Duelling With the Past: Medieval Authors and the Problem of the Christian Era, C. 990-1135

Verbist, Peter

ISBN 10: 2503520731 / ISBN 13: 9782503520735

Published by Brepols N.V., 2010

About this Item

This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has hardback covers. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,850grams, ISBN:9782503520735.

Seller Inventory # 5961282

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Duelling With the Past: Medieval Authors and the Problem of the Christian Era, C. 990-1135
• Publisher: Brepols N.V.
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 2503520731
• ISBN 13: 9782503520735
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 850 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

This volume discusses the controversy surrounding the dating of the Christian Era in the Middle Ages and its effect on the 'emergence' of the individual in medieval society. It focuses on eight medieval authors (Heriger of Lobbes, Abbo of Fleury, Marianus Scottus, Gerland the Computist, Hezelo of Cluny, an anonymous author in Limoges, Sigebert of Gembloux, and Heimo of Bamberg), all of whom attempted to correct the date of Christ's incarnation according to the Easter tables of the Scythian monk Dionysius Exiguus (c. 540). As this volume argues, these authors entered into a duel with the past, attempting to reassign the year of Christ's birth and in the process negotiating contradictory authoritative traditions. On a superficial level these scholars appeared to be unsuccessful in their attempts to reconstruct history, as none of their proposed corrections replaced the existing (erroneous) Christian era that had been established in the Latin West. On a practical level, however, this defeat can be counterbalanced by the conclusion that the corrections provided by these authors acted as an important step in the increasing movement of medieval authors towards intellectual autonomy. In Duelling with the Past, Verbist's analysis explores the links between computistical sources and the 'emergence' of the individual in the Middle Ages.