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Gabrielle M. Spiegel

The Past as Text: The Theory and Practice of Medieval Historiography (Parallax: Re-visions of Culture and Society) Paperback – November 8, 1999

by Prof Gabrielle M. Spiegel (Author)

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This study of familiar medieval histories and chronicles argues that the historian should be aware of the discursive nature, literary modes, and ideological investments of such texts as well as the social circumstances to which they were applied and by which they were generated.

Postmodernism has challenged historians to look at historical texts in a new way and to be skeptical of the claim that one can confidently retrieve "fact" from historical writings. In The Past as Text historian Gabrielle M. Spiegel sets out to read medieval histories and chronicles in light of the critical-theoretical problems raised by postmodernism. At the same time she urges a method of analysis that enables the reader to recognize these texts simultaneously as artifice and as works deeply embedded in a historically determinate, knowable social world. Beginning with a theoretical basis for the study of medieval historiography, Spiegel demonstrates her theory in practice, offering readings of medieval histories and chronicles as literary, social, and political constructions. The study insightfully concludes that historians should be equally aware of the discursive nature, literary modes, and ideological investments of such texts and the social circumstances to which they were applied and by which they were generated. Arguing for the "social logic of the text," Spiegel provides historians with a way to retrieve the social significance and conceptual claims produced by these medieval or any historical writings.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 8, 1999
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.73 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0801862590
ISBN-13

978-0801862595
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Spiegel, in elegant and thoughtful fashion, and with a deep understanding of the period, provides us with a skillful analysis of the sources, their inter-connections, and the motives of their authors, which makes this a very useful and worthwhile book."

(Virginia Quarterly Review)

"Successful in its entirety, as parts and as a whole. It is lucid, acute, deeply humane in the author's ongoing project of understanding the medieval past and the history-making present. It is a reader-friendly book in the very best sense. It is good theory and good history: postmodernism without apocalyptic posing, exhilarating and humane."

(Nancy F. Partner, McGill University)

Book Description

This study of familiar medieval histories and chronicles argues that the historian should be aware of the discursive nature, literary modes, and ideological investments of such texts as well as the social circumstances to which they were applied and by which they were generated.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ JHUP; New Ed edition (November 8, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0801862590
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0801862595
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.73 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,867,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,739 in Historiography (Books)
- #39,747 in European History (Books)

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I. Ward

A Place to Begin for Medievalists

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2013

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Those pursuing advanced study of medieval texts would do well to read Spiegel's book (a collection mostly of previously published articles). It helps the reader understand how the 'linguistic turn' of the 20th century affected our understanding of the distant past. Spiegel lays out a path of approach for texts that had begun to appear useless. The chapters summarising major theorists and laying out the historiography are alone worth the price of admission, and Spiegel herself proves an adept philosopher of history.

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The Past as Text: The Theory and Practice of Medieval Historiography (Parallax: Re-visions of Culture and Society) Paperback – November 8, 1999

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The Past as Text: The Theory and Practice of Medieval Historiography (Parallax: Re-visions of Culture and Society) Paperback – November 8, 1999

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About the Author

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