The Great War and Medieval Memory
War, Remembrance and Medievalism in Britain and Germany, 1914–1940

A comparative study of the cultural impact of the Great War on British and German societies.

Stefan Goebel (Author)

9780521123068, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 12 November 2009

380 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.51 kg

Review of the hardback: 'Both medievalists and modern historians will benefit from reading this comparative study.' Central European History

A genuinely comparative study of the cultural impact of the Great War on British and German societies in the first half of the twentieth century. Taking public commemorations as its focus, this book unravels the British and German search for historical continuity and meaning in the shadow of an unprecedented human catastrophe. In both countries, the survivors of the Great War pictured the conflict as the 'Last Crusade' and sought consolation in imagery that connected the soldiers of the age of total war with the knights of the Middle Ages. Stefan Goebel shows that medievalism as a mode of war commemoration transcended national and cultural boundaries. This is an invaluable contribution to the burgeoning study of cultural memory and collective remembrance which will appeal to researchers and students in the history of the First World War, social and cultural history of warfare and medieval studies.

Introduction
1. Catastrophe and continuity: the place of the war dead in history
2. Mission and defence: the nature of the conflict
3. Destruction and endurance: the war experience
4. Chivalry and cruelty: the soldiers' character and conduct
5. Regeneration and salvation: the prospects for the living and the dead
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], First World War [HBWN], Military history [HBW], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]