La fabrique des lieux de mémoire dans les livres d’histoire illustrés du xviiie siècle

Abstract

This article analyses the role played by series of historical illustrations produced in eighteenth-century Britain in the construction of material and immaterial sites of memory. Initially designed to embellish books and make learning more engaging, they visualised memorable historical events in identified locations, encouraging readers/viewers to apprehend the national territory in its historical depth. Aimed at educating the eye, they also fostered new topophilic travelling practices—expressing a particular kind of attachment to certain places—and contributed to the creation of heritage sites and to the crystallisation of sites of memory. The analysis of their successive adaptations and their inscription in collective memory highlights the central role of the visual in the construction of a popular historical narrative and in remembrance practices. While they embody a shared visual past, they underscore the need for a critical reassessment of the uses of the past and highlight the complex nature of the relationship between history and memory.

Keywords

• book illustrations
• remediation
• sites of memory
• British history
• collective memory