Authorial Intention in Medieval Historiography
Justin Lake
Since the mid-20th century, scholars have focused increasing attention on context of medieval historical writing and intentions historians. Analyzing authors is a delicate task, one that requires to questions genre, language, form, mentality, intended audience. A central problem historians tend describe their goals in terms literary commonplaces, or topoi, which can mask as much they reveal. For this reason, recent scholarship has tended focus political motives writing. While development had largely salutary effect our understanding historiography, we should be wary categorizing histories ‘propaganda’ assuming were always written unified statements purpose. Finally, take into account personal egoistic may for The most successful efforts at authorial intentionality date combined approaches, considering author both an agent institution whose behalf he wrote individual with his own motivations.
History Compass