Sources of History

Sources are the foundations upon which history is built. Sources differentiate history from myth and story. Sources are the medium for the historian to relook at the past. Polish historian Joachim Lelewel, considered “anything that could contribute to the reconstruction of the past was a historical source”.  Ernst Bernheim, a German historian in his work on Historical Method (1889) refers sources to as “all those data from which the historian draws his knowledge". In this sense, historical source covers all sources of historical knowledge, that is, all information about the human past, in whatever type or form. Thus a potential source is anything from which a historian can draw information about the past. When E H Carr defines ‘history is a continuous process of interaction between the historian and his facts’, he also underlines the importance of historical facts. Thus, true historical research blends the sources and its interpretations. 

Classification of Sources

J. LeleweI, in his Historyka (The Methodology of History, 1815) classified the sources into three:

                    1         Tradition (oral relations);

                    2         Non-written sources, that is, silent monuments of the past";

                    3         Written sources

He also realized that there may be direct and indirect sources from the point of view of a given research problem. In the modern period, generally, historical sources are mainly classified into two:

a)     Primary Sources, and

b)     Secondary Sources

In simple words, a primary source directly relates to an event; the secondary source indirectly relates to an event. Both are equally important as they complement and supplement each other. It is generally accepted that good historical works are built on primary sources. However, secondary sources are also essential to the historian’s task. The distinction between primary and secondary sources is complicated. Many sources can be categorized either as primary or secondary depending on the subject being studied.

The actual existence of either primary or secondary historical sources does not guarantee their accuracy or validity. Sources tend to be inaccurate, incomplete, and biased because of prejudices or personal interests. The historian's answer is to collect as many independent, well-placed, contemporary sources as possible. Keith Jenkins argues that “certainty is impossible because there are no ‘deeper’ sources to draw on to get things right”. Sources are mute, they speak only when called upon by the historian. Historical research depends on how the historian interprets and organizes these sources of the past. A historian must be constantly critical of the historical materials obtained and examined.