Dean of St. Quentin Dudo

A most unusual book. Eric Christiansen has translated and edited this purported history of the First three generations of the Normans in france. But as the introduction and the footnotes tell us, this account is grossly unreliable. I'm calling this an historical novel, done in a very primitive form. The book was created by a court hanger-on to puff up the reputations of the ruling family of his area. All the fictional cliches are there, and a remarkable lack of actual events. It was no doubt quite pleasing to those it was read to, but there's only one thing here for the historian. It is a gauge of how far a writer of the period would go to please the people buying the booze. Read it as a curious production, and don't trust a word of it. The editor must have found this a very discouraging task. For doing this, Mr. Christiansen, you have our thanks.… (más)