Elizabeth Schermerhorn : a short study in historiography

Abstract

The thesis is essentially divided into two parts. Historical Criticism I and II attempt to create a framework within which Schermerhorn can be placed. Indeed, they could easily have consumed the entire thesis but it has been a healthy and academically useful exercise to employ them in an assessment of one of the Order's historians. My choice of Schermerhorn may seem bizarre considering the approach employed in Chapters I and II. The reason why I did not choose a more academic historian is that Schermerhorn represents a popular approach commonly used by historians of the Order. I also felt that although Schermerhorn and her peers review an important aspect of the past, they are ostracised and dismissed by academic historians. Part of the aim of this dissertation was to highlight the differences between academic and unacademic history. Consequently, in the last three chapters I have tried to show the positive elements in Schermerhorn's work. I would also have liked to include a discussion on the possible ways in which the gap between academic and unacademic history could be narrowed, possibly focusing on methodology more than approach.