An Analysis of Ernst H. Kantorwicz's The King's Two Bodies by Simon Thomson

An Analysis of Ernst H. Kantorwicz's The King's Two Bodies by Simon Thomson

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Summary

Kantorowicz's 1957 study of 1,200 years of monarchy has had a profound affect on the way academics think about the study of history.

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An Analysis of Ernst H. Kantorwicz's The King's Two Bodies by Simon Thomson

Few historians trace grand themes across many centuries and places, but Ernst Kantorowicz's great work on the symbolic powers of kingship is a fine example of what can happen when they do. The King's Two Bodies is at once a superb example of the critical thinking skill of evaluation – assessing huge quantities of evidence, both written and visual, and drawing sound comparative conclusions from it – and of creative thinking; the work connects art history, literature, legal records and historical documents together in innovative and revealing ways across more than 800 years of history. Kantorowicz's key conclusions (that history is at root about ideas, that these ideas power institutions, and that both are commonly expressed and understood through symbols) have had a profound impact on several different disciplines, and even underpin many works of popular fiction – not least The DaVinci Code. And they were all made possible by fresh evaluation of evidence that other historians had ignored, or could not see the significance of.

Dr Simon Thomson teaches at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. He received his doctorate in Medieval Literature from University College London and is the Editor, with M.D.J. Brintley, of Sensory Perception in the Medieval World: Manuscripts, Texts and Other Material Matters.

SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781912127115
ISBN 10 1912127113
Title An Analysis of Ernst H. Kantorwicz's The King's Two Bodies
Author Simon Thomson
Series The Macat Library
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Macat International Limited
Year published 2017-07-15
Number of pages 112
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.