The giant of the fairy tale

by Davide G. Colasanto

“The good historian is like the giant of the fairy tale. He knows that wherever he catches the scent of human flesh, there his quarry lies.”

Marc Bloch, Benjamin Léopold The Historian’s Craft (Manchester University Press, 1992), 22.

 

“Le bon historien, lui, ressemble à l’ogre de la légende. Là où il flaire la chair humaine, il sait que là est son gibier.”

Marc Bloch, Benjamin Léopold, Apologie pour l’histoire, ou, Métier d’historien, Classiques des sciences sociales (Chicoutimi: J.-M. Tremblay, 2005),18.

Gustave Doré's depiction of "Le Petit Poucet" ogre.

Gustave Doré’s depiction of the ogre in “Le Petit Poucet”.

Image’s source