Mikrohistorija i Natalie Zemon Davis
Microhistory and Natalie Zemon Davis

Summary/Abstract: Natalie Zemon Davis is an influential American social and cultural historian of the early modern period. In late 1970s, she developed an interest for anthropology, which led her to cultural history, close observation and microhistory. She gradually accepted the microhistorical working method and applied it with greater confidence in her writing. In this essay I discuss Natalie Zemon Davis’ writings and describe her microhistorical orientation and approach to past realities. The central place is occupied by a review and analysis of her best-known book, The return of Martin Guerre. Popularity of this piece has been attributed to its conceptual, interpretive, compositional and stylistic qualities. In this essay I single out evidences, research questions and hypotheses that constitute this study and discuss the ways in which the author experimented within the ‘plan of possible’. The excellent reception of this monograph among historians and general audience indicates that the aesthetic and historiographical dimensions of a work can successfully coexist. Yet, as shown in previous sections, The return of Martin Guerre failed to achieve a firm and incontestable chain of evidence. In this essay I reveal certain omissions in Natalie Zemon Davis’ research project for which she had to respond to criticism. The biggest problem in Natalie Zemon Davis’ research, in my view, is to be found in her reading and interpretation of historical sources. It seems that the author had to designate her primary source as ambivalent, as well as mixed style and mixed form, to make it easier for herself to tell her version of the story. Yet the author deserves praise for the book that may be read both as a detective story and an academic historical text. Its accessibility will certainly remain its advantage, both for the reader and for the further exploration of the past.

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