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Truth in Renaissance Historiography : The Case of Johannes Magnus

Nilsson, Astrid M. H. LU orcid (2017) Colloquium Balticum XI Lundense In Spudasmata 171. p.33-53
Abstract
The 19th century rise of history as an academic discipline set new standards for acceptable methods of writing history. This greatly influenced the opinions historians held of older historical works, such as the Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus (History of all the Kings of the Goths and the Swedes) by the Swedish archbishop Johannes Magnus (1488-1544). The work has been criticised for the absence of a proper critical approach to sources and for its lack of truthfulness. Johannes Magnus’ work is still regarded with a degree of suspicion in this respect.
Paradoxically, the very definition of the word historian in the Renaissance was an author who dealt with true things, and Johannes Magnus himself writes that his work was... (More)
The 19th century rise of history as an academic discipline set new standards for acceptable methods of writing history. This greatly influenced the opinions historians held of older historical works, such as the Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus (History of all the Kings of the Goths and the Swedes) by the Swedish archbishop Johannes Magnus (1488-1544). The work has been criticised for the absence of a proper critical approach to sources and for its lack of truthfulness. Johannes Magnus’ work is still regarded with a degree of suspicion in this respect.
Paradoxically, the very definition of the word historian in the Renaissance was an author who dealt with true things, and Johannes Magnus himself writes that his work was characterized by truth. This statement indicates that his notion of historical truth (as well as that of his contemporaries) was different from that of later historians. This article proposes a way of approaching Johannes Magnus’ notion of historical truth by comparing his version of an event with that of his source and discussing the differences. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus, Renaissance, historiography, truth, Johannes Magnus, Jordanes
host publication
The Classical Tradition in the Baltic Region : Perceptions and Adaptations of Greece and Rome - Perceptions and Adaptations of Greece and Rome
series title
Spudasmata
editor
Jönsson, Arne and Vogt-Spira, Gregor
volume
171
pages
33 - 53
publisher
Georg Olms Verlag AG
conference name
Colloquium Balticum XI Lundense
conference location
Lund, Sweden
conference dates
2012-11-08 - 2012-11-10
ISBN
978-3-487-15583-8
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ed646f6b-9960-40c8-8ed6-31d46ad125b1 (old id 5468729)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 14:24:39
date last changed
2020-06-16 09:17:17
@inproceedings{ed646f6b-9960-40c8-8ed6-31d46ad125b1,
  abstract     = {{The 19th century rise of history as an academic discipline set new standards for acceptable methods of writing history. This greatly influenced the opinions historians held of older historical works, such as the Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus (History of all the Kings of the Goths and the Swedes) by the Swedish archbishop Johannes Magnus (1488-1544). The work has been criticised for the absence of a proper critical approach to sources and for its lack of truthfulness. Johannes Magnus’ work is still regarded with a degree of suspicion in this respect. <br/>Paradoxically, the very definition of the word historian in the Renaissance was an author who dealt with true things, and Johannes Magnus himself writes that his work was characterized by truth. This statement indicates that his notion of historical truth (as well as that of his contemporaries) was different from that of later historians. This article proposes a way of approaching Johannes Magnus’ notion of historical truth by comparing his version of an event with that of his source and discussing the differences.}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Astrid M. H.}},
  booktitle    = {{The Classical Tradition in the Baltic Region : Perceptions and Adaptations of Greece and Rome}},
  editor       = {{Jönsson, Arne and Vogt-Spira, Gregor}},
  isbn         = {{978-3-487-15583-8}},
  keywords     = {{Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus; Renaissance; historiography; truth; Johannes Magnus; Jordanes}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{33--53}},
  publisher    = {{Georg Olms Verlag AG}},
  series       = {{Spudasmata}},
  title        = {{Truth in Renaissance Historiography : The Case of Johannes Magnus}},
  volume       = {{171}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}