Though racism and its intersection with Medieval Studies can seem obscure, the events in Charlottesville during the summer of 2017 blatantly reminded medievalists and medieval enthusiasts that their work is not over. David M. Perry, former professor of Medieval History at the Dominican University speaks on the role of historians to confront the messiness of our pasts and how they impact modern events.



Consequently, many medievalists have spearheaded the deep dive into the relationship between their field and racism. In their statement titled On Race and Medieval Studies, the Medievalists of Color argued the importance of including conversations of race to better understand the impact of race in our modern teachings of the Medieval Period,

We,  Medievalists of Color, need our colleagues to understand the systemic racism of which we speak and the role it has continued to play in our field’s constitution and practices; to educate themselves in the critical discourses that address systemic racism both explicit and implicit; and in doing so to move past preoccupations with individual intentions.

The Public Medievalist has an ongoing series titled Race, Racism, and the Middle Ages which covers a range of topics from the questionable reality of race to 'medievalism' and the KKK. 

In the introduction named “Tearing Down the ‘Whites Only’ Medieval World” Paul B. Sturtevant explores the modern impact of the white washed medieval studies we have been taught and uses his study on young people’s understanding of the Middle Ages to show how misinformed we are. Sturtevant presents in the introduction a challenge to the readers but encourages them to remain open to new possibilities.

We see the past the way it has been presented to us in school, in history books, and in popular culture. I am not immune; no one is. And new information can seem, at first, like an assault, not just on the past, but on our past, our values, or even ourselves.