C opyright 1998 D . R .

W oolf
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A global encyclopedia o l historical w riting / editor. D .R . W oolf ;
m anaging editor, K athryn M . B ram m all ; editorial assistant, G reg Bak
; advisory editors. iVter B urke . . . le t al.|.
v. c m . (( .Irla n d re fe re n c e lib ra r)' o f th e h u m a n itie s ; vol.
1809)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISB N 0 -8 15 3-15 1 4-7 (v. I :a lk . paper)
I. H istoriography. 2. H istorians. I. W oolf. D . R . (D aniel R.)
II. Series.
D J3 .G 4 7 1998
907".2 dc21
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See also A n a c h r o n i s m ;
H is t r ic a :

A n tiq u a ria n is m ;

A rs

B io g ra p h y ; E c c l e s i a s t i c a l H is to r y ;

H a g io g ra p h y ;

H is t o r ia ; L a w

a n d H is to ry ;

L lT E R A T U R f. A N D H IS T O R Y ; M A G D E B U R G
C e n tu ria to rs * . M a rty ro lo g y ;
AND

M o s G a lu c u s

Mos I ta IJ C U S ; M U S E U M S ; P H I L O IO G Y .

T exts
Kelley. D o n a ld R ., cd . Venions o f H inory from
A n tiq u ity to the Enlightenment. N e w H av en ,
C T . a n d Iatn do n : Vale U niversity Preis. 1991.
N ic co l M achiavelli. The History o f Florence.
T rans. L aura F. R anfield a n d H arvey C .
M ansfield . P rin ceto n . N J: P rin ceto n U n i
v ersity Press, 1988.
R eferences
C o c h ran e. E ric. H istorians a n d Historiography in
th e Italian Renaissance. C h icag o : U niversity
o f C h ica g o Press. 1981.
F in d len . Paula. Possessing Nature: Museums. Col
lecting. a n d Scientific Culture in Early M od
e m Italy. B erkeley a n d L o n d o n : U niversity
o f C alifo rn ia Press. 1994.
H u p p e rt, G eo rg e. The Idea o f Perfect History.
U rb an a: U niversity o f Illinois Press. 1970.
Kelley, [>onald R . Foundations o f M odern H is
torical Scholarship: language, la w . a n d H is
tory in the Trench Renaissance. N ew York:
C o lu m b ia U niversity Press, 1970.
L evine, Jo sep h M . H um anism a n d History: O ri
gins o f M odern English Historiography.
Ithaca, N Y : C o rn e ll U niversity Press, 1987.
Strucvcr, N ancy S. The language o f History in the
Renttisiance: Rhetoric a n d Historical Conscious
ness in Florentine Huirumisnu Princeton. N J:
P rinceton U niversity Press, 1970.
W oolf. D .R . The Idea o f H istory in Early Stuart
England: F.rudition. Ideology, a n d the l-ight
o f Truth fro m the Accession o fames / to the
C ivil \X'ar. T o ro n to : U niversity o f T o ro n to
Press. 1990.
R e n a n , (J o s e p h - ) E rn e s t ( 1 8 2 3 - 1 8 9 2 )

F rench h isto ria n o f relig io n a n d m a n o f letters.

E rnest R enan was raised in a p o o r fam ily in B rit
tany . a n d a fte r s tu d y in g fo r th e p rie s th o o d in
sev eral se m in a rie s, h e b e c a m e sk e p tic a l a b o u t
historical C h ristia n ity a n d left th e C atho lic C h u rc h
in 1845. A H eb rew scholar, h e w ro te h is docto ral
th esis o n A verroes. a n d in I8 6 0 h e participates! in
a n a rc h a e o lo g ic a l m issio n to th e M id d le E ast.
E lected as a professor o f H eb re w a t th e C ollge d e
France in 18 6 2 . h e w as su sp e n d ed b ecau se o f th e
772

u p ro a r ab o u t h is rejection o f th e d iv in e o rig in s o f
C h ristia n ity , b u t h e re tu rn e d a s d ire c to r o f th e
C ollege th irty years later. H is m o st fa m o u s book.
Vie d e Jtus [Life o f Jesus], w as th e first v o lu m e o f
Histoire des origines d u christianism e (H isto ry o f
th e O rig in s o f C hristianity ] (1 8 6 3 -1 8 8 3 ). H is vo
lu m in o u s w ritin g s in c lu d e d H istoire du peuple
d'Israel [H isto ry o f th e P eople o f Israel] ( 1 8 8 7
1 8 9 3 ). E lected to th e F re n d i A cadem y in 1878,
R enan is rem em b ered fo r h is sub tle iro n y a n d el
egant style as w ell a s fo r h is scholarship.
Thomas T. Lewu
T exts
Oeuvres completes [C o m p le te W o rk s]. E d.
H e n rie tte P sich ari. 10 vols. Paris:
C alm an n -L ev y . 1 9 4 7 -1 9 6 1 .
R eferen tes
C h a d b o u rn e . R ichard , hm est Renan. N ew York:
T w aync. 1968.
W ard m an , H a ro ld . Ernest Renan: A C ritical B i
ography l-o n d o n : A th lo n e Press. 1964.
R e v o lu tio n , A s H is to ric a l C o n c e p t

T h e w ays in w hich th e id ea o f revolution has been

conceptualized b y historians. R evolution is g en er
ally d efin e d as an a tte m p t to m ak e radical ch an g e
in th e system o f g o v ern m e n t g en erally involving
so m e type o f force a n d violence, alth o u g h in earlier
p erio d s th e w ord o fte n m ean t q u ite th e o pp osite:
d u rin g th e R enaissance, it was u sed to d en o te a con
servative return to established principles a n d in sti
tu tio n s a n d th e rep u d iatio n o f in n ov atio n. It seems
to have acquired its m o d e rn association w ith in n o
v atio n a n d ch an g e b y th e early eig h teen th century.
W ar h as o fte n acted as a s tim u la n t to theories
o f resolution. H istorians in th e W est have, in recent
tim es, te n d e d to stress political factors o se r o th e rs
such as social, eco no m ic, a n d cu ltu ral. In th e tw en
tieth century, th e co n cep t has expanded to a gktbul
basis. M o d e rn h isto ria n s l u s t b een in flu e n c ed by
classic treatm ents of revolution: E d m u n d B urke and
T h o m as Paine carried o n a d eb ate over th e signific a n c c a n d c o n trib u tio n s o f th e F rench R eso lu tio n
d u rin g th e early 1790s, B urke as a n alarm ed critic
from th e perspective o f th e R ig h t, a n d Paine as an
en th u sia stic su p p o rte r a n d la te r p a rtic ip a n t fro m
th e L eft. (T h e fo rm a t of th e p o litical sp e ctru m .
R ig ht, (x n tc r , a n d Left, itself o rig in ated from seat
ing practices o f th e N atio n al A ssem bly d u rin g the
e a rly y ears o f th e F re n c h R e v o lu tio n : R ig ht fo r
conservative a n d au th o ritarian . C e n te r fo r m o d e r
ate a n d liberal, a n d Left for radical a n d socialist.)

RENAISSANCE. HISTORIOGRAPHY DURING

I HI

B u rk e , a p ro m in e n t P a rlia m e n ta ria n , had

b e e n sy m p a th e tic to th e cau se o f th e A m erican
R ev o lu tio n o f th e 17 7 0 s. T o h im . K ing G eo rg e III
h a d exceeded his p o w er w h e n h e taxed th e co lo
nists. T h e case o f th e F rench R ev o lutio n w as o p
p o s ite : all ch a t w as g o o d w as b e in g ru th le ssly
sw e p t aw ay w ith th e b ad . B u rk e g rea tly feared
such an arch y w ould spread to his beloved E ngland.
T h o m a s P aine, in cred ib ly a p a rtic ip a n t in b o th
th e A m erican a n d French revo lu tion s a n d a w ellk n o w n d issid en t in E n g lan d , system atically re p u
d ia te d in h is Rights o f M a n th e attack s o f B u rk e o n
th e revo lu tion a n d revo lu tion aries in France.
L ater co n trib u tio n s, fro m th e far Left, cam e
from K arl M arx a n d F riedrich Engels, w h o fo rm u
lated in flu e n tial co n cep ts o f re v o lu tio n in a series
o f jo in t w ritin g s in th e m id d le a n d la te r decades o f
the n in ete en th cen tury, m o st n otab ly in The C om
m unist M anifesto, w ritte n b y M a rx a n d E ngels just
b efo re th e revo lu tion s o f 1848. A m o n g th e ideas
o f M a rx a n d E ngels w ere d ialec tic m aterialism ,
d ete rm in ism , a n d th e th eo ry o f p e rm a n e n t revo
lu tio n . L e n in . Jo se p h S ta lin , a n d M a o Z e d o n g
elab o rated v ariou sly o n th ese co n cep ts, in w ritin g
an d in practice in R ussia a n d C h in a . L eon Trotsky,
a le a d in g p a rtic ip a n t in th e R ussian revo lu tion s
o f 1 9 0 5 a n d 1 9 1 7 . a lso w ro te v o lu m in o u sly o n
revo lu tion .
In Revolutions a n d Revolutionists: A Compre
hensive G uide to th e L iterature (1 9 8 2 ). R o b e rt
BLackry collected m o re th an 6 ,2 0 0 en tries, u p from
2 ,4 0 0 in an ed itio n o f 1976, a n d n o ted th a t p rio r
to th e m id - 19 6 0 s, revo lu tion w as n o t a su b je ct o f
ac ad em ic o r p o p u la r ap p ea l. C h a lm e rs Jo h n so n
fo rm u la ted a typology, a to ta l o f six types o f revo
lu tio n , fo r exam ple, in clu d in g m illenarian a n d a n
arch istic rebellions. Jaco b in a n d B olshevik revolu
tio n s. a n d m ilitarized m ass in su rrectio n s su c h as
g u errilla w arfare.
C o m p arativ e ap p ro aches to revo lu tion in the
W e ste rn sen se ca n b e tra c e d to C ra n e B rin to n s
classic study. The A natom y o f Revolution ( 1938; re
v ised e d itio n 1 9 6 5 ). B rin to n sele cted th e fo u r
m o d e rn successful W e ste rn re v o lu tio n s, th e E n
g lish o f th e 1 6 4 0 s a n d 1 6 8 0 s. th e A m e ric a n ol
th e 1770s. th e French o f th e 17 90 s a n d 18 00 s, and
th e R ussian o f th e 1 91 0s a n d 1920s. a n d system
atic ally sub jected th e m to co m p ara tiv e analysis,
in c lu d in g fo llow in g w h a t h e ca lled th e full cycle
o f re v o lu tio n . B rin to n g en erally c o n c lu d e d th at
each beg an w ith th e c e n te r o f g rav ity o f political
p o w e r stro n g ly o n th e R ig h t, each th e n sh ifted
across th e sp e c tru m to th e L eft, a n d , th e n , each
re tu rn e d to th e R ig h t. T h e re w ere 2 2 0 en tries in
h is bibliography.

A n o th e r co m p arativ e ap p ro ach inco rp o rates

a series o f R ig ht-C en ter-L eft ch a rts to dem onstrate
shifts th a t o cc u r in specific revo lu tion s, in clud in g
W estern a n d n o n -W estcrn ones: in ch ro n olog ical
order, th e C zech "H u ssite." th e E nglish "P u ritan ,"
th e F rench B ourgeois." th e R ussian B olshevik."
th e T u rk ish "N a tio n al," a n d th e C h in ese " C o m
m u n ist" revo lu tion s. T h is series o f m orphological
p attern s has b een fo rm u la ted b y Jaroslav K rejci in
Great Revolutions Com pared { 1983).
S eeing th e v ariou s n atio n al revo lu tion s o f the
late eig h te e n th a n d early n in e te e n th c e n tu ry as a
single, co llectiv e A tlan tic R ev o lu tio n ." R o b ert R.
P alm er p resen ted th e thesis th a t a n in tern atio n al
d em o cratic re v o lu tio n ary m o v e m en t in co rp o rat
in g c o m m o n c h a ra c te ristic s, a n d in c lu d in g , o f
c o u rse , th e A m e ric a n a n d F re n c h re v o lu tio n s,
spread d u rin g th e last fo u r decades o f th e eighteenth
ce n tu ry to m o st states a n d th ro u g h o u t th e c o n ti
n en ts contiguous to th e A tlantic ocean. M eanw hile,
in th e first b o o k o f a trilo g y o n th e h isto ry o f the
lo n g n in ete en th cen tury," 1 7 8 9 -1 9 1 4 , th e M arx
ist h isto rian E tic J . H o b sb a w m h as w ritte n o f the
age o f rev o lu tio n s, review ing events in G reece, the
O tto m a n em p ire. S pain . N aples. S o u th A m erica,
France, B elgium , P olan d, a n d Ireland. H obsbaw m
effectively in co rp o rates eco no m ic, social, a n d even
cu ltu ral factors, in a d d itio n to political.
Social th eo rists h av e also c o n trib u te d to th e
co n cep tu alizatio n o f rev o lu tio n . H a n n a h A re n d ts
O n Revolution (1 9 6 3 ). is a g ran d io se s tu d y o f th e
p h en o m en o n o f revolution, em phasizing o n ly a few'
legitim ate a n d great o n e s, th e A m erican. French,
a n d R ussian. T h e d a S kocpol, in States a n d Social
Revolutions, selects th re e social re v o lu tio n s, th e
F rench, R ussian, a n d C h in e se . E ach o f th ese states
faced w ars w ith m o re ad v an ced cap italist enem ies
an d each suffered fro m stru ctu ral w eaknesses.
C lassic s tu d ie s o f c o m p a ra tiv e re v o lu tio n
ten d ed to focus exclusively o n m o d e rn tim es a n d in
th e W est. In co n trast, Jack G o ld sto n e h as pushed
back th e d ates to th e early m o d ern period, 1 5 0 0 1850, a n d ex p an d ed th e geography to a global p er
spective. in clud in g political disasters in th e M iddle
E ast a n d th e collapse o f the M in g d ynasty in C hina.
G oldsto ne form ulates causal m odels o f early revolu
tions a n d rebellions, em phasizing p rim arily th e tule
o f dem ography a n d its consquences. For exam ple, he
elaborates o n a general crisis o f th e seventeenth cen
tury. w ith extrem e p o p u latio n a n d price increases.
States w ere u n ab le to co p e w ith th ese changes.
G e o rg e R u d e , a B ritish -ed u c ated h isto rian
w h o ta u g h t in A ustralia a n d C a n a d a , co n d u cted
in n ov ativ e a n d intensive research in police records
an d acco u nts o f p o p u la r d istu rb an ces, p ro d u cin g .

R E V O L U T I O N , AS H I S T O R I C A L C O N C E V T

773

am o n g o th e r, b ro a d e r w o rk s, The Crow d in the

French Revolution ( 1967). T h ro u g h a co m b in atio n
o f political a n d social ap p ro aches, R u d co rrected
m y th s a n d stereo ty pes ab o u t p articip atio n in riots
a n d re v o lu tio n ary d istu rb an ces. F or ex am p le, he
d em o n stra te d th a t rioters in th e early years o f th e
F re n c h R ev o lu tio n w ere resp ectab le, em p lo y ed ,
solid citizens w ith n o crim in al records.
M o st recently, a new category o f m o d e m revo
lu tio n has em erged th at docs n o t fit in to th e classic
W estern m odels: revolutions in non in du strializrd .
o r T h ird W orld, co u n tries, such as th o se in C en tral
A m erica, Iran, a n d th e S u d an . In terp retatio ns are
varied a n d expansive, a n d th e te rm h as o ften been
overw orked: fo r exam ple, b y A bbie I lo ttm an o l the
"N ew le f t m o v em en t in th e U n ited S tates in the
19 60 s. in h is R eivlutionfor itx H e llo flt( \ 9 6 8 ).and
m o re recently in a 1994 b o o k th a t deals prim arily
w ith free m arkets a n d d eregu lation . A Conservative
Resolution: Ih e Thatcher-Reagm Decade in Ihspectite.
Eugene I . Rasor

See also FRENCH REVOLUTION.

T exts
A re n d t. H a n n a h . O n Revolution. N ew York:
V ik in g . 1982.
B rin to n . C ra n e . The A natom y o f Revolution. N ew
York: R an d o m H o u se. 1965.
B urke. E d m u n d . Reflections on th e R eiolution in
Frunce Indianapolis. IN : B obhvM errill. 1955.
M arx. K arl, a n d F ried rich E ngels. The C om m u
n ist M anifesto. N e w York: K err. 1978.
Palm er. R o b ert R . The Age o f th e Democratic
Revolution: A Political H istory o f Europe a n d
America. 2 vols. P rin c eto n . N J: P rinceton
U niversity Press. 1 9 5 9 -1 9 6 3 .
R eference*
Blackey. R o b ert. Revolutions a n d Reivlutionists:
A Comprehensive G uide to the U terature.
S an ta B arbara. C A : A B C -C lio , 1982.
D u n n . Jo h n M . M odern Revolutions: A n Introduc
tion to tl*e Analysis o f a l'oitt teal Phenomenon.
C am b ridg e. E ng.: C am b rid g e U niversity
Press. 1989.
G o ld sto n e . Jack A. Revolution a n d Rebellion in
th e Early M o d em World. B erkeley: U niver
sity o f C alifo rn ia Press. 1991.
Jo h n so n . C h a lm e rs. Revolution a n d t!>e Social
System. S tan fo rd . C A : S ta n fo rd U niversity
Press. I >64.
P ay n to n . C liffo rd T .. a n d R obert Blackey. cds.
W hy Revolution: Theories a n d Analysis.
C am b rid g e: S ch en k m a n . 1 9 7 1.
7 74

S kocpol, Theda. States a n d Social Revolutions: A

Comparative Analysis o f France. Russia, a n d
China. C am b rid g e, E ng.: C a m b rid g e U n i
v ersity Press. 1988.
R h e n a n u s , B e a tu * ( 1 4 8 5 - 1 5 4 7 )

G e r m a n h u m a n is t h is to r ia n . B o rn in A lsace.
R h e n a n u s receiv ed th e M .A . a t P aris in 1 5 0 5 .
R hen an us associated w ith scholars seek in g reform
o f ch u rch a n d society, w h o thereby challenged scho
lastic p h ilo so p h e r-th e o lo g ia n s. U n d e r th e in flu
en c e o f D esid eriu s E rasm u s (a close frie n d w h o
w o u ld n am e R h e n a n u s in h is w ill as e d ito r o f his
w o rk s), R h e n a n u s s h u n n e d allego rical in te rp re
ta tio n s o f S c rip tu re in fa v o r o f p h ilo lo g ic a lh istorical stu d ie s. In itially a su p p o rte r o f L u th er
against ecclesiastical co rru p tio n , h e in th e e n d re
jected th e R efo rm atio n . W h ile in th e em p lo y o f
Jo h an n es F ro b e n . th e Basel printer, R henanus had
edited w orks b y Seneca, P lin y . T a c itu s, a n d Livy,
a n d h e w o n acclaim in his tim e chiefly th ro u g h
th ese ed ito rial ach iev em ents. H is o w n w ritin g s,
how ever, a re also im pressive a n d in clu d e b io g ra
p h ie s o f E rasm u s a n d G e ile r o f K aisersb erg , as
well a s sh o rte r b io g rap h ical sketches o f v ariou s o f
th e au th o rs w hose w orks h e ed ited . R h e n an u s was
an a rd e n t a d m ire r o f th e F ifte e n th -c e n tu ry Ita l
ia n a n tiq u a ry a n d to p o g ra p h e r. F lavio B io n d o .
w h o se sta n d a rd s o f research h e ap p lie d in h is o w n
Rerum G erm anicarum lib n tres (T h re e B ooks o n
G erm an H isto ry ] (1 5 3 1 ). In th is w o rk R hen an us
d ism issed u n fo u n d e d tra d itio n s , esp ecially th a t
o f th e su p p o se d Trojan o rig in s o l th e G erm an ic
peoples. H is research co n firm ed Paolo E m il is c o n
te n tio n th a t th e F rench d erived th e ir o rig in s from
G erm an ic, ra th e r th a n T ro jan , an cestry a highly
c o n te n tio u s issue in th e h isto ric al w ritin g o f the
six tee n th cen tury.
Jam ei E dw ard M cG oldnck
T exts
Bean Rhenani Selatadiem is rerum Germ amcarum
lib n tres. S trasbourg: L azarus Z c tm e r. 1610.
" I jfc o f Erasm us. In Christian Humanism a n d the
Reformation, ed . Joh n C . O iin . S econ d ed.
N ew York: F o rd h am U niversity Press. 1988.
E d. T. IJvii P alatini historiae p n n a p ts Dcada
tres cum dim idia. V enice: G iu n ti. 1541.
R eferences
D A m ico. Jo h n F. Theory a n d Practice in Renansanee Textual Criticism: Beatiu Rhenanus
betueen Conjecture a n d H istory Berkeley:
U niversity o f C alifo rn ia Press. 1988.

R E V O L U T I O N . AS H I S T O R I C A L C O N C E P T