The Making of Medieval History

About the Book

Essays on the discipline of medieval history and its practitioners, from the late eighteenth century onwards. A hugely interesting set of essays, reflecting on a variety of ways in which medieval history has developed to the present time. Scholarship of the highest standard, deeply thought-provoking and deeply engaged with the inheritances and future tasks of medieval academic history. The collection will be essential reading for all medievalists. John Arnold, Professor of Medieval History, University of Cambridge. Medieval history is present in manyforms in our world. Monuments from the Middle Ages or inspired by them are a familiar feature of landscapes across Europe and beyond; the period between the end of the Roman Empire in Western Europe and the Reformation and European expansion is an essential part of our imagination, be it conveyed through literature, the arts, science fiction or even video games; it is also commonly invoked in political debates. Specialists in the field have played a majorrole in shaping modern perceptions of the era. But little is known about the factors that have influenced them and their work. The essays in this volume provide original insights into the fabric and dissemination of medieval history as a scholarly discipline from the late eighteenth century onwards. The case-studies range from the creation of specific images of the Middle Ages to the ways in which medievalists have dealt with European identity, contributed to making and deconstructing myths and, more specifically, addressed questions relating to land and frontiers as well as to religion. GRAHAM A. LOUD is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Leeds;MARTIAL STAUB is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Sheffield. Contributors: Christine Caldwell Ames, Peter Biller, Michael Borgolte, Patrick Geary, Richard Hitchcock, Bernhard Jussen, Joep Leerssen, G.A. Loud, Christian Lubke, Jinty Nelson, Bastian Schluter, Martial Staub, Ian Wood.

Table of Contents:
Some Thoughts on the Making of the Middle Ages - Graham A Loud and Martial Staub Why Re-Inventing Medieval History is a Good Idea - Janet L Nelson Literary Composition and the Early Medieval Historian in the Nineteenth Century - Ian Nicholas Wood European Ethnicities and European as an Ethnicity: Does Europe Have Too Much History? - Patrick Geary A Crisis of the Middle Ages? Deconstructing and Constructing European Identities in a Globalised World - Michael Borgolte Barbarossa's Heirs: Nation and Medieval History in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Germany - Bastian Schlütter Once upon a time in Germany: Medievalism, Academic Romanticism, Nationalism - Joep Leerssen Between Ideology and Technology: Depicting Charlemagne in Modern Times - Bernhard Jussen Reflections on the Frontier in Early Medieval Iberia - Richard Hitchcock Germany's Growth to the East: from the Polabian Marches to Germania Slavica - Christian Lübke Distance and Difference: Medieval Inquisition as American History - Christine Ames Mind the Gap: Modern and Medieval 'Religious' Vocabularies - Peter Biller

About the Author :
G.A. LOUD Is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Leeds. He is an acknowledged authority on the Normans in the south, and more generally on southern Italy during the Central Middle Ages. G.A. LOUD Is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Leeds. He is an acknowledged authority on the Normans in the south, and more generally on southern Italy during the Central Middle Ages. PETE BILLER is Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of York.

Review :
Editors Graham A. Loud and Martial Staub have excelled themselves in producing a collection of articles that is in many ways more than the sum of its parts.. [It] acts as a primer for further discussions about the role, place, and limitations of medieval history, and should be required reading for undergraduates. [T]his is a particularly timely volume, both for medievalists and for historians more generally. Exemplary scholarship from some of the leading names in the field is combined with new perspectives on old problems and a refreshing dose of self-awareness and political consciousness. The Making of Medieval History strikes a valiant balance between historiographical overview for the field while still providing starting points of historical narrative and evaluation. The contribution to the field should not be understated.