Interprétation, réception et recréation des désastres militaires romains au Moyen Âge

Abstract

The first christian historians of the Late Antiquity provide a full reinterpretation of the Roman history, through the christian idea of the way to salvation. In this respect, the disasters have a special place to interpret the divine Will. Augustine and Orose even made it the main subject of their study. The medieval chroniclers, which claimed to be the heirs of both the classical Roman historians and the Fathers of the Church, willingly adopted their narratives, while adapting them to the expectations of their times. The discussion concerning Rome’s destiny and its place in the divine Will was less prominent, but the disasters that strike the Eternal City are still important through anachronisms and more or less faithful rewritings.

Keywords

• historiography
• Augustine
• Orosius
• late Antiquity
• Middle Ages
• disasters