På besök i medeltiden : att levandegöra historien på ett museum

Författare

Matilda Marshall

Summary, in English

Museums are a part of the cultural sector that over the last couple of years had to compete with the steadily growing consumption of spectacles. New techniques to attract and amaze the visitors have evolved. Living History Museums has developed a method to simulate past times by building up an environment with reconstructions. History is a non-definite science, there will never be an exact answer to how it really was, for example during the Middle Ages.

This essay deals with the difference between reconstructions and authentic artefacts and how they build up an illusion of the past. In what sense does it matter if the artefacts are genuine or not? How do these museums deal with anachronistic phenomena from today's modern world in the historic environment? Additionally I discuss whether or not these reconstructions - of environment, buildings and personal characters - have any influence on the historic narrative given by the museum. Has the living history museums become a part of the histotainment in order to respond to the demand of spectacles?

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