The Gothic Tower: How the Genre has Lent Itself to Depictions of Evil throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries

From its very inception, the term Gothic has held astonishingly varied connotations. It initially refe1Ted to the body of individuals who originated from present-day Sweden and invaded southern Europe during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries (Bayer-Berenbaum 19). Notorious for their merciless treatment of captured prisoners, the Goths acquired power through their barbarian attacks upon the Roman Empire, and even conquered Byzantium in 267 AD. Eventually, however, the Romans drove them back and successfully enculturated them through trade during the fourth century