RIPH

History was derived from the Greek word “historia” which means “knowledge acquired through inquiry
or investigation”.

- As a disciple it existed for around 2,400 years and is as old as mathematics and philosophy.
- “History is the record of what one age finds worthy of note in another.” -Burckhardt
- “History, in its broadest sense, is everything that ever happened.” -Henry Johnson
- “The value & interest of history depend largely on the degree in which the present is illuminated
by the past.” -V.S. Smith
- “History is the story of man’s struggle through the ages against Nature and the elements;
against wild beasts & the jungle & some of his own kind who have tried to keep him down and
to exploit him for their own benefit.” -Jawaharal Nehru

History- provides us significant records of events of the past, a meaningful story of mankind
depicting the details of what happened to man and why it happened.

NATURE OF HISTORY

1. History is a study of the present in the light of the past.

2. History is the study of man.
3. History is concerned with man in time.
4. History is concerned with man in space.
5. History provides an objective record of happenings.
6. History is multisided.
7. History is a dialogue between the events of the past & progressively emerging future ends.
8. History is not only narration but it is also an analysis.
9. Continuity and coherence are the necessary prerequisites of history.
10. History is relevant.
11. History is comprehensive.

RELEVANCE & FUNCTIONS OF HISTORY

1. History helps us understand people & societies.

2. History contributes to moral understanding.
3. History provides identity.
4. Studying history is essential for good citizenship.
5. History is useful in the world of work.

HISTORICAL SOURCES

Historical sources- an object from the past or testimony concerning the past which historian’s use to
create their own depiction of the past.

- Written Sources: are published materials (books, journals, etc.) and manuscript (handwritten
and unprinted like archival materials and memoirs)
- Non written Sources: Oral history, artifacts, fossils, etc.
PRIMARY SOURCES

- Testimony of an eyewitness.
- It must have been produced by a contemporary of that is narrated.
- It is a document or physical object written or created during the time under study.
- It must have been produced by a contemporary of that is narrated. It is a document or physical
object written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an
experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.
- Kinds of Primary Sources: A historical record, records of social observations, chronicles, human
fossils, artifacts, royal decrees and laws, official reports, maps, memoirs, personal accounts,
newspapers & magazines, legislative journals, court records, patents, video recordings, relics,
property deeds.

SECONDARY SOURCES

- Interpret and analyze primary sources

- They are one or more steps removed from the event. Examples are printed textbooks.
- Kinds of Primary Sources: Books, bibliographies, biographies, indexes, data bases, internet,
market consultants, articles, commentaries, movie reviews, documentary reports, editorial
cartoons, journal.

Both primary and secondary sources are useful in writing and learning history. However, they need to
scrutinize thoroughly these document to avoid deception and to come up with the historical truth.

HISTORICAL CRITICISM - Settles matters on the form and content of a source

External Criticism

- Deals with the problem of authenticity: to spot hoaxes, fakes, forgeries and fabrications

Tests of Authenticity are:

- Determine the date if it is Anachronistic: a material, skill or culture does not exist at that time
- Determine the author in the uniqueness of his handwriting or signature
- Determine the provenance or custody: genuineness
- Determine the Semantics, meaning of a text or word
- Determine the Hermeneutics, the ambiguities (the branch of knowledge that deals
w/interpretation, especially of Bible.

Internal Criticism- deals with the problem of credibility. Tests of credibility are:

- Determine the Character of the Author, his reliability, and his ability and willingness to tell the
truth
- Determine the Corroboration, historical facts rest upon the testimony of two or more reliable
witnesses
Historical Method- the process of critically examining and analyzing the records and survivals of the
past.

- The historian is many times removed from the events under investigation
- They rely on surviving records
- History is reconstruction