The new historians of the twelfth-century Renaissance : inventing vernacular authority / Peter Damian-Grint.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Damian-Grint, Peter, 1964-

Contributor:

Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historiography.

Civilization, Medieval--Historiography.

Civilization, Medieval.

Middle Ages--Historiography.

Middle Ages.

Physical Description:

xii, 292 pages ; 24 cm

Other Title:

New historians of the 12th century Renaissance

Place of Publication:

Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK ; Rochester, N.Y. : Boydell Press, 1999.

Summary:

The mid-twelfth century saw the sudden appearance of a remarkable group of writers: the 'new historians'. New, because such authors as Geffrei Gaimar, Benoit de Sainte-Maure, Wace, Jordan Fantosme and Ambroise were the earliest historical writers to use French. Each had his own style and authorial persona; yet despite their considerable differences, they pioneered a common form of historical writing which is quite distinct from the styles of previous vernacular writers.

This book studies some of the more characteristic elements of the common style used by the vernacular historians, starring from their notably detached and 'self-conscious' authorial presentation. In the prologues and epilogues to their works, the historical authors present their source materials as reliable, themselves as serious scholars or reliable reporters, and their works as worthy of belief. But this message reappears constantly throughout the text as the historians direct audience response to their work, 'authorising' the narrative by the use of direct authorial interventions which focus on the extra-textual sources of auctoritas: references to sources or research, and assertions by authors that they are speaking the truth. The author shows how this 'historical' style fits into both the vernacular and the Latin literature current in the period: the vernacular historians borrowed elements from both the learned and the popular traditions to produce their own successful and vigorous hybrid, one which was still producing new shoots as late as the fifteenth century and which was widely copied and imitated by both writers of courtly romance and by writers of prose history.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-284) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

ISBN:

0851157602

OCLC:

41871286