anachronism
An anachronism ( ancient Greek ἀναχρονισμός anachronismós "confusion of times", from ἀνα- ana- " against- " and χρόνος chrónos "time") describes the classification of ideas, events, things or people in a wrong temporal context . If the object is placed in a historical context in which it actually did not even exist, one speaks of an anticipatory anachronism; if it no longer existed at the time, it is a retrograde anachronism. Anachronisms can be used unwittingly or mistakenly out of ignorance, but also consciously as a stylistic device , for example to achieve a comical effect. The identification of anachronisms in alleged historical sources can under certain circumstances expose a testimony to be a forgery .
In general, the word is also used in the sense of “ obsolete ” when you want to say that something is no longer up-to-date or “out of date”.
Correspondingly, the adjective “ anachronistic ” means “does not belong to a certain period”, “contrary to the times” or “out of time”.
Examples
In a fictional representation of art, anachronisms such as B. be items that are settled in the wrong time. Anticipatory anachronisms are common: In Novalis ' novel fragment Heinrich von Ofterdingen, there is a wall clock that did not yet exist at the time of the plot. The same applies to Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar . In several Asterix volumes expressly written in 50 BC. You can see the Colosseum , which is characteristic of today's cityscape of Rome and was only built between 72 and 80 AD.
Also anticipating, Christoph Hein lets Parzival appear as a sensation-hungry magazine editor in his play The Knights of the Round Table and thus creates a comic figure from the connection of an early medieval legendary figure with a modern professional profile.
Abstract or mental states that anticipate a later development are less easily recognizable. The concept of modern nationality is e.g. B. a relatively recent development so that it can be considered anachronistic to assign such a nationality to a person of the premodern era.
There are social groups that cultivate the anachronism in role play by trying to revive professions, social structures, clothing and weapons of bygone (sometimes fictitious ) times; for example the Society for Creative Anachronism .
