Gothic Culture In The Middle Ages

When an individual mentions the term “gothic,” the first word that come to the minds of most people is evil, mysterious, or dark. However, the term “gothic” was created in 1610 from late Latin Gothicus to mean “Germanic.” The goths were the ancient Germanic people; hence, its use in the 1640s as a term for the art style that emerged in northern Europe in the Middle Ages has nothing to do with the historical Goths and it was originally applied in scorn by Italian architects of the Renaissance. The term was extended to early 19th century to describe the literary style that used northern European medieval settings to suggest horror and mystery. The word was revived in 1983 as the name for a style of music and the associated youth culture. Merriam Webster describes a goth as a person who …show more content…
Notable post-punk groups that foreshadowed this genre are Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, and Joy Division. The goth subculture has survived social influences much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify. Its imagery and cultural tendencies indicate influences from the 19th century Gothic literature along with horror films. The gothic scene continues to attract interest from a large audience even decades after its emergence. For instance, Western Europe holds large annual festivals, mainly in Germany, for people of the gothic scene to express themselves. Music critic John Stickney used the phrase “gothic rock” to describe a meeting he had with Jim Morrison in a dimly lit wine-cellar in 1967. In addition, Velvet Underground with a track like "All Tomorrow's Parties", created a mesmerizing gothic-rock classic that same year. Joy Division's manager Tony Wilson described Joy Division as gothic compared to the pop mainstream. The term was later related to newer bands such as Bauhaus who had appeared during the reign of Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Bauhaus's first single issued in 1979, "Bela Lugosi's Dead", is generally considered as the