What is history?

One of the first recorded attempts to define narrative, and therefore begin to understand its associations with history, was Aristotle in Poetics[1], in which he alludes to the idea of a “plot-based”[2] theory. The dynamic between narrative and history is one that has plagued many historians, and resultantly has had a lot of thought and research placed into it. The relationship between narrative and history is very complex due to several reasons such as historians may feel as if it is “their duty to establish a hierarchy of causes”[3], the fragile epistemology of history, and the plethora of schools of thought of whom have attempted to claim ownership over the final and most accurate understanding of this relationship. Historians throughout time have been attributed with many tasks and titles, even being referred to as ‘court-jesters’[4] due to their ability to entertain yet also the responsibility to deliver sometimes coarse truths. As a result, the job of a historian is something that is debated, because of some individuals who arguably abuse the historical method of research, and the title of historian, for example infamous holocaust denier David Irving [1] Fyfe, W., Halliwell, S., Innes, D., Roberts, W., Russell, D., Longinus. (1995). Poetics / Aristotle ; edited and translated by Stephen Halliwell. (New ed. / revised by Donald A. Russell. ed., Loeb classical library ; 199). Cambridge, MA.[2] Altman, Rick, and Ebrary, Inc. A Theory of Narrative / Rick Altman. New York, 2008. – Page 3[3] Evans, Richard J. In Defence of History / Richard J. Evans. New ed. London, 2000. – Page 158[4] Zeldin, Theodore. "Social History and Total History." Journal of Social History 10, no. 2 (1975): 237-45. – Page 45