Historiosophy of Sven Aggesen
The Concept of History and Realm from Twelfth-Century Denmark
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21802571 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michał Gniadek-Zieliński (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Pages | 97-119 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Viking and Medieval Scandinavia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1782-7183 • E-ISSN: 2030-9902 |
| Publisher | Brepols Publishers NV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1484/j.vms.5.142572 |
| OpenAlex | W4407744359 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
The article focuses on presenting the ideological goals of creating Sven Aggesen’s chronicle, and in particular showing his views on history and the concept of the state. By analysing the themes and plot structures, as well as presenting the chronicle on a comparative background and considering the context of compiling it, the author concludes that the work of the Danish chronicler is an example of an extremely modern historiography composed in the spirit of the so-called twelfth-century renaissance. The main point of Sven’s interest is the state and its historical and institutional development, which organizes the historical threads in the chronicle. Even though Sven Aggesen’s chronicle is a small work, it was constructed extremely neatly to express very specific ideas. They are largely shared by his contemporaries from other regions of Christian Europe, such as the Norwegian chronicler Theodoric and the Polish chronicler, Wincenty Kadłubek. However, it is Sven’s small chronicle that seems to be the most thoroughly thought-out, in terms of the essence and meaning of national history, whose historiosophical view was based on the authorities in this matter of that time, primarily St Augustine. The analysis of the ideological message of the chronicle allows the author to try to answer the question: Why did Sven write his work? It seems that this task could have been part of an effort to regain the family’s lost esteem and return to the political stage in Denmark
Ancient history · Archaeology · Realm · Historical and Archaeological Studies · History
| Highly cited | No |
|---|