For early modern Europeans, the past was a measure of most things, good and bad. For that reason it was also hotly contested, manipulated, and far too important to be left to historians alone.
Memory in Early Modern Europe offers a lively and accessible introduction to the many ways in which Europeans engaged with the past and 'practised' memory in the three centuries between 1500 and 1800. From childhood memories and local customs to war traumas and peacekeeping, it analyses how Europeans tried to control, mobilize and reconfigure memories of the past. Challenging the long-standing view that memory cultures transformed around 1800, it argues for the continued relevance of early modern memory practices in modern societies.
Author(s): Judith Pollmann
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 256
City: New York
Cover
Memory in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1800
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Figures
Introduction
WHY STUDY MEMORY?
EARLY MODERN MEMORY
MEMORY STUDIES
ROOTS
METHOD
1: Scripting the Self
FAMILY MEMORY
BODIES
EXEMPLARY TALES
SCRIPTS
A SCRIPT WITHOUT PRECEDENT?
CONCLUSION
2: Past and Present: The Virtues of Anachronism
THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF PAST AND PRESENT
A SENSE OF CHANGE
THE VIRTUES OF ANACHRONISM
PLAYING WITH ANACHRONISM IN THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY LOW COUNTRIES
CONCLUSION
3: Customizing the Past
CUSTOMS AND PRIVILEGES
IN DEFENCE OF CUSTOM
THE DESTABILIZATION OF TEXTUAL AUTHORITY
FROM CUSTOM TO CIVILIZATION
CONCLUSION
4: Imagining Communities
SACRED MEMORIES AND BLESSED COMMUNITIES
MEDIATING LOCAL MEMORY
THE DUTCH REPUBLIC: FROM LOCAL TO NATIONAL MEMORY
CONCLUSION
5: Living Legends: Myth, Memory, and Authenticity
BABY, CAT, AND CRADLE
MYTHOLOGIZING HISTORY
SCHOLARS AS MYTHMAKERS
CONCLUSION
6: Acts of Oblivion
7: Remembering Violence: Trauma, Atrocities, and Cosmopolitan Memories
SCARS
ATROCITY TALES
MIRRORING THE PAST: COSMOPOLITAN MEMORY
CONCLUSION
Conclusion
HISTORY AND MEMORY
NOTHING IN THE WORLD REMAINS THE SAME?
Bibliography
ARCHIVAL SOURCES
PRINTED PRIMARY SOURCES
SECONDARY STUDIES
Index
