Political Utility in Medieval Historiography: A Sketch
Gabrielle M. Spiegel
Historians have long recognized the importance of law and jurisprudence in shaping political life Middle Ages, yet relatively little attention has been paid to utility medieval historiography, either as a source theory or determinant behavior. But history no less than was, borrow Maitland's phrase, place where logic met, codification an intellectual confrontation with reality. And like law, historiography played important role politics traditional society dependent, was society, upon past for legitimacy. This article seeks investigate way chroniclers at Abbey Saint-Denis France viewed used explain legitimate politics. The chronicles formed most extensive consistently royalist historical corpus France, if not anywhere Ages. From twelfth fifteenth century, monks abbey -the Dionysian -were continuously engaged writing history, producing enormous body works, both Latin vernacular, which they set forth from its putative Trojan origins.1 In course this task became, very real sense, voice France. collection, so valuable inquiry into historiographical mentality has, unfortunately, never systematically exploited. Concerned material other studies, nineteenthand twentieth-century discussion them focused on problems verifying their accuracy exposing known instances distortion outright fabrication. Indeed, it is only recently that general begun be investigated tradition demands same sympathetic underlying beliefs techniques expression accorded genres life.2 effort
History and Theory