Anachronisms can be accidental or planned, with accidental ones causing embarrassment. Planned anachronisms can be creative and humorous, as seen in theatre productions and books like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The Society for Creative Anachronism promotes understanding of pre-17th century Europe through reenactments.
An anachronism is something that happens out of time. The chronological fallacy of an anachronism can go both ways: it can come from something from the past being represented as if it belongs to the present, as an archaism, or it can come from presenting something at a time before it actually appeared, occurred , or existed.
Accidental anachronism can be a source of embarrassment. Some people have a hobby of finding all kinds of mistakes in movies, and ahistorical information – both factual errors and anachronisms – are categories that people look for. For example, one rabbi reports in an Amazon review that the use of a Yiddish accent in the film The Ten Commandments (1956) is anachronistic because Yiddish did not develop until the Middle Ages.
The use of planned anachronism can be a source of creativity and humor. In the theatre, an anachronistic setting can bring out new or different elements of a show. This is a frequent practice: with, for example, Sophocles’ play Antigone presented in Australia in 1996 with a production that set the action in Sarajevo, and Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night presented in London in 2004 with the action moved to a setting in India.
Mark Twain’s novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is one of many books that use time travel as a way to explore the humor and ingenuity that can accompany anachronism. In this satire, Twain’s hero Hank is a 19th-century New Englander who wakes up in 6th-century England in King Arthur’s court. Caught in a time and place before he was born, he still has his knowledge of 19 centuries of unlived history to draw upon as he tries to make his way through society. Anachronism in fictional settings is also used in film parodies, for example Monty Python and the Holy Grail (13) and Shrek (1975).
The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), an international organization, promotes continuing knowledge and understanding of pre-17th century Europe through research, re-creation and re-enactment. Through focused study of the past, the SCA aims to provide insight into three main areas: combat and chivalry, the arts and sciences, and heraldry. Their reenactments – focused displays of anachronism – center around equestrian combat, competition, and display, as well as symposiums, fairs, and seasonal or holiday celebrations.
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