External Criticism

The Historical criticism of the sources is one of the most important duties of a historian in research. It is part of the analytical operation in the historical method. Source criticism helps the historian to find out a reliable account of the past. The aim of historical criticism is to establish the authenticity and reliability of a historical document. There are two levels of source criticism namely: External Criticism and Internal Criticism. The external criticism aims to find out the authenticity of the document. On the other hand, internal criticism aims to establish the credibility of the content of the document.

External Criticism

External criticism, also called lower criticism, determines the authenticity of the source. The method of external criticism is also known as heuristics. The term heuristics is derived from the Greek word heuriskein, which means to find or discover. Heuristics is a technique to detect, trace and locate historical evidence. In another way, it is a method to find out the authenticity of the document. Many historical records lack precise authorship, title, location and dates. Before accepting the document as a valid source, its genuineness must be tested with critical examination. External criticism generally conducts examinations of documents like manuscripts, books, pamphlets, maps, inscriptions and monuments. The problem of authenticity of documents arises more in the case of manuscripts than the printed documents because the printed document has already been authenticated by its author or publisher.

Functions of External Criticism

The functions of external criticism are many. Primarily, external criticism sets three questions to test the authenticity of a document:

• Who produced the document?
• When was it produced?
• Where was it produced?

Through these questions of external criticism, historian tries to establish:

• The authorship of the document
• The period/date/time of the document
• The location/place of the document

Elements of Enquires in External Criticism

1.   Authorship

Authorship is the first question while examining the authenticity of a document. Even anonymous writings can provide useful and important knowledge to a historian. But the discovery of an author’s name will add authenticity to the information. The character, connections and trustworthiness of the author are often reflected in his writings. Thus to identify the author of a document is very important. If the ideas and style do not match or resemble the idea and style of the author it can be safely assumed that they were not the parts of the original manuscript and were forged by the later ones. Moreover, the historian should ask questions like: Is there just one author, or are there several, and whether the name provided in the document is an editor or translator. A few sources may have several individuals who contributed to the fundamental creation and presentation of the work. All these must be considered.

2.   Period/Date/Time

The period of the document must be inquired to determine its authenticity. In modern publications, the year can be found on the book or document on the title page or backside. However, in the old manuscript where the date is absent, it can be found in the language or from the date of birth and death of the author. The archaeologists and numismatists provide valuable assistance to the historians to fix the chronology of ancient remains and also decipher the inscriptions. Extensive knowledge of the period of enquiry is also a prerequisite.

3.   Location/Place

The place of publication of the document must be inquired to determine the authenticity of the document. In modern publications, the place of publication is indicated on the book or document on the title page or backside. However, in the old manuscript where the place is absent, it can be found in the language or from the life of the author.

Highly specialized techniques like carbon dating, linguistic analysis, chemical analysis, etc., are required to authenticate some documents and artefacts.

Other Enquiries

Apart from these basic enquiries, the ‘title of the document’ should be examined to authenticate the document. In edited works and journals, there may be two titles – the title of the edited book/journal and the title of the article. This must be verified. In the case of secondary sources, the details of the publication are also necessary. The name of the publisher/publishing house, place of the publication and year of first publication should be validated. For online resources, it means the URL and retrieved date.  

Some sources may be reproduced and the original document may be lost or not available. In this case, unintentional or deliberately committed textual errors can take place in the subsequent copies of the original documents. These mistakes may be caused by the scribe, typist or printer. This problem can be overcome through the collection and comparison of as many copies of the same documents.

Thus, the process of external criticism allows the historian to establish the authenticity of the document and thereby accept it for higher levels of criticism.