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Document Details : Title: Maronite Historiography and Ideology Author(s): SUERMANN, Harald Journal: Journal of Eastern Christian Studies Volume: 54 Issue: 3-4 Date: 2002 Pages: 129-148 DOI: 10.2143/JECS.54.3.1071 Abstract : The identity of a people is based of the perception of its own history. This is also the case of the Maronites, a relatively small community living in the mountains of Lebanon largely isolated and criticised by other churches due to their union with Rome. While as a confessional group they are firmly rooted in Lebanon, they take their identity not so muchfrom the history and narratives of Lebanon or the Lebanese nation as a whole, as from their own history. We don't know much about Maronite historiography before the fifteenth century. We have to presume that Maronites recorded their history during and before the time of the Crusades, but nearly n othing has come down to us. Many scholars think that the Maronite Church has destroyed older literature after the union with Rome. This contribution tries to give an overview of what we do know on their history. |
