Myth vs History
Sometimes the line between history and folklore can be blurry
© Darlene Vaillancourt
Jan 10, 2007
Many characters in history are actually fictional, or at least partly fantasy. Myth and history can become intertwined, making genealogy difficult.
As I worked on a particular branch of my tree over this past weekend, I started following a line of Scottish and Gaelic kings back for dozens of generations. Well, to make a long story short, I eventually came to a bit of a fork in that branch, and led to the royal line in Judah. And as that continued, I started seeing figures from Biblical history, such as King Solomon and King David. Following that would eventually lead me to Adam and Eve, if you use the Bible as a historical reference.
I realized that as you travel farther and farther back into history, the accuracy of records can get suspect. Myth and folktale begins to blend with true historical fact.
So where do you drawn the line? When do real historical figures stop and fictional ones begin? I'll admit I'm not that much of an ancient historian, but I think I may have to do a lot more research along those lines in order to make that distinction.
I think this happens whenever you are researching very old royal lines. Tales are woven around people in power, relating them to the all-powerful Gods. True events are embellished to the point of becoming indistinguishable from actual fact.
One example is the ancient Greek work, The Illiad. Many consider the text to be pure fiction and legend, but others feel that there may be varying levels of historical accuracy in the stories. There is an interesting article on the historical accuracy of The Illiad on Wikipedia.
Another example is the already mentioned Bible. There are a great deal of historical events, and even genealogical references in the Bible, but how much of it is myth and how much is real?
That can be a touchy subject among Christians who consider the Bible to be purely accurate in all ways. Even searching the Web leads to many evangelical sites, rather than ones of historical research.
As for how to include possibly mythical information in one's family tree, I tend to keep it in my records. Though some of the information may be questionable, it adds to the flavour of my ancestry. It reminds me of the social times when these people lived. Can I point to the exact spot where my various branches stop being real and the fiction starts? Nope. And that's OK with me for now.
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Comments
Jan 12, 2007 6:05 AM
Pink
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One of the things about family trees--when we begin to study our own--is that we can't always trust the hype some ancestor may have added.
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For whatever reason, people cut and add others out of and into their genealogy. Makes you want to dig some body up and get a dna sample to make sure. :)
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I was lucky in my family research. I inadvertently stumbled onto a lady who had done the entire line ever since the first member landed on this continent. When we visited her home, she had an entire wall 8' by 10' lined with loose ring note books complete with computer print outs of nearly every individual in her maternal and paternal lines. It's a really exciting way for me to learn American History--to trace my family's evolution according to the growth of the nation. Everyone should do it.
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Jan 13, 2007 6:26 AM
Darlene Vaillancourt
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That is very true. I hadn't even thought of "personal myths" when I wrote that article. Family stories and traditions are NOT facts, though they can give you a starting point when doing actual research.
I had the same luck. A cousin of mine did all the "leg-work" for our immediate family back for a number of generations. Gave me an excellent foundation to build on.
I agree that genealogy can be a wonderful way to learn about history on a very personal level. People stop being faceless names in a book when they are actual relatives.
Jun 1, 2007 12:12 AM
Jerry N Simpson
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Traditions and family stories are interesting clues for doing research. Much of my ancestor's history is lost. I regretted not having stories in my family of pioneer wagon trains, handcarts, prospectors or bandits. Later a few bits of information were pieced together to reveal some of my great grandparent's history. Two aunts wrote what they could recall about my grandparents and that is a cherished treasure. But it took my daughter's resourcefulness to get me to write my personal history. For Christmas she and her children thought of questions they wanted me to write a few words about. There were about 50 topics that were written on small strips of paper, rolled and placed in a decorated yogurt cup. At the rate of about one topic a week I answered their queries and added a few other ideas I thought appropriate and by the end of the year I had a sizeable story of my life, interests and accomplishments. She told me it was hard to think of that many subjects and maybe that is partly why I hadn't written the story before. I have a hard time thinking of things to write about. As an example, What is your favorite..., What advice would you leave your grandchildren?, What do you remember about..., Who were your childhood friends? The next year she said now draw pictures to illustrate what you wrote.
Nov 5, 2007 9:32 AM
sue maxwekk
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Mythology has taken on an incorect meaning today; if you look at the Wikipedia site you will see that mythology is not a false story but a valid one explained in a manner that can be receuved only in this way.J R Tolkien said, "I have tried to modernize the myths and make them credible." Both as a mythmaker and as a philogist Tolkien knew the importance of mythology to language and culture. Myths develop a link with the past, A continuity that hleps people weather the present and look forward to the future. In an era of unprecidented change, the links to the past are stretched to the breaking point, and people without roots are likely to become, analogously,a people without brances or flowers. The roots of the past -mythology-are no longer acceptable in their traditional form and have to be reread in a contemporary, relevant mode."
I have been exploring the reasons why for some of us there is a tremendous amoutn of serendipity in doing family history work, and while I just came across this quote,while reading his bio,it seems to me to be pertinent to genealogy in some manner tht I don't quit grasp,yet. The ancient legends which he studied, were ways of present historical truths,and it may be tht these are somehow a part of our collecive consciousness of memory of ancient things. There must be an important role for valid myth in genealogy and family stories and connecting families with themselves and their pasts. Sue
