Everyone’s talking about Bardcore: The TikTok trend that takes inspiration from medieval times

Good morning!

Sorry?

How are you?

We’re fine. However, you sound crazy.

Goodbye, because it’s huge on TikTok.

Is there any sort of medieval trend going on by any chance?

Correct! It’s called bardcore.

And to participate you have to talk like a medieval squire?

Partly, but the main driver is musical.

We consider ourselves amateur medievalists and also love traditional music.

This is more modern music, reimagined for the Middle Ages.

Please don’t say you listen to Taylor Swift on a harp.

No, I’m not, but I can’t get enough of Bonnie Tyler.

Are we talking about the music?

Yes, and the lyrics have also been rethought. That is the best. Bonnie’s ‘Holding Out for a Hero’ is one of my favorites.

Is there any chance you’re not going to sing it?

No.

Alright then.

Where have the worthy gone. Oh, where is honest Gawain? Where is the brave Galahad to take the reins?

Very moving.

Thank you. I’m surprised you don’t like bardcore.

Astounding, isn’t it?

You may know it by its other name, “tavernwave.”

No.

If you want to hear more, there are entire YouTube channels dedicated to it.

Medieval history? Yes, we recently saw an interesting lecture on Thomas Aquinas.

The popularity of doublets, corsets, lace-up bodices and even armor led iD magazine to recently declare that ‘fashion is going medieval’

I think more of Hildegard von Blingin’.

WHO?

The YouTuber who is the best known for her ‘bardcore for the discerning preacher, noble, or manure-gathering farmer.

Right. Presumably this is the same person responsible for the medieval Bonnie Tyler.

That’s her. She’s a genius. If you’re not digging Bonnie Tyler, try Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” (9.1 million views), Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” (5.5 million), and Radiohead’s “Creep” (4.7 million).

Let’s move on. You mentioned that this trend was also big on TikTok.

Indeed, #bardcore videos have been viewed 17 million times on the platform.

What kind of things do people do?

Hot Wench Summer Videos shows a young woman frolicking about in medieval dress with the caption ‘It’s 1452 and you’ve just had your monthly river bath, so you’re off to the inn to seduce a gentleman’.

And how does she plan to do that?

A woman sitting under a tree among autumn leaves playing the lute while a man listens, in a painting by Edwin Austin Abbey

A model wears an original creation from the New York winter 2023-2024 womenswear collection by Rodarte Womenswear in February

TikTok isn’t revealing — but she’s twerking (as far as you can in medieval costume) and it’s got 400,000 likes; you have to assume that the gentleman would really be interested in it.

Are you trying to sell this to us as a fashion trend?

The popularity of doublets, corsets, lace-up bodices and even armor led iD magazine to recently declare that ‘fashion is going medieval’.

Not with John Lewis, it’s not. Type “medieval” on his website and you get Lego.

Okay, if fashion can’t convince you that this trend has a cultural influence, then you can’t argue with mead’s healthy sales.

What, during the plague?

I’ll let you know that the biggest co-seller in the country…

We also imagine that the only co-seller in the country…

There are actually more than one. Lyme Bay Winery in Devon sells 116,000 bottles a year and Tom Gosnell runs a fellow bar in London’s Bermondsey called Gosnells Meadery Taproom.

You can sell anything to London hipsters.

OK, since you’re more of a literary type, did you know there’s a book coming out called Weird Medieval Guys: How to Live, Laugh, Love (and Die) in Dark Times?

That sounds promising. Will it explore important medieval ideas such as the cosmological argument for divine existence?

Not so much, but it’s great to see how you can survive a wolf attack.

Pass the mead.