Description
Book SynopsisJean-Claude Schmitt examines a unique and controversial conversion narrative to explore its meaning within the society and culture of its period as well as what it has to tell us about the way historians think and write.
Trade Review"Schmitt takes us on a delightful journey through some of the topics that have interested medievalists most in recent years, through discussions of medieval autobiography, of dreams and images, and of the meaning of conversion, illuminating the ways in which the Opusculum is a text of its time." *
Journal of Religion *
"An important book that will stimulate historians to reflect anew on how to approach the multilayered realities of the past." *
American Historical Review *
"A captivating reflection on the writing of history, more indispensable now than ever." * Philippe-Jean Catinchi,
Le Monde des Livres *
"A fascinating reflection on the role of truth in medieval history." * Isabelle Rüf,
Le Temps *
"Jean-Claude Schmitt demonstrates the fluidity of the line between history and fiction during the Middle Ages." *
Sciences humaines et sociales *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1. Fiction and Truth
Chapter 2. Medieval Autobiography
Chapter 3. The Dream and Its Interpretation
Chapter 4. Conversion to Images
Chapter 5. Baptism and Name
Chapter 6. "A New Era of Conversion"
Conclusion
Extract from the Vita of Godfried, Count of Cappenburg
Herman the Former Jew: Short Work on the Subject of His Conversion
Notes
Index
