Evil dame reformed in the middle ages (8)
I believe the answer is:
medieval
'middle ages' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'evil dame reformed' is the wordplay.
'reformed' indicates anagramming the letters.
'evil'+'dame'='evildame'
'evildame' is an anagram of 'MEDIEVAL'.
'in the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for medieval that I've seen before include "Of an earlier period" , "Am veiled in style of the middle ages" , "Of the middle ages, or really old-fashioned" , "Belonging to the Middle Ages" , "Relating to the Middle Ages" .)