Images of Antiquity in English Renaissance historiography (on the example of Bernard Andre’s "History of Henry VII")
This article analyzes the images of Antiquity used by Bernard Andre (1450-1522) in his “History of the Life and Accomplishments of Henry VII”. Bernard Andre was an extremely interesting person - he was blind but managed to make a successful career at the court of Henry VII Tudor. Andre received three enviable positions - of a court poet, a royal historiographer and the teacher of the Crown Prince. We can argue that Bernard Andre’s “History” is a perfect example of Renaissance thought - antique motives and metaphors were the basis, the connecting thread of this narrative. Bernard Andre used limited range of Greco-Roman images, but used them artfully. Images of Antiquity made his “History” sound proud and grand. Greco-Roman motives and quotation from ancient texts gave Andre opportunity to fill in information gaps. Finally, the extremely flattering image of Henry VII was created primarily by comparing the king with famous, familiar to the English audience, heroes of Roman and Greek history.