Ramkhamhaeng Historiography: The Construction of the Historiography of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great from 1833 to 1992

Abstract

This academic article studies the construction and reproduction of the historiography of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great since the discovery of the First Inscription in King Rama III’s reign until it became part of “National History” in the Thai Absolute Monarch era. The discovery of the First Inscription serves as the answer to the question of the existence of the past that the Siamese elite were searching for. It was in line with the new historical consciousness and worldview of the Siamese elite. The historiography shows a past that is continuous with the present that is changing to the modern era because the role of King Ramkhamhaeng reflects the image a “Public Monarchy” which was the modern form of Siamese monarchy since the reign of King Rama IV, until it attained the status of accepted history in 1907. With the image of King Ramkhamhaeng consistent with the ideology of each era, the historiography of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great is a historiography that has then changed from royalist historiography to heroic nationalist historiography as a model of "Thai style leadership" of the government of Field Marshal P. Pibulsongkram. It finally came back to adhere to the royal nationalist historiography as a model of the “fatherly and democratic king” of King Rama IX’s reign in 1992.