What is a Noble Savage?
A Noble Savage is someone from a primitive culture who is supposedly uncorrupted by contact with society. The concept of the Noble Savage first arose among the Ancient Greeks and Romans, with authors such as Pliny and Ovid glorifying the primitive cultures they had contact with, and it reached a pinnacle in the 18th century with the Primitivism Movement. Today, the concept of the Noble Savage is largely regarded as a myth which is both outdated and wrong, and the concept is largely regarded as racist, as well.
A Noble Savage is someone from a primitive culture who is supposedly uncorrupted by contact with society. The concept of the Noble Savage first arose among the Ancient Greeks and Romans, with authors such as Pliny and Ovid glorifying the primitive cultures they had contact with, and it reached a pinnacle in the 18th century with the Primitivism Movement. Today, the concept of the Noble Savage is largely regarded as a myth which is both outdated and wrong, and the concept is largely regarded as racist, as well. One of the major champions of the concept of the Noble Savage was French author Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who wrote about the idea in numerous works. He drew upon the records of voyages by explorers like Captain Cook to portray tribal cultures as primitive, simple, and Edenic. The idea that primitive cultures were inherently good and untainted proved to be popular in an era when people were questioning the merits of civilization, and the Noble Savage was glorified in books, plays, a
