Histories and Pseudo-Histories of the Insular Middle Ages

The centuries that followed the Roman withdrawal from the British Isles have not been called 'Dark' for nothing; in the sources that survive, fact and legend seem inextricably intertwined, and the work of later medieval writers has only deepened the confusion. Dr. Dumville has done much to help dissect and disentangle these sources, probing the cultural history of the Insular Middle Ages, tracing the channels through which historical knowledge was transmitted and the interaction of political thought and historical writing - ideologically based historiography looms large as evidence in any attempt to grasp how medieval people comprehended their past. In these essays, he concentrates on the historiographical practices of the Irish, Britons and English, which shared much in common. Specific themes are the Insular cultivation of genealogy, the classic British pseudo-history (as in the Historia Brittonum and Geoffrey of Monmouth), the important Cistercian school of historical studies at Sawley, and the traditions of annalistic chronicling. An important section of Addenda is also provided. Les siecles qui ont suivi le retrait romain des A (R)les britanniques n'ont pas ete qualifies d' 'Obscurs' sans raison; dans les sources, faits et legendes semblent Atre irremediablement embrouilles et les traveaux d'ecrivans medieaveaux posterieurs n'ont guere fait que d'ajouter A la confusion qui regnait dejA . Le Dr Dumville a beaucoup fait, afin d'aider A dissequer et demAler ces sources, en explorant l'histoire culturelle du Moyen Age. Insulaire, en retraAant les voies par lesquelles la connaissance historiquefut transmise, ainsi que celles l'internaction de la pensee politique et de l'ecriture historique. Ces essais se concentre sur les pratiques historiographes des Irlandais, des Britanniques et des Anglais qui possedent un bon nombre d'aspects en commun. Les themes les plus specifiques sont ceux de la culture Insulaire de la g