Editing the Nation's Memory: Textual Scholarship and Nation-building in Ninteenth-century EuropeDirk van Hulle, Joseph Theodoor Leerssen Europe¿s nation-states emerged from a complex of nineteenth-century developments in which cultural consciousness-raising played a formative role. The nineteenth-century reflection on Europe¿s national identities involved a re-inventory and revalorisation of the vernacular cultural past and, above all, the nation¿s literary heritage. Everywhere in Europe, foundational texts (including medieval epics and romances, ancient laws and chronicles) were retrieved from their obscure repositories. In new, printed editions, prepared according to the emerging academic standards of textual scholarship, they were appropriated, contested and canonised as public symbols of the nation¿s permanence in history. This often neglected, but crucially important Europe-wide process of `editing the nation¿s memory¿ involved old states and emerging nations, large and small countries, metropolitan and peripheral regions; it straddled politics, the academic professionalization of textual scholarship and of the human sciences, and literary taste. This collection of studies by outstanding specialists offers a comparative synopsis on exemplary cases from all corners of the European continent. |
Contents
| 9 | |
| 13 | |
| 29 | |
CASE STUDIES I EMERGING CANONS AROUND THE EUROPEAN RIM | 63 |
ENGLAND GERMANY AND THE LOW COUNTRIES | 221 |
THE CASE OF BEOWULF | 223 |
WALTHER VON DER VOGELWEIDE AND EARLYNINETEENTHCENTURY LEARNING | 241 |
HOFFMANN VON FALLERSLEBEN AND DUTCH MEDIEVAL FOLKSONG | 255 |
BOOK COLLECTING AND PHILOLOGY IN EARLYINDEPENDENT BELGIUM | 271 |
STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DUTCH LITERARY HISTORICISM | 287 |
THE NATIONS CANON AND THE BOOK TRADE | 305 |
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Academy activity Ages ancient Annals appeared Association authors become beginning Beowulf called Catalan claim classical collection complete considered copy Correia course critical cultural Danish Dutch early edition editorial English established Europe European example existence fact Four France French German given Grimm hand Hoffmann idea important intellectual interest Iolo Ireland Irish Italy language later Latin less letter linguistic literary literature manuscripts Masters material means medieval Middle names nature nineteenth century Occitan original Paris past period philologists philology poem poet poetry political present Press printed Provençal published reading reference remained Royal Scania scholarly scholars scholarship Serra Society songs sources southern texts textual tion tradition translation troubadours understanding University vols volume Walther Welsh writing written