Section III Chapter 2 pgs 59-86 Summary and Analysis

In the beginning of chapter twp, Eco discusses the current cultural fascination with the Middle Ages that he refers to as the "neo-medieval wave". The interest is taking two different courses, one focused on the more fantastical aspect, another focused on doing real historical scholarship to learn more about that period of history.

Eco suggests that the Middle Ages were the beginning of several practices and their concurrent problems that are still in use today. Included in these practices are: modern armies, a national state, capitalistic economy, and the "technological transformation of labor". He proposes that our fascination with the Middle Ages is related to a desire to examine our origins, the same way that a person might approach psychotherapy. Eco asserts that this re-visitation began shortly after the end of the Middle...