"A Whole and continuat historie": general histories in early seventeenth-century England, with specific reference to Richard Knolles's the general history of the Turks and his Patron Peter Manwood
Author(s)
Advisor
Date
2016-02Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
This thesis presents an assessment of the famous work of Richard
Knolles, The General History of the Turks (1603) [hereafter GH] as a production
of the intellectual atmosphere of the age in which it was produced. Despite its
importance as the first major history of the Ottomans written in English, present
literature on Knolles’s work does not evaluate it as a history book in its own
right; it is analyzed either only partially or in connection with some other works
gathered for very particular uses. It has often been seen, though without
explanation, as somewhat ambiguous in its treatment of the Turks. Trying to
attain a better understanding of Knolles’s GH, the present study initially
discusses the changes in the historiography of the sixteenth century and
contextualizes the emergence of a genre of “general history” in the late sixteenth
and early seventeenth century within the wider spectrum of history writing in
early modern England and Europe. Some common features, detailed here for the
first time, which would help to group general histories as a distinct and new
genre, are identified through an evaluation of those that were printed in
England in the course of the seventeenth century. This thesis argues that GH has
to be evaluated in connection with those “general histories”, and analyses the
features of Knolles’s work alongside those other general histories. This
contextualization also indicates the importance of the role of the patron of this
monumental work, his influence on the actual process of composition and his
instrumental role in causing the work to be a general history. Assessing GH as a
project that was realized through the shared efforts of the patron and the
writer, and considering the intellectual background of the patron of the work, as
well as the motives for his support, it suggests reasons for the ambiguity that
Knolles’s text has presented for modern historians, reasons that are grounded in
the work’s transformation into a general history. Besides, the detailed study
here of the political orientation of the patron, Sir Peter Manwood, reveals some
points, both political and intellectual, that aid a better understanding of his
motivations in patronizing Knolles.
Keywords
Richard KnollesSir Peter Manwood
General History
Seventeenth-century English historiography
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http://hdl.handle.net/11693/28924Collections
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