Rhetoric and the writing of history, 400-1500 / Matthew Kempshall.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kempshall, M. S., author.

Series:

Historical approaches.

Historical Approaches

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historiography--Europe--History--To 1500.

Historiography.

Rhetoric, Medieval.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (638 p.)

Place of Publication:

Manchester, England ; New York, New York : Manchester University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book provides an analytical overview of the vast range of historiography which was produced in western Europe over a thousand-year period between c.400 and c.1500. Concentrating on the general principles of classical rhetoric central to the language of this writing, alongside the more familiar traditions of ancient history, biblical exegesis and patristic theology, this survey introduces the conceptual sophistication and semantic rigour with which medieval authors could approach their narratives of past and present events, and the diversity of ends to which this history could then be put. By providing a close reading of some of the historians who put these linguistic principles and strategies into practice (from Augustine and Orosius through Otto of Freising and William of Malmesbury to Machiavelli and Guicciardini), it traces and questions some of the key methodological changes that characterise the function and purpose of the western historiographical tradition in this formative period of its development.

Contents:

Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1 History and historiography; 2 Rhetoric and history; 3 Invention and narrative; 4 Verisimilitude and truth; 5 Historiography and history; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781847798978

1847798977

9781847798985

1847798985

OCLC:

989820487