Remnant
In common parlance, a remnant is initially something that remains. In historical studies , based on the typology and systematics of the sources created by Johann Gustav Droysen , an "unintentionally" created source is called an object or document that was created for reasons other than that of posterity about the present or Teaching past. Droysen distinguishes unintentionally handed down remains from monuments (for him mainly documents ) and traditions that are intended to be handed down . According to a simplified typology revised by Ernst Bernheim , remains represent the counterpart to traditional sources, which were primarily produced for the purpose of deliberate transmission.
A distinction must be made between:
- concrete remains, for example human and animal corpses, objects of daily use (e.g. tools, cookware), clothing, buildings
- abstract remnants, for example language and names, institutions, customs
- abstract remnants on a concrete substrate, essentially written documents for everyday use that have been produced for posterity without the intention to transmit them. Examples are: documents, files, everyday documents.
From the perspective of source criticism , the method of obtaining reliable statements about the past from sources, this distinction is important, since remains cannot provide a picture that is intentionally falsified. However, they can only be made usable for historical questions through a time-consuming methodical processing and interpretation .
The distinction also depends on the respective historical question, which means that the same source can be remnants or tradition depending on the question. A memorial, for example, is a tradition for a question about the event or the person it commemorates, and a remnant for a question about the memorial culture of the epoch in which it was erected.
It should be noted that remnants, especially legally relevant texts, in particular documents, can be forged and also falsified in order to gain a legal advantage in the present and future. Such forgeries are not worthless for scientific research, because a properly applied source criticism always asks about the motives, here the forger, and can thus lead to revealing findings. Thus, such forgeries in themselves represent a source that can be of historical interest.
literature
- Ernst Opgenoorth / Günther Schulz: Introduction to the study of modern history . 7th edition. Schöningh, Paderborn u. a. 2010, pp. 49-55, 86-179
- Alfred Heuss : Remnants and Tradition. On the phenomenology of historical sources . In: Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 25, 1935, pp. 134–183.
- Ernst Bernheim: Introduction to the science of history . 3rd edition, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / Leipzig 1926, especially pp. 104–132.
- Johann Gustav Droysen: History. Lectures on the encyclopedia and methodology of history, ed. by Rudolf Huebner. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1937, pp. 38-84, especially pp. 38-50.
- Johann Gustav Droysen: Outline of the History, Leipzig 1868, pp. 14–15 [1]
