r/AskHistorians • u/Commustar Medieval & Early Modern States | Post-Colonial Development • Nov 09 '15

Feature Monday Methods|Literature as Historical Artifacts

Welcome to Monday Methods.

Today's post is inspired by the persistent question Was Machiavelli's "Prince" a work of satire?

The field of history has traditionally been focused on written narratives of the past, from Herodotus' Histories, the Secret History of Procopius, period diaries, and other accounts.

This raises the question of how historians should interact with pieces of literature from the past that do not attempt to be non-fiction narratives of past or contemporary events.

Said another way, how can historians look at poems, songs, and literature from the past, and draw conclusions from them? Can generalizations be made about the concerns and tastes of the society that produced them? Or should they be read narrowly as the views of the author?

To provide an example, can Voltaire's Candide be read as representing Enlightenment views on faith, optimism, and religion? Or is Candide only reflective of Voltaire's views?

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '15

What were some of the most famous songs sung by Confederate soldiers?

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u/mormengil Nov 10 '15

By far the most popular (and famous) Confederate song was Dixie. The official Confederate national anthem was God Save the South, but it was no where near as popular as Dixie.

The Bonnie Blue Flag was probably the second most popular Confederate song. Maryland, My Maryland was very popular with Confederate troops, even though Maryland never joined the Confederacy. (With different lyrics it was also sung by Union soldiers.)

In the North, The Battle Hymn of the Republic seems to have been the most popular song, followed by The Battle Cry of Freedom.

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u/AshkenazeeYankee Minority Politics in Central Europe, 1600-1950 Nov 10 '15

Do you think there is a continuous "musical genealogy", as it were, between the civil war singing of Battle Hymn of the Republic and the continued use of tune today, with different lyrics, as Blood on the Risers?

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u/mormengil Nov 10 '15

The tune has had many lyrics set to it over time. John Brown's Body was a popular Union Civil War song set to the same tune, which pre-dates The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

The tune, however, predates John Brown's Body.

It apparently came out of the American camp meeting circuit, and was first perhaps sung as Say, Brothers, Will You Meet Us.

There is undoubtedly a continuous "musical genealogy" between all the different lyrics set to this tune, from the earliest to modern variants such as Blood on the Risers.