ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the manifold and interwoven facets of medievalist activity that pervaded the Aotearoa New Zealand village of Havelock North at the beginning of the 20th century, including the hosting of “Old English” fetes and tourneys, Morris & Co-inspired Arts and Crafts, “Merrie England” utopianism, and the establishment of medievally infused esoteric and occult societies. These medievalist activities are surveyed to draw out a novel case of medievalism: one that incorporates an entire village. Taking Havelock North as “text”, this chapter aims to unpack the problematic ideological impulses that undergird the medievalist milieu of the village. The village-wide fascination with embodying a utopian European medieval past will finally be considered a powerful representation of cultural, spiritual, linguistic, and literal imperial and colonial power in Aotearoa.
