Topic 1- What is History? Flashcards
1
Q
Name the historians/ schools focused on, and determined whether their ancient or modern historians.
A
- Herodotus- ancient
- Bede- ancient
- Lepold Von Ranke- modern
- E.H Carr- modern
- Annales School- modern
2
Q
Name and define the aspects does historians work reflect?
A
- Personal- anything happened in their private life
- Social- social, cultural and political aspects of the time
- Historical- changing ways of writing, viewing events and philosophical understanding
3
Q
Name a major point of contention surrounding Herodotus. What did he write?
A
Father of History or Father of Lies
He wrote ‘The Histories’
4
Q
What is Herodotus’ personal context?
A
- Greek born in Halicarnassus
- Exiled for conspiring against Persian rule
- Travelled extensively
5
Q
What is Herodotus’ social context?
A
- The universe is rule by fate and chance- moral is important
- Herodotus as an elite saw and wrote about the events of the upper classes and significant individuals.
6
Q
What is Herodotus’ historical context?
A
- Saw conflict between Persian empire and Greek states
- Growth of Athenian Power and Democracy
- Athens and Sparta engage in war
7
Q
What was his language and style?
A
- Oral purpose
- Homeric tradition
- Works were mostly given through oral presentation to the public
8
Q
What was his purpose? Provide a quote to back this up
A
Commemorative
“Herodotus of Halicarnassus, his Researches are here set down to preserve the memory of the past by putting on record the astonishing achievements both of our own and of other peoples; and more particularly, to show how they came into conflict.”
9
Q
What was his construction of history?
A
- The History has been divided by later authors into nine parts
- The earlier parts deal with the customs, legends, history and traditions of the peoples of the ancient world,
- The last three books describe the armed conflicts between Greece and Persia in the early 5th century BC.
10
Q
Name his historical techniques
A
- Herodotus’ information derived in part from the work of predecessors, but was widely supplemented with knowledge that he had gained from his own extensive travels
- Herodotus, consulted witnesses and examined monuments whenever possible but introduced an extraneous element into his historical thinking in relying also on dreams, oracles and portents (undermines the historical work)
- Although he was sometimes inaccurate, he was generally careful to separate plausible reports from implausible ones
11
Q
Name some of his criticisms and one of his critics
A
Detlev Fehling argues that he invented sources and information. Accuses him of supernatural causation and determination.
- How does he communicate with foreigners?
- Only uses a limited range of sources?
- Did he only communicate with upper class citizens?
12
Q
What did Bede write?
A
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
13
Q
What is Bede’s personal context?
A
- Anglo-saxon theologian, hagiographer (Saint biography) and chronicler (record as it happens)
- Became a Priest at 30
- Spent most time in his monastery
- Became a saint in 1899
14
Q
What is Bede’s social context?
A
- Vacation as a Priest shaped his view of the world and history
- England at the time of Bede was Anglo- Saxonised
15
Q
What is Bede’s historical context?
A
- Christianity was beginning to spread and dominate England at the time of Bede
- Britain was a place of conflict with Bede living in Northumbria
16
Q
What was his language and style?
A
- Wrote in narrative
- Common in religious writing and tried to convert pagans and enhance faith of Christians
- Includes legends and miracles
17
Q
What was his purpose?
A
- Bede claimed to be writing for the ‘instruction of posterity’
- His aim was to spread the correct teaching of the gospel
- Purpose was to guide the pagans to the true faith and to help believers grow in Christian faith
- History is God’s plan revealed
- Desired to create a foundational myth for the English-possibly to link the English with the Roman Church and establish the Celtic Church as a relic of a defeated people
18
Q
How did he construct history?
A
- He was a prolific writer and his books are credited as having the largest English library at the time
- The Ecclesiastical History of the English details a chronological history of England from the time of Roman occupation to the year Bede finished writing in 731
- The history consisted of five books with the last dealing with his own life and his previous works
- First known work to use the AD dating system
19
Q
What were his historical techniques?
A
- ‘…began his History by generating a list of events from his several Easter-annals and chronological works. He then added entries from regnal and bishops’ lists, and Irish records. Having composed an outline of dated events, he then expanded the narrative with undated material from saints’ lives, legends, and accounts of battles that he thought would edify those who heard or read the book’ (Hughes-Warrington, 2000)
- He verified his sources and searched extensively for accuracy
- He had his extensive library for assistance
- Carefully referenced all material
20
Q
What were his criticisms?
A
- Not just Christian bias but also patriotic Northumbrian
- The fact he rarely left his monastery can be used to argue that he was less informed of events outside his own part of Britain
- Use of miracles can be used for criticism but also can be challenged by the understanding that he was a person of his time
- Bede, like other Christian historians, viewed it as linear with history just entering the period after the birth of Christ
21
Q
What did Von Ranke write?
A
- Histories of the Latin and Teutonic Nations
- History of the Popes
22
Q
What are his historical debates?
A
- Over-stating the possibility of objectivity
- Focusing too much on role of politics
- Claiming to be objective but possibly being influenced by his pro-Russian, conservative perspective
23
Q
What is his context?
A
- Leopold Von Ranke was a Germany Historian of the 19th Century
- Conservative Lutheran
- Gained favour of senior Prussian officials which facilitates almost unlimited access to royal archives.
- Born in the midst of the French Revolution
- French enlightenment spreading atheistic ideals
- Debate over whether history was useful
- Enlightenment philosophies- cherry picking from the past to find support for predetermined conclusions.
24
Q
What was his language and style?
A
- Ranke’s thinking was influenced by the philosopher Herder, who contended that one must seek to understand a period in its own terms and by studying its own unique set of values. This would become the concept of Historicism
- Ranke can be considered a Historicist as he rejected the secular system
25
Q
What was his purpose?
A
- “I see the time approaching when we shall base modern history, no longer on the reports even of contemporary historians… less on work yet more remote from the source; but rather on the narrative of eyewitnesses, and on genuine and original documents.”
- First work; History of the Latin and Teutonic Nations contains a section titled ‘Critique of Modern Historical Writing’
- Believed the purpose of the historian should be to reconstruct the uniqueness of the periods of the past
- Ranke was committed to the strict presentation of facts, historical truth was to be displayed through this means.
- He demanded objectivity, had a mistrust of history textbooks and preferred to study eyewitness accounts and “the most genuine immediate documents.”
26
Q
How did he construct history?
A
- Objectivity of historical truth
- Priority of facts over concepts
- Equivalent uniqueness of all historical events
- Centrality of politics
- Despised use of history for a present purpose such as teaching political lessons
- “Strict presentation of facts, no matter how conditional and unattractive they might be, is undoubtedly the supreme law”
- Distrusted previous historian’s works in general and relied on primary evidence. His aim was scientific objectivity
27
Q
What were his criticisms?
A
- Could not reconcile that the use of primary sources were produced for, by and about the rich and powerful
- This led to a limited history of events from the perspective of the educated, literate ruling classes
- Iggers (1973) concludes that ‘Ranke achieves a remarkable degree of impartiality’.
28
Q
What did Carr write?
A
- What is History?
- A History of Soviet Russia
