Can you remember when you studied history at school or university? Was it so interesting? Most likely, your answer will depend on how your teacher presented the material. If it just made you memorize certain dates, it is not surprising that for you the story seemed like “mortal boredom”. However, maybe it was not so at all, and your teacher could breathe life into historical science. When he spoke of life in ancient Egypt or in the time of Sparta, the historical narrative literally revived in the minds of inquisitive students. Did it seem to you that historical figures literally came to life in your mind? Well, if that was so. What is the matter? Why can the approach of one teacher be so different from the approach of another? The difference between a good history teacher and a bad one is the same as the difference between dry history and historiography. It turns out that the stages of historiography tend to describe events much more lively. How does this happen? Let's find out.
What is historiography?
Historiography is, more simply, the presence of complete systematized information that reveals the essence of a certain direction in history. You can give a simple example. Biblical historiography is a collection of information about the Jewish people of biblical times, the availability of relevant studies in the field of archeology, the vocabulary of the Hebrew language and accessible scientific discoveries; a clear system of facts on a historical line or evidence, which are decorated thematically.
If we talk about this type of research as a science, then historiography is a discipline that studies history and its directions. Historiography monitors the quality of scientific research and its clear design. This includes checking the relevance of the information to the researchers for whom it was covered. According to Ozhegov’s dictionary, historiography of history is the science of the development of historical knowledge and the methods of historical research.
Origin of historiography
Historiography is Croce's method of researching history, thanks to which it is possible to see the connection between history and philosophy. Why did the need for this science arise? The fact is that in addition to observing and recording facts, there is always a need to explain the events that have occurred. And people, as you know, have different opinions. Therefore, the correct perception of reality must necessarily affect how history describes its point of view. In addition, Croce attached great importance to modernity.
Since historical documents are often just a statement of the author’s purely subjective point of view, which can radically differ from reality, both chronologicality and the correct approach to research are important. True, both of these concepts cannot be called opposites. Rather, these are two completely different points of view. Chronology sets forth facts only, while history is life. The chronicle is lost in the past, and history is modern at all times. In addition, any meaningless story turns into a banal chronology. According to Croce, the story could not come from the chronicle, just as the living does not come from the dead.
Philological history
What is a philological history? This is an approach due to which, for example, one can be obtained from several historical works or books. This technique in Russian is called compilation - the union of other people's research and ideas, without independent processing of the source. A person who uses this approach no longer needs to search through the mountain of books, but the final result obtained as a result of such research has practically no benefit. We get dry facts, not always, possibly reliable, but we lose the most important thing - a living story. Thus, a history based on philology may be true, but there is no truth in it. Those who use this method can and want to convince both others and themselves that some document is an indisputable argument in favor of the truth. Thus, they, as compilers of the chronology, seek the truth within themselves, but miss the most important. Such an approach cannot affect the true development of historiography.
Something else about the origin of historiography
If we talk about what Soviet historiography is or any other, it can be noted that earlier this term was understood as what it means, namely “history in writing” (graphos - writing). However, later everything changed, and today behind this expression they see the history of history itself. Among those who stood at the origins of historiography, one can name S. M. Solovyov, V. O. Klyuchevsky, and P. N. Milyukov. They, like some others, examined both assumptions based on facts and already proven systems. By the end of the 19th century, scientists developed the entire palette of scientific historical research. In addition to the researchers listed above, we can name others, those who clarified the significance of historiography as a science, and who described the process of forming a study of the past using a scientific approach. As we said above, historiography is higher than the philological narrow idea of the world. Rather, it is an attempt to recreate the world as it was hundreds or even thousands of years ago, a desire to penetrate the gaze of thought in those ancient times and even resurrect the life and life of people who lived a long time ago.
The Importance of Historiography
The main goal of historiography is to fully comprehend both the past and the present, the history of science. Thanks to it, it becomes possible to determine in which direction history will develop, and to make scientific research more accurate. Thanks to historiography, it is possible to prepare more experienced specialists in the field of history.
In fact, there would be a huge gap between science and practice if they were not connected by historiography, which turns theory into practical application. In addition, if a professional historian knows well the origin of the science that he studies and teaches, this helps him to be an excellent professional in his field.
Modern attempts to broaden the view of historiography
Over the past few decades, many efforts have been made to bring a new look at the history of historical science. Among the published literature, one can especially note the collection "Soviet historiography", 1996 edition, as well as the book "Domestic historical science in the Soviet era" (2002). We should not be surprised at the special interest in historiography in recent times, since it opens the way to a deeper study of historical science.
Russian historiography
Efforts to better understand the history of Russia are not a new idea. Years passed, people changed, and therefore, approaches to learning changed. Earlier history was studied more in order to discover the precedents of the past. However, at all times, Russian historiography was formed under the influence of the philosophy of the time in which the researcher lived. Providentialism, unrelated to the true teachings of the Holy Scriptures, in the Middle Ages served as the main engine of desire to understand history. Then, any event or incident was attributed to God's intervention, ignoring the fact that the Bible clearly states: "Man rules man, to the detriment of him." Thus, Scripture indicates that the people who produce them are primarily responsible for any turn of events in history. Russian historiography has also gone through such non-factual reasoning.
Submission of the Slavs
Although today all the representations of people that existed during the time of Kievan Rus are not exactly known, but exploring the facts, you can still notice that in those days there were many legends and songs that reflect the world of views of the ancient Slavs. Their ideas about the world are radically different from today. And although grains of truth may be in them, on the whole no one will trust such quirks. One can, however, heed the words of one writer who called all Slavic songs, epics, tales and proverbs "the dignity and mind of the people." In other words, the people who wrote them thought the same way.
However, over time, with the advent of new historical facts and an increase in knowledge in the field of the approach to the study of history, science itself improved. With the advent of new points of view and the writing of recent scientific writings, history has changed and the principles of its research have improved.
Long-standing chronology
Reading the majority of ancient scientific works on history, one can notice one interesting characteristic feature - the narration of any events usually began from time immemorial and ended with the time in which the author himself lived. For modern scientists, the information that the historian has written about the time in which he himself lived is of greater importance, since this information is the most plausible and reliable. A study of the works of various authors shows that even then there was a difference in the views of various people on the same issues. So, different people often had completely different opinions about a particular historical event.
What did we learn?
Thus, we were able to plunge into the Middle Ages and see how strikingly different approaches to scientific research compared to our time. We were able to briefly see what influenced the development of history as a science, and examined how the flat scientific method differs from a truly living study, the door to which opens the scientific approach, known today as historiography. Applying the knowledge gained in personal research, you can make studying history more interesting for yourself and others. The historiography of Kievan Rus or the historiography of Russia is no longer a problem for you.