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ABOUT THE 'Mythical' QUALIFIER
Copyright 2007-2009 by Ancestry Register LLC and Terry J. Booth
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All reproduction or reuse is prohibited, in whole or in part, without written permission of the author and Ancestry Register LLC.
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AncestryRegister.com has adopted an integrated set of geneapology quality standards that expand the potential scope of any family history beyond that available using traditional genealogy standards. The difference in standards is easily understood - traditional genealogy judges an entry's acceptability using a 'beyond a reasonable doubt' standard (i.e. unquestionably true), while geneapography accepts a 'preponderance of the evidence' standard (i.e. more likely than not to be true). Any entry that meets the geneapography standard but not that of genealogy is required to include a 'Qualifier' denoting which of six permitted reasons best describe the additional entry (Click HERE to learn more about the six types of qualifiers used by geneapography). Click about Geneapography to learn more about AR's new approach to creating Family Histories.
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'Mythical' Entries are qualified as follows :
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Any entry for a person possessing non-human characteristics (i.e. can control the weather, lived to be 200 years old, can defy scientific principles, etc.) should be identified using the 'Mythical' Qualifier. Such entries are only permitted when they and their ancestry are noted in respected histories of pre-medieval periods, and that a 'preponderance of the evidence' indicates they were accepted as legitimate historical figures in contemporary or near contemporary texts. The word 'Mythical' should appear in the entry's Title Prefix, Title Suffix or Given Name in any database submitted for publication (see also AncestryRegister.com Style Sheet).
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[Special Note]: Historians and authors may disagree whether a person is more properly identified as 'Mythical' or 'Legendary'. While most have no problem identifying Odin, Siegfrid (slayer of the dragon 'Fafnir') and Thor as 'mythical' (not just because they possessed superhuman skills or lifetimes, but because it is widely accepted they are myths), they may disagree about a figure in a still widely accepted religious text. For instance, some view the biblical Methuselah (who lived 969 years according to Genesis 5:27) as 'mythical'. But since Methuselah also qualifies as 'Legendary' (i.e. since he is only identified in a non-contemporary text and lacks corroborating contemporary evidence of his age), author's are permitted to view statements of superhuman characteristics as metaphors or 'poetic license' that only require the 'Legendary' qualifier.
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