Synopses & Reviews
Dr Harari examines about thirty-five memoirs in French, German, Spanish and English; they were written mostly by noblemen, and they give an account oftheir authors' lives, military careers, and the wars in which they participated. The study first focuses on understanding the relations between history and the memoirists' lifestories in these texts, examining what the memoirists understood by the ideas of 'history' and 'lifestory', and how they narrated the two. Secondly, it explores the reality of the memoirs: why did the memoirists shape their texts the way they did? The reality memoirists constructed in their texts is seen to be characterised precisely by effacing all differences between history and lifestory - and the very identity of the memoirists, and of Renaissance warrior noblemen in general, was grounded in equating their lifestories with history, ignoring the dichotomy betweenprivate and public.YUVAL HARARI received his d.Phil. in Modern History from the University of Oxford in 2002.
Synopsis
This is a study of autobiographical writings of Renaissance soldiers. It outlines the ways in which they reflect Renaissance cultural, political and historical consciousness, with a particular focus on conceptions of war, history, selfhood and identity. A vivid picture of Renaissance military life and military mentality emerges, which sheds light on the attitude of Renaissance soldiers both towards contemporary historical developments such as the rise of the modern state, and towards such issues as comradeship, women, honor, violence, and death. Comparison with similar medieval and twentieth-century material highlights the differences in the Renaissance soldier's understanding of war and of human experience
Synopsis
Renaissance military memoirs studied for what they reveal of contemporary attitudes towards war, selfhood and identity.
This is a study of autobiographical writings of Renaissance soldiers. It outlines the ways in which they reflect Renaissance cultural, political and historical consciousness, with a particular focus on conceptions of war, history, selfhood and identity. A vivid picture of Renaissance military life and military mentality emerges, which sheds light on the attitude of Renaissance soldiers both towards contemporary historical developments such as the rise of the modern state, and towards such issues as comradeship, women, honor, violence, and death. Comparison with similar medieval and twentieth-century material highlights the differences in the Renaissance soldier's understanding of war and of human experience.
Synopsis
This is a study of autobiographical writings of Renaissance soldiers. An outline of the characteristics of this literary genre is followed by an examination of the reflection of contemporary social, political and historical consciousness in Renaissance military memoirs, with a particular focus on conceptions of war, selfhood, and identity. A vivid picture of military life in the Renaissance emerges, as well as of the outlook that fuelled Renaissance wars, and associated issues such as attitudes both towards great historical movements such as the rise of the modern state, and towards issues of comradeship, women, honour, violence, and death. Comparison with similar medieval and twentieth-century material highlights the differences in the Renaissance soldier's understanding of war and of human experience. YUVAL HARARI received his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford; he is currently teaching in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.