The Invention of the Eyewitness: Witnessing and Testimony in Early Modern FranceIn an examination of eyewitness travel writing in thirteenth- through sixteenth-century France, Andrea Frisch studies the figure of the witness at a historical juncture and in a cultural context in which that figure is generally thought to have begun to assume a recognizably modern form and function. Whereas most accounts of early modern travel literature tend to read modern presuppositions about witnessing and testimony back into the material, Frisch approaches the early modern witness in terms of the cultural legacy of the Middle Ages. Through primary readings in law and theology, Frisch documents the tension between the ethical witness (the characteristic witness of premodernity) and the epistemic witness (the modern witness) and explores the impact of that tension on the figure of the witness in pre- and early modern French-language travel literature. |
From inside the book
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Page 23
What ' s more , he cites Diego ' s earwitnesses first , perhaps owing to the fact that
there was apparently such a great number of them ; the attention to quantity
betrays a distinct lack of concern to establish narrowly epistemic criteria for what
...
What ' s more , he cites Diego ' s earwitnesses first , perhaps owing to the fact that
there was apparently such a great number of them ; the attention to quantity
betrays a distinct lack of concern to establish narrowly epistemic criteria for what
...
Page 31
The very fact that a true performative must occur in the presence of at least one
witness perhaps constitutes the fundamental distinction between it and what
Austin called the “ non - serious ” performative in How to Do Things with Words .
The very fact that a true performative must occur in the presence of at least one
witness perhaps constitutes the fundamental distinction between it and what
Austin called the “ non - serious ” performative in How to Do Things with Words .
Page 81
Given a relative familiarity with the experience of giving legal testimony in the
seafaring community , it is perhaps not surprising that the turn to experience as a
primary source of testimonial credibility ( as distinct from knowledge ) that one
can ...
Given a relative familiarity with the experience of giving legal testimony in the
seafaring community , it is perhaps not surprising that the turn to experience as a
primary source of testimonial credibility ( as distinct from knowledge ) that one
can ...
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Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 9 |
THE WITNESS AND THE JUDGE | 21 |
ETHOS | 41 |
Copyright | |
3 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
according accused allowed appears audience authority bear become body Calvin Catholic chapter Christian cited claim considered context contrast course courts credibility culture deposition describes discourse distinct early encounter epistemic essay establish ethical Eucharist European evaluating experience eyewitness fact faith first-person firsthand folklaw France French function give given hand Histoire inquest inquisitional Jean judge juridical knowledge language Léry Léry's longer Mandeville means medieval Montaigne Moreover narrative narrator nature ness never notes oath objections oral original Pantagruel particular party person perspective Polo Polo's position potential practice present procedure qu'il question readers record refer Relation represented rhetoric seen sense signs simply sixteenth century status story studies suggests testi testify testimony Thevet things tion truth ultimately voyage witness witness's World writing written
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Invention of the Eyewitness: Witnessing and Testimony in Early Modern France Issue 279 of North Carolina studies in the Romance languages and literatures |
| Author | Andrea Frisch |
| Publisher | U.N.C. Department of Romance Languages, 2004 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 22 Feb 2008 |
| ISBN | 0807892831, 9780807892831 |
| Length | 195 pages |
| Subjects | › › Literary Criticism / European / French |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |