The Saint and the Count

A Case Study for Reading Like a Historian

Leah Shopkow

$44.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

University of Toronto Press
19 April 2021

Literary studies: classical, early & medieval; Early history: c 500 to c 1450&1500; Medieval history; Crusades; Medieval European archaeology

While historians know that history is about interpreting primary sources, students tend to think of history as a set of facts.

In The Saint and the Count, Leah Shopkow opens up the interpretive world of the historian using the biography of St. Vitalis of Savigny (d. 1122) as a case study. This biography was written around 1174 by Stephen of Fougeres and provides a rich stage to demonstrate the kinds of questions historians ask about primary sources and the interpretive and conceptual frameworks they use. What is the nature of medieval sources and what are the interpretive problems they present? How does the positionality of Stephen of Fougeres shape his biography of St. Vitalis? How did medieval people respond to stories of miracles? And finally, how does this biography illuminate the problem of violence in medieval society? A translation of the biography is included, so that readers can explore the text on their own.

By: Leah Shopkow
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 226mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 300g
ISBN: 9781487525866
ISBN 10: 1487525869
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 19 April 2021
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Leah Shopkow is a professor of history at Indiana University-Bloomington.

Reviews for The Saint and the Count: A Case Study for Reading Like a Historian

""The Saint and the Count is a book to place in the hands of untrained readers who regard historical primary sources as either transparent accounts of a factual past or dismiss them as biased and unusable fabrications. In other words, undergraduate history students, both beginners and advanced, will benefit from this gem of a book. In a deft and lucid fashion, and with great wit and verve, Leah Shopkow demonstrates how key questions and processes of historical reading can distil knowledge even from unreliable and opaque texts. Caution: side effects when reading this book may include feelings of curiosity and pleasure and the desire to become a medievalist.""--Lendol G. Calder, Augustana College ""Leah Shopkow's The Saint and the Count is a tour de force in exploring and clarifying the complexities of medieval sources. This book is an excellent introduction to both medieval history and the medieval historian's craft. Written to be accessible to all audiences and with newly translated sources for readers to examine, The Saint and the Count would be a welcome text for any class on the European Middle Ages or for a course in historical methodology.""--Amy Livingstone, Ball State University