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Introduction

P. R. Cavill

in The English Parliaments of Henry VII 1485-1504

The Introduction begins by setting the historiographical scene. It shows how ‘Whig’ history presented parliament as a cowed and quiescent assembly, marginalized under the ‘new monarchy’ of Edward IV ... More

The Introduction begins by setting the historiographical scene. It shows how ‘Whig’ history presented parliament as a cowed and quiescent assembly, marginalized under the ‘new monarchy’ of Edward IV and Henry VII. Discussing more recent interpretations, the Introduction explains why the reign's position at the frontier between medieval historiography and early modern historiography is significant in shaping accounts. Next the sources available for this study are examined, and their comparative paucity emphasized. It is argued that this lack of evidence accounts to a large degree for prior interpretations of parliament in this period. The Introduction then provides a brief chronological survey of the seven parliaments that met between 1485 and 1504 in the context of the principal events of Henry's reign.Less

Historiography and Biography from the Period of Gildas to Gerald of Wales

Cam Grey

in The Oxford History of Classical Reception in English Literature: Volume 1: 800–1558

The medieval reception of classical historiography is a story of negotiation: between 'secular' and 'sacred' subject matter; between 'cyclic' and 'salvific' notions of temporality; between the ... More

The medieval reception of classical historiography is a story of negotiation: between 'secular' and 'sacred' subject matter; between 'cyclic' and 'salvific' notions of temporality; between the appropriation of classical forms and ambivalence about the principles underpinning those forms. This chapter explores these negotiations of form and subject matter as they appear in the writings of English authors, from the early medieval historians Gildas, Bede, and Nennius, through the biographers Einhard and Asser, to post-Conquest authors including Henry of Huntingdon, John of Salisbury, Geoffrey of Monmouth, William of Malmesbury, and Gerald of Wales. It examines the claims these writers made about their works, and argues that medieval English authors always appreciated the opportunities and obligations that attended the writing of history and biography, but it was not until the post-Conquest period that authors exploited the tension between the form and the substance of those genres in a manner comparable to their classical predecessors.Less

A Neglected Relationship: Leontios Makhairas’s Debt to Latin Eastern and French Historiography

Angel Nicolaou-Konnari

in The French of Outremer: Communities and Communications in the Crusading Mediterranean

Leontios Makhairas’s Recital Concerning the Sweet Land of Cyprus, written in Cypriot Greek, betrays influences from the Old French historiographical traditions of Outremer. This essay explores ... More

Leontios Makhairas’s Recital Concerning the Sweet Land of Cyprus, written in Cypriot Greek, betrays influences from the Old French historiographical traditions of Outremer. This essay explores additional aspects of the creative potential of the frontier zone, a place where the use of Old French highlights the permeability of ethnic and religious boundaries.Less

Catalan Chroniclers and Poetic License: History, Epic, Fiction

in Authoring the Past: History, Autobiography, and Politics in Medieval Catalonia

This chapter investigates the link between reality and fiction characteristic of medieval historiography. It also reviews the notion of historical accuracy in the work of medieval historians, their ... More

This chapter investigates the link between reality and fiction characteristic of medieval historiography. It also reviews the notion of historical accuracy in the work of medieval historians, their ability to blend different sources, and their tendency to fictionalize the remote past and to historicize the recent past. The Gesta comitum Barcinonensium's characters reflected historical conditions, despite their fictional elements. The chivalric tone of the Llibre dels Fets was a perfect catalyst for the prosification of earlier epic poems. Ramon Muntaner presented two details that display his empathy with the world of chivalry. It can be concluded that medieval Catalan readers did not mind the radical distinction between reality and fiction which is done today—at least, not on a discursive level. The authors deliberately manipulated genre to attain their historical, social, or political purposes.Less

Introduction: Conversion Themes in Early Islamic Historiography

Ayman S. Ibrahim

in Conversion to Islam: Competing Themes in Early Islamic Historiography

Chapter 1 introduces the topic of investigation by explaining the research problem and the state of the art. It shows how some modern scholars believe that classical Muslim sources include scarce ... More

Chapter 1 introduces the topic of investigation by explaining the research problem and the state of the art. It shows how some modern scholars believe that classical Muslim sources include scarce information on conversion and consider them the wrong sources for studying the phenomenon. Drawing straightforward links between historiographical reports and events which may have happened centuries earlier is problematic, especially in the absence of actual documentation. However, it is important to study conversion depictions in early Islamic historiographical accounts. Through analyzing a vast number of Arabic Muslim historical accounts, historiography reveals a great deal about conversion. The chapter explains the theoretical basis of the investigation and the methodology of marrying history and historiography by tracing the interplay between historical phenomena and historiographical depictions; external evidence is investigated, then internal criticism is applied. The chapter lists the conversion themes detected, lays out the major arguments of the investigation, and explains the research plan and the outline of the book.Less

Conclusion

in Authoring the Past: History, Autobiography, and Politics in Medieval Catalonia

This book has reviewed the history of medieval Catalan historiography, its development, consolidation, and maturity. The chroniclers employed both evidence and invention to develop official versions ... More

This book has reviewed the history of medieval Catalan historiography, its development, consolidation, and maturity. The chroniclers employed both evidence and invention to develop official versions of the stories they tell to attain specific political and cultural purposes. There was a clear difference between early genealogical texts and typical narrative chronicles, and even between these chronicles. Political interest produced literary transformation, reflected in both the form and the content of historical texts. The different forms of representing the past reflected the ways cultures justify, legitimize, or rationalize their present. It is noted that “writing history” was synonymous with “making history,” and providing accounts of the past also projects into the future. The integrated approach to historiography, authorship, and politics that has been deployed in this book has attempted to reveal the current possible meanings of the stories.Less

Introduction

Lisa Irene Hau

in Moral History from Herodotus to Diodorus Siculus

The Introduction defines the perimeters and terminology of the book. In addition, it offers a brief overview of the role of moral didacticism in historiography from antiquity to the 21st century and ... More

The Introduction defines the perimeters and terminology of the book. In addition, it offers a brief overview of the role of moral didacticism in historiography from antiquity to the 21st century and discusses the distinctiveness of moralising in ancient Greek historiography compared with other genres at the time. It then offers a narratologically based typology of moralising techniques, which is used throughout the book.Less

Western Eyes on the Latin East: The Chronique d’Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorier and Robert of Clari’s Conquête de Constantinople

Massimiliano Gaggero

in The French of Outremer: Communities and Communications in the Crusading Mediterranean

We may be able to locate a “cultural center” for the dissemination of the model of Old French prose historiography at the abbey of Corbie. It was at Corbie that two Old French texts associated with ... More

We may be able to locate a “cultural center” for the dissemination of the model of Old French prose historiography at the abbey of Corbie. It was at Corbie that two Old French texts associated with events in Outremer, Robert of Clari’s Conquête de Constantinople and the Ernoul-Bernard chronicle, most likely assumed the shape in which we know them today. Both texts ostensibly composed by lay noblemen. Clari’s,Conquête and the Ernoul-Bernard chronicle demonstrate the innovation in form and authorship for French-language texts that we can now increasingly associate with Outremer and the crusades.Less

Representations of Nizam al-Mulk

Neguin Yavari

in The Future of Iran's Past: Nizam al-Mulk Remembered

Who was Nizam al-Mulk? In a similar way to ‘Umar II and Charlemagne, Nizam al-Mulk is praised in medieval historiography not just for his political acumen, but also for his knowledge of law, ... More

Who was Nizam al-Mulk? In a similar way to ‘Umar II and Charlemagne, Nizam al-Mulk is praised in medieval historiography not just for his political acumen, but also for his knowledge of law, patronage of the clerics, and his ability to stand his ground in religious debate. Nizam al-Mulk crossed the chasm that divided politicians from religious professionals, the one that separated Islamic from Iranian, Sufi from legist, Turk from Persian, Hanafi from Shafi‘i, and sultan from caliph. His uniqueness is reinforced by his enduring legacy, which contrary to current scholarship is shaped not by the Nizamiyya schools, but by his Siyar al-muluk, a guide to good rule written for the Saljuq sultan, Malikshah (r. 1073-1092). This chapter argues that the life of Nizam al-Mulk and its many retellings provide a fulcrum, or an organizing principle, for perceiving the transformation of the social order in medieval Iran.Less

Gesta Comitum Barchinonensium as Genealogy

in Authoring the Past: History, Autobiography, and Politics in Medieval Catalonia

This chapter addresses the genealogical text known as the Gesta Comitum Barchinonensium, focusing on the first version of the text, Gesta I. The Gesta Comitum, which was the first Catalan ... More

This chapter addresses the genealogical text known as the Gesta Comitum Barchinonensium, focusing on the first version of the text, Gesta I. The Gesta Comitum, which was the first Catalan genealogical text and predicted many of the future trends in Catalan medieval historiography, unveiled the historical context within which it was constructed. Alfonse the Chaste inherited both the county of Barcelona and the kingdom of Aragon from his father. The political experiments of the new times produced innovative historical genres in tune with the transformed political and social context. Gesta I was composed in four stages. The details of Wilfred the Hairy's narrative showed the reasons why the Gesta was written. In general, the Gesta Comitum demonstrated the enormous potential of genealogy as historical genre, its active role in legitimizing social and political aspirations, and its ability to consolidate values in a tradition.Less

The Authorial Logic of the Historical Text

in Authoring the Past: History, Autobiography, and Politics in Medieval Catalonia

This chapter analyzes the varied methodological possibilities and interpretations of authorship that the new interdisciplinary theoretical practices and tendencies offer, specifically evaluating the ... More

This chapter analyzes the varied methodological possibilities and interpretations of authorship that the new interdisciplinary theoretical practices and tendencies offer, specifically evaluating the process of inscribing medieval historiography and the literary implications of emphasizing the historical-autobiographical author. King James I's autobiography was creative and original, and the personality that diversified from the powerful personal narrative improved his authorship. Bernat Desclot deployed polyphony to heighten authorial legitimacy, unveiling his narrative choices more perceptibly. King Peter's Llibre was the Royal Chancellery's collective work rather than the king's individual work. In general, King James' personal authority, Desclot's polyphonic authorial voices, and King Peter's collaborative authorship were three sources of authority that give the “effect of the real.” These authors developed diverse procedures for the establishment of authorial authority.Less

Local Histories

John Hudson

in The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Volume 2: 400-1400

This chapter looks at how local historical writing is prominent in medieval historiography, just as local affairs dominated most lives in the Middle Ages. However, the term and category local history ... More

This chapter looks at how local historical writing is prominent in medieval historiography, just as local affairs dominated most lives in the Middle Ages. However, the term and category local history is a modern concept, not a medieval one. Furthermore, even as a modern analytic category, local history can be problematic. One might ask whether the category should include powerful counties but not small kingdoms, or national histories with local sections or brief local elements. In England, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle was primarily concerned with national affairs, but also mentioned events in the particular monasteries where the various versions were written. This could provide curious juxtapositions, emphasizing the separate perception of the local and the national.Less

Precursors of Conversion Themes under the Umayyads

Ayman S. Ibrahim

in Conversion to Islam: Competing Themes in Early Islamic Historiography

Chapter 2 is devoted to sources attributed to pre-ᶜAbbāsid writers, who lived and wrote during the Umayyad Caliphate: Sulaym ibn Qays (d. 76/695), Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (d. 124/741), and Mūsā ibn ᶜUqba ... More

Chapter 2 is devoted to sources attributed to pre-ᶜAbbāsid writers, who lived and wrote during the Umayyad Caliphate: Sulaym ibn Qays (d. 76/695), Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (d. 124/741), and Mūsā ibn ᶜUqba (d. 135/752). These sources are problematic for various reasons, examined extensively in the first section of the chapter. The chapter then focuses on the literary descriptions of conversion and detectable themes. This chapter demonstrates how the earliest available historical reports include precursors of conversion themes, which are to be developed, used, or reinterpreted under the ᶜAbbāsid rule. Chapter 2 argues that, since the genesis of Muslim historical writing, religious historians not only emphasized conversion but also used it to advance their religious views and support their political agendas.Less

Establishing Pro-ᶜAbbāsid Orthodoxy: Conversion Themes in Islamic Historiography under the Early ᶜAbbāsids (ca. 133/750–218/833)

Ayman S. Ibrahim

in Conversion to Islam: Competing Themes in Early Islamic Historiography

Chapter 3 examines conversion themes in pre-miḥna historical works, written by historians who lived and wrote before the enforcement of the miḥna in 218/833. These works are the earliest available ... More

Chapter 3 examines conversion themes in pre-miḥna historical works, written by historians who lived and wrote before the enforcement of the miḥna in 218/833. These works are the earliest available from the ᶜAbbasid era. The chapter analyzes how the caliphs’ attempts to establish a pro-ᶜAbbāsid orthodoxy influenced history writing and thus impacted historical depictions of conversion. Tracing and analyzing topoi of conversion, the chapter demonstrates how pro-ᶜAbbāsid historians portrayed the conversion of major Umayyad figures unfavorably, advancing pro-Shīᶜite and pro-ᶜAlid depictions. ᶜAbbāsid depictions are contrasted with pre-ᶜAbbāsid portrayals to emphasize how religio-political disputes shape the historiographical narrative.Less

Conclusion

Ayman S. Ibrahim

in Conversion to Islam: Competing Themes in Early Islamic Historiography

Chapter 5 presents a cohesive conclusion, summarizing the findings, rehearsing the arguments, and synthesizing the concluding remarks of the entire study. Islamic historiography presents varying ... More

Chapter 5 presents a cohesive conclusion, summarizing the findings, rehearsing the arguments, and synthesizing the concluding remarks of the entire study. Islamic historiography presents varying notions of conversion to Islam which are evidenced by repeated literary features and depictions. It suggests not only that conversion started slowly (as recent studies advocate) but also that conversion meant different things, including sincere religious conviction and mere political submission. Medieval Muslim historians utilize conversion themes to address both non-Muslims and Muslims, highlighting the supremacy of Islam to non-Muslims and emphasizing genuineness of faith to Muslims. Literary depictions of conversion are a product of the religious views of the historians, influenced by the sociopolitical requirements at the time of writing.Less

Ernoul, Eracles, and the Collapse of the Kingdom of Jerusalem

Peter Edbury

in The French of Outremer: Communities and Communications in the Crusading Mediterranean

The memory of the events leading up to the decisive battle of Hittin (July 4, 1187), where the combined armies of the kingdom of Jerusalem were defeated by Saladin, remained of central importance for ... More

The memory of the events leading up to the decisive battle of Hittin (July 4, 1187), where the combined armies of the kingdom of Jerusalem were defeated by Saladin, remained of central importance for the inhabitants of the Latin East in the 1250s. The stories told by survivors of Hittin, mediated through the sympathetic early memories of their families and supporters, led to a further revision of the Old French narrative tradition we know as the Continuations of the twelfth-century chronicle of William of Tyre.Less

L’Estoire d’Eracles in Outremer

Philip Handyside

in The French of Outremer: Communities and Communications in the Crusading Mediterranean

William of Tyre’s Latin history of the first crusade, the Historia rebus in partibus transmarinis gestarum, was first written in the late twelfth century and then swiftly translated into Old French ... More

William of Tyre’s Latin history of the first crusade, the Historia rebus in partibus transmarinis gestarum, was first written in the late twelfth century and then swiftly translated into Old French within a generation of the author’s death. The French-language translation, called L'Estoire d'Eracles, was copied and recopied multiple times in both the West and in the Levant over the course of the next hundred years. Several of the changes introduced by the translator for his western audience also changed the narrative’s perspective, serving as a powerful example of how French-language texts bridged the distance between communities located in the Levant and those in the Christian West.Less