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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 2003-08 > 1061277303


From: "Todd A. Farmerie" <>
Subject: Re: An honest question, Re: Annalistic Writing - Ancient Ireland:
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 01:19:18 -0600
References: <010901c356b3$d8772ed0$25a5869f@janeteavhviak4> <20030730173926.27724.00001204@mb-m23.aol.com> <3F3D31A0.4090105@dcn.org> <3F3EA509.DFA047DE@eircom.net> <3F3F0958.6030808@dcn.org> <3F3F62B0.C294BD34@eircom.net> <3F40F6D4.7080701@dcn.org>


Chris & Tom Tinney, Sr. wrote:
> EXAMPLE:
> One key for validation of ANY record, whatever
> it may be, is internal consistency. For example,
> Biblical records show early generations having long
> life spans. Selections from the Book of Moses note
> in Chapter 6, verse 25, that "Enoch lived sixty-five
> years, and begat Methuselah." Later, in this same
> record, Enoch, in verse 31, states: "Why is it that
> I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad"
> . . . For the record to show than an individual in
> this ancient time frame considered himself to be a
> "lad" at his age, past sixty-five years, shows internal
> consistency with the recorded extended years given to
> the ancient Biblical patriarchs.

I don't want to get into the accuracy, or lack thereof, of the
genealogies in Genesis - a critical comparison of the pedigrees
of Noah and Lamech tell you what you need to know. (Let's also
set aside the odd assertion that the source calls him a 'lad',
as, contrary to the belief's of some, the Bible was not written
in King James English.) However, as an example of using
"internal consistency" as a benchmark for historical accuracy,
this highlights a problem. If a book about Paul Bunyan says that
he was very big, and then says that his bull was also very big,
that is similar internal consistency. Hamlet is internally
consistent - the time line works, the comings and goings of
characters, etc. Yet both are fiction - how could that be?
Maybe because the peple who invented them was not a moron, and
knew that the audiece would notice inconsistency, and appreciate
such consistency all the more - one can almost see the
storyteller casting a knowing glance at the audience when he has
Enoch call himself a 'lad'.

The kind of inconsistency one looks for is on a bigger level -
generations over time, long pedigrees given at different points,
seemingly unrelated details that fit together - not something
that anyone who worked out a timeline prior to the actual
composition would be sure to get straight, or would even
intentionally include. It has to be something an inventor
wouldn't think of, not something so obvious no inventor would miss.

taf

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