The Earliest States of Eastern Europe
DG-2011, 218-220

Does a Mediavalist possess “Oral Sources”?

S. M. Kashtanov

The author asserts that, as a rule, a mediaevalist has absolutely no “oral sources” at his disposal. When someone speaks of mediaeval “oral sources”, he just means the information derived from some oral source but preserved only as a written text. Folklore is a form of popular historiography, but not a source which would give an opportunity to reconstruct real history.

Keywords:
oral sources, medieval studies, folklore, written text, historiography