Eragon

     When you ask of someone what they think of as medieval, classically the dragon is one of the first responses. Eragon tells the story of a young farm boy named Eragon who stumbles across a dragon egg in the forest. Thinking it is a valuable stone, he tries to trade it for food but gets shut down by the food merchant who exclaims that the stone belongs to the king. Quickly after this, the dragon hatches and she and Eragon form an inseparable bond which resonates across the kingdom and alerts all those who know of or have bonds with dragons to recognize the new forged bond.
   
     This bond between dragon and man is through magic. Magic was an important part of everyday life in medieval times. Everyday charms and home remedies were all seeped in magic. Women in particular were looked upon as being witches or having magical powers. In the film, Arya is an elf princess with magic. It is through her that Eragon gets the egg in the first place. Arya sends the egg through dimensions and drops the egg off in the forest, but while she is sending it she gets wounded and is subsequently trapped by the dark wizard Durza.

     Magic is what allows Eragon to speak with his dragon, Saphira, but not until she is fully grown. As a baby dragon, Saphira has no powers and she cannot speak. She is very cute when she sneezes though, as pictured below.

     Through Saphira, Eragon also learns to use magic himself. Eventually his magic grows strong, and this comes in handy during the final battle scene of the film.

     The divide between the rich and the poor is subtly apparent in the film, but is more apparent in medieval culture. The affluent king in Eragon named Galbatorix is portrayed as an angry, lazy man with a power complex. He uses his power to abuse everyone below him, and he is never shown outside of his throne room. This touch is a nod to the way medieval texts portray the upper class. In medieval times, the divide between the rich and poor was so pronounced that it could be seen in many different art forms. 

     Male friendships were extremely important in medieval culture, as well as in this film. Eragon gains a friend in Brom, pictured above, who the audience later learns was once a dragon rider himself. He encourages Eragon and mentors him in the art of perfecting his sword fighting and strengthening his magic. Brom and Eragon eventually develop a father/son type of relationship which is abruptly ended when Brom is killed in battle.

     Murtagh is another male character Eragon has a bond with. Murtagh quietly helps Eragon along as a friend, however he acts creepily enough that Eragon and Brom are both suspicious of his motives. After Murtagh finally proves himself to Eragon, he is revealed to have been the son of a traitor of the dragon riders and part of the reason that dragon riders are no more.

     Following the medieval tradition of love and chivalry, this film touches on the blooming love between Eragon and the elf princess Arya, who is pictured above. Of course, Eragon is just a young boy and Arya is not a human being at all, but the film shows a relationship between the two anyway. Arya calls to Eragon through the void, asking for his help. He doesn't really understand what is going on, but the attraction is there when they finally meet and the audience is aware very clearly that it is mutual. There is no kiss, but following the tradition of courtly love, the young boy goes through his quest and impresses the princess.

     Another typical bit of medieval flavor in the film's culture is armor. Chainmail is something less familiar than the regular "knight in shining armor" stuff, but those who do know of it are frequently unaware that it was what came before the shining kind. This armor was an effective means to protect oneself against the enemy during medieval times. Eragon highlights this aspect of battle gear with its major battle scene being fought by people, elves, and ra'zac in various forms of armor. Obviously this film is not meant to be historically accurate, or set really in any specific time period, so various types of armor are worn. The trailer below glimpses some of the various types of armor worn in this battle.

     The magic is back again at the end of the film. In protecting Eragon, Saphira is fatally wounded. Of course, he is able to heal her because of the power he puts into his incantation to save her. He is not powerful enough, so he passes out and doesn't learn of the success of his magic until after he has woken up. It is the final, most important scene in the friendship of Saphira and Eragon.

     The magic was definitely the most predominantly medieval aspect of this film, next to the myth of the dragon. The magic was part of the film from the moment it began to the very dramatic ending, much like the dragon. I feel as if the dragon and the magic of the dragon were intertwined and really showed off medieval culture to a modern audience, even if in a strange fictional way.