], most devout men to the religion, who could easily be compared to the Inquisition, ensuring the spreading of the religion while controlling and repressing the population.

The priors are equally missionaries who are dedicated to teach Origin and to spread it everywhere in the galaxy, a bit in the manner of crusaders sent in a sacred mission to regain the saint land.

Medieval Church, Crusade, Inquisition, the worlds of the Ori are a good illustration of the candlepunk plot. The Middle Ages intrusion in SG-1 season 9 includes also the Arthurian theme with Avalon, Excalibur, and the Lady of the Lake. To complete the picture, Here There Be Dragons, those the monsters and demons coming from the forest the Middle Ages man learnt to fear are also present as the Unas[28] terrorized the people in worlds of a medieval flavor[29].

Candlepunk can be defined as "technologically driven alternative course of history"[30] or an alternative set in the future based on "retrofuturistic instances, which use [the Middle-age] period as a starting point". In many episode of SciFi shows and films, the candlepunk plot has been revisited and interpreted, using the Medieval literature parallels, the creation of Worlds coming from the Dark Ages of our history, copying the social and cultural structures that defined the Middle Ages. Arthurian legends, Chivalry code, Inquisition and Crusades, pillars of an oppressing Church, fearful men confronting their Demons...

In view of the above, the candlepunk plot doesn't consists only in mixing a Dark Ages world with some more modern technology, but it can be a mix of a variety of different integration and interpretation of the medieval themes in a Science Fiction setting.

[1]http://xirdalium.net/2011/11/10/punk-galore/

[2] Idem

[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Book_%28novel%29

[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_%28novel%29

[5]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Stross

[6]http://io9.com/5140382/science-fiction-that-gets-medieval-on-your-ass

[7]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462465/

[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Warrior

[9]http://www.startrek.com/database_article/errand-of-mercy

[10]http://www.startrek.com/database_article/homeward

[11]http://www.gateworld.net/wiki/Cimmeria

[12]http://www.gateworld.net/wiki/Medieval_christian_planet

[13]http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s1/109.shtml

[14]http://www.gateworld.net/wiki/Weather_control_ring

[15]http://www.medievalists.net/2014/03/16/star-wars-middle-ages/

[16] In Star Treck And History, Chapter 18: Klingons - The Savage Race of Klingons

https://books.google.com/books?id=O9lEaTf_ntgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=medieval&f=false

[17]In The Michael Dorn Handbook - Everything you need to know about Michael Dorn, p. 178

https://books.google.be/books?id=s2sEBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA178&dq=klingon+code+of+honor&hl=nl&sa=X&ei=pOdsVbyRJ8fXUZH9g_gO&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=klingon%20code%20of%20honor&f=false

[18]http://www.medievalists.net/2014/03/16/star-wars-middle-ages/

[19]https://medievalmidlands.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/star-wars-andas-medieval-dystopia-uon-popular-culture-lecture-series/

[20]http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/sechard/oeruin.htm

[21]http://bosworth.ff.cuni.cz/036952

[22]http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/hildebrand.html

[23] In Star Treck And History, Chapter 18: Klingons - Kahless the unforgettable and Karolus Magnus

https://books.google.be/books?id=O9lEaTf_ntgC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=kahless&f=false

[24]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_SG-1_(season_9)

[25]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ori_(Stargate)

[26]http://www.gateworld.net/wiki/Ori

[27]http://www.gateworld.net/wiki/Doci

[28]http://www.gateworld.net/wiki/Unas

[29]http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s3/308.shtml, http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s1/109.shtml

[30]http://xirdalium.net/2011/11/10/punk-galore/