The New Historians of the Twelfth-Century Renaissance

Authorising History in the Vernacular Revolution
Examination of the striking new style of writing history in the twelfth century, by men such as Gaimar, Wace and Ambroise.
Examination of the striking new style of writing history in the twelfth century, by men such as Gaimar, Wace and Ambroise.The mid-twelfth century saw the sudden appearance of a remarkable group of writers: the "new historians", authors such as Geffrei Gaimar, Benoît de Sainte-Maure, Wace, Jordan Fantosme and Ambroise, who were the earliest historicalwriters to use French. Each had his own style and authorial persona; yet together, despite their considerable differences, they pioneered a common form of historical writing which is quite distinct from the styles of previous vernacular writers. This book studies some of the more characteristic elements of the common style used by the vernacular historians. Their detached and "self-conscious" authorial presentation is particularly notable: it is seen both in the prologues and epilogues to their works, where they present their source materials as reliable, themselves as serious scholars, and their works as worthy of belief, and constantly throughout the text as the historians direct audience response to their work. The author shows how this "historical" style fits into both the vernacular and the Latin literature current in the period: the vernacular historians borrowed elements from both the learnedand the popular traditions to produce their own successful and vigorous hybrid, one which was still producing new shoots as late as the fifteenth century and which was widely copied and imitated by both writers of courtly romanceand by writers of prose history. Dr PETER DAMIAN-GRINT teaches at Brasenose College, Oxford.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.