Дмитриев М. В. «Средневековье» и «модерность»? Две необходимые иллюзии в контексте вопроса о «национальном» [Электронный ресурс] // Vox medii aevi. 2019. Vol. 2(5). С. 192–208. URL: https://voxmediiaevi.com/2019-2-dmitriev
DOI: 10.24411/2587-6619-2019-00021
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Mikhail Dmitriev
Doctor of Sciences (History), Professor at the Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Leading Research Fellow at the Centre for Medieval Studies, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”
http://www.hist.msu.ru/departments/8825/people/teachers/26350
https://www.hse.ru/org/persons/24765665
“The Middle Ages” or “Modernity”? About Two Necessary Illusions, in the Context of the “Nationality” Issue
This short polemical article treats the issue of whether the discourses of ethnonational identity of political communities emerged, in fact, in the modern period, as it is frequently claimed due to the impact of “constructionists” in the area of “nationalism studies”, or if these discourses were formed in the Middle Ages already. Evidence from French medieval culture makes it possible to insist that national ideologies in the epoch of the French revolution of 1789 were built upon mental constructions which originated in the Middle Ages. In this respect “modernity” remains “medieval” and the alleged difference between the two historical periods turns out to be very illusive.
Key words: ethnonational; genesis of nationalism; medieval France; nation; national.