Re: Language - Area - Routes

--- In cybalist@..., tgpedersen@... wrote:

> A more meticulous answer:
> This is what I think happened in general with those medieval
> chroniclers:
> Soon after a people is forced (by constant harassment by its
> Christian neighbors) to convert to Christianity, the leaders of

that

> country become worried about losing their roots (as everybody says
> today) and assigns a monk from one of the newly-formed monasteries

to

> write down the history of that people, inasmuch as it can be
> reconstructed. To that end the monk is suplied with the best books

by

> (late) classical authors, unlimited access to collections of

sayings,

Nice description of the history writing reasons. Possible
problems: classical authors haven't written anything about
some remote country or just don't mention curent inhabitants,
country itself was illiterate before...

> old poems, the king's best bards etc. From this, the chronicler
> attempts to create a coherent history for his people. He tries to
> equate events mentioned in different sources, he tries to

etymologize

> diffcult old words in old poems from old people's memory, in short:
> he does no more and no less than what we are all doing in this list

Well he didn't have that much information as we do (linguistics,
archaeology), and then the most important problem:
It is a problem of reasons behind writing his history:
to tell most likely version of the history in his judgement
(which may itself vary from man to man) or writing ad maiorem
gloriam whoever... It makes a big difference :-)

Not that I critise Saxo who has a good reputation I think.

writing this from nothern side of Baltic sea...
/Jerzy