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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 1996-04 > 0829000051


From: Stewart Baldwin <>
Subject: Re: Theophano
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 21:47:31 GMT


Rafal Prinke <RAFALP%> wrote:

<snip>

>On a more general level, it seems that most pre-modern genealogy
>is bound to be conjectural to some degree. If there is no direct
>and reliable evidence, all conclusions must be drawn from what is available.
>Thus it becomes the art of convincing argumentation.

This is misleading. There are very many lines of prominent families
back to early medieval times (to Charlemagne, for example) which are
very solidly documented, as well documented as the lines of us common
folk back to the nineteenth century. It is a mistake to think that
there is something wrong with the documentation, just because it was
many years ago. The Middle Ages produced many contemporary
chronicles, charters, and other documents which often give excellent
proof of the genealogical relationships of members of prominent
families (and sometimes of not so prominent families). The _early_
Middle Ages are a different story, as the sources become so scarce (or
so noncontemporary that their testimony is dubious) that even the
prominent families often become obscure.

I guess it is the words "bound to be" which I disagreed with most. It
is true that there tend to be more gaps in knowledge in the earlier
times, and that much medieval genealogy which has been claimed is
wrong, due to a combination of inexperience, carelessness, wishful
thinking, use of bad sources, and occasionally even fraud, among other
reasons. However, that doesn't mean that medieval genealogy should
automatically be viewed as more suspicious than modern genealogy.
Regardless of the time period, each case needs to be judged on its own
merits, and there are plenty of modern families whose genealogies have
ridiculous errors in the published sources. (Incidently, there are
lot of ancient families which have a very well documented genealogy
for several generations. The problem is that no well documented line
has been found to link them with modern times.)

Stewart Baldwin

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