Historicity
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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In "What is a Nation?" Ernest Renan states what has become one of the most famous and enduring ideas of nationalism. "Forgetfulness, and I would even say historical error, are essential in the creation of a nation." |
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Historicity is characteristic of having actually existed in history of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history as opposed to being a historical myth or legend, or the quality of being part of recorded history, as opposed to prehistory. Questions of historicity arise where accounts of events are believed by some to be true, but cannot be verified, either because lack of historical records or where historical accounts incorporate folklore as fact.
Issues of historicity particularly apply to the factual nature of events reported in partisan or poetic accounts. For example, the historicity of the Iliad is a topic of debate because later archaeological finds suggest that the work was based on some true event.
Historicity also arises frequently in vetting religious claims that depend on the truth of historical events:
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