If you’re a history teacher, student, or fan, you’ve probably heard of primary sources. If that’s not you, here’s what I’m talking about: a primary source is something written as close as possible to when an event happened. Boots on the ground, eyewitness report – or the next best thing. Now that you know what a primary source is, why should you care? There are three great reasons to read primary sources:
- They’re produced as close to the historical event as possible.
- They show you what people cared about in the past.
- They can be wildly entertaining.
I’ll address each of these points in turn.
Subheading 1: 1. “I was there! I saw everything!”
Memory is a fickle thing. That’s why modern crime solvers want the earliest eyewitness account they can get. Historians follow the same principle. The closer a writer is to the event they’re describing, the better. That doesn’t mean these are perfectly accurate. Just like modern people, historical writers could be intolerant, confused, or out of touch with reality. But the earliest version of a story is going to be important no matter how wild it is.
Subheading 2: 2. “Welcome to my twisted mind!”
Historical people had their own ideas about what was interesting. Neolithic humans loved to draw animals. Romans loved to write about war and politicians. Irish legends devote so much detail (pg 11) to everyone’s appearance that it can feel like reading “My Immortal.” So in addition to the details provided by historical writers, the topics they chose to write about or omit show what they valued. Oh, did you want to read one of the earliest accounts of the British Isles in history? You’ll get to see how the early Britons lived, dressed, farmed, and fought before Roman occupation. You will also get to read about Julius Caesar playing with water clocks trying to figure out if days are longer or shorter in England than in France, because he really wanted to write about that.
Subheading 3: 3. “This one time, at King Philip II’s court…”
Historians argue all the time about whether a given source or story is valid. That’s necessary: historical people were no strangers to propaganda and gossip. But that means that part of a historian’s job is to read ALL the historical gossip and try to figure out who – if anyone – was telling the truth. And whether true or not, primary sources make for fantastic reading. I’ll leave you with this example: Queen Nitocris of Babylon led her people to believe that she had treasure in her tomb for use in an emergency. In reality she had left a message in there saying, in so many words, “If you didn’t suck at finances you wouldn’t be trying to rob my tomb, loser.” Don’t let anyone tell you history is boring.
Subheading 4: In Conclusion
So why read primary sources? Close-to-the-event reporting, a unique perspective on historical thought, and entertainment. Primary sources get whittled down into textbooks and modern historical works. That makes it easier to memorize facts and timelines, sure. But history is made up of stories about humans. Reducing it to facts and timelines can remove that all-important human element. Nothing makes history more fun than reading what are basically sarcastic wiki pages about the early Roman emperors, or watching a Welsh monk question if killing a werewolf is homicide or not (pg 44). Go nuts! Have fun! Read primary sources! Hear the voices of the past! Balance your formal education with fantastic stories and weird trivia! Just make sure to take it all with a grain of salt.