The Great War and Medieval Memory: War, Remembrance and Medievalism in Britain and Germany, 1914-1940

Description

A genuinely comparative study of the cultural impact of the Great War on British and German societies in the first half of the twentieth century. Taking public commemorations as its focus, this book unravels the British and German search for historical continuity and meaning in the shadow of an unprecedented human catastrophe. In both countries, the survivors of the Great War pictured the conflict as the 'Last Crusade' and sought consolation in imagery that connected the soldiers of the age of total war with the knights of the Middle Ages. Stefan Goebel shows that medievalism as a mode of war commemoration transcended national and cultural boundaries. This is an invaluable contribution to the burgeoning study of cultural memory and collective remembrance which will appeal to researchers and students in the history of the First World War, social and cultural history of warfare and medieval studies.

Stefan Goebel is Lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, London.

Review of the hardback: '... a stimulating book ...' German Historical Institute London: Bulletin Review of the hardback: '... a first-class piece of work that will inspire and intrigue any reader.' Journal of Modern History Review of the hardback: '... a model of comparative archival research ...' English Historical Review Review of the hardback: 'Goebel's study is (almost) a paradigm for a comparative cultural history of the Great War.' Contemporary European History Review of the hardback: 'I expected this to be a merely interesting book, but I found it a fascinating one.' H-German Review of the hardback: 'Goebel is to be congratulated for identifying a fascinating subject and presenting the results of his comparative research in a clear and lively account. He has put methodological approaches associated with the 'new' cultural history - interdisciplinarity, sensitivity to cultural artefacts, analysis of discourses - to excellent use in a core field of comparative history.' German History Review of the hardback: 'Both medievalists and modern historians will benefit from reading this comparative study.' Central European History