French Literature Reviews - 2026

Writing the Past. Histories of the Dukes of Normandy.
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Writing the Past: Histories of the Dukes of Normandy.

Honoré Champion
Coll. "Essais sur le Moyen Âge" No. 35

Paris, 22.02.07
ISBN: 9782745314581
304 pages
55€

Publisher's Overview:

Capturing the genesis of a new way of writing history: such is the aim of this study, which offers a historiographical investigation dedicated to the chronicles of the dukes of Normandy, and more specifically to four of them: the De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum by Dudo of Saint-Quentin (c. 1000), the Roman de Rou by Wace (1160–1170), the Chronique des ducs de Normandie by Benoît de Sainte-Maure (c. 1174), and the Chronique by Jordan Fantosme (1175). To decipher the modalities of this writing of the Norman past, two approaches have been prioritized: the analysis of temporality—essential in works where the present constantly engages with the past—and the analysis of literary forms in relation to hagiographic, epic, or fictional models. In search of a new form capable of conveying history, the chroniclers strive to conceptualize time, fulfill a mnemonic function, and legitimize the prestigious lineage they celebrate. The result is a complex discourse where, suspended between poetic truth and historical truth, the heroic epic of the Normans is sketched and forged.

The study examines the chronicles of the dukes of Normandy, specifically the De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum by Dudo of Saint-Quentin, the Roman de Rou by Wace, the Chronique des ducs de Normandie by Benoît de Sainte-Maure, and the Chronique by Jordan Fantosme. This tradition of medieval historiography often blended genealogical legitimation with the stylistic conventions of epic and hagiographic literature, reflecting a broader intellectual movement where the chronicler functioned as both a recorder of events and a shaper of collective memory.

The analysis explores how these authors conceptualized time to bridge the gap between their contemporary reality and the legacy of the Norman dukes. By examining the interplay between poetic truth and historical narrative, the work investigates how these writers utilized literary forms to fulfill mnemonic and political functions. Readers interested in the development of medieval historiography and the intersection of literature and history may find this scholarly examination relevant.