Why are fantasy worlds always old?

In nearly every fantasy novel or short story I’ve read, the magical denizens of the fantasy world live in societies that have not advanced much beyond the 1500s to 1700s Europe. Why is that? I have a few hypotheses.

While civilization may seem locked in the equivalent of Europe’s Middle Ages, it’s actually more advanced than it looks because, hey, magic is everywhere. Rather than focusing on science and technology, the people’s focus is on magic. Magic is the equivalent of science and technology to these denizens because it accomplishes the same thing: it makes life better. Of course, the writer then digs into themes similar to technology- and science-driven novels, such as, “Things get better, but at what cost?” and “To whom should the power belong?” and “Would we be better off without it?”

Of the second theme, I see it in Patricia A. McKillip’s 1970s Riddle-Master trilogy, in which everyone drank beer and wine (that they brewed or distilled themselves), and the question was whether the High One—a philosopher king—ought to have power of the magical instinct of land-rule, or whether the power belonged to the Earth Masters, who had destroyed each other in a power struggle eons ago. The novel’s world, while unique and wonderful, was still in that old world of taverns, dirt trails, and dark forests. Why is it no one has developed air conditioners or televisions yet?

Another reason to favor the old days is, well, that’s where most of our fantasy comes from, the Middle and Dark Ages of Europe. Think Beowulf, Celtic legends, and Shakespeare. Before A Midsummer Night’s Dream, fairies were all human-sized. He proposed that they can be itty-bitty, too, and bam, that concept has survived. That’s beside my point, though, which is that, in these dark old days when the Holy Roman Empire and the Christianity that followed it effectively squashed the reason and rationality that had been born in Greece, people’s minds were all bent out of shape. Superstition reigned, ugly and hallucinatory…and fascinating. As such, writers see it as almost natural to place their fantasy worlds in a similar environment: Dark- and Middle-Age Europe.

I have no problems with either of these reasons, if they’re true. They make sense. Still, I question ulterior motives and ugly themes. Does the theme bring brightness to the “backward” world it inhabits, or does it reinforce it? I haven’t read a damn bit of Game of Thrones, but it strikes me as the latter: the darkness and ugliness of the world and power is what makes it attractive to its audience, and it’s a never-ending struggle of war rather than a culmination of peace. Because treachery is sexy. And it sells.

I won’t knock that. Sell, baby!

But there are other options. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, for example (and I’ve not yet read it either, how dare I!), strikes me as of the former theme and brings brightness to its world. A long and ugly history culminates in triumph. Sure, struggles always lie ahead, but the goal is light, the attraction is light—not darkness.

This post went from hypotheses about why fantasy worlds are mostly set in 1500s Europe’s equivalent, to making value judgments about the use of those worlds for “dark” or “light” purposes. Well, it’s a blog, so permit me to amble like that occasionally. Also, think of this as one half of a conversation. I’ve put some things out there. Pick something and tell me your thoughts. That’s what I’m curious about. Why are fantasy worlds so often set in the equivalents of medieval Europe?