Time to Break the Spell: A Progressive View on Medieval Stasis

Can you imagine a world where nothing has changed for centuries or even millennia? In Episode 52 of Creatinuum, “Trapped in the Past: A Discussion on Medieval Stasis in Literature and Pop Culture,” we escape from the tricks of magic and ask: what have we been sleeping on these ages? 

Photo by Miquel Rosselló Calafell on Pexels

So you clicked on this blog hoping to kill your time, only to realize you’ve just opened a portal to a whole new dimension—a world of centuries past where nothing changes. 

Ta-da! Welcome to medieval stasis.

Commonly employed in fantasy, medieval stasis is a trope where the setting is in a state of long-term stagnation—that means no technological advancement has ever occurred for a long, long time. 

Why Medieval Stasis

For the most part, writers use this device because it offers convenience. Why deal with the complexities of realistic historical and technological progression when you can simply freeze and preserve the setting, leaving it as it is? No time to engage with mental gymnastics? Just go for medieval stasis. But it should be noted that it doesn’t come without a price. The tricky part? You have to justify it and make it make sense. 

Perhaps, your readers can easily suspend disbelief and readily live with your characters in the make-believe village that hasn’t really come with age for thousands of years. When you can make your readers feel comfortable with the familiar—and actually make them believe that it is totally fine not to progress from it—then congratulations, you have captured them inside your fantasy world.

To be fair, there are those who like to be entertained with the suspension of disbelief. If you can successfully immerse them in your story and get them to plunge headfirst into the plot without looking for the rationale of things, then do so. 

When Not to Use It

But what if your readers won’t buy the idea and actually look for the why behind the fact that they are trapped in the past? It won’t be long enough until they ask: Why do we stay like this since time immemorial, and why are there no guns when we can actually use magic to create ammos and make characters more powerful? 

For some, this kind of style in storytelling may capture attention—but not when it becomes an unnecessary, blatant nuisance, making the audience feel “meh.” For the ones looking for dynamic, evolving worlds, fresh places with the occurrence of time and flow of the storyline, medieval stasis can quickly feel boring. Worse, critics might take it as a lack of creative flare. 

If you use medieval stasis purely as an aesthetic accessory, maybe you should step back and ask: Is this really necessary? 

Perhaps There Is a Way to Workaround It

This is not to say that you should shy away from medieval stasis altogether. This is to say that writers need to be careful and be discerning when to use it or to avoid it. 

Here’s a tip: when your plot has a strong and clear reason for stagnation, medieval stasis can be a good foundation. Maybe the entire kingdom is under a spell that any attempt to create new tools makes them disappear. Perhaps, a tyrannical king has decreed against any form of advancement. 

It should be more than just “once upon a time.”

And for readers who like to intellectualize things? They’ll appreciate the establishment of the why behind your stasis. 

Otherwise, you take the risk and use medieval stasis your way. 

Listen in full to Creatinuum Episode EP52: Trapped in the Past: A Discussion on Medieval Stasis in Literature and Pop Culture available on Simplecast, Spotify, Apple, and other platforms.