Many thousands of large-scale historical pageants were performed in Britain across the twentieth century. In these spectacular re-enactments of history, myth, and folklore, the medieval past loomed large, even in modern centres of industry such as Manchester and Birmingham. This lecture considers what this ‘pageant fever’ tells us about the place of the past and the relationship between local and national identities in modern British social and cultural life.
Paul Readman is Professor of Modern British History at King’s College London. His publications include Land and Nation in England (2008); as co-editor, The Land Question in Britain, 1832–14 (2010); Borderlands in World History, 1700–1914 (2014); and Walking Histories, 1800–1914 (2016). His present research focuses on historical pageants and the place of the past in modern Britain, and on meanings of landscape in England between c.1750 and c.1950.
The German Historical Institute London regularly holds seminars and lectures on topics of general interest to British and German historians. Seminars are held Tuesdays at 5.30pm during term time. Seminar papers are normally presented in English; knowledge of the German language is not necessary for participation.