Interpretation of Historical Facts in Modern Italian Literature by the Example of Umberto Eco’s Novel “Baudolino”

The article is devoted to interpretation of historical facts in Umberto Eco's novel " Baudolino ". The subject of interpretation in the novel is medieval history, in particular, the reign of the emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Eco uses the typical for the historical novel method, which is the combination of facts from chronicles and fictional elements; the events are shown by the eyes of an invented character Baudolino. Emphasizing the connection between history and modernity, Eco proposes to revise the stereotypes associated with the mentioned historical period. The portraits of historical figures are borrowed from the chronicles, however in the novel they get more emotional in the perception of the protagonist, typical cliches are replaced by individuality. The opposition of italian communes to the government of Frederick also becomes a part of Baudolino's personal history. The interpretation of many events is based on legendary sources, including local tales of the italian city Alessandria, the legends of Grail and of Prester John. The legendary material fills in the gaps in medieval history. Many events (in particular, the participation of Barbarossa in the Third Crusade) correspond to the chronicles in the descriptive part, however they acquire a fictional motivation. The mystery of the emperor's death is solved in a detective key. The novel presents various doctrines elaborated in the imperial office of Frederick, their authorship is attributed to Baudolino. In the novel «Baudolino» Umberto Eco not only interprets creatively certain facts of the past, but he also practices the postmodern concept of history, according to which the past is unknowable as objective and ultimate truth and therefore it exists only in the form of a narrative. The past and the present have no fundamental difference, the history is always interpreted from the perspective of the present.

interpretation, history, historical novel, Middle Ages, Frederick Barbarossa, Lombard league, legend, Grail, Prester John, postmodernism

1. Балакин В.Д. Фридрих Барбаросса. М.: Молодая гвардия, 2001.288 с.

2. Заборов М.А. Введение в историографию крестовых походов (латинская хронография XI - XII вв.). М.: Наука, 1966. 380 с.

3. Ильин И. П. Постструктурализм. Деконструктивизм. Постмодернизм. М.: Интрада, 1996. 253 стр.

4. Лиотар, Жан-Франсуа. Состояние постмодерна. / Перев. с франц. Н. А. Шматко. СПб.: Алетейя, 1998. 159 с.

5. Эко, Умберто. Баудолино. / Перев. с итал. Е. А. Костюкович. СПб.: Симпозиум, 2003. 541 с.

6. Эко, Умберто. Заметки на полях «Имени розы»/ Пер. с итал. Е.А. Костюкович. Спб.: Симпозиум, 2007. 92 с.

7. Centini, Massimo. Guida insolita ai misteri, ai segreti, alle leggende e alle curiosita del Piemonte. Roma: Newton Compton Editori, 2010. 311 p.

8. Stauder, Thomas. Un colloquio con Umberto Eco intorno a Baudolino// Il lettore di provincia, gennaio - agosto 2001. XXXII 110/111. pp. 3-14.

9. Wies, Ernst W. Federico Barbarossa. Mito e realta./trad. Aldo Audisio. - Milano: Rusconi, 1991.339 p.