Castleford's Lost Chronicle: The Historic Imagination in Yorkshire

卡斯爾福特佚失的編年史：約克郡的歷史想像

李白(Robert A. Albano)

《東華人文學報》 2期 (2000/07) Pp. 273-290

摘要

公元十四世紀，卡斯爾福特的托馬斯用中古英語撰寫了一本編年史。這編年史頗為獨特，可作同類編年史有趣的補充。其中三節特別記述了英國和蘇格蘭之戰，從中可看到托馬斯如何使用同代歷史編纂者的一些技巧和主題，而更重要的是，當中展示出作者與眾不同的歷史想像。然而作者有關愛德華一世和二世冷淡甚或負面的描寫，卻令這編年史在英國本土湮沒無聞。本文的目的是要分析這編年史所涉及的歷史想像。

關鍵字

歷史編篡學 ； 編年史 ； 英國文學 ； 中世紀文學 ； 英國史 ； 蘇格蘭史

並列摘要

The Chronicle by Thomas of Castleford, which was written in the fourteenth century in the Middle English vernacular, provides an interesting complement to other vernacular chronicles of the same time. Although Castleford's work covers many of the same contemporary events as these other chronicles, it does not duplicate the accounts. Three episodes deal specifically with the war between England and Scotland. These episodes indicate that Thomas of Castleford employed several of the same techniques and themes utilized by his contemporary historiographers. More importantly, they reveal the unique mind of a historiographer engaged in an act of historic imagination.
The constant turmoil that England suffered from 1307 to 1327 resulted in King Edward Ⅱ being one of the most unpopular rulers in the history of England. Although it was not unusual for a chronicler such as Castleford to denounce both the unpopular actions and the advisors who betrayed Edward Ⅱ and all of England, it was unusual for a chronicler to take such a direct stand against the king himself. Castleford's comments are all the more remarkable since he began writing at a time when King Edward Ⅱ was still in power. More remarkable still in Castleford's historiography are (1) the lack of positive commentary in regards to Edward Ⅰ and, especially, (2) the negative handling that Edward Ⅰ receives in the Berwick episode. Castleford's connection to Yorkshire factions opposed to the king would be the most logical explanation for Thomas of Castleford's lukewarm and often negative treatment of both Edward Ⅰ and Edward Ⅱ. But that, in turn, might also explain the lukewarm and negative reception that Castleford's Chronicle received in England, causing Castleford's historiography to become the lost chronicle of England.

並列關鍵字

historiography ； chronicle ； English Literature ； Medieval Literature ； English History ； Scottish History