A close reading of the direct speech element in Robert the Monk’s 'Historia Hierosolimitana' as an alternative method for its historical analysis
Coyne, Kenneth
Coyne, Kenneth
Loading...
Repository DOI
Publication Date
2017-01-18
Type
Thesis
Downloads
Citation
Abstract
This thesis is an examination of direct speech in Robert the Monk’s Historia Hierosolimitana, an early twelfth-century history of the expedition now known as the First Crusade (1096-1099). It examines most of the main speeches chronologically in one analytical chapter. The thesis argues that implementing a methodology of close sequential reading of the Latin is critical to tracking the various thematic threads which weave throughout the text, not only in the speeches themselves, but the linking narrative sections. The thesis shows that Robert used the speech of characters as the main communicative device in the Historia, much more than his narrative, and much more than contemporary reporters of the expedition. His composition of speeches also allowed him the literary space to add a great deal of his individual perspectives on different facets of the expedition whilst still maintaining a conservative interpretation of the event. As a secondary finding, based on the implementation of the methodology, the thesis will also argue that the key term peregrinus, (pilgrim), has been overdetermined by scholars and that a more generic interpretation is more reflective of how Robert, and his contemporaries, intended it to be understood.
Funder
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland