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To what extent does our knowledge of the past rely upon written sources? And what happens when these sources are destroyed? Focusing on the manuscripts of the Middle Ages, History in Flames explores cases in which large volumes of written material were destroyed during a single day. This destruction didn't occur by accident of fire or flood but by human forces such as arson, shelling and bombing. This book examines the political and military events that preceded the moment of destruction, from the Franco-Prussian War and the Irish Civil War to the complexities of World War II; it analyses the material lost and how it came to be where it was. At the same time, it discusses the heroic efforts made by scholars and archivists to preserve these manuscripts, even partially. History in Flames reminds us that historical knowledge rests on material remains, and that these remains are vulnerable.
Sommario
Preface; 1. Our Knowledge of the Past; 2. Libraries and Archives; 3. What Has Been lost?; 4. A Narrow Escape: Beowulf; 5. 'Away With the Learning of the Clerks!'; 6. Strasbourg, 24 August 1870: The Garden of Delights; 7. Bulin, 30 June 1922: The Public Record Office of Ireland; 8. Naples, 30 September 1943: The State Archive; 9. Hanover, 9 October 1943: The Ebstorf Map; 10. Chartres, 26 May 1944: The Municipal Library; Conclusion.
Relazione
'We seldom consider how tenuous our knowledge of the past really is. Robert Bartlett's History in Flames is an essential contribution to our understanding of how the raw materials of the past - books and documents - are destroyed by the forces of subsequent ages. The past is not constant; we can only understand it through what survives, and Bartlett's unparalleled grasp of the Middle Ages gives a poignant sense for just how much has been lost, and what is at stake in the future.' Patrick Wyman, author of The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World
