InfoBritain

 

A View of History (with thanks to The Simpsons)

There's an episode of The Simpsons where clever Lisa is given an assignment to write an essay on Jebediah Springfield, the founder of the town of Springfield. The 200th anniversary of the founding of the town is only a week away, and all the children must write about the town's founding father. Most of the children trot out the usual story, but conscientious Lisa goes to the town museum. There she meets kindly curator Hollis Hurlbut who shows her the museum's precious Jebediah exhibits. These include "his fife on which he sounded the sweet note of freedom," and also his chamber pot. While Hollis is off checking his microwaved jonny cakes, Lisa has a go at playing a tune on Jebediah's fife, but all she succeeds in doing is blowing out a rolled up sheet of paper on which Jebediah had written his secret confession:

"Firstly I did not tame the legendary buffalo. It was already tame. I merely shot it. Secondly I have not always been known as Jebediah Springfield. Until 1796 I was Hans Sprungfeld, murderous pirate, and the half wits of this town shall never learn the truth! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

History might have the friendly, avuncular image of Hollis Hurlbut, but it is often an uncomfortable subject. Countries have their national myths, which often aren't the same as history. Take coronations of British monarchs for example. Lots of people turn out, commemorative mugs are purchased, children wave flags, and there is a sense of national celebration. But certain elements of the coronation ceremony would have made Hans Sprungfeld proud. The Stone of Destiny, which sits underneath the coronation chair was the great symbol of the Scottish state. It was taken from Scotland in 1296 when the fearsome English king Edward the First invaded Scotland, massacring the entire population of Berwick in the process. Edward understood the symbolism of national identity, and he made sure that all English monarchs to come would be sitting on Scotland from the moment they were crowned.

Even before they are crowned, prospective monarchs of England are under the influence of that old pirate Edward the First. The heir to the throne of England carries the title of Prince of Wales. In 1282 Edward had set about subduing Wales and bringing it under English control. He demolished the Welsh equivalent of Westminster Abbey, the monastery at Aberconwy, and built a huge castle on the site, Conwy Castle. He then gave the title Prince of Wales, to his son and heir. The Prince of Wales has been the title of the heir to the English throne ever since, just to remind the Welsh who is really in charge. I can imagine Lisa Simpson getting up at the investiture ceremony at Caernarvon castle, and telling people all about it.

InfoBritain is a history site, and as such it's not just a list of gentle days out at National Trust properties. History is not the friendly subject of Hollis Hurlburt. Sometimes history is described as "proud": Jebidiah Springfield is supposed to have said that "a noble spirit embiggens to smallest man." As Lisa discovered, history is frequently not proud, and using history as a source of national pride or national unity is asking for trouble. However, I think we can be proud of the fact that history is there to be studied. This has not always been so, and even now history can be awkward enough for governments to create their own version of events. Lisa tries to play a tune on the fife which Jebidiah used to sound the sweet note of freedom. The secret confession that pops out blows away the myth of Jebidiah, but it also encourages Lisa to be a free spirit and challenge the old story of the town's founding father. The committee organising the town's anniversary procession hears of Lisa's heresy and bans the Simpsons from attending. She gets an F for her essay Jebidiah Springfield Super Fraud. It's all very upsetting, but Lisa dreams of George Washington pushing Jebidiah off a cliff and telling her to go on. History might be awkward, but it has to be there. Britain cannot be proud of all its history, but Lisa would say it is better to be able to read awkward history than to live under the illusion of sanitised history.

In the end Lisa forces Hollis to admit that he knew the truth of Jebidiah all along. Hollis says that in the unsanitised version of Sprigfield history Jebidiah is supposed to have had his tongue bitten off by a Turk in a grog house fight, and had it replaced with a silver prosthetic tongue. Lisa's story would be proved correct if the silver tongue could be found. Hollis admits he removed the offending evidence from Jebidiah's body, and agrees to help Lisa stop the town procession. But when it comes to it Lisa cannot bring herself to ruin the town's fun. She marches with the procession. A country needs its myths, and it's needs to know the truth. The fife that plays the sweet note of freedom can sound the same note even in being shown to be a sham.