While the study of rhetoric has received a much-needed revival dating from about 1945, historical writing "was not a favored object of scrutiny among the many studies of rhetoric’s influence on medieval literature, education, and preaching" (from the introduction). By 1978, some scholars had resolved to rectify this problem, and organized sessions at the thirteenth International Congress on Medieval Studies. This volume stands as a selection of works presented there, helping to "fortify the strength of interest and inquiry directed toward rhetoric’s symbiosis with historiography in centuries past" (from the introduction).