Advances in the History of Rhetoric Oct 2012

Consilium: A System to Address Deliberative Uncertainty in the Rhetoric of the Middle Ages

Shawn D. Ramsey

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article treats the idea of consilium as a concept in the rhetoric of the Western Middle Ages. The tradition of civic oratory in antiquity was associated with the deliberative genre, and civic speech was perpetuated in the Middle Ages but manifested itself as consilium. In the letters of Fulbert of Chartres, the rhetorical commentaries of Thierry of Chartres, and the rhetorical treatises of Albertanus of Brescia and Brunetto Latini, the concept of consilium (“counsel”) systematically describes persuasive human interaction to address deliberative uncertainty about future civic decisions. Medieval rhetoricians use the term consilium both synonymously with deliberation and to describe an activity of persuasion that is akin to deliberative oratory. In rhetorical texts describing the practice of counsel in the Middle Ages, we see a transition from counsel as a subject of rhetorical theory to counsel as a public practice.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2012-10-01
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2012.712741
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Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory argument public rhetoric
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Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Loveridge (2017)
    Rhetorical Deliberation, Memory, and Sensation in the Thought of Thomas Aquinas
    Philosophy & Rhetoric

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Show all 31 →
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