The creation of medieval history in Luxembourg
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Date
25/06/2008Author
Peporte, Pit
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Abstract
In the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, the Middle Ages provide several of the most
important historical reference points for national identity. This thesis analyses how
this period was given its significance. It studies the presentation of several medieval
figures through historiography from their own lifetime to the present, how they
entered collective memory and a national narrative of history, and how the symbolic
values attributed to them shifted according to changing political needs. In addition, it
identifies those figures that were forgotten, so as to explore the mechanisms of
historiographical selection.
The purported founder of Luxembourg is the tenth-century Count Sigefroid, who was
(wrongly) regarded as the first ‘count of Luxembourg’ by the late sixteenth century.
In his posthumous career he became the builder of the local castle and city, the
creator of the country and father of the nation. He is often joined by his mythological
fish-tailed wife Melusine, borrowed from a late medieval French roman that already
hints at links to the rulers of Luxembourg. The two founders are linked to later
themes through Countess Ermesinde. She was a thirteenth-century ruler,
rediscovered by nineteenth-century liberals as an early precursor to their political
ideals, while a group of Belgian Jesuits used her to foster a pilgrimage tradition.
Historiography of the past two hundred years preferred her persona rather than her
two husbands’ for creating a continuity within the different medieval dynasties,
adding to their national character. Her descendant John of Bohemia was transformed
quickly into the national hero par excellence. This process had its origin in late
medieval literature where his ‘heroic’ death at the battle of Crécy is remembered. His
tomb within the city of Luxembourg helped to keep him in local memory, while the
loss of his remains to Prussia in the early nineteenth century created simmering
discontent that lasted until their recovery in 1946. Interestingly, John stands for the
pinnacle of a glorious age, whereas his successor Emperor Sigismund tended to
embody the miserable decline of an era, despite having been endowed with many
crowns and titles.
This thesis borrows some of its theoretical framework from the study of lieux de
mémoire, and makes use of a broad range of different sources, from historical writing
to literature, visual art and popular gimmickry.
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