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224 Reviews range, concentrating almost entirely on Stephen Greenblatt and Clifford Geertz. No-one would challenge the importance of Greenblatt and Geertz, but the ambit of N e w Historicism in America is much wider than Hamilton's coverage would suggest. Another weakness, to m y mind, is the omission of significant historians from the debate: such is the unseen but felt tyranny of the Uterary theorists. In a phrase or two historiographers like Hayden White and Dominick La Capra' (p. 163) are dismissed almost as soon as they are mentioned. A book of this size should also have had an index. Readers have a right to some assistance in retracing their steps through so much tricky territory. The main problem with this book, and i t is for m e a very serious one, is that i t is too difficult for the audience i t seeks to enlighten. I f Hamilton's Historicism is indeed designed as 'essential reading for any student new to the sometimes bewildering field of literary theory' (as the pre-title page proclaims), i t makes excessive demands of that student. For instance, Hamilton's own secure understanding of thinkers and theorists leads him to quote their names sometimes almost as coded summaries of the ideas he would associate with those names. In a single paragraph on perspectivism (pp. 110-11), he conjures forth the names of Nietzsche, Freud, Althusser, Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Marx and Foucault. To one who is not already an adept, the result wtil probably be increased bewilderment. Labelling aU the trees does not help to map the wood. Christopher Wortham Department of English University of Western AustraUa Henken, EUssa R., National Redeemer: Owain Glyndwr in Welsh Tradition, N e w York, Cornell University Press 1996; pp. xii, 250; map; R.R.P. US$47.00 (cloth), US$18.95 (paper). Owain Glyndwr (the Owen Glendower of Shakespeare's Henry IV) was the prime instigator and mititary leader of the last successful uprising against English domination by the Welsh, in 1400 A.D. In dealing with the man and his impact upon twentieth-century Welsh Reviews 225 nationatism, EUssa Henken moves beyond historical record to explore the concept and role of the 'national redeemer' of the book's title. In doing so, she presents a sound case for the use of folklore in historiographical analysis. The book presents a comprehensive appraisal of the Welsh hero, but it also provides a compelling argument for h o w 'people create and maintain their group identity, using heroes and reworking folklore as necessary to give them the strength and cultural tools to survive and accomplish their aims'. While Henken concentrates on the Welsh, the methodology she employs might well be applied effectively to the study of any nationalist group, particularly where ethnic kinship is an essential component. Although European nationatism emerged relatively late, European states today do possess varying ranges of national heroes. But not all fit Henken's definition of 'national redeemer'. To be considered a national saviour, the warrior-hero must possess more than mere martial prowess; he must fuel, empower and perpetuate his people's dream of national seti-determination. Henken cites other National Redeemerfigures,including Arthur of England (or was he actually Welsh?), Frederick Barbarossa of Germany and Marko of Hungary along with Owain Glyndwr. All were warrior heroes transformed, almost transmogrifted, into the role of national redeemer through the folklore of the people and the imaginative verse of the bards. Henken's images of the National Redeemer combine the magical and the pragmatic: the supernatural figure emerging when the nation is at darkest peril, and the warrior-hero transformed into redeemer by political expediency. She posits the view that 'the redeemer is a figure of intense political immediacy rather than mere mythological romanticism'. Nonetheless, the book makes clear the importance of supernatural themes in establishing the aura and authority of the warrior-hero. A c o m m o n factor in Henken's examples of national redeemers is their final fate. Where does the body rest? Is he indeed dead, or merely sleeping, waiting the clarion call? So Henken presents the typical national redeemer figure as a successful...

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