THE MEMORY OF CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE AGES: AN INTRODUCTIONThis introductory article to the dossier The Memory of Crisis in the Middle Ages examines the concept of crisis, focusing on its historiographical and literary remembrance. It examines how crises, such as famines, epidemics and natural disasters, were recorded, interpreted and transmitted in medieval sources. The crisis is presented as an intellectual and historiographical construct, that evolved according to social and political contexts. The article also explores the memory of solutions to crises, and the role of visual and written sources in the shaping this memory. Finally, the article critiques the modern use of the concept of crisis in the analysis of medieval sources, emphasizing the need for an interdisciplinary approach.
Keywords
Crisis; Memory; Midle Ages; Historiography; Social responses