Historical text commentaryPages 64, 65, 66 (Primus Circumdedisti Me)

What’s a commentary?

• A paper, an essay.

• Personal expression.

• A historical topic.

Parts of commentary

• Comprehension.

• Location & classification.

• Analysis & commentary.

• Evaluation & conclusions.

Comprehension

• Full understanding of the text.

• Find out unknown words & concepts.

• Underline the main ideas.

Full understanding?

• Read the text carefully.

• Patience.

• Time to work, to think.

Location

• Text type.

• Historical context.

Text type

• The origin:

• Primary source.

• Secondary source.

Two basic kinds of text

• Informative text.

• Argumentative text.

Characteristics: informative • Communicative aims are wide.

• Limitations:

• Provide some data.

• Describe some characteristics.

• Narrate personal experiences/events.

• To communicate some ideas/concepts.

Examples, informative• Biography.

• Tale.

• Legend.

• Chronicles.

• Treaties.

• Reports.

Characteristics: argumentative

• Main objective:

• To provide (neutral) information.

• Influence/persuade the recipient arguing a case/viewpoint.

Three types

• Opinion-based texts.

• Opinion-based articles.

• Argumentative reports.

Historical context

• Location:

• Chronologically.

• Geographically.

• If necessary, brief description of the period.

Author

• A single person.

• A group.

• A representative of an institution.

• It may appear in the text.

• We might have to guess it.

Recipient & objective of text

• For whom is the text written?

• What is its objective?

Analysis & commentary

• After location...

• The analysis (the most important part).

• To describe in detail the meaning of the text.

The analysis on two levels• First level:

• Comprehension & definition of:

• The data.

• Names.

• Concepts.

• Historical events.

More analysis...

• Second level:

• Summarize & classify the main ideas.

• The order of importance.

• Chronological order of events.

• Themes.

Important!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• After all these steps... explain all the information IN YOUR WORDS in order to show YOUR UNDERSTANDING of the information.

Evaluation & conclusions

• The text is written.

• Evaluation of:

• Its objectivity.

• The importance of the events and ideas.

Text commentary

ChildTeenager

James I badge

James I of England• Union of the crowns of Scotland &

England (March 24th, 1603 - March 27th, 1625).

• Predecessor in:

• Scotland: Mary Stuart.

• England: Elizabeth I.

• Successor: Charles I of England.

Mary Stuart Elizabeth I

Roman Catholic Anglican

Vatican City Canterbury

Pope

Archbishop of Canterbury

The principal ideas of the text

• The kings thereafter in Scotland were before any estates or ranks of men within the same, b e f o r e a n y Parliaments were holden or laws made;

• And it follows of necessity that the Kings were the authors and makers of the laws and not the laws of the Kings.

• The laws are desired by his subjects, and only made by him at their rogation and with their advice.

• ... the King is overlord of the whole land, so he is master over every person that inhabitants the same...

• For certainly a King that governs not by his law can neither be countable to God for his administration nor have a happy and established reign.

• I have at length proved, that the King is above the law...

Location - text type

• The text is a primary source of information.

• It represents an argumentative text.

• James I tries to convince the recipient that the model of absolutist monarchy is the best.

Location - historical context

• The text was written in 1598, before James VI of Scotland became King James I of England.

• At that time the European monarchy had in general begun to monopolize all power in the royal courts.

• James was from a similar absolutist tradition.

Location - the author

• The author is James VI, King of Scotland.

Location - recipient/objective

• The text is an extract from the book “The True Law of Free Monarchies” where James I wanted to publicly declare his idea of monarchy (Absolutism) to all his subjects, but especially to parliament, to justify the resulting increase in his power.

Analysis & commentary

• Certain words that are “historic” (Estate, Parliament) and old-fashioned can cause the problems (“ye”, you; “rogation”, asking).

• Some of the phrases are more complex (“And as ye see it manifest...”, and as you can see it is obvious).

•You have to make sure you understand

the text perfectly before continuing

• Regarding the ideas of the text, James VI wrote this piece to justify the increase of royal power over parliament.

• He included many reasons to support his argument.

• The kings.. were before the estates, before the parliaments.

• The kings distributed the land... devised the forms of government.

• The kings were the makers of the laws and not the laws of the kings.

• The king is the master over every person... having power of the whole life and death of every one of them...

Reasons

• James VI explains that the king came before anything else, and that all types of government or law were decided by them.

• They were also the “master” of everyone, which gave them the power to govern.

• He was trying to justify that if historically things had been like that, then there is no need to justify his wish to govern free of parliamentary control.

Evaluation & conclusions

• This text is clearly subjective.

• The kings explains the issues as he sees them, re-interpreting history for his own convenience (changes facts and reality to justify his wishes).

• When he became the King of England in 1603, he continued to express these ideas.

• But his son, Charles I, who really tried to apply them to the political arena.

• Charles I was executed.