Romancing the past : the rise of vernacular prose historiography in thirteenth-century France
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Romancing the past : the rise of vernacular prose historiography in thirteenth-century France
（The new historicism : studies in cultural poetics / Stephen Greenblatt, general editor, 23）（A centennial book）
University of California Press, c1993
Available at / 11 libraries
-
No Libraries matched.
- Remove all filters.
Note
Bibliography: p. 393-411
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In a poststructuralist study of 13th-century French historical texts, Gabrielle Spiegel investigates the reasons for the rise of French vernacular prose historiography at this particular time. She argues that the vernacular prose histories that have until now been regarded as royalist were actually products of the aristocracy, reflecting its anxiety as it faced social and economic change and political threats from the monarchy. Spiegel suggests that this turn to prose - the language of "truth" - is tied to the desire of a threatened elite to authenticate its claim to historical legitimacy. Additionally, it worked to distinguish the vernacular chronicle from earlier Old French literary forms such as epic and romance, against which the vernacular prose historiography created its generic identity.
by "Nielsen BookData"