Reading History Without Judgement

I am currently reading Hilary Mantle's phenomenal Wolf Hall (a must read for Tudorphiles and Anglopihles alike.)  In an interview with The Guardian, Mantel sets out how she approached writing a historical novel about Thomas Cromwell and 16th-century Tudor England:

Her aim was to place the reader in "that time and that place, putting you into Henry's entourage. The essence of the thing is not to judge with hindsight, not to pass judgment from the lofty perch of the 21st century when we know what happened. It's to be there with them in that hunting party at Wolf Hall, moving forward with imperfect information and perhaps wrong expectations, but in any case moving forward into a future that is not predetermined, but where chance and hazard will play a terrific role."

Not only am I enjoying Wolf Hall, because of the plot, characters, and especially Mantel's writing, but also because I fundamentally believe in her approach to studying and writing about historical events and people. It is common, frequent, and easy to attribute emotions to historical figures and imagine what they would have felt in a given moment. And yet, Mantel steers from this introspective method to one of observation.

Mantel separates the study of the past from the assumptions of the present day. She reveals the Tudor world unencumbered by our omniscient knowledge of what will occur.

Despite the inevitability of Cromwell's death, however, [Mantel] said that "in every scene, even the quiet ones, I try to create turning points, multiple turning points. So the reader knows how it's going to turn out, but the reader's expectation of how and why is constantly challenged."

The discovery of truth in the study of a person, place, or time can only be done without the clouded visions and thoughts of today. To approach history without the veil of modern knowledge and judgement is difficult, but doing so honors the subject matter.

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might...

With the new year upon us, it causes one to think of the wishes, hopes, and resolutions for the year ahead. Some wish to lose weight. Some resolve to eat better. Some hope for a change in their circumstances - a new job, a new house, a new {insert want or need}. At the heart of these explorations is a search into identity - who we think we are or should be or want to be seen as. 


In November 2010, historian Simon Schama published in The Guardian his vision of how and why history should be taught in schools. In this article, he states that history is not a measure to merely calm or please arguments and misfortunes. "It's exactly because history is, by definition, a bone of contention that the arguments it generates resist national self-congratulation."


The Greek word historia meant and was used as "inquiry."  The "father of history" Herodotus traveled and wrote about the people and places he saw examining the cultures and legends of regions he ventured through. So, according to Schama, the inquiry into a nation's history "is not the uncritical genealogy of the Wonderfulness of Us, but it is, indispensably, an understanding of the identity of us."  The investigation and analysis of history is integral to the self-examination of who we are today.


I am preoccupied with this inquiry into the past to better understand today. Who are we and why? What is the impact of this political incident or that economic event on the culture and society of a peoples? How did it all coalesce into a nation and a national identity? 


As an anglophile, I've chosen to delve in to British history to explore these questions. I hope to consider these weighty inquiries in this forum throughout the coming year. Answers may not be found and further questions may result, but the conversation will begin. 

Anglophilia

For the first entry, it seems appropriate to begin at the beginning: with etymology…

“Anglophile” derives from the Latin for English (Anglus) and the Greek for friend (phile) and simply means friendly to or favouring England (and later Britain), its people, customs, etc., according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Referenced in the French journal Revue des deux mondes in which the journal itself was described as “a thorough ‘Anglo-phile’ periodical.”

This particular modern periodical is intended to be a commentary on British history of all periods and topics, regions and identities. Particular attention will be paid to the construct of identity and what it means to be British, English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish.