Medieval period and material sources
Seeing grandfather’s old house, its niches, the grinding stone and brass pots tells you how people lived then. An old fort or wada in a village does the same.
The medieval period is roughly from the 9th century CE to the end of the 18th century CE. Objects, buildings and remains that we can see are called material sources.
Key idea 1 : Kinds of material sources — Forts (hill, forest, sea and plain forts), samadhis, veergals, palaces, wadas, temples, mosques, dargahs, churches, gurudwaras, wells, weapons, utensils, ornaments, clothes, toys and instruments.
Key idea 2 : What they tell us — The style of buildings tells us about the quality of art, the economy and people’s standard of living. Forts show how defence was planned.
Key idea 3 : Four factors of history — Individual, society, place and time are the four important factors. History stands on evidence, and this evidence is called sources.
- Easy : To which kind of source does the hill fort Rajgad belong? — Material source.
- Medium : What kind of source is a veergal in a village? — Material; it keeps the memory of a hero.
- Exam-type : What is the period of the medieval age? — From the 9th to the end of the 18th century CE.
In the figure: Forts, buildings, objects and memorials — four groups of material sources.
The scholar Al-Biruni lived at the court of Mahmud of Ghazni from about 1017. He learned Sanskrit, read Indian texts and wrote the Arabic book ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’ around 1030. An outsider who studied our society so closely makes it a valuable source.
Medieval period = 9th to 18th century; material sources = remains we can see.
It is not only big forts and palaces that are sources; the pots, toys and houses of common people are sources too.
Memory clue: Material = what you can see and touch: buildings and pots.
Spot the difference
| Type | Example | What it tells |
|---|---|---|
| Forts | Rajgad, Sindhudurg | Plan of defence |
| Buildings | Temple, mosque, wada | Art and living |
| Objects | Weapons, pots | Daily life |
Practice questions
- 1Which period is called the medieval age?
- 2What are material sources?
- 3Write the four kinds of forts.
- 4Which are the four factors of history?
- 5What information do we get from buildings?
- 6What is a veergal?
- 7Choose one material source in your village and write what it tells.
- 8Why do forts and palaces alone not show the full history of common people?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1From the 9th century CE to the end of the 18th century CE.
- 2Objects, buildings and remains that we can see.
- 3Hill forts, forest forts, sea forts, plain forts.
- 4Individual, society, place and time.
- 5Quality of art, economic condition and standard of living.
- 6A carved stone raised in memory of a hero.
- 7E.g. an old village temple — shows the art and faith of that time.
- 8Because the pots, houses and toys of common people also tell their history.
Inscriptions, copper plates and coins
A bank note or a railway ticket carries a date and a name; in the same way old coins and stones carry the names of kings.
An inscription is a text carved on stone or a wall. A copper plate is a royal order or grant carved on a sheet of copper. Coins are money made of metals like gold, silver or copper.
Key idea 1 : Inscriptions — Inscriptions are found in the Brihadishwara temple at Tanjavur. Many inscriptions of the Chalukya, Rashtrakuta and Yadava kings have also been found. They show language, script and social life, and are a very reliable proof.
Key idea 2 : Copper plates — Royal orders, verdicts and grants were engraved on copper plates. Copper lasts long, so they can be read even after a thousand years.
Key idea 3 : Coins — Coins show the king’s name, the period, religious ideas, trade and metal-working. Akbar’s coins have Ram-Sita and Hyder Ali’s have Shiva-Parvati; the Peshwas’ coins use Arabic or Persian.
- Easy : Where would you find the proof that a king gifted a village? — On a copper plate.
- Medium : What does a picture on a coin show? — The religious harmony of that time.
- Exam-type : Why are Arabic-Persian words on Peshwa coins important? — They show the language used then.
In the figure: Inscription, copper plate and coin — all three are physical proofs.
The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reached Delhi in 1334. Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq made him qazi (judge) and around 1341-42 chose him as envoy to China. His travel record, the ‘Rihla’, gives us information about those times.
Inscription = on stone; copper plate = on copper; coins = metal money.
A picture on a coin does not mean the king forced his religion; it shows ideas of that time.
Memory clue: Stone = shila, copper = tamra, metal = coin.
Spot the difference
| Source | On what | What it tells |
|---|---|---|
| Inscription | Stone, wall | Language, script, society |
| Copper plate | Copper sheet | Orders, grants |
| Coins | Metal | King, trade, language |
Practice questions
- 1What is an inscription?
- 2What is a copper plate?
- 3What information do we get from coins?
- 4State the importance of the Tanjavur inscriptions.
- 5What do the pictures on Akbar’s coins show?
- 6Why do copper plates survive for a thousand years?
- 7Write in your words the importance of Ibn Battuta’s ‘Rihla’.
- 8If you find an old coin, what questions will you ask from it?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1A text carved on stone or a wall.
- 2A royal order or grant carved on a copper sheet.
- 3King, period, governance, religious ideas, trade and metal-work.
- 4They show language, script and social life; they are reliable proof.
- 5The religious harmony of that time.
- 6Because copper does not decay quickly.
- 7It is an eyewitness account of a foreign traveller; it shows life in the Sultan’s time.
- 8Whose coin is it, of what metal, which period and what was it used for?
Written and oral sources
A ovi told by grandmother and grandfather’s old diary — one is heard, the other read; both tell the story of the family.
Written sources are written proofs (books, bakhars, letters, travelogues). Oral sources are ovi, powada, folk songs and tales passed on by word of mouth over generations.
Key idea 1 : Written sources — Birch-bark pages, texts, edicts, biographies and letters in scripts like Devanagari, Arabic, Persian and Modi. Babur’s autobiography and poet Paramanand’s Sanskrit ‘Shrishivbharat’ are examples.
Key idea 2 : Tavarikh and Bakhar — Tavarikh means writing that gives the sequence of events. Bakhar is a form of history-writing from Maharashtra. Sabhasad Bakhar, Chitnis Bakhar and others are examples. Many bakhars were written years after the events, so they contain hearsay.
Key idea 3 : Oral sources — Ovi, folk songs, powadas, folk tales, legends and proverbs. The powada on Tanaji by Tulshidas Shahir is an example; it paints the characters of the people in it.
- Easy : What kind of source is the Sabhasad Bakhar? — A written source.
- Medium : What kind of source is a shahir’s powada? — An oral source.
- Exam-type : Why should bakhars not be trusted blindly? — They were written many years after, and may contain hearsay.
In the figure: Material, written and oral — the three sources used to write history.
Written = written down; oral = spoken; bakhar = history-writing of Maharashtra.
Not every sentence of a bakhar is necessarily true; it must be checked with other proofs.
Memory clue: Written = by pen, oral = by mouth.
Spot the difference
| Type | Example | Care needed |
|---|---|---|
| Written | Bakhar, letters, travelogue | Who wrote, and when? |
| Oral | Powada, ovi | Changes with time |
Practice questions
- 1What are written sources?
- 2What are oral sources?
- 3What is a bakhar?
- 4What is tavarikh?
- 5Write the names of two bakhars.
- 6What information do we get from a powada?
- 7Write two advantages of oral sources.
- 8Why does a foreign traveller write about our country? Write your opinion.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Written proofs — books, letters, bakhars, travelogues.
- 2Information passed orally across generations — ovi, powada, folk tales.
- 3A form of history-writing from Maharashtra.
- 4Writing that gives the sequence of events.
- 5Sabhasad Bakhar and Chitnis Bakhar.
- 6Character of persons, campaigns and people’s feelings.
- 7They show folk life; they give information even where no written proof exists.
- 8Because seeing a new land he wants to tell others, and he becomes a witness of that time.
Judging sources and rewriting history
Five children telling the same school news give slightly different versions. To find the truth we listen to all and check.
Judging a source means checking whether it is genuine, who wrote it and when, and whether it is an eyewitness account or hearsay. When new sources are found, history has to be rewritten.
Key idea 1 : How to judge — See who the author is, under what situation and pressure he wrote, whether he describes what he saw or what he heard, and whether there is exaggeration or metaphor.
Key idea 2 : Rewriting history — Research goes on continuously. New sources, inscriptions or letters can change an old conclusion. That is why our history books and our parents’ differ slightly.
Key idea 3 : Using all three together — When material, written and oral sources for the same event are matched, the conclusion becomes more reliable.
- Easy : How reliable is a letter by a soldier who saw the battle? — More; it is an eyewitness source.
- Medium : How to use a bakhar written 50 years later? — Compare it with other proofs.
- Exam-type : Why must history be rewritten? — Because new sources are found.
In the figure: Four steps from finding a source to writing history.
Judging = author + time + eyewitness or hearsay + exaggeration.
Old does not always mean true; even old sources must be judged.
Memory clue: Eyewitness = more trust; hearsay = verify.
Spot the difference
| Point | Eyewitness | Hearsay |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability | High | Low |
| Example | Contemporary letter | Late bakhar |
Practice questions
- 1What is judging sources?
- 2Which four points are seen while judging?
- 3Why does history need to be rewritten?
- 4What is an eyewitness source?
- 5What is hearsay?
- 6Why is the history in grandfather’s book different from ours?
- 7How will you use three kinds of sources for one event? Give an example.
- 8Why is it wrong to say that all bakhars are false?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Checking if a source is genuine, who wrote it and when.
- 2Author, situation/pressure, eyewitness or hearsay, exaggeration.
- 3Because new sources can change the conclusions.
- 4A source written by someone who saw the event.
- 5Information told after hearing from someone else.
- 6Because new research has happened in between.
- 7E.g. the fort (material), a letter that mentions it (written) and a powada about it (oral) — matched together.
- 8Because they contain real information too; they only have to be judged before use.