The plan of the analysis of the document on history. Training in working with historical documents

1.1.4. Analysis of the content of a historical source

At the stage of content analysis, we first of all strive to achieve the maximum degree of understanding of the historical source, and then we identify its informational capabilities, thereby preparing it for use in further historical research.

Interpretation of historical source(from lat. interpretatio - interpretation, clarification) - the basic component of the process of historical knowledge, the meaning of which is to achieve an understanding of the historical (source) reality based on a system of methodologically verified research procedures.

In the course of interpretation, the maximum possible understanding of the historical source is achieved. From the point of view of the model of source study proposed in this textbook, interpretation (as it was shown in the first section when analyzing the concept of “historical source”) is a key procedure in source study analysis.

We will leave out of consideration the technical questions of interpretation, which, like the questions of attribution, are usually solved within the framework of auxiliary historical disciplines. It is quite obvious that, when starting a study, you need to make sure that you understand the language of the historical source, the dates given in it, the system of measures, etc. To find out the meaning of unfamiliar obsolete words, you must refer to historical dictionaries (not confusing them with , which, however, can also help the historian), but with the acquisition of research experience, the historian learns to understand that, for example, in the 18th century. the expression "to repair against the sovereign's decree" does not mean a political protest, but quite the opposite - to act in accordance with the law; indicated in the source, for example, “year 157” does not mean 1157 and this is not a scribe’s mistake, but this is 7157 from the creation of the world and, accordingly, 1648/1649 from the birth of Christ, etc.

Here we will talk about interpretation as a method of understanding the Other - the author of a historical source and the culture to which he belonged.

A. S. Lappo-Danilevsky, defining the meaning and significance of the research procedure of interpretation, wrote:

Anyone who seeks knowledge of historical reality draws his knowledge about it from sources (in the broad sense); but in order to ascertain which fact he can obtain from a given source, he must understand it: otherwise he will not have sufficient reason to attach objective significance to his idea of a fact; not being sure about what? it is he who learns from a given source, he cannot be sure that he does not attribute to the source the product of his own fantasy. From this point of view, the historian, in essence, proceeds to the study of various types of sources: he tries to establish, for example, the remnants of which particular fact or the legend about which particular fact are contained in a given source, which becomes possible only with a proper understanding of it. However, if we recall, in addition, those principles that underlie the concept of a properly historical object of study, then even from such a more specific point of view, understanding the source will become an even more urgent need for the historian: after all, starting to study historical material, he already proceeds from recognition of that “alien self”, to the activity of which he ascribes the emergence of a given source, and from the corresponding concept of the latter; consequently, each historical source turns out to be such a complex mental product of an individual or an entire people that a correct understanding of it is not given immediately: it is achieved by interpreting it.

So, broadly speaking, that interpretation consists in a generally valid scientific understanding of a historical source[emphasis added by me. - M. R.].

The scientific understanding of the historical source, in turn, needs, however, some clarification. In general, to scientifically understand a historical source means to establish that objectively given psychic meaning that an interpreter must ascribe to a source if he wishes to achieve the scientific goal of his historical interpretation set for himself; but, in essence, an interpreter can attach an objectively given mental meaning to his source only if he has reason to assert that he ascribes to it the same meaning that the creator (author) attached to his work. From this point of view, the interpreter is mainly interested in the psychic meaning or meaning of the historical source and establishes it by interpretation.

Paradigmally different approaches to historical knowledge, correlated with classical and non-classical models of science, make the object of interpretation either a historical fact, established by the so-called criticism of historical sources, or a historical source as an objectified result of the creative activity of an individual / a product of culture, the understanding of which is aimed at historical interpretation. . Samples of methodological development of the interpretation of historical fact in the 19th century. given by the German historians J. G. Droysen (1808–1886) and E. Bernheim (1850–1942). I. G. Droyzen defines: “The essence of interpretation is to see in past incidents the reality in its entirety of their conditions, which required their implementation in reality.” I. G. Droyzen distinguishes four aspects of interpretation: pragmatic interpretation - reconstruction of the picture of historical events on the basis of a historical source of material verified in the process of criticism; interpretation of conditions - clarification of the historical context of the facts established in the process of research; psychological interpretation - the identification of volitional acts that gave rise to the situation under study; interpretation of ideas - an explanation of the moral foundations of volitional acts. As we have seen, A. S. Lappo-Danilevsky developed the methodology for interpreting a historical source in most detail, who argued that a historical fact is established not in the process of criticizing a historical source, but in the process of interpreting it. A. S. Lappo-Danilevsky distinguishes four interrelated methods of interpreting a historical source: psychological, based on the principle of recognizing someone else's animation, - the interpretation of the object under study as a realized product of someone else's mental life, that is, its actual recognition as a historical source; technical - "the interpretation of those technical means that the author used to discover his thoughts"; typifying, systematic and evolutionary – correlating the historical source with the state of culture (co-existential dimension) and with the stage of culture (evolutionary/historical dimension) in which the source arose; individualizing - revealing the individual characteristics of the author's personality and the characteristics of his work. Throughout the 20th century the problems of interpretation were developed mainly in the context of hermeneutics.

Under hermeneutics ( Greek hermeneutike) was originally understood as the art of interpreting biblical or ancient texts. During the XIX-XX centuries. a different understanding of hermeneutics was also formed: (1) the methodological paradigm of humanitarian/historical knowledge (19th century, V. Dilthey); (2) a philosophical discipline that highlights the hermeneutics of consciousness (19th century, F. Schleiermacher, W. Dilthey) and the hermeneutics of being (20th century, M. Heidegger - the ontological aspect, G.-G. Gadamer - the epistemological aspect).

The origins of hermeneutics should be sought in Ancient Greece, where the interpretation of the texts of the oracles and Homer was practiced; Aristotle created the treatise Peri hermeneias ("On the Expression of Thoughts"). The interpretation of the Bible in Judaism (Philo) and Christianity (Origen, Augustine) had the greatest influence on the development of hermeneutics. As a discipline that not only practices exegesis (the interpretation of obscure religious texts), but also develops rules of interpretation, hermeneutics developed in early Protestantism (Luther, Melanchthon, Flacius). The concept of hermeneutica (lat.) is first encountered by I. K. Dannhauer (1629). The formation of philosophical (philological) hermeneutics as a doctrine of understanding as such is associated with the names of I.M. There are different types of hermeneutics: translation(Russian "interpreter", English interpreter), reconstruction(in relation to historical knowledge - reproduction of the meaning of a historical source, reconstruction of a historical situation / historical circumstances) and dialog(concept of dialogue of cultures, dialogue approach in humanitarian knowledge). A number of authors correlate the varieties of hermeneutics with the historical stages of its formation. The first stage is the interpretation/translation of the will of the gods (antiquity) and the Bible (Middle Ages). The second stage - reconstruction - prevails in modern times and is realized in philological hermeneutics. Reconstruction techniques were developed by F. Schleiermacher, A. Böck. Hermeneutics as a reconstruction receives the greatest development in the concept of V. Dilthey, who considers descriptive psychology as the basis of hermeneutics, which is given the character of a universal method of the sciences of the spirit, primarily historical science. The dialogue of cultures/traditions as a product of new meanings prevails in the philosophy of the 20th century. (G.-G. Gadamer, J. Habermas, P. Ricoeur).

We see that the historically established understanding of hermeneutics in some of its variants is close to interpretation in its source study sense, especially if we turn to the definition given by E. Tiselton to the subject of hermeneutics: “The focus of hermeneutics is the process of reading, understanding and analyzing texts, which were written in a completely different historical context."

But still, the difference between hermeneutics and interpretation can be found in the semantic difference between understanding and explanation/interpretation. In addition, it should be emphasized that as a practical hermeneutics in the historical knowledge of the XIX and partly XX centuries. one should consider the interpretation of the content of historical sources with the aim of constructing historical facts while subordinating them to the logic of historical narrative. At the same time, the relationship between historical fact and historical narrative is adequately described by the concept of a hermeneutic circle.

The hermeneutic circle is, on the one hand, an immanent property of understanding, fixing its prerequisite, pre- rational character, conditionality, including tradition, on the other hand, the basic rule of hermeneutics, which G.-G. Gadamer (1900–2002) describes it thus:

The whole is to be understood in terms of the particular, and the particular in terms of the whole. This hermeneutic rule originates in ancient rhetoric; the hermeneutics of modern times transferred him from the realm of oratory to the art of understanding. In both cases, we have a circle. The parts determine the whole and in turn determine the whole; through this, the anticipation of meaning, by which the whole was understood, becomes explicitly understandable.

The origins of the hermeneutic circle are found in ancient rhetoric and patristics (Augustine). Flacius (Protestant theologian, 1520-1575) developed the doctrine of the relationship between the meaning of text fragments and the text as a whole. In modern times, the hermeneutic circle becomes the basic rule of hermeneutics as the art of understanding. F. Ast (1778–1841) formulated the problem of the hermeneutic circle in his work “Basic Features of Grammar, Hermeneutics and Criticism” (1805), where he says that the whole is understood from the meaning of the singular, and the individual from the meaning of the whole. F. Ast understood the “spirit of history” as the final whole. The problem was concretized by F. Schleiermacher: the circular movement of understanding has objective and subjective components. The objective component of the hermeneutic circle is the inclusion of a separate text in the context of the author's work, the author's work in the context of the literary genre and literature in general. The subjective component of the hermeneutic circle is the belonging of the text to the author's spiritual life. These components of the hermeneutic circle correspond to "grammatical" and "psychological" interpretations. The projection of the hermeneutic circle on historical knowledge is contained in the concept of V. Dilthey: understanding of the historical individual (an individual with a "historical mind") is possible with an understanding of the spiritual world of the corresponding era, which, in turn, implies an understanding of "objective remnants of mental life". The original interpretation of the hermeneutic circle in relation to historical knowledge was given by I. G. Droyzen:

... we understand what is, entirely and completely only when we know and understand its formation. But we know its becoming only by following and comprehending as accurately as possible what it is.<…>, becoming and present being we manifest from the existent, perceiving it in time and decomposing it into parts in order to understand it.

In the philosophy of M. Heidegger (1889–1976), the hermeneutic circle acquires an ontological character as a basic definition of the condition of human existence. In epistemological terms, M. Heidegger's ideas about the "ontologically positive meaning" of the hermeneutic circle were developed by G.-G. Gadamer, who showed the productivity of the hermeneutic circle in the process of cognition. With regard to historical knowledge G.-G. Gadamer recognizes in time distance a "positive, productive possibility of understanding":

The point is to recognize in the time distance a positive, productive possibility of understanding. This time interval is filled with a succession of events, tradition, in the light of which all tradition appears for us. Here we can talk about the true productivity of an event. Everyone knows how powerless our judgment is if a temporary distance has not provided us with a reliable measure. Thus, scientific consciousness in its judgments about contemporary art sometimes feels extremely insecure. It is obvious that we approach such creatures with pre-established judgments beyond our control - they are able to endow these creatures with a property of heightened resonance, a property that does not coincide with their true content and their true meaning. Only when all such actual connections die off, their true appearance emerges, only then will the possibility of understanding what they really say, understanding what can rightfully claim to be universally valid, open up. By the way, filtering the true meaning contained in a text or in an artistic creation is in itself an endless process. It filters the temporary state, but it is in constant motion, it increases, and this is its productivity for understanding. As a result, private prejudices die out, and those that provide true understanding come out.

Despite the fact that in modern humanitarian knowledge there is a steady tendency to identify hermeneutics with interpretation, in a strict methodological sense research procedure of interpretation in source studies should be distinguished from the hermeneutic approach in history. In historical knowledge, the hermeneutic circle should not be confused as a way of understanding based on pre- reason, on the projection of meaning, with a conscious explication of the context in the process of historical interpretation. In the non-classical and post-non-classical models of science in relation to historical knowledge, it is fundamentally important to distinguish between hermeneutics and the interpretation of a historical source, since hermeneutic procedures, which prevailed in the 20th century. dialogue type of hermeneutics in the strict sense, their goal is not scientific knowledge, but the interpretation of a historical source from the position reader, as well as the interpretation of historical facts in the context of a particular narrative.

We emphasize once again that the difference between the hermeneutic approach and interpretation as a procedure of scientific knowledge can be found in the semantic difference between interpretation/explanation and understanding. It should be recognized that the necessary methodological distinction between these concepts is not always easily implemented in the research practices of historical science.

Establishing the reliability of a historical source. First of all, do not confuse authenticity and authenticity historical source. These are completely different concepts, it is difficult to confuse them, but in a completely inexplicable way, many generations of students have difficulty distinguishing them. Therefore, let us clarify once again: a source is genuine if it was created at that time, in that place and by that author, as indicated in the historical source itself or easily read from the context. The opposite of authenticity is falsification. The authenticity of a historical source is established using the technical skills developed primarily by the auxiliary historical disciplines. At the same time, it is superfluous to explain that falsification, once revealed, does not lose the properties of a historical source: it is a historical source created at a different time and by another author who pursued his own goals.

In order not to confuse authenticity and reliability, we can clarify the wording: if in the case of authenticity we are talking about the authenticity of the historical source itself, then in the case of reliability, it is more correct to speak of the reliability of its information. And the problems here are no longer technical. The definition of the concept of "reliability" looks simple only from the point of view of classical type of rationality, for which the task of science is the comprehension of objective reality, including the objective reality of the past. In this case, everything is really very simple: the source information is reliable if it corresponds to this very “objective reality”. The method of establishing authenticity is the so-called criticism of a historical source, based on the common sense of a historian and, as a rule, using only a comparison of information from different sources as a method. The classic description of this model belongs to the already mentioned Bolingbroke:

Protected from deception, I can put up with ignorance. But when historical records are not wholly missing, when some of them have been lost or destroyed, while others have been preserved and circulated, then we are in danger of being deceived; and verily, he must be blind who accepts as truth the history of any religion or people, and even more so the history of any sect or party, without being able to compare it with another historical version. A sane person would not be so blind. Not on a single evidence, but on the coincidence of evidence, he will assert historical truth[hereinafter highlighted by me. - M. R.]. If there is no match at all, he will not trust anything; if it is in even a little, he will measure his agreement or disagreement accordingly. Even a faint ray of light from a foreign historical narrative often exposes a whole system of lies; and even those who deliberately distort history often give themselves away as a result of ignorance or negligence<…>. If we talk about the subject as a whole, then in all these cases we cannot be seriously deceived if we ourselves do not want it.

In all other cases, it makes even less sense to do this, because when there are enough stories and historical chronicles, then even those that are false contribute to the discovery of the truth. Inspired by different passions and conceived in the name of opposite goals, they contradict each other, and contradicting each other, they pronounce a guilty verdict on each other. Criticism separates the ore from the rock and extracts from various authors all the historical truth that could only partially be found in each of them individually; criticism convinces us of its rightness when it is based on common sense and presented impartially. If this can be achieved through historical writings whose authors deliberately aimed at deceit, how much easier and more effectively can this be done with the help of those who had a greater respect for the truth? Among the many authors there will always be those who are incapable of grossly distorting the truth, fearing exposure and disgrace, while he seeks glory, or those who adhere to the truth from nobler and firmer principles.

It is obvious that all of them, including even the last ones, can be wrong. Being captive to one or another passion, the former are able from time to time to spread lies or hide the truth, like the painter who<…>painted in profile a portrait of the sovereign, who had only one eye.

AT non-classical model historical science, the concept of reliability is changing. Researchers are beginning to show interest not only in “objective facts that can be extracted from the source” (still a common discourse that marks the preservation of the classical type of rationality among modern authors), but also in the subjectivity of the author, his worldview. Of course, in this case, no one cancels the verification of the so-called factual information of the historical source, but the researcher no longer sets the task of “rejecting” the subjectivity of the author, but sees it as an independent subject of research, without studying which it is impossible to adequately perceive the information of the historical source. It is in the non-classical model of historical science that the principle of recognizing someone else's animation is applied. The non-classical type of rationality presupposes an answer to the question about the sincerity of the author, the presence or absence of a deliberate distortion of reality (of course, the subjective reality of the author, and not the "objective reality of history"). Of course, this approach requires more subtle research tools that cannot be fully formalized.

Despite the fact that the non-classical model of science replaces the classical one at the end of the 19th century, we also find manifestations of the classical type of rationality among authors of very recent times. The words of P. A. Zaionchkovsky from the preface to the index “History of pre-revolutionary Russia in the diaries and memoirs of contemporaries” have already been cited above: “... the value of memoirs lies in the presentation of the factual side of the events described, and not in their assessment, which, of course, is almost always subjective” .

The post-nonclassical type of rationality requires mainly a hermeneutic model for determining reliability, the criterion of which is the coordination of the part and the whole.

The neoclassical model of source study, positioned in this textbook, involves considering the problem of the reliability of information from a historical source through the prism of the concept of "empirical reality of the historical world", while focusing on both the personality of the author, the features of his worldview, and the inclusion of a historical source in the system of species characteristic of a certain culture, which makes it possible to explicate the hidden intentions of the author, which influenced not only the nature of the presentation of information in a historical source, but also its selection, which forces us to pose the problem of the completeness of the information of a historical source.

The concept of completeness of historical source information. With the above understanding of reliability, it is obvious that the concept of completeness is connected with it in the most direct way.

In our opinion, in relation to the classical model of historical science, the concept of the completeness of the information of a historical source cannot be defined in principle. If in this case the question is raised about the completeness of the information of the historical source, then it is not about identifying the properties of the historical source itself, but about correlating its information with the “fragment of historical reality” being studied by the historian.

Understanding a historical source not as a reservoir of information, but as a cultural phenomenon that deserves not so-called criticism, but a full-fledged source analysis, forces us to pose the problem of completeness in two interconnected plans: first, completeness in relation to the species model; secondly, revealing the conscious suppression by the author of the information that he possessed, but did not consider it necessary to include in the historical source he created, although the species model presupposes such information. For example, it is quite obvious that the historian will react differently to the selection of information in memoirs-autobiographies and memoirs - "modern stories". The completeness of a code (code) or set of laws is definable only in relation to the spheres of social reality regulated by them. In particular, we can judge the completeness of the Criminal and Correctional Code of 1845 in terms of the scope of those acts that were considered crimes during the period of its operation. To judge this, it is necessary to study legal practice, newly adopted legislative acts and compare it with the Criminal Code of 1903, which already provided for, for example, liability for participation in a political (revolutionary) movement. Establishing the completeness of the materials of a statistical survey is possible in relation to its program, etc.

Needless to say, from the point of view of the source study concept positioned in this tutorial, the initial research hypothesis about the specific nature of a historical source, tested at the stage of analyzing its origin, works in determining the reliability and establishing the completeness of the studied historical source.

Thus, the content analysis results in a conclusion about the possibilities and prospects for using a historical source in historical research. The procedure of source study analysis in the structure of the original source study is followed by the procedure of source study synthesis. But before proceeding to its exposition, let us dwell on the concept of “criticism of a historical source”, often mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

The distinction between the concepts of "source analysis" and "criticism of a historical source" is of fundamental importance: the latter corresponds to the understanding of a historical source in the classical model of science and is clearly outdated in modern conditions.

On the struggle of Soviet organs against shamanism

From a report on the work of the Soviet and trade apparatus in the Dudinsky district of the Turukhansk region

1925

shamanism

The question of the fight against shamanism requires its detailed study, first of all, and a thorough acquaintance with the life of the local native population in general. Having neither one nor the other, I must confine myself to a short report of the facts that I have established. According to the testimony of all local workers, shamanism is very developed and harms the population, and sometimes also opposes the work of Soviet bodies in the tundra. So, in winter, the VIK sent a smallpox vaccinator to the tundra to prevent the introduction of a smallpox epidemic by the YASSR. The smallpox vaccinator met resistance from the shamans, who intimidate the natives with vaccination ...

Deciding to start the fight against shamanism, VIC immediately went too far. In the spring, during my stay in Dudinka, an Ostyak shaman came here, going out to Dudinka every year to "fly" and at the same time to shaman when the natives left the tundra. VIC immediately took away the tambourine and his shaman's clothes with all other attributes from the shaman. However, the shaman managed to remove the “sacred” objects from his clothes and from the tambourine and hurried to hide with them. Of course, it is impossible to fight like that, and at the same time it is criminal against the laws of Soviet power and religion. The selection of shamanic attributes, moreover, was carried out without compiling any documents. The shaman, of course, will make new tambourines, but, offended by the authorities, he will conduct even greater agitation among the dark natives and thereby oppose our undertakings for the sovietization of the tundra. Only by re-educating the native population will we free them from superstition, and shamanism will die of itself, just as religion is now dying in the USSR. As regards the implementation of health measures among the native population, the matter is simpler, since one or two successful cases of providing medical assistance in difficult cases makes a big revolution in the prejudices of the natives. So, a certain professor, Bishop Luka, an exile, performed a number of successful eye operations on the natives in Turukhansk, and now, on their own initiative, five Dolgan natives with eye problems arrived from the tundra and asked the Dudinskiy VIK to send them to Turukhansk for operations ...

Member of the Commission of the Yenisei

Provincial Executive Committee A.P. Kurilovich

GACK, f.r. 1845, op. 1, Original. Typescript.

31, l. 8, 13-13 rev.

Source Analysis

From a report on the work of the Soviet and trade apparatus in the Dudinsky district of the Turukhansk region.

The date of writing the source is directly indicated in the text - 1925.

The place of writing the source is the city of Krasnoyarsk. In the text, the author writes that he was in Dudinka in the spring, therefore, at the time of writing the source, he was at his workplace, namely, in the Yenisei Provincial Executive Committee, which was located in the Yenisei province in the city of Krasnoyarsk.

Source type: written;

type of source: documentary;

type of source: clerical.

According to the method of obtaining information: archival.

Quantitatively: unique.

Technique: typescript.

The new economic policy launched shortly after the Kronstadt uprising and the 10th Congress of the RCP(b) meant an attempt to create a system of civilized cooperatives with a regulated market economy, to combine the economy of free producers-owners with the political regime of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The NEP meant the overcoming of military-communist principles by sober-minded circles of the RCP(b) and at the same time contained contradictions between limited freedom in the economy and dictatorship in politics. IN AND. Lenin regarded the NEP as a temporary retreat, and nevertheless noted that the NEP was serious and for a long time.

In the Yenisei province, as in Russia as a whole, the NEP did not immediately bring fruitful results, it was difficult and contradictory to implement. Officials noted disbelief, passivity, and even hostility towards the Soviet government on the part of the majority of the population, the state power was forced to strictly regulate many, sometimes even the most everyday issues.

The founders of the NEP acted scientifically and consistently, proceeding not from abstract theoretical constructions, but were guided by the requirements of life, the interests of working people. An example is the careful, thoughtful policy towards the peoples of the North. The NEP has brought good results. The foundations for the economic and spiritual revival of Siberia and the country as a whole were created.

Apparently, the source is addressed to the chairman of the commission of the Yenisei Provincial Executive Committee, since the report is in the form of a report on the past trip.

The source touches upon the problem of the eradication of shamanism in the North.

Direct facts extracted from the source.

Shamanism in the North is "very developed and harms the population, and sometimes also opposes the work of Soviet bodies in the tundra." The shamans also intimidated the local population by vaccination. VIK is fighting shamanism in an inappropriate way. Shamanism can also be eradicated by peaceful means, this is how religion dies in the USSR. Several successful eye operations were performed, as a result of which 5 "natives-dolgans", "sick eyes" expressed a desire to go to Turukhansk for an operation.

9) Hidden Facts:

The exile indicated in the text of the source is V.F. Voyno-Yasenetsky - an outstanding surgeon who spent a long time in prisons and exile;

The USSR imposed its ideology on the entire territory, infringing on the rights of the small peoples of the North;

10) Evaluation of the completeness of information.

The information provided in the source is not complete, since the document is called "From the report on the work of the Soviet and trade apparatus in the Dudinsky district of the Turukhansk region."

Evaluation of the reliability of information.

The information in the source is reliable:

he was engaged in ethnographic research in the tundra, as evidenced by photographs that can be viewed on the Internet and in the Moscow archive.

11) The text of the source can be used in special studies on the struggle of Soviet authorities against shamanism.

Osprey Vitaly Alexandrovich, Doctor of Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor
Altai State Pedagogical University

TEACHING
SOURCE
METHODOLOGY
STORY

The article deals with the problems of analysis and interpretation of a historical source in history lessons. In many ways, the historical source is a necessary component for understanding the historical context and the era itself. The classification of documents used in teaching history is considered. The role of the document in increasing the cognitive independence of students as a means of organizing such work is determined. Attention is paid to the author's approaches of I. Ya. Lerner and N. G. Dairi in their work with a historical source.

Problems and features of the formation of statistical data in the second half of the 19th century (based on materials from Western Siberia)
Statistical surveys of the indigenous population on the territory of Altai in the late XIX - early XX centuries.
Organizational features of administrative-departmental statistical structures in the 19th - early 20th centuries. (Based on materials from Western Siberia and the steppe region)
Cultural heritage of statistical institutions (based on materials from Western Siberia in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries)
The Professional Standard of a Teacher and the Quality of Training: Determinants of Modern Education

Analysis of the results of the unified state exam and test materials allows us to identify a rather urgent problem in the teaching of history, which consists in the analysis and interpretation of historical sources. In many ways, the historical source is a necessary component for the concept of historical context, and sometimes the era itself.

Collectively, historical sources include everything created by man, the results of his interaction with the environment, objects of material culture, customs, and rituals. They also include written records. In the broad sense of the word, written monuments in the methodology are called documents.

The classification of documents used in teaching is much simpler than that adopted in historical science. It is based on the nature of documentary texts, when all of them are divided into three main groups:

act character;
narrative-descriptive character;
fiction documents.

Actual sources are legal, economic, political, policy documents (letters, laws, decrees, petitions, petitions, murals, contracts, statistical and investigative documents, programs, speeches). These documents testify to the social and political system, morality, and religion. The use of this group of documents is possible when organizing the analysis of their content under the guidance of a teacher. In some cases, it is necessary to adapt the document (eliminate difficult terms, change the sequence of the text) in order to facilitate the assimilation of its logic. In some cases, the teacher himself needs to give an interpretation of the document in order to show how to approach the analysis. When analyzing a document, it is necessary to know and understand the historical process, within the chronological framework of which the source itself is considered.

Narrative and descriptive documents - annals, chronicles, memoirs, letters, travel descriptions. This type of documents is widely represented in school textbooks and anthologies. The ego-source makes it possible in many respects to evaluate the attitude of the author to the epoch itself, and at the same time to understand the “mood” of the time. Often, the analysis of these documents causes difficulties, since it requires more in-depth preparation and understanding of the source itself and the nature of its origin.

Documents of fiction: works of oral folk art (myths, epics, fables) and literary works (prose, poetry, satire). Historical reality is reflected in works of art, they convey the flavor of the era. This group of sources artistically expands the student's knowledge component, forming figurative thinking on the problem.

The historical sources cited in the textbooks reflect the most important problems of historical development. Most often this concerns the problems of socio-economic development and the situation of the country, the domestic and foreign policy of the state, social and revolutionary movements. The documentary material contained in the textbooks is varied. It allows you to acquaint students with the general methods of research work on the main types of historical sources.

In order to productively use the source and expand students' knowledge of the problem under study, the document for the lesson should:

correspond to the goals and objectives of teaching history;
reflect the main, most typical facts and events of the era;
- be organically connected with the program material, contribute to the actualization of historical knowledge, so that students can be offered cognitive questions and tasks;
- be accessible to students in terms of content and volume; interesting; contain everyday and plot details that allow differentiating learning, concretizing students' ideas about certain events, phenomena, processes; have a certain emotional impact on them;
- possess literary and scientific merits, sufficient information content for the development of cognitive independence and interest, and the improvement of mental labor techniques.

In the methodological literature, questions about the role of the document in increasing the cognitive independence of students as a means of organizing such work are widely covered. The problems of the research principle in teaching were considered in the works of I. Ya. Lerner and N. G. Dairy. They developed the idea of the need to acquaint students with the methods of modern historical science, methods of independent knowledge of social phenomena and processes. Forming the concept of the research principle in teaching, I. Ya. Lerner wrote: “... it consists in the fact that students, under the guidance of a teacher, acquire skills and abilities using the methods of historical science on their own ... analyze and explain historical facts and phenomena gleaned from in literary, material monuments, as well as in real life. The author highlighted the importance of the document as a means of developing thinking, cognitive interest, and creativity. Considering the forms of working with documents, he set the task of accustoming schoolchildren to attentive reading of the text and its exhaustive analysis. I. Ya. Lerner illustrated the cited reasoning with examples of the use of documents in lessons on the history of feudalism in Russia, and documents of various types are involved: act, legislative, statistical, memoirs, etc. The author's conclusion about the need to teach not only the retelling of the main content of documents, but also to require an analysis of the thoughts of the authors of literary monuments is fair. The author has developed a typology of questions in the analysis of documents, which makes it possible to acquaint students with some logical methods for studying historical and modern phenomena. It is important to note that the process of learning to work with a historical document should be systematic, while minimizing the stereotyped analysis. The student must be creative in studying the document and interpreting it.

The work of I. Ya. Lerner raised the question of the need to distinguish between types of documents and, accordingly, determine the methods of studying them. In the monograph by N. G. Dairi, the document is considered as one of the effective means of teaching history: “... The results in the field of education, development and perception are closely related to the nature and range of sources from which students draw knowledge and their cognitive activity; the more diverse and versatile they are (ceteris paribus), the more significant the results achieved. A variety of sources of historical knowledge allows you to acquaint students with both the basics and methods of science. The principles of selection of documents are disclosed on the example of studying specific topics of the course. Among them, N. G. Dairi considers correct reflections by the document of the essence of the events taking place, the consecration by the document of all aspects of the social life of the given period. The document should contain a framework for student development and application of the research method, be concise and accessible in language.

What is the significance of the use of historical documents? Historical documents are direct monuments of the past and therefore have persuasiveness and evidence. The document allows you to feel the color of the era, helps to create vivid images of the past, conditions for the development of the imagination of schoolchildren, and reduces the possibility of modernizing individual events. As a source of historical knowledge, the document requires an analysis of the content, a generalization of the information extracted from it, and a certain assessment. Working with documents teaches you to think, reason, extract information.

In general, documents help to assimilate the most important facts, concepts, patterns of social development, and form the beliefs of schoolchildren. The use of documentary material activates the thinking of students, teaches analysis and synthesis when considering past and present events. Self-analysis of documents equips students with elementary research skills, teaches them how to critically comprehend historical sources.

Bibliography

Ezhova S. A., Lebedeva I. M., Druzhkova A. V. Methods of teaching history in secondary school. M., 1986. - S. 18.
Vagin A. A. Methods of teaching history in secondary school. M., 1968. - S. 63.
Lerner I. Ya. Studying the history of the USSR in the ninth grade. M., 1963.–S. 42.
Lerner I. Ya. Studying the history of the USSR in the ninth grade. M., 1963.–S. 102.
Dairi N. G. Teaching History in Senior Secondary Schools. M., 1966.– S. 196.

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Ural State University A.M. Gorky

Faculty of Art History and Cultural Studies

Source study.

Tacitus. Annals. Book two.

Executor:

Student of the 1st year, specialty cultural studies, group 102

Sharikova Elena Vadimovna

Supervisor:

Candidate of Historical Sciences,

Assistant professor

Barmina Nadezhda Igorevna

Yekaterinburg

2006

Work plan:

Introduction 3

Chapter I. Socio-historical conditions for the emergence of the source 5

Chapter II. Historical and cultural portrait of the author of the source 7

Chapter III. Source text analysis 11

Conclusion 15

References 21

Introduction

For the source analysis, I took a fragment (83) from the work of Cornelius Tacitus "Annals", book two.

The author of this source is Tacitus Publius Cornelius, little information about his biography has been preserved. The years of life are determined approximately, he was most likely born in the year 55 (58) during the reign of Emperor Nero, he died - when exactly is unknown, but after 117.During his life, several emperors were replaced: Nero (54 - 68), Vespasian (69 - 79), Titus (79 - 81), Trajan (98 - 117), possibly during the life of Tacitus Adrian ruled (117 - 137), this era of the early Empire (principate).

"Annals" - a large historical work of Tacitus, which the author himself entitled "From the death of the divine Augustus", here is the history of the Roman Empire after its founder Augustus, tells about the reign of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero (14 - 68 years). "Annals" on the events described precede the events of another historical work of Tacitus - "History" (the events from 69 to 96 are presented), but were written later. Tacitus once calls his work "annals", i.e. "Chronicle", this is the name of the historiographical genre, "Annals" began to be called work in modern times instead of a long and uncomfortable author's name. Both works form a single whole - the history of Rome from 14 to 96. As a single whole, they are also given in manuscripts.

In Rome, annual records - "annals" (from annus - year) - existed since ancient times. The annals were formed on the basis of fasts. Initially, fasts meant the name of days considered favorable for conducting public affairs, they were determined by the pontiffs, later this is the name of the Roman calendar, weather lists of senior officials, priests, victors were also called fasts. From the end of the 3rd century BC. writers began to appear - "annalists", who in the form of a weather chronicle told about the events of Roman history. These works pursued political goals, they were addressed to the Hellenistic world and were written in Greek. Their authors were often prominent political figures. These works did not set themselves artistic tasks. From the middle of the II century. BC. Roman historians began to use the Latin language. It was characteristic of Rome that historiographical activity attracted people with state and military experience; senators acted as historians, often writing about those events in which they personally took part. One historian usually continued the story of another. Historians-senators did not go into deep antiquity and considered their main task to be a story about political events of the relatively recent past. Tacitus renews the tradition of senatorial historiography.

From the "Annals" two massifs have been preserved. One of them is the beginning of the work, its first 6 books, which tell the end of the life of Augustus and the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14-37). There is a large gap in this part, covering almost the entire fifth book (except for its beginning) and the beginning of the sixth, the events of the end of 29, all of 30 and most of 31 are omitted, the narrative of Caligula and the first years of Claudius has not been preserved. The second array begins in the middle of the eleventh book (from 47) and ends in the middle of the sixteenth book at the unfinished story about the death of the leader of the Senate opposition Thrasea Petus under Nero (66). Whether Tacitus succeeded in finishing his work, bringing the Annals to the beginning of the exposition of the History, is unknown.

This source is a written narrative source, it is a primary source, the events that the author writes about took place during his life, with the exception of part of the events of the Annals that occurred before the birth of Tacitus. This source is also an artistic monument.

The purpose of my work is the analysis and synthesis of the selected source, in achieving this goal I see a number of tasks: 1) to establish the socio-historical conditions for the emergence of the source; 2) determine who is its author and draw his historical and cultural portrait; 3) to study the specifics of the functioning of the source in the historical and cultural context; 4) to interpret the source and identify the meaning that the author put into this work, taking into account his mentality; 5) analyze the content.

Chapter I. Socio-historical conditions for the emergence of the source

The "Annals" were created by Tacitus in the second decade of the 2nd century, and possibly later. The description of events in the "Annals" dates from 14 to 68 - this is the period of strengthening and development of the principate system during the reign of the emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (14 - 68). The author's lifetime (55 or 58 - after 117) falls at the end of this period, then the empire is going through a political crisis and civil war (the end of the 60s of the 1st century), after which the Flavian dynasty is established (69 - 98), this source was created already underthe Antonine dynasty (96–192), during what is sometimes called the "golden age" of the Roman Empire.

The principate system was established by Octavian. Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian was emperor of Rome from 27 BC. to 14 AD The principate was essentially a monarchy under the guise of a republic. The old institutions were preserved: the people's assembly met, the senate acted, consuls and tribunes were elected, but without the orders of the princeps, nothing happened in the empire. The princeps was the first in the list of senators, he was the first to express his opinion on the issue under discussion and thus determined the opinion of the majority of senators, he was the commander of the standing army, the commanders of the legions - legates and senior commanders - military tribunes - were appointed by the emperor. The backbone of the emperor's power was not the people, but the elected Praetorian Guard - a characteristic feature of the principate and the subsequent imperial era.

During the reign of the emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (14 - 68 years), the process of development and strengthening of the principate system takes place. The emperor concentrates in his hands the most important functions of military and civil power, the dominant position in the empire is occupied by the old Roman slave-owning nobility, but after the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, its dominant position was destroyed. In 41, after the assassination of Caligula by the conspirators, an attempt was made to restore the republic, but the events of this year showed that supporters of the restoration of the aristocratic republic had no support either among the soldiers, or among the masses of the Roman plebs, or among the provincial slave-owning aristocracy. Warriors and the poorest layers of Roman citizenship were interested in distributions and gifts, the provincial slave-owning nobility saw in the existence of imperial power a guarantee of their property rights.

The political crisis of the late 60s of the 1st century. was a consequence of the economic, social and political development of the slave-owning Roman Empire. In the provinces, the number of large slave-owning farms grew, the process of social differentiation of the population proceeded rapidly, and the rights of Roman citizenship quickly extended to the natives of the provinces. Rome, and then Italy, are gradually losing their role as the leading political center.

Under Flavius (69 - 98) there was a process of restoring order in the empire. Vespasian (69-79) replenished the senate with provincials, restored discipline in the army, and was also forced to raise funds to replenish the state treasury.

After the Flavians began the period of the Antonine dynasty (96-192), sometimes called the "golden age" of the Roman Empire. One of the first rulers of the new dynasty was Trajan (98–117). Under him, the state expanded to the maximum: the last Roman province of Dacia was annexed to it. Under Trajan there was a strong persecution of Christians. In his domestic policy, Trajan sought to maintain friendly relations with the Senate, which at that time consisted mostly of provincials. Trajan resumed the activities of the electoral comitia, supported the authority of the Roman magistrates. Senators received relative freedom of speech, as well as the right to appoint provincial governors, control and judge them. The reign of Trajan in the memory of the descendants was identified with a period of maximum prosperity.

The next ruler of the Antonine dynasty was Adrian (117-137), adopted by Trajan. Under him, there was a transition to the strategic defense of the borders of the empire, and a border line along the Danube was erected. Hadrian streamlined legal proceedings, ordering to summarize the law-making of Roman lawyers of the previous time, primarily praetors, who had the right to make additions and corrections to existing laws. Thus was issued the "Eternal Edict" (128), thanks to which the Roman judiciary stabilized, since the emperor became the first and last instance of law. The number of departments increased, the state post office arose, that is, the monarchy acquired a bureaucratic character.

Thus, the conditions under which the works of Tacitus arose were as follows: it was the time of the establishment of the principate, which was preceded by a period of dull political struggle with the formation of a new system and an acute social breakdown of established social relations, this is the period when Rome turns from a civil community into a cosmopolitan capital cosmopolitan empire, the number of Greeks in the ruling circles increases dramatically, finally, this is the time of the objective completion of the history of the Roman civil community. The interests of the world demanded that all political decisions be concentrated in the hands of one person, but that is precisely why the citizens found themselves excluded from them, forced to no longer consider state affairs to be their own. The life of the people and the state, their development and interests have become an outside matter for people.

Consequently, the appearance of the phenomenon under consideration can be explained as follows: this is an attempt by the author to tell about “civil prowess” (virtus), make it live forever and preserve it for centuries with the help of his work. When the difference between Rome and the rest of the world was erased, the Roman civil community ended its existence, the unity of the energy of a citizen and the interests of the state was violated, and the story of “civil prowess” lost its meaning, since it almost did not find a response in society, then the work of the historian had it made less and less sense until finally she was abandoned.

Chapter II. Historical and cultural portrait of the author of the source

Tacitus Publius Cornelius was born, most likely, in 55 (58), died - when exactly is unknown, but after 117. There is little information about his biography.For the biography of Tacitus, only scattered data available in his works and in the testimonies of his contemporaries can be used.

Tacitus did not inherit from his ancestors belonging to the senatorial class. In the lists of Roman magistrates, both earlier and later, there are no other Cornelius Tacitus, and the historian himself admits that he owes his position to the emperors from the Flavian dynasty. He could get into the Senate only as a native of the second apex group of Rome, from the class of "Roman horsemen". Famous Roman encyclopedist of the 1st c. AD Pliny the Elder (23/24-79 AD) tells in his "Natural History" about a child of unusual height who died in childhood, the son of the Roman horseman Cornelius Tacitus, who managed the provincial finances in Belgian Gaul; this is the only representative of the Cornelius Tacitus branch, besides the historian, who is mentioned in Roman writing. Given the rarity of this name, it is natural to assume that we are talking about a relative of the writer - it is only unknown what degree of closeness. In time, he could have been the father or uncle of the historian.

Attempts to more specifically clarify the origin of Tacitus have not gone beyond conjecture. The inscriptions show that the "Tacites" are localized mainly in two areas - in Northern Italy, and, moreover, in the territory north of the river. Po, and in Southern Gaul, which became a Roman province as early as the 2nd century. AD This gives grounds for a number of modern researchers to attribute the origin of the Cornelius Tacitus family to one of the named areas. At the same time, the fact that Pliny the Younger, a native of this region, often emphasizing everything that brings him closer to Tacitus, speaks against Northern Italy as the homeland of Tacitus, never calls the historian his countryman. The origin of the Tacitus family from Southern Gaul, along with other scientists, is expressed by the English historian Ronald Syme. From his point of view, Tacitus is among those provincials who, from the 1st century. AD occupy an increasingly prominent place in the administration of the Roman state and in Roman literature.

It is not known where Tacitus spent his childhood, where and with whom he studied. However, wherever the first years of the historian's life took place, the education of boys in wealthy Roman families, especially where the task was preparation for public office, was of a standard nature and unfolded in several mandatory steps. The original teacher was a grammarian, from whom the children learned to read, write and count. In the upper strata of society, reading and writing were provided both in Latin and in Greek, the possession of which was necessary for any educated Roman. The grammarian was replaced by the grammarian, he usually supported the school. School education had two main tasks: to instill in students, on the one hand, the ideological basis of the slave-owning society, the principles of its ideology, politics, morality, and on the other hand, the culture of speech. The last moment was of great importance in ancient society. The grammarian builds his education on the explanatory reading of classical poets; in Rome, by the time of Tacitus's school years, the reading of Virgil's Aeneid was established as the fundamental principle of grammatical education. Poetic texts explained the issues of the literary language, and at the same time, the student was instilled with the foundations of morality and political ideas of the ruling class, in particular, the belief in the strength of the Roman Empire, in the civilizing significance of the Roman conquests. At the next stage of education, in the rhetorical school, instead of poetic texts, prose texts were studied, mainly the works of orators and historians. With the transition of Rome from a republican system to an imperial one, the practical possibilities of political and judicial eloquence were reduced, and this led to a switch in the functions of public speech. It has become an aesthetic end in itself, a literary and performing art genre. The place of a genuine political or judicial speech is occupied by a fictitious speech at an imaginary trial or imaginary political debate - a declamation.

The philosophical school competed with the rhetorical school, but Tacitus, apparently, did not pass it. The historian treated philosophy very reservedly.

The beginning of Tacitus's school years took place under Nero. Tacitus' training in rhetoric must have come at the beginning of Vespasian's reign. The teachers of Tacitus, Mark Apra and Julius Secundus, both of humble origin, provincials from Gaul, they shone with eloquence in civil court, but did not play a prominent role in public life.

The inclinations and talents of Tacitus could allow him to advance under the Flavius at the expense of oratory. From Tacitus, a completely original master developed, who followed an independent stylistic path in each genre he chose. However, in all these genres, he proceeded from a single literary program: to join the classical tradition of Roman republican prose - Cicero, Sallust, combining it with the achievements of the "new" emotional style, but without its extremes. In this regard, the future historian was a supporter of the dominant literary movement of his time.

Tacitus quickly rose to prominence as a talented orator. Pliny the Younger recalls that at the beginning of his oratorical activity (the end of the 70s of the 1st century), "the loud fame of Tacitus was already in its prime." This fame was based on his court speeches or declamations. However, the oratorical works of Tacitus have not come down to us; the later Roman writers do not mention them either. It is very possible that Tacitus, like the vast majority of orators of the time of the empire, did not publish his speeches, finding them not significant enough for a serious figure who was already beginning to climb the ladder of public office.

Tacitus believed that Vespasian laid the foundation for his public career as a magistrate, that Titus increased his honor, and Domitian advanced him even further. Vespasian probably nominated him for one of the 20 annual seats of the 4 junior magistrates' colleges. At the end of the one-year junior magistracy, a young man at about 20 years of age went to military service, usually in the provinces. It did not last long - 6 months or a year. It was possible to take a quaestor position, the first magistracy, which introduced into the Senate, only after reaching 25 years. In 78, Tacitus married the daughter of the famous commander of that time, Julius Agricola, one of the consuls of 77, who was in favor with Vespasian and received from him the dignity of a patrician.

Under the son of Vespasian Titus (79 - 81), the honorary position of Tacitus became, according to him, higher. By this, probably, is meant the position of quaestor - in 81 or 82 - and the transition to the senatorial class associated with it. His further advancement took place under the younger brother of Titus Domitian (81 - 96). The new emperor sharply increased his absolutist tendencies, and this led to a deterioration in his relations with the senate. These events did not affect the career of Tacitus. For 6-7 years, he rose to 2 official steps and in 88 he was a praetor. This shows that Tacitus knew how not to arouse the suspicion of Domitian against himself and stood far from the opposition groups. Simultaneously with the praetorship, he already held the life-long priestly position of quindecemvir as a member of the college of "fifteen men", in charge of cults of foreign origin. Accordingly, the activity of Tacitus as a quindecemvir assumed a good knowledge of the life and culture of the provincial periphery of Rome and an interest in it. For a relatively young man from an humble family, receiving such a position was very honorable and testified to the favor of the emperor.

Shortly after the praetorship in 89, Tacitus and his wife left Rome and returned after the death of Agricola, who died in August 93. Obviously, he was in a government post in the province, but there is no information in which province he was in these years, on whether he was in a civil or military position, whether he held one post or several posts in succession.

Returning to Rome, Tacitus found the capital in an alarming state. Relations between the emperor and the senate became extremely aggravated. From 92, executions and expulsions of senators became commonplace. Domitian used the services of special informers and accusers, resurrecting the situation of the times of Tiberius and Nero. The last years of Domitian's reign were for Tacitus an acute experience that forever determined the nature of his literary activity. However, he managed not only not to incur the wrath of the emperor, but even to a certain extent retain his favor. Tacitus was designated consul, probably under Domitian, and very possibly on his recommendation.

Under Nerva, Tacitus was consul. This highest magistracy of the times of the republic under the empire remained an honorary position, which traditionally crowned the career of senators, but gave only some rights of representation. There were only two consuls at a time, and already Augustus reduced the term of the consulship to a few months in order to enable a greater number of senators to hold this office. In each year, after the first pair of consuls, whose names served to designate the year, several more pairs of "additional" consuls successively sent consular duties. Tacitus was one of these additional consuls in the second half of 97. The only known act of Tacitus during the months of his consulship was the eulogy at the funeral of the senator Lucius Verginius Rufus.

Information about the later life of Tacitus, about the years of his literary activity, is extremely fragmentary. From the letters of Pliny the Younger, we learn that Tacitus had a reputation as a brilliant orator and writer, that young admirers of his talent gathered around Tacitus, who studied the art of eloquence from him. However, from the specific facts of the biography of Tacitus after 97, Pliny reports only that in 100 he and Tacitus acted on behalf of the Senate at the trial of the proconsul of Africa, Maria Prisca, who plundered his province, as lawyers for provincial complainants.

Nothing is known about the relationship between Tacitus and Trajan. Through the senatorial line, Tacitus received the traditional annual governorship (proconsulate): he sent this position to the provinces of Asia in 112-113 or 113-114. State activity was for Tacitus a form of self-realization and an unconditional life value, although not all of oneself, and not the only value.

The main content of the life of Tacitus in the post-Domitian period was literary activity.

The year of death of Tacitus is unknown, presumably after 117.

Among the works created by Tacitus are the "Biography of Agricola" (97-98), "On the origin and habitat of the Germans" (98), "Dialogue about speakers" (between 102 and 107), as well as works of the historical character - "History" (101 - 109) and "Annals" (between 111 and 117).

Tacitus moves from eloquence to historical writings in the early years of the second century. Such a transition can be explained as follows: the main life principle, the highest value of Tacitus, has always been the responsibility of a citizen for his state and before it. When attempts to establish "civil valor" lost their spiritual meaning for Tacitus, he turned to literary creativity, as he believed that in the thought and word "civil valor" acquires greater reality than in the orders of generals and Senate debates, that the story of the events of the 1st century , about Rome, where the unity of the energy of the citizen and the interests of the state is disintegrating, will keep "civil prowess" alive for centuries. He felt that this problem worries people, forms the center of the spiritual life of generations.

According to the author himself, he describes the time he experienced "without anger and passion." It was pointed out that such a formulation is nothing more than a cliché characteristic of Roman historians in general, and therefore does not express the true position of the author, because, for example, in the Annals he gave a stunning picture of the terrorist policy of Tiberius towards the Senate. The facts that Tacitus relates could have created a much more positive picture of Tiberius as a ruler, if the author had not accompanied them with his commentary, explaining this as pretense and deceit.

However, Tacitus was never opposed to the principate and princeps. In the political concept of Tacitus, the state system of the empire is internally accepted. To reveal history “without anger and passion” for Tacitus meant to tell about them without edification and dogma, but at the same time clearly show their inconsistency with a specific historical moral norm.

The main storyline of the Annals, connected with the trials of insulting majesty, is so important for Tacitus because in the spread of denunciation, in the moral degradation of power and its victims, in the decay of the former tribal and communal solidarity, the whole process of the disintegration of the civil community as a spiritual one is concentrated for him. and the whole organism. Passing through all the "Annals" and growing towards their end, the theme of imperial terror is perceived by Tacitus primarily as the theme of the collapse and destruction of the polis foundations of existence, everything age-old, actually ancient Roman. This contradiction between the idealized patriarchal atmosphere of the urban community and the power of the world empire that destroys it reflected the objective dynamics of the era, and in the Annals it first appeared in its fullness and insolubility.

Thus, we are presented with an author, a talented speaker, an artist, an outstanding statesman, for whom the highest value in life was civic prowess, which he tried to establish through public service, and then in historical works. It was also the main criterion for evaluating the events described by the author.

Chapter III. Source text analysis.

Cornelius Tacitus. Annals. Book Two (beginning of II century)

83. In the meantime, honors were invented for Germanicus, such as could inspire everyone, according to the measure of his ingenuity, with love for the deceased, and the senate decreed the following: that the name of Germanicus be proclaimed in the song of the Salii; so that wherever places are reserved for the priests of the Augustals, curule chairs should be installedGermanicus with oak wreaths above them; that before the beginning of the circus performances, his image from ivory should be carried; that the flamens or augurs nominated in his place should be chosen only from the gens of Julius.

Germanicus, the eldest son of Drusus the Elder and Anthony the Younger, was adopted by his uncle Emperor Tiberius and became known as Germanicus Julius Caesar. Husband of Agrippina the Elder and father of the future Emperor Gaius Caesar Caligula and mother of Nero, Agrippina the Younger. He was endowed with physical and spiritual virtues, he was characterized by rare beauty and courage, the ability to science and eloquence, the ability to win the favor of the people. Germanicus proved himself to be a remarkable commander. In 19 AD, at the age of 34, he died, most likely he was poisoned by the governor of Syria Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso and his wife Plancina.

Honors are external manifestations of respect, reverence.

Salii (Latin Salii, from salio - I jump, dance) - a priestly college, consisting of 12 priests of the god Mars and 12 priests of the god Quirinus. Only patricians could be salami. The salii got their name from the military dance performed by them during the annual festivities in honor of Mars.

Priests are servants of deities who perform sacrifices.

Augustals - a class of priests established by Tiberius to render divine honors to Augustus and the name of Julius. Augustals were elected, among 21, from the most noble Romans.

Curule chairs - special chairs lined with ivory or marble, as well as metal folding chairs, a symbol of power, it was considered a privilege to perform one's duties while sitting in curule chairs.

Oak wreath - a symbol of imperial power, courage, stamina and valor, was the highest award for the winner.

Flamins - priests of individual deities (Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus, etc.). Germanicus was the flamen of Augustus.

To this were added triumphal arches in Rome, on the banks of the Rhine and on the Syrian Mount Amane, with inscriptions announcing his deeds and that he gave his life for the fatherland; a tomb at Antioch, where his body was burned, and a mourning plinth at Epidaphne, where he died.

Augurs are members of the same priestly college, which enjoyed great respect until later times and possessed knowledge with the help of auguries or auspices, that is, observations of the flight and cry of birds, of the fall of lightning and other signs, to guess the will of the gods and predict the outcome of one or another enterprises.

Julius-Claudia - the first dynasty of Roman emperors in 14-68, from the descendants of Augustus.

Germanicus enjoyed success with the people, was a significant statesman, therefore, after his death, the Senate decided to give him special respect in various ways: the priests-salias were to proclaim his name in their chants, special chairs with oak wreaths were to be installed in places for Augustal priests over them, thus emphasizing the greatness of Germanicus. Before the start of the circus performances, it was decided to carry the image of Germanicus, perhaps this was a way to emphasize his courage and courage in battles. The priests who were to take the place of Germanicus could henceforth be elected only from the Julius clan, to which Germanicus himself belonged.

Arc de Triomphe - a permanent or temporary monumental framing of the passage (usually arched), a solemn structure in honor of military victories and other significant events.

The Rhine is a river that originates from the glaciers of the Alps and flows into the North Sea, dividing into several branches. In the middle of the 1st c. BC. becomes one of the most important borders of the Roman state, separating it from Germany. In 13 AD Germanicus commanded the military legions that stood on the banks of the Rhine.

Amana is a mountain in Syria. Germanicus died in Syria.

A tomb is a building in which a hump with the ashes of the deceased is kept.

Antioch - a city in Syria on the Orontes River, was the capital for a long time, founded in 300 BC. Antioch was the largest economic and cultural centerMiddle East. AT Romanera (from 64 BC) - residenceSyriangovernors (legates).

And it is not easy to list all his statues and places of worship in his memory.

But when it was proposed to place a large golden shield with his image among the same images of the pillars of Roman eloquence, Tiberius decisively declared that he would dedicate a shield to Germanicus of the same and the same size as all the others: after all, eloquence is not judged by a high position in the state, and to be among the ancient writers is in itself honorable enough.

Burning is a way of processing the body of the deceased.

The body of Germanicus was burned at the forum of Antioch, after which the urn with the ashes of Germanicus was brought to Rome and a solemn burial ceremony was performed.

Pedestal - the base of the monument, columns, statues.

Epidaphne is a Syrian city.

The following were added to these honors: triumphal arches were built in Rome, on the banks of the Rhine and on Mount Amane, that is, in places where Germanicus lived or fought, the inscriptions on them told about his deeds and that he gave his life for the fatherland, thus, the heroic image of Germanicus and his tragic death were emphasized. Germanicus was also given a tomb in Antioch and a mourning plinth at the place where he died.

A statue is a sculpture of a person.

It is not easy to enumerate how many statues and places of worship appeared in memory of Germanicus, he was so loved by the Romans and even by some foreigners.

The pillars of Roman eloquence are outstanding writers and orators. In the library of the Palatine Palace, there were golden shields with images of prominent writers and speakers, such shields were made as a sign of respect for great people.

Tiberius Claudius Nero - Roman Emperor
14 -37 years AD, stepson of Emperor Augustus. Tiberius turned into the provinces several eastern kingdoms dependent on Rome, increased the taxation of the population of the provinces. He was unpopular with the people.

To the proposal, most likely made by the senators, to place a large golden shield with the image of Germanicus in the room where the images of outstanding speakers were located, Tiberius responded with the decision to dedicate exactly the same shield to Germanicus, justifying this by the fact that it is honorable to be among outstanding ancient personalities. Triberius did not want to give extra

The estate of horsemen assigned the name of Germanicus to that sector of the amphitheater, which was called the Sector of the Younger, and, in addition, decided that on the Ides of July, detachments of horsemen should follow behind his statue.

Most of what was mentioned is still valid today, something was immediately abandoned or forgotten over the years

reasons for the exaltation of Germanicus, tried to limit the rendering of honors, even during the life of Germanicus, Tiberius feared and envied his fame and popularity.

Estate of riders- in the imperial era, the second estate after the senators, the horsemen occupied high and profitable posts in the imperial administration.

Amphitheater - an oval, unroofed building, consisting of twointerconnected theaters without room for a stage and intended for the battle of animals and people. In the very middle there was an arena strewn with sand, a free elliptical space adapted to the shape of the entire building, in which the battles took place. Under the arena were often different extensions. Around the arena there was a massive stone fence, on which a lattice was also strengthened for more reliable protection from animals. Behind this fence, rows of seats rose in steps, of which the lower ones were intended for senators, horsemen, etc., and the upper ones, pushed back, for the people.

Ides is a day in the middle of the month. Depending on the different lengths of the month, the ides in March, May, July and October fell on the 15th, and in the rest of the months on the 13th. The Ides were dedicated to Jupiter.

The equestrian class assigned the name of Germanicus to the Sector of the Younger in the amphitheater, probably in this way to emphasize his courage, valor and bravery, and also decided that in mid-July, detachments of horsemen should follow behind his statue, this is also a sign of respect for the personal qualities of Germanicus and recognition of him as an outstanding commander , a great example for others.

Most of the honors survived until the beginning of the 2nd century. AD, (i.e. existed during the creation of the Annals), something did not settle down as a tradition and was soon forgotten.

Conclusion

In fragment 83 of book 2 of the Annals, a story is given about the ways of honoring him that arose after the death of Germanicus and various kinds of honors rendered to him, on the basis of which it can be concluded that he was popular among the people, that he had exceptional courage and courage, was successful military leader, talented orator. You can also draw a conclusion about the attitude of Tiberius towards Germanicus - he was afraid of too much exaltation of even the deceased Germanicus, and probably envied his popularity. This fragment complements the characterization of the characters.

On the whole, Tacitus “considered the main duty of the annals to preserve the memory of manifestations of virtue and to oppose dishonorable words and deeds with the fear of disgrace in posterity”, in the analyzed passage the author shows how people worthy of memory, in particular Germanicus, are immortalized, it can be assumed that, in contrast to this, there will be the death and funeral of Tiberius is depicted (or the funeral will not be depicted at all).

At the same time, the "Annals" had another goal - to capture the process of disintegration of the civil community, the unity of the activity of a citizen and the interests of the state, at first this problem still found sympathizers, but there were fewer of them, and as soon as this goal lost its meaning for the author, from - due to the fact that new socio-historical conditions have come, he stopped working on the work.

The work of Tacitus was popular or unpopular in different historical eras, depending on the interpretation of his work.

Pliny the Younger promised immortality to his friend's historical work. These are the only known responses from Tacitus's contemporaries to his work as a historian. After Pliny, no one mentions Tacitus for nearly a century. For this time, Tacitus was an old-fashioned writer. The old Roman aristocracy is already almost extinct. The struggle between the emperors and the senate, whose historian was Tacitus, is a thing of the past. From the time of Hadrian, the empire ceased its aggressive policy, and the Greek-eastern part of the Roman state began to play an ever greater role. In cultural life, religious moments are sharply intensified, and an archaistic trend begins to prevail in literature, for which the classical literature of Rome ends with Cicero and Virgil; writers of the 1st century AD, such as representatives of the "new style" Seneca and Lucan, evoke a sharply negative attitude towards themselves.

From all these points of view, Tacitus must have been represented by the author "out of time." He completes the traditions of senatorial historiography of the 1st century, emphasizing the despotism of emperors, supports an aggressive policy, treats the provincials with disdain, especially the Greek-Eastern ones, is little affected by religious interests, and as a writer adjoins one of the varieties of the "new style". The political attitude, ideology, style - all this in Tacitus diverges from the trends that prevailed during the time of Hadrian and especially his successors Antonines.

The historical work of Tacitus did not find successors in the next two centuries. High-style historiography in Rome froze for a long time.

Representatives of the new religion, Christianity, also had a negative attitude towards Tacitus. The reason was the hostile reviews of the historian, already mentioned by us, both about the Christians themselves and about the Jewish religion. The fables that Tacitus told about the Jews were also transferred to the Christians. This prompted Tertullian (c. 150-230), the pioneer of Christian literature in Latin, to characterize the historian as "a very talkative liar."

The difficult author was not considered a classic and was not studied in the Roman school, Tacitus was known only to scholars. Emperor Claudius Tacitus (275-276), who considered himself a descendant of the historian, allegedly took measures to disseminate his works, but his reign was too short for his orders to lead to any result.

During the period of the late empire (4th-5th centuries), conservative circles that stood in the position of the old religion strove in many ways to join the literary tradition of the 1st century. AD The last outstanding historian of Rome, Ammian Marcellinus (about 330-400), resumes the interrupted historiographical tradition and begins his "History" with the reign of Nerva, thus joining the story of Tacitus. Other historians of the 4th century also know Tacitus. Christian writers begin to refer more often to Tacitus - the historian Orosius (beginning of the 5th century), the poet and epistolographer Sidonius Apollinaris (5th century), the chronicler Jordanes (6th century).

With the collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire, cultural impoverishment sets in, and after the Jordanian traces of acquaintance with Tacitus are lost until Carolingian times. In IX the position changes. In the Fulda Monastery, Eingard, and later Ruodolf, knew the first books of the Annals and Germany. By this time belongs the only manuscript that has preserved the first 6 books of the Annals (Medician I), as well as the only manuscript of the small works of Tacitus, to which all later tradition goes back. It is possible that some other authors of the IX-X centuries. (Widukind, Adam of Bremen) read Tacitus. Around 1050, in the abbey of Montecassino near Naples, a manuscript was copied (perhaps from a source dating back to the same Fulda) containing the XI-XVI books of the Annals and, as a continuation of their I-V books of the Histories, numbered as books XVII-XXI.

The medieval writers of the XI-XIII centuries. there is usually no direct acquaintance with Tacitus, he is known only on the basis of Orosius; however, Peter the Deacon of Montecassino (c. 1135) uses the beginning of "Agricola".

In the XIV century. Tacitus becomes more famous. The Montecassino manuscript was used (between 1331 - 1334) by Paulinus Venetsky in the "Map of the World", and then in many of his works by Boccaccio, in whose hands the manuscript itself turned out to be. Then it began to spread in a number of copies, it came to the famous Florentine humanist Niccolo Niccoli, and now it is located in the same Florence in the Medicean Library (Medician II). From the 20s of the XV century. Italian humanists begin to search for the manuscripts of Tacitus in Germany. In 1425, the well-known humanist, papal secretary Poggio Bracciolini received from a monk from Gersfeld Abbey an inventory of a number of manuscripts, among which was the manuscript of the small works of Tacitus (see above, p. 217). Where this manuscript came from - from Gersfeld or from Fulda - whether Poggio received it and when exactly, is not completely clear. In 1455, she, or a copy of her, was already in Rome and formed the basis of the manuscripts that have come down to us. However, the humanists of the fifteenth century were interested in Tacitus only insofar as they valued every ancient author. With their characteristic orientation towards Cicero and the classical Latin of his time, Tacitus and his style could not arouse special attention. Therefore, Tacitus was not among the first published authors.

The first printed edition of Tacitus appeared in Venice around 1470. It contained the Annals (XI-XVI) with the books of the History as their continuation, the Germania and the Dialogue. "Agricola" was added only in the second printed edition (about 1476). The first part of the Annals was not yet known.

At the beginning of the XVI century. the manuscript containing the first 6 books of the "Annals" (Medician I), somehow, as if not yet disclosed, came to Rome. In 1515, the Vatican librarian Beroald first published Tacitus in the volume in which his works remain known to this day. Since that time, the cultural reception of Tacitus in New Europe begins - publications, translations, comments, monographs about Tacitus.

The text of Tacitus needed philological treatment. Much has been done in this regard since the 16th century. For the study of Tacitus, the critical edition of the famous Dutch philologist Justus Lipsius (Antwerp, 1574), provided with an extensive commentary, played an important role. Lipsius for the first time separated the "History" from the "Annals", with which it was published as a single work, established the boundary between the V and VI books of the "Annals", as well as a gap between them.

Philological interest in Tacitus was also dictated by the change in literary tastes that came in the 16th-17th centuries. The classicism of the Renaissance was replaced by the artistic trends of the Baroque. This was also reflected in the New Latin literature. The patterns of the Latin style have changed. Representatives of rhetorical and declamatory literature of the 1st century. AD turned out to be more consonant with new artistic trends than "classical" Latin. The main theorist of style was no longer Cicero, but Quintilian. Tacitus, with his sublime pathos, hyperbolism and asymmetry, became one of his favorite writers.

However, the main significance of Tacitus for the XVI-XVII centuries. lay in the political lessons that could be drawn from his writings. This was the time of the growth of European absolutism, which created for itself an ideological justification, a moral-political and legal theory. This theory was based on the principle of state interest, which opposed the separatist tendencies of feudalism and the authoritarianism of the church. In the works of Tacitus, the historian of the Roman Empire, the ideologists and practitioners of absolute monarchies could find a treasure trove of historical experience and political wisdom. Especially a lot of material was given to them by the "Annals", and in particular the first books of the "Annals" - a story about the reign of Tiberius. Of all the emperors depicted by Tacitus, Tiberius was the most complete type of absolute monarch - insightful, purposeful. Already Beroald, whose publication introduced readers to the first books of the Annales, emphasized the interest of this writer for sovereigns. "I have always considered Cornelius Tacitus a great writer, very useful not only for private individuals and high-ranking persons, not also for sovereigns and even emperors themselves."

Tacitus was indeed considered in the 16th-17th centuries. as a teacher of sovereigns, as well as all those who have to deal with sovereigns. This gave rise in most of the countries of Europe, especially in Italy, Spain and France, but also in Germany, Holland and England, to a whole branch of political literature, the so-called "Tacitism". Whether in the form of systematic treatises or individual observations, aphorisms, notes to Tacitus, and with the most diverse political interpretations - some for a monarchy, others for an aristocratic republic - these writers substantiated their views with materials borrowed from Tacitus. Orientation to Tacitus was caused by another additional circumstance. The most prominent and influential theorist of absolutism was at the beginning of the 16th century. Machiavelli. His main theoretical works The Sovereign (1513) and Discourse on the First Decade of Titus Livius (1516) were written even before the first part of the Annals. In his writings, he rarely refers to Tacitus and prefers Livy to him. Meanwhile, Machiavelli's books were condemned by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent, and the author himself was posthumously burned in effigie (in the form of an effigy). In Catholic countries, it could not be invoked. Under these conditions, "Tacitism" often became a mask for the forbidden Machiavellianism. At the same time, the political tendencies of Tacitus himself were completely distorted. Even characters like Sejanus, whom Tacitus depicts with hatred and contempt, sometimes appear among the servile "Tacitists" as positive models of courtier behavior.

Interest in the 17th century to Tacitus left significant traces also in fiction, especially in French. The clash of state interests and personal feelings was one of the main themes of the tragedy of French classicism, and more than 10 tragedies (or tragicomedies) of the 17th century. were taken from Tacitus. The most significant of them are "The Death of Agrippina" by Cyrano de Bergerac (1654), "Otho" by Corneille (1664) and "Britanic" by Racine (1669). In the second preface to Britannicus, Racine called Tacitus "the greatest painter of antiquity."

The absolutist interpretation of Tacitus, characteristic of the 16th-17th centuries, changed in the 18th century. diametrically opposed interpretation. "Tacitists" could rely on individual statements of the historian about the inevitability of the monarchical regime, but the very image of the emperors and the public life of Rome indicated a completely different direction of the author's political sympathies. The first author of a new, anti-absolutist interpretation of Tacitus was the Irishman Thomas Gordon (1684 - 1750), who published an English translation of Tacitus and a treatise "Historical-Political Discourses on the Books of Tacitus". It found a lively response in France in the pre-revolutionary era, and the authority of the French enlighteners (Rousseau, Diderot, d'Alembert, Mably, and others) spread it widely throughout Europe. Tacitus is now understood as a debunker of monarchs, an enemy of despotism and a friend of republican freedom. This last one was also an exaggeration. Supporters of the revolutionary interpretation of Tacitus either did not pay attention to the hostile attitude of the Roman historian towards the masses of the people, or, if they advocated a revolution from above, agreed with his views. Writers and critics treated Tacitus in the same way. Alfieri, who hated tyranny, diligently studied Tacitus and severely condemned Nero in the tragedy Octavia (1780). For such a critic as La Harpe, who codified in the treatise "Lyceum" the literary assessments characteristic of eighteenth-century classicism, the works of Tacitus, truthfully depicting despotism and servility, are retribution to tyrants. Marie Joseph Chenier calls Tacitus the personification of the "conscience of the human race", and his works - "a tribunal for the oppressed and the oppressors." "The name of Tacitus makes tyrants turn pale."

Along with a highly positive assessment of Tacitus as a historian and political thinker, there were heard both in the 16th-17th centuries and in the 18th century. other voices. Dating back to the humanists of the 15th century. formal-stylistic criticism of his literary manner found adherents later. Tacitus was reproached for affectation, unnaturalness both in terms of style and content. With great doubt, Voltaire treated the messages of Tacitus, considering his images of Tiberius and Nero exaggerated. When the French republic created by the revolution was replaced by the empire of Napoleon, the emperor himself opened a literary campaign against Tacitus, instructing him to print in the Journal des Débats (February 11 and 21, 1806) 2 semi-official articles on this subject. To Napoleon, Tacitus seemed to be a disgruntled senator, an "aristocrat" and a "philosopher" who, in his backward conservatism, did not understand the significance of the empire and slandered the emperors. He repeatedly expressed his opinion in conversations with scientists, writers, demanded the exclusion of Tacitus from the school course, even attacked writers who praised the author of the Annales - Chateaubriand, M. Chenier.

In Russia, the revolutionary interpretation of Tacitus inspired the Decembrists. He was admired by A. Bestuzhev, N. Muravyov, N. Turgenev, M. Lunin, M. Fonvizin and others.A. Briggen during the investigation attributed his free way of thinking to reading Tacitus. For F. Glinka it was "the great Tacitus". Kornilovich called him "the most eloquent historian of his own and almost all subsequent centuries, a thoughtful philosopher and politician." A. Kornilovich and D. Zavalishin translated his works.

Pushkin in 1825, having conceived "Boris Godunov", began to study the "Annals". In his "Remarks on the "Annals" of Tacitus" he fully supports the Decembrist interpretation of the works of the Roman historian. But at the same time, Pushkin, in a number of well-aimed judgments, reveals the exaggerated nature of Tacitus' accusations against Tiberius.

He was fond of Tacitus Herzen. Using the story of Tacitus about the conspiracy of Piso, he created a dialogic sketch, conditionally titled in the publications "From Roman Scenes". “It seems to me that of all the Romans who wrote Tacitus alone is immensely great,” he informs N.I. "sorrows.

Meanwhile, since the beginning of the XIX century. the attitude of the bourgeoisie to the ancient world has changed. The bourgeoisie, which had ceased to be a revolutionary class, began to appreciate in ancient culture not those aspects that seemed attractive in the 18th century. Tacitus, the denouncer of despotism, rarely aroused the sympathy of the Western European bourgeoisie, especially after 1848. The Caesarism of Napoleon III, and then the creation of the German Empire, played a significant role here. Napoleon III continued the tradition of Napoleon I, which was hostile to Tacitus. Bonapartist Dubois-Gushan, prosecutor ex officio, in a two-volume monograph refuted Tacitus's "slander" of the Roman emperors. The judgments of the Roman historian seemed tendentious, dictated by a narrowly aristocratic point of view. In addition, a careful comparison of Tacitus with other historians of the empire showed that he is far from always original and follows a certain tradition of senatorial historiography. The attitude towards Tacitus as a historian and moralist has become sharply negative among many researchers. Only Tacitus the painter, the master of storytelling, remained. F. Leo, the greatest historian of Roman literature at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, summed up this direction in the study of Tacitus. Tacitus is not independent, he is not a researcher, his goal is not the truth, but he was a poet, "one of the few great poets of the Roman people."

A more "moderate" position in relation to Tacitus was occupied at that time by the famous French historian of Roman culture, Boissier. He considers Tacitus as a figure who reconciled with the empire, but who was unable to overcome the prejudices of his aristocratic environment, as a truthful writer, but prone to affective exposition in the spirit of contemporary rhetoric.

In tsarist Russia, with its autocracy, these assessments of Tacitus, which had become fashionable in the West, very rarely found a response. The Ukrainian bourgeois historian MP Drahomanov acted as an apologist for the Roman Empire and critic of Tacitus. Much more progressive views were expressed by V. I. Modestov (1839-1907), who at one time was close to Chernyshevsky's Land and Freedom. His monograph "Tacitus and his writings" (1864) contains many correct and by no means outdated judgments about the moral and political appearance of Tacitus and his historical impartiality. The author's great merit is also his translation of the works of Tacitus: "The works of Cornelius Tacitus. Russian translation with notes and an article about Tacitus and his writings by V. I. Modestov. This translation for 80 years remained the only complete collection of works of Tacitus in Russian. Traditions V. I. Modestov was continued in his works on Tacitus by the liberal historian I. M. Grevs (1860-1941).

Modern researchers no longer consider Tacitus only as an artist and are trying to penetrate deeper into his worldview as a moralist and political thinker. In the treasury of world literature, the works of Tacitus occupy an outstanding place and fully retain their cognitive and artistic significance for the modern reader.

List of used literature:

1. Kuzishchin V.I. History of Ancient Rome / V.I. Kuzishchin, A.G. Bokaschin. - M.: Vyssh.shk., 1971. - 495 p.

2. Kuzishchin V.I. History of Ancient Rome: Proc. for universities on special History /V.I. Kuzishchin, I.L. Mayak, I.A. Gvozdeva. - M.: Vyssh.shk., 2000. - 383 p.

3. Tacitus P.K. Annals. History: [sb.: per. from Lat.] / P.K. Tacitus. - M .: NF "Pushkin Library", 2005. - 824 p.

4. Tacitus K. History / Per. from lat. and comment. G.S. Knabe; Enter. Art. I.M. Tronsky; M.: AST Publishing House LLC, 2001. - 400 p.

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Publishing house of AzGNII, BAKU, 1930.
Introduction
History Methodology
Historical sources and their classification.
historical sources
Source classification

Auxiliary historical disciplines
Historical geography
Anthropology
Ethnography
Linguistics...

SCHEME OF SOURCE ANALYSIS

Origin of the text

Who wrote this text?

When was the text written?

What type is this text? (letter, diary, official document, etc.)

Is this the full text or an excerpt? If this is a passage, who prepared it? What guided the person who chose the passage?

What is the content of the text? Look at what parts the text is divided into? Suggest your titles for the main parts of the text. Highlight the most important words, the most important names, the most important events mentioned in the text. If you come across words, names and events that you do not know, ask the teacher. Remember that many books have a table of contents, indexes, tables that can help you understand the meaning of the text.

How reliable is the information contained in the text?

Is the text a primary or secondary source? (the primary source is considered to be the first test known to us, the secondary source drew its information from the primary or other secondary text. The primary source may be "indirect" evidence and is often created much later than the events described).

Subjectivity of the text

All texts are subjective to some extent. The author sees from his own point of view. In addition, different people often explain facts differently. Subjectivity may be unconscious, but often sources are written with a specific purpose in mind. The author wants to get something from someone or to protect himself, his family, his loved ones, etc. from accusations, he can promote some ideas, etc. Subjectivity can often be revealed through an analysis of the adjectives used or the events selected to describe.

To do this, it is important to answer the following questions:

Is this source the only one describing this event? If there are others, do they describe it in the same way or in a different way? Otherwise, what is the difference and how can it be explained?

Using Sources to Study People's Thinking

It is important to understand that if the source is subjective and even false, it can be used to solve another problem: the fact that this text was written is already important in itself. If, for example, the author subjectively describes other people, this may indicate the attitude towards these people of himself and others like him. If the author gives a deliberately distorted description of events, this is evidence of his desire to form a certain impression on the reader.

Questions for later interpretations

Historians interpret sources in their own way. They cannot do this objectively - they are influenced by the time they live in and their hopes for the future. They may also write historical books with specific intentions.

Therefore, when reading books, you need to ask the following questions:

Who wrote this book? When and where?

Is this the original text or a translation?

What type of book is this? School textbook? A book written for the general public? A book designed primarily for other historians to read?

What was the purpose of the book? How subjective is it?

SCHEME OF WORK WITH ART SOURCES

Illustration Description

People. Who are they? Their number, age, clothing, etc. Their relationship.

Landscapes, things, plants, animals. How is the relationship between man and nature shown? Are they harmonious or not?

Image space. Where are we? Outdoors / indoors. Is it possible to distinguish the first, middle and background in the image?

Forms and lines. What lines are dominant? Vertical / horizontal / diagonal? Geometric shapes: triangles, quadrilaterals, circles.

Color and light effects. What parts of the image are highlighted with harsh lighting or contrast?

Motion. Pay special attention to contrasts: frozen position / movement, up / down.

The position of the viewer. Worm's view / normal view / bird's eye view.

Composition. Is the image balanced? If yes, how was it done? What is our primary focus? How is this effect achieved?

Interpretation / message

Who are the people in the illustration? Sometimes it's easy to spot, other times you have to look at them carefully and identify them with different symbols.

Pictured plot. What's happening?

Symbols and signs. An accurate description of what is happening often involves an explanation of the various symbols and signs. It is not only about the characters themselves, but also about what can be learned from the facial expressions of the characters, movements, gestures, their position in the image, their size, the ratio of light and shadow, and the use of colors.

Who made this image, and who is it intended for? Was this image commissioned by an artist? If yes, then by whom? Or does the idea belong entirely to the author? What were his intentions - to provoke the audience, to arouse pity, to convince of something, to impress?

CHARTS THAT HELP STUDENTS ANALYZE OR EVALUATE SOURCES ARE VERY USEFUL FOR BOTH CLASSWORK AND FOR INDEPENDENT STUDY AND REVIEW

Try to answer the following questions:

For all types of historical sources