Duelling with the past : medieval authors and the problem of the Christian era, c990-1135 / by Peter Verbist.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Verbist, Peter, author.

Series:

Studies in the early Middle Ages ; Volume 21.

Studies in the early Middle Ages ; Volume 21

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jesus Christ--Chronology--Early works to 1800.

Jesus Christ.

Dionysius Exiguus, -approximately 540--Influence.

Dionysius Exiguus.

Religious disputations--Europe--History--To 1500.

Religious disputations.

Literature and society--Europe--History--To 1500.

Literature and society.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 366 pages).

Place of Publication:

Turnhout, Belgium : Brepols, [2010]

Summary:

This volume discusses the controversy surrounding the dating of the Christian Era in the Middle Ages and its effect on the 'emergence' of the individual in medieval society. It focuses on eight medieval authors (Heriger of Lobbes, Abbo of Fleury, Marianus Scottus, Gerland the Computist, Hezelo of Cluny, an anonymous author in Limoges, Sigebert of Gembloux, and Heimo of Bamberg), all of whom attempted to correct the date of Christ's incarnation according to the Easter tables of the Scythian monk Dionysius Exiguus (c. 540). As this volume argues, these authors entered into a duel with the past, attempting to reassign the year of Christ's birth and in the process negotiating contradictory authoritative traditions. On a superficial level these scholars appeared to be unsuccessful in their attempts to reconstruct history, as none of their proposed corrections replaced the existing (erroneous) Christian era that had been established in the Latin West. On a practical level, however, this defeat can be counterbalanced by the conclusion that the corrections provided by these authors acted as an important step in the increasing movement of medieval authors towards intellectual autonomy. In Duelling with the Past, Verbist's analysis explores the links between computistical sources and the 'emergence' of the individual in the Middle Ages.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [355]-366).

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

2-503-55898-4