The Making of Poetic History in Anglo-Saxon England andCarolingian Francia
Cătălin Ţăranu
This thesis explores the alternative mode of early medieval history-writing manifested in Anglo-Saxon and Carolingian vernacular poetic texts like Beowulf Waltharius.
While such sources have long been recognized to contain historical elements, they are usually considered preserve literary or linguistic study, since primarily labelled as ‘legendary’ ‘fictional’ due their many mythical fantastic elements. approaches them narratives from perspective textual communities involved making reception, not order unpick pieces of
‘true history’ ‘fiction’, but rather seeking reconstruct theory history that informs these texts. In doing this, present investigation critiques theoretical underpinnings previous scholarly based on
modern categories (such dichotomy history/fiction on tandem Germanic-heroic)which misrepresent attitudes creators audiences ‘heroic’ narratives. employs a series new drawing cognitive linguistics, rhizomatic diffraction theory, leading recategorization ‘poetic history’, an constructing about past is on
different source materials, works according different poetics, fulfils sociocultural functions those historiography written by ‘proper’ historians Bede chroniclers. Hence, individual chapters will focus issues by
exploring narrative content, evolution, socio-cultural history.