Ishchenko D. "Trojan ancestors" in the legends of common descent peculiar to historical and political discourses in England and France of XII-XVII centuries

The theme of the named work is the political use of the most influential discourses on history peculiar to the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The research centers on the representations of the past ascribing the Trojan descent to the nations of Western Europe. The main attention in this regard is paid to the demand of the key political actors for the "histories" inspired by the "Trojan" genealogy, as well as by alternative concepts of the time. Another matter presented in the text concerns the impact made by social and political affiliations of that individuals who constructed the historical ideas in question. The period chosen for the research gave birth to the groundwork for modern notions on "common" or "national" past. The aforementioned process was paralleled by the rise (in the 12th c.) and the fall (in the 18th) of the Trojan historiography, the "political career" of which this dissertation is intended to examine.