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Formen auktorialen Handelns in Lukian, De historia conscribenda

Bibliographic Data

ID21370331
AuthorsThomas Kuhn-Treichel (0000-0002-6267-2748, Seminar für Klassische Philologie , Universität Heidelberg , Marstallhof 2/4 , Heidelberg Germany, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume164
Issue2
Pages250-2689
Publication date2020-11-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilologus (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-7985 • E-ISSN: 2196-7008
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/phil-2020-0116
OpenAlexW3093625969
LanguageEN
References cited31

Lucian’s work De historia conscribenda not only presents reflections on how one should or should not write history, but also illustrates possible ways to represent the authorial activity of a historian (i. e. how one writes ‘metahistory’). In this, two basic forms can be distinguished, both of which can be understood from a narratological perspective as metalepses. In the first case, the historian is represented as the direct originator of the action; in the second he acts as a mere observer, but one who moves spatially in and with his action. Both forms of statement stand within traditions of motifs that can be traced from antiquity through to the modern era; yet Lucian nonetheless makes an innovative contribution by inscribing value judgements into the motifs. The result is the suggestion that the historian fulfils the role of observer, while the role of originator turns out to be more apt for the poet than for the historian. This permits far-reaching conclusions to be drawn about the conception of poetry and historiography as a whole

Action (physics) · Art · Epistemology · Historiography · Literature · Observer (physics) · Perspective (graphical) · Poetry · Statement (logic) · Value (mathematics) · Visual arts · Classical Antiquity Studies · Computer Science · German Literature and Culture Studies · Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies · History · Philosophy

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