Merry England
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
"Merry England", or in more jocular, archaic spelling "Merrie England" (also styled as "Merrie Olde England"), refers to an English autostereotype, a utopian conception of English society and culture based on an idyllic pastoral way of life that was allegedly prevalent at some time between the Middle Ages and the onset of the Industrial Revolution. More broadly, it connotes a putative essential Englishness with nostalgic overtones, incorporating such cultural symbols as the thatched cottage, the country inn, the cup of tea and Sunday roast. Storybooks for children about fairytales written in the Victorian period often used this as a setting as it is seen as a mythical utopia. They often contain nature-loving mythological creatures such as elves and fairies, as well as Robin Hood. It may be treated both as a product of the sentimental nostalgic imagination and as an ideological or political construct, often underwriting various sorts of conservative world-views.
See also
- Middle England
- Green and pleasant land
- C. S. Lewis
- J. R. R. Tolkien
- Civil religion
- Norman Yoke
- Tudor myth
- Whig history
