Sources

We find out about the past from sources. Books and papers are written sources. Books written by monks soon after 1066 tell the story of the Norman Conquest. The monks were not present at the Battle of Hastings, but some of them may have talked to men who were there. Old coins, buildings, weapons, and pictures are also sources. The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the Norman invasion in pictures.

Letters and chronicles written by people who were present, and saw the things they wrote about, are called primary sources.

Papers and books written by people who were not present are called secondary sources. The authors of secondary sources must have heard about the events from someone else, or read about them in books.

We should not always believe the sources. It is a good idea to ask questions about them, for example:

- Who wrote this source and when?

- Was this person there when the event happened?

- Did this person have a reason to be biased (tell a one-sided story)?

- Could this person have got hold of false information?

Walter Robson: Medieval Britain; Oxford University Press, 1991/2000, page 7/24/33