Reimagining history in Anglo-Norman prose chronicles
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Reimagining history in Anglo-Norman prose chronicles
York Medieval Press, 2013
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Note
Bibliography: p.174-196
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
First collective study of the Anglo-Norman prose chronicles, bringing out their essential characteristics, setting them in context, and showing their writers' aims and objectives.
The medieval Anglo-Norman prose chronicles are fascinating hybrids of history, legends and romance, building on the rich tradition of historical writing circulating in England at the time of their composition, such as Geoffrey ofMonmouth's Historia and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Their prime subject is the history of England, but they also shed much light on other networks of influence, such as those between families and religious houses.
Thisbook studies the essential characteristics of the genre for the first time, situating Anglo-Norman prose chronicles within the multilingual cultures of late medieval England. It considers the chronicles' treatment of the "legendary history of Britain", legends about English heroes, accounts of the Norman Conquest, and histories of noble families. In particular, it explores how Anglo-Norman prose chronicles rewrite the past with rhetorical flourish, in order to advance the contemporary political and personal agendas of their authors and patrons.
John Spence gained his PhD from the University of Cambridge.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The rhetoric of confidence in the prologues to Anglo-Norman prose chronicles
The legendary history of Britain in Anglo-Norman prose chronicles
Legends of English heroes: Engel, Havelok, Constance
Representations of the Norman Conquest in Anglo-Norman prose chronicles
Family chronicles
Conclusions
Appendix: Two extracts from the Scalacronica: texts and translations
by "Nielsen BookData"
