Abstract
My paper explores different patterns and visualisations of time within a late eleventh-century text, the 'Vita Ædwardi regis'. I draw on Frank Kermode’s exploration of the temporal regimes of apocalyptic literature to think about four patterns or shapes of history: linear history (what Kermode terms the chronos or sequence of events) and its relationship with cyclical history; fractal history (what Kermode terms the kairos, or moments of crisis, in which multiple possibilities become open); and finally the shapeless and timeless aevum.
Rather than a piece of 'failed history' - the text is often disparaged by historians as it fails to mention a key event that took place during its composition, namely the Norman Conquest of 1066 - it is a very successful attempt to integrate different temporalities into a single tapestry, through its use of visual metaphors such as streams and trees.
Rather than a piece of 'failed history' - the text is often disparaged by historians as it fails to mention a key event that took place during its composition, namely the Norman Conquest of 1066 - it is a very successful attempt to integrate different temporalities into a single tapestry, through its use of visual metaphors such as streams and trees.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Medieval temporalities |
Subtitle of host publication | The experience of time in Medieval Europe |
Editors | Annie Sutherland, Almut Suerbaum |
Place of Publication | Cambridge |
Publisher | Boydell & Brewer |
Chapter | 1 |
Pages | 17-32 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781800101609, 9781800101616 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781843845775 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 19 Feb 2021 |