Gabrielle Spiegel presents an essential new collection of key articles that examine the current status of the debate over the "linguistic turn" and attempt to rethink the practice of history in light of its implications. These are writings that operate within the framework of the linguistic turn, yet seek to move beyond its initial formulation and reception.
The volume offers a synoptic overview of the last twenty-five years of theoretical analysis of historical writing, with a critical examination of the key concepts and positions that have been in debate. The collection delineates the...

In a poststructuralist study of thirteenth-century French historical texts, Gabrielle Spiegel investigates the reasons for the rise of French vernacular prose historiography at this particular time. She argues that the vernacular prose histories that have until now been regarded as royalist were actually products of the aristocracy, reflecting its anxiety as it faced social and economic change and political threats from the monarchy.