Medievalism
Many creatures seen in fantasy fiction are drawn from the folklore of Europe and the romances of medieval Europe. Dragons and unicorns are among the most popular creatures. Other monsters, such as griffins, giants, and goblins also appear. Races of intelligent beings such as elves and dwarves often draw their history from medieval or pre-Christian roots. Characteristics of the hero and heroine also frequently draw on these sources as well.
Perhaps even more important is setting. Writers from the beginnings of the fantasy genre, such as William Morris in The Well at the World's End and Lord Dunsany in The King of Elfland's Daughter, set their tales in fantasy worlds clearly derived from medieval sources; though often filtered through later views. J. R. R. Tolkien set the type even more clearly for high fantasy which is normally based in such a "pseudo-medieval" setting. Other fantasy writers have emulated him, and role-playing and computer games have also taken up this tradition.
The full width and breadth of the medieval era is seldom drawn upon. Governments, for instance, tend to be feudalistic evil empires or oligarchies, and are usually corrupt, despite the greater variety of the actual Middle Ages. Settings also tend to be medieval in economy, with many fantasy worlds disproportionately pastoral.
These settings are typical of epic fantasy and, to a lesser extent, of sword and sorcery — which contains more urban settings — than of fantasy in general; the preponderance of epic fantasy in the genre has made them fantasy commonplaces. They are less typical of contemporary fantasy, especially urban fantasy.
Read more about this topic: Fantasy Tropes And Conventions