“BREVITY IS the SOUL of WIT”: The METHOD of BREVITY in MEDIEVAL HISTORICAL NARRATIVES

The method of brevity has been used as a rhetorical narrative strategy since the Antiquity. Brevity method can also be detected in many Medieval European historical narratives as an instrument of presenting the narrative to the audience functionally and expressing the didactic and moral message properly. Brevity method in medieval narratives was very helpful for the historians in order to communicate truth very lucidly by influencing, convincing and entertaining the reader. The purpose of this study is to examine the question of brevity in the narratives through the analysis of the examples from medieval chronicles. This subject is quite important but has been neglected by many historians. The main question to be asked in this paper is: why did the medieval chroniclers give utmost importance to the question of brevis in their works? In other words, why did the chroniclers underline the use of brevis in narration process? By examining these questions, this paper will hopefully display that the medieval chroniclers were considering the concerns of their readers even though we mention relatively limited audience. Additionally, this study will show how the medieval chroniclers as historians aimed at representing truth very clearly on the plane of historical reality and attempted to encourage their readers to think by reading and enjoying the text