A Tale of two Empires. The use of the Roman imperial image in the development of the British identity and the British imperial discourse from 1876 to 1914.

Berg, M. van den

A Tale of two Empires. The use of the Roman imperial image in the development of the British identity and the British imperial discourse from 1876 to 1914.

Files

Berg, M. van den 4066154 28-08-2015 RA (Roma Aeterna).pdf (292.41 KB)

Authors

Berg, M. van den

Issue Date

2015-08-28

Language

en

Abstract

The memory of the Roman Empire has been influential in West-European societies from the Middle Ages onward. The reception and perception of this memory has played a significant role in the process of forming cultural identities of West-European countries. During the nineteenth century, the British society rapidly changed because of industrialization. Consequently, the traditions, values and rules that had been established through the centuries no longer applied. So by retracing the roots of the British people, the Victorians tried to adapt their identity to this new situation. To legitimize this new modified version, the British scholars needed a respectable historic analogy which became the Roman Empire. This functioned as an amplifier of the prestige of the British empire. Eventually, the Victorians and Edwardians only looked at the prestige of historic images but not to history itself. The past becomes a representative of an chosen image.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/3658

Supervisor

Hekster, O.J.

Haan, N. de

Faculty

Faculteit der Letteren