Canadian Gothic: Political Medievalism at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill

For Americans, the politics of the Middle Ages tends to concern one form of government: monarchy. But Canada, composed of the British colonies of North America which did not reject monarchy in the late eighteenth century, seems to have historically held a strikingly different view of how the Middle Ages fall in the narrative of political progress. In the British tradition of constitutional monarchy, after all, the origins of the parliamentary system lie in the Magna Carta of 1215. Over the following centuries, this early-established constitutional monarchy gradually evolved into the recognizably republican system that Canada was subject to by the mid-19th century.

Construction of Parliament Hill’s Centre Block in 1863.

Parliament Hill (the collective name for the Canada’s capitol buildings in Ottawa), built between 1859 and 1876, was designed as the visual antithesis to the United States Capitol building. Rejecting the Capitol’s neoclassical architectural precedent for seats of legislative government, Parliament Hill was constructed in a decidedly Gothic Revival style, following the lead of the UK’s still-under-construction Palace of Westminster. The bold architecture of Parliament Hill gave the medieval parliamentary tradition a seat of administration for North America. The buildings of Parliament Hill are even situated on a dramatic mount that rises high above the Ottawa River, as if a European castle. Among the most prominent structures in this complex is the Library of Parliament, in the form of a fantastical Gothic rotunda. This building presents medievalism as not just compatible with, but consistent with intellectualism. The architecture of Parliament Hill places Canada’s seat of republican government within a vestibule of medievalist sensibility.

The fanciful Gothic interior of the Library of Parliament.

The use of medieval imagery in the buildings of Parliament Hill expresses just how maneuverable referencing the Middle Ages can be in modern political discourse (even visually). In the United States, the medieval is frequently viewed as politically reactionary. In Canada, the medieval can connote a tradition of political reform that finds its origins in 13th century England. In both, the medieval has a history of snaking its way into contemporary political rhetoric.

Does Magic Halt Progress?

I’d like to start this by suggesting that you watch a short YouTube video called Game of Thrones: Why Dragons Halt Progress. (Bear with me, this is relevant!) It’s not necessary to understand this blog post, but it is part of what sparked my thoughts on this subject. I’ll link it here (be warned, there are some mild spoilers for later events in GoT): https://youtu.be/PDdKmx0PW7s

If you did not watch the video, here’s a summary. Gunpowder/cannons –> need for larger armies –> need for money to pay for those armies –> more efficient taxation to get more money –> more centralized government to more efficiently collect taxes –> nation-state and end of the Middle Ages. However, in GoT, this process is stopped by the presence of dragons, who cannot be beaten by a larger army. Instead, the lords of Westeros pledged allegiance to the people controlling the dragons, meaning there was no incentive for larger armies, etc. etc., and no creation of the nation-state. Thus, GoT is stuck in the Middle Ages perpetually. At least, that’s what the guy in the video says.

So, how is this relevant to Harry Potter? Well, we discussed in class the question of why the magical world in these books is represented as a medieval-esque world. Many of the ideas we discussed are, I believe, completely valid, but most of them hinge on it being Rowling’s decision as the world’s creator in order to further her intended themes and enhance the reader’s experience.

I’d like to propose another theory. As the dragons do in Game of Thrones, I think that magic itself has halted the progress of the wizarding world. Who needs electricity, or modern transportation, or even bombs and guns, when you have magic to do it for you? Vacuums are rendered irrelevant in the face of cleaning spells like Scourgify, and even looms are probably unnecessary–Hermione learns to knit using magic, so I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that one could weave magically as well. Magic is quicker, cleaner, and easier than the muggle way. Plus, it’s clear that many wizards, though they may not all have nefarious intentions toward muggles, believe that muggles are somewhat ridiculous and inferior due to their lack of magic. This, combined with the Statute of Secrecy (the law that keeps wizards from revealing magic to muggles and led to a distinct separation between their societies) which a Harry Potter wiki tells me was signed in 1692, combined with the comparative ease of magic, leads to the practical conclusion that the wizarding community just never saw the point in modernizing along with the muggle world.

In this sense, the wizarding world being medieval could be seen as less of an artistic choice and more of an inevitability. Do I think that Rowling had this in mind when she created the world for her book series? Not really, no. But it’s interesting to think about.