‘Such acts to chronicles I yield’: Scottish romanticism’s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history
This dissertation argues that, contrary to negative modern assessments of the chronicle’s fortunes, the form actually endured and thrived into the nineteenth century by evolving from a method of historical writing into a literary genre. It argues that the mobilization of the chronicle, a form predic...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2024
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| _version_ | 1826313343027118080 |
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| author | Garber, Z |
| author2 | Womersley, D |
| author_facet | Womersley, D Garber, Z |
| author_sort | Garber, Z |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | This dissertation argues that, contrary to negative modern assessments of the chronicle’s fortunes, the form actually endured and thrived into the nineteenth century by evolving from a method of historical writing into a literary genre. It argues that the mobilization of the chronicle, a form predicated upon continuity and therefore associated with a conservative understanding of the past, afforded writers throughout the long eighteenth century the opportunity to harness British history to intervene in contemporary political and social debate. The study also highlights how, when mobilized ironically, the chronicle’s same reliance on continuity alternatively was marshalled to undermine hegemonic understandings of the national past and to question the established political order. In addition to examining earlier iterations of the phenomenon, the study focuses upon the emergence of novels self-identifying as chronicles in early nineteenth-century Scotland. The employment of the chronicle for fictional purposes by three Scottish Romantic writers—John Galt, Eliza Logan, and Walter Scott—enabled them to interrogate the material and philosophical developments of the previous century and to participate in their era’s debate over parliamentary reform. The dissertation offers the first-ever dedicated readings of Logan’s St. Johnstoun (1823) and Restalrig (1829) and presents her novels as radical counterpoints to the conservative fictions of Galt and Scott. It contends that, while these three authors employ the chronicle in unique ways and reach disparate conclusions regarding Britain’s direction after the Napoleonic Wars, all inherit a respect for Scotland’s native chronicle tradition and engage with these foundational historical texts. The project therefore restores the link between modern ‘chronicle’ novels and their distant origins in medieval chronicles, a connection which underscores the continuing role occupied by tradition in nineteenth-century political debate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:13:19Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:0f7b9a1a-56bf-47cd-b9c3-1ed337464f92 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:13:19Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:0f7b9a1a-56bf-47cd-b9c3-1ed337464f922024-07-11T11:13:37Z‘Such acts to chronicles I yield’: Scottish romanticism’s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history Thesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:0f7b9a1a-56bf-47cd-b9c3-1ed337464f92LiteratureIntellectual historyRomanticismEnglishHyrax Deposit2024Garber, ZWomersley, DThis dissertation argues that, contrary to negative modern assessments of the chronicle’s fortunes, the form actually endured and thrived into the nineteenth century by evolving from a method of historical writing into a literary genre. It argues that the mobilization of the chronicle, a form predicated upon continuity and therefore associated with a conservative understanding of the past, afforded writers throughout the long eighteenth century the opportunity to harness British history to intervene in contemporary political and social debate. The study also highlights how, when mobilized ironically, the chronicle’s same reliance on continuity alternatively was marshalled to undermine hegemonic understandings of the national past and to question the established political order. In addition to examining earlier iterations of the phenomenon, the study focuses upon the emergence of novels self-identifying as chronicles in early nineteenth-century Scotland. The employment of the chronicle for fictional purposes by three Scottish Romantic writers—John Galt, Eliza Logan, and Walter Scott—enabled them to interrogate the material and philosophical developments of the previous century and to participate in their era’s debate over parliamentary reform. The dissertation offers the first-ever dedicated readings of Logan’s St. Johnstoun (1823) and Restalrig (1829) and presents her novels as radical counterpoints to the conservative fictions of Galt and Scott. It contends that, while these three authors employ the chronicle in unique ways and reach disparate conclusions regarding Britain’s direction after the Napoleonic Wars, all inherit a respect for Scotland’s native chronicle tradition and engage with these foundational historical texts. The project therefore restores the link between modern ‘chronicle’ novels and their distant origins in medieval chronicles, a connection which underscores the continuing role occupied by tradition in nineteenth-century political debate. |
| spellingShingle | Literature Intellectual history Romanticism Garber, Z ‘Such acts to chronicles I yield’: Scottish romanticism’s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history |
| title | ‘Such acts to chronicles I yield’: Scottish romanticism’s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history
|
| title_full | ‘Such acts to chronicles I yield’: Scottish romanticism’s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history
|
| title_fullStr | ‘Such acts to chronicles I yield’: Scottish romanticism’s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history
|
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Such acts to chronicles I yield’: Scottish romanticism’s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history
|
| title_short | ‘Such acts to chronicles I yield’: Scottish romanticism’s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history
|
| title_sort | such acts to chronicles i yield scottish romanticism s adaptation of the chronicle and the harnessing of indigenous history |
| topic | Literature Intellectual history Romanticism |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT garberz suchactstochroniclesiyieldscottishromanticismsadaptationofthechronicleandtheharnessingofindigenoushistory |