The Classical Foundations of Modern Historiography
by Arnaldo Momigliano
Sather Classical Lectures (54)
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Here, at last, are the long-awaited Sather Classical Lectures of the great historian Arnaldo Momigliano, In a masterly survey of the origins of ancient historiography, Momigliano captures those features of an ancient historian's work that not only gave it importance in its own day but also encouraged imitation and exploitation in later centuries. He reveals the extent to which Greek, Persian, and Jewish historians influenced the Western historiographic tradition, and then goes on to examine show more the first Roman historians and the emergence of national history. In the course of his exposition, he traces the development of antiquarian studies as distinctive branch of historical research from antiquity to the modern period, discusses the place of Tacitus in historical thought, and explores the way in which ecclesiastical historiography has developed a tradition of its own. All these lectures illustrate Momigliano's unrivaled ability to combine the study of classical texts and the history of classical scholarship. First delivered in 1962, the lectures were revised during the next fifteen years and then held for annotation that was never completed. They are now published from the author's manuscripts, collated and checked by Momigliano's literary executor, Anne Marie Meyer, of the Warburg Institute, with a foreword by Riccardo Di Donato, of the University of Pisa. The text is printed as the author left it. Sather Classical Lectures, 54 show lessTags
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A collection of six scholarly lectures on classical historiography. The lectures deal with the transmission of certain historiographical traditions from antiquity to about the 18th century. What interested me most was that the dominance of political history over other forms of historical scholarship, a dominance which lasted almost to the present day, was a consequence of Thucydides' great influence.
Picked this up due to Momigliano's student Anthony Grafton constantly raving about him. It seemed like a brilliant (as well as short) essay on different modes of history-writing in antiquity, but it was honestly a little over my head, and it just kind of got pushed aside for other reading. I hope to return to it someday. I may try Momigliano's earlier essays on historiography first, some of which I've read and enjoyed even though these also seem, well, kind of too hard. I am also curious about his lectures on ancient biography.
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72+ Works 779 Members
Arnaldo Momigliano (1908-87) taught at many universities, including the University of London, Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, and the University of Chicago. His collections of essays include Essays on Ancient and Modern Judaism, also published by the University of Chicago Press.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Classical Foundations of Modern Historiography
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- Reviews
- 2
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- Languages
- English, French, Italian, Portuguese (Portugal)
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
