Medieval Biography Between the Individual and the Collective

Abstract

The treatise focuses on a diachronic demonstration of the development of biographical texts in the Middle Ages, pointing to individuals’ role within these texts. This allows for a definition of content-related value of medieval biographies and their interpretative range. Medieval biographical texts built upon ancient materials only in part. In the early Middle Ages hagiographies and, to some extent, gestae gained prominence; however, they focused on the collective, not the individual. Collective values and goals were thus projected on to a literary character. The so-called twelfth-century Renaissance presents itself as a key moment in the shift of paradigm. Broader social changes also brought about a new perception of the individual. Having previously been reduced to types, individuals began to acquire particular traits. A shift in the perception of an individual gave new impetus to biographical texts in the late Middle Ages. The quantity of such texts increased considerably, the circle of their authors expanded and was no longer restricted to the clergy, and their target audience was differentiated as well. Gradually, vernacular languages took root and the forms of texts became more diverse. Nevertheless, the internal structure of a medieval individual remains concealed due to the quantity and structure of sources and, consequently, methodological issues. On the other hand, it is for these reasons that medieval biographies provide an insight into history’s dominant complexity.