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- Title
Hilary J. Bernstein, Historical Communities. Cities, Erudition, and National Identity in Early Modern France. (Scientific and Learned Cultures and Their Institutions, Vol. 32.) Leiden, Brill 2021.
- Authors
Rau, Susanne
- Abstract
The monograph "Historical Communities. Cities, Erudition, and National Identity in Early Modern France" by Hilary J. Bernstein examines the historical culture of French provincial cities in the Early Modern period. The author argues that local historiography was an important tool for local elites to find answers to current questions and debates, as well as to derive privileges and claims of authority. The study focuses on ten selected cities, including Autun, Bordeaux, and Poitiers, and covers the period from the 1560s to around 1660. The author analyzes how historians used and incorporated sources into their research to present their view of history. The study also shows how city historians served as sources and providers of information for regional works, and how they used ancient history to demonstrate their relationship with the French monarchy. The author places particular emphasis on the connection of cities through scholarly networks and highlights the importance of these connections for local and national historiography. Although the study has some bibliographic weaknesses, it fills an important gap in research on historiography and memory culture in French cities of the Early Modern period.
- Subjects
POITIERS (France); BORDEAUX (Aquitaine, France); ELITE (Social sciences); HISTORICAL Communities: Cities, Erudition &; National Identity in Early Modern France (Book); BERNSTEIN, Hilary J.; CITIES &; towns; LOCAL history; NATIONALISM; EVIDENCE gaps; SCHOLARLY method; NONFICTION; NATIONAL character; HISTORIOGRAPHY; ANCIENT history
- Publication
Historische Zeitschrift, 2022, Vol 315, Issue 1, p226
- ISSN
0018-2613
- Publication type
Book Review
- DOI
10.1515/hzhz-2022-1321