Historical Difficulties And Contested Events - Softcover

Octave Delepierre

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371339073 ISBN 13: 9780371339077

Publisher: HardPress, 2019

Synopsis

Historical Difficulties And Contested Events by Octave Delepierre is a critical, argumentative tour through well-attested historical claims that have long entertained credulity. In the Introduction, Delepierre argues that history should separate the pursuit of truth from the attraction of marvels, urging caution when ancient legends or popular anecdotes claim steadiness across centuries. The volume surveys a succession of famous historic and legendary episodes, exposing errors, misattributions, and later embellishments. Drawing on the critical work of earlier scholars such as the Abbé Lancelotti, the author proceeds to dissect widely repeated narratives, showing how they arose, spread, and persisted despite contrary evidence. The pages that follow examine specific topics: the Colossus of Rhodes; Belisarius; the Alexandrian Library; Pope Joan; Abelard and Eloisa; William Tell; Petrarch and Laura; Jeanne D’Arc; the Countess of Chateaubriand; Charles V of Spain; and the supposed inventor of the steam engine, among others. The book is a sustained defense of source criticism, bibliography, and rational inquiry, and closes with appendices and an index that guide the reader toward primary authorities. Originally published in 1868, the work remains a landmark study in contested events and historical doubts.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371339073
• ISBN 13: 9780371339077
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 198