The Virtual Tapestry: An Analysis of the Representations of Everyday Life in the Middle Ages on YouTube
ABSTRACT: This study analyses how YouTube creators represent everyday life in the Middle Ages, focusing on how creators balance educational intent and entertainment value within their digital historical content. Drawing on qualitative analysis of twenty-three videos from five prominent historical channels, alongside semi-structured interviews with their creators, this study addresses how creators adopt different engagement strategies and representational choices, while also exploring the ideological implications of their portrayals. The study is motivated by the growing influence of user-generated media upon public historical understanding, as well as the current lack of academic scrutiny surrounding medieval representations on YouTube. Using critical discourse analysis and semiotic analysis, this study reveals a spectrum of edutainment strategies arising from its sample, which encompasses academically enriched representations to sensationalised, entertainment-led storytelling. Moreove...