HERODOTUS The Histories Story of the Greek wars against Persia in the third decade of the 5 th century BC First portion explores the historical background of the war while the remainder recounts the details of the Persian expedition against Greece

THUCYDIDES Wrote The Peloponnesian War Account of the struggle between Athens and Sparta during the last 30 years of the 5 th century BC

POLYBIUS Greek Second Century BC Insisted that a historian must travel to see the sites, participate in public events, and utilize public records Wrote Universal History –About Rome’s expansion over the Mediterranean world –Intended to be practical instruction and equip readers to better act in the future

SALLUST Late first century BC Wrote from an outsiders point of view about affairs of state Took leaders to task for their mistakes and misdeeds and warned of the effects of decadence and decay

TITUS LIVY Wrote History of Rome –Early years of first century AD –142 volumes Emphasized the role of civic virtue in the expansion of the Roman Republic Never held public office and devoted his life to research and writing

JULIUS CAESAR Wrote Commentaries –Firsthand account of his military exploits against the Gauls, Germans, and Britons in the middle of the first century BC –Established a stylistic model for Latin prose and also a new literary genre Not as much interested in character and personality as he was in action

TACITUS Most notable work was Annales of Imperial Rome –Written around 100 AD –Described affairs of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius (14 AD) to the death of Nero (68 AD) –Commended public virtue and condemned immorality and evil, especially the excesses of the emperors and the self-serving cliques around them

EUSEBIUS OF CAESARA Wrote History of the Church Tried to demonstrate how all previous history led to the triumph of Christianity Argued that the traditions of Christianity stretched backward in time to a glorious past before the Greeks

SAINT AUGUSTINE Wrote City of God –In response to Alaric’s sack of Rome in 410 AD Led to charges that Christians had led people away from old gods and that the gods had now taken their revenge –He absolved Christians from blame by showing that similar catastrophes had happened before Christianity –Also developed new and unique approach to universal history

ST. AUGUSTINE’S APPROACH TO THE PAST History has a purpose History moves in a straight line towards a specific end point (the Day of Judgment) The end point of the historical process is good and therefore the movement of history represents progress God is the external force propelling the historical process Humans can find out aspects of this process by using their intellect To understand history, humans must comprehend the Divine revelations contained in the Bible Humans are active agents, though often unwitting ones, in the development of history

PROCOPIUS Byzantine writer of 6 th century AD Major works were History of Wars and The Secret History Well versed in classic Greek historiography Very high quality of writing –But he may not be especially trustworthy

VENERABLE BEDE One of the most learned men of the early Middle Ages Wrote An Ecclesiastical History of the English People –First reliable description of early Britain Had a high regard for valid sources

OTTO OF FRESING Nephew of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa –Became bishop of Salzburg Wrote The Deeds of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa –Laudatory political biography of his uncle Wrote Chronicle or History of Two Cities –Universal history modeled on work of St. Augustine

MATTHEW PARIS An English monk of 13 th century Wrote Great Chronicle –Began with an edited version of Flowers of History Written earlier by Roger of Wendover –Rest of book described events in England and elsewhere after 1236 Including Western Europe, the Papal States, the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Land, and Russia Paid special attention to politics and international intrigue

JEAN FROISSART Wrote Chronicles –14 th century Wrote with a self-conscious detachment and tried to tell the truth Assumed God played a role in human affairs but worked hard to obtain accurate information

SUMMARY Medieval historians modified the Greek approach by putting the supernatural back into history By the 14 th century, such writings became formalistic and repetitive –Medieval chroniclers lacked the intellectual and methodological means to employ original sources and recover their meaning and significance. They instead depended on the veracity of their predecessors