Mamluk Historiography Revisited – Narratological Perspectives
Author | : Stephan Conermann |
Publisher | : V&R Unipress |
Total Pages | : 241 |
Release | : 2018-08-13 |
ISBN-10 | : 9783847007227 |
ISBN-13 | : 384700722X |
Rating | : 4/5 (22X Downloads) |
Download or read book Mamluk Historiography Revisited – Narratological Perspectives written by Stephan Conermann and published by V&R Unipress. This book was released on 2018-08-13 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume discusses Mamluk historical texts with an emphasis on literary/stylistic analysis, basically ignoring issues of 'factuality' versus 'fictivity'. None of the authors set out to write 'fiction'; nor would their audience have received their accounts as such. The events depicted were a matter of historical record; but their meaning was geared both to contemporary and to general concerns. The fact of telling them is part and parcel of the historian's task; the means of telling them has to do with the historian's choice of style; and style is all-important in conveying meaning. Were these accounts not considered 'true', the purpose behind their telling and the meaning they convey, would, arguably, be lost; but were they not told in the most effective manner, their meaning might not be clearly grasped.