L3: Historical Criticisms

• Historical criticism


  Understanding the underlying circumstances that lead to the formation of early writings
• Historical criticism

  1. Ascertain the text's original meaning within its historical context and its literal sense

  2. Reconstruct the historical context in which the author and the text's audience lived
• External criticism


  Assessing the authenticity of the material by investigating its origin, authorship, and sources of information
• Internal criticism (higher criticism)

  Evaluating the reliability of the testimonies and assessing the likelihood of their truthfulness
• External criticism

  1. Diplomatic critique

  2. Paleographical criticism
• Paleographical criticism


  Studying the writing, script, and language of the source while taking its period and place of creation into account
• Forgery was frequent in the Middle Ages, so it is crucial to carefully examine the material from a variety of angles
• Internal criticism

  1. Assessing the historical accuracy of the facts presented in a document

  2. Evaluating the credibility of the sources, the author's knowledge, and the prevailing influences during the time of writing
• Test of authenticity

  1. Estimating the probable date of the document

  2. Analyzing the materials used to determine if they are consistent with the time period

  3. Examining the inks used in the document, looking for indications of age or any elements that would be anachronistic in their chemical composition
• Identifying the possible author of a document

  1. Examining handwriting, signatures, seals, letterheads, and watermarks to establish connections

  2. Comparing with authenticated specimens for potential matches
• Certain regions and time periods had conventionalized handwriting styles and forms for official documents
• Specialists who are familiar with contemporary writing can detect anachronistic styles, such as idioms, orthography, or punctuation, which provide clues to the authenticity of a document
• Fraudulent documents can often be identified by anachronistic references to events, such as mentioning occurrences that are either too early, too late, or too distant in time
• If a document is dated at a time when the purported author could not have been present at the specified location (establishing an alibi), it raises suspicions of forgery
• Skilled forgers may meticulously mimic well-known historical sources, but certain passages may reveal their work as a copy due to a lack of attention to minor details or the inclusion of unfamiliar information
• If a document is found in its expected location, such as within a family's archives or a governmental bureau's records, its provenance (custody) creates a presumption of its authenticity