--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I once came upon a definition of history…" description: "\"“I once came upon a definition of history as ‘the process by which complex truths are transformed into simplified falsehoods’. That is particularly tru..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/sharon-kay-penman-6725_falsehoods_i-once-came-upon-a-definition-of-history_280793.jpg" --- # I once came upon a definition of history as ‘the process… ![“I once came upon a definition of history as ‘the process by which complex truths are transformed into simplified falsehoods’. That is particularly true in the case of Richard III, where the normal medieval proclivity for moralizing and partisanship was further complicated by deliberate distortion…” quote by Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/sharon-kay-penman-6725_falsehoods_i-once-came-upon-a-definition-of-history_280793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/sharon-kay-penman-6725_falsehoods_i-once-came-upon-a-definition-of-history_280793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/sharon-kay-penman-6725_falsehoods_i-once-came-upon-a-definition-of-history_280793.jpg) > ““I once came upon a definition of history as ‘the process by which complex truths are transformed into simplified falsehoods’. That is particularly true in the case of Richard III, where the normal medieval proclivity for moralizing and partisanship was further complicated by deliberate distortion to serve Tudor political needs.”” [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History often simplifies complex realities into misleading narratives, especially when political agendas shape the story. **In simple terms:** History can be distorted by bias and power. Key Takeaway Question sources and seek multiple perspectives. Themes history bias politics truth narrative Mood critical reflective Type analytical educational When to use this quote - academic research - political debate - media analysis - education - public discourse Key Concepts revisionism propaganda medieval studies Questions to Reflect On - How do modern narratives simplify past events? - What motives drive historical distortion? A Different Perspective Complex truths may be lost when oversimplified for convenience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Falsehoods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehoods/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Richard Iii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/richard-iii/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Richard III is not likeable. Macbeth is not likeable. Hamlet is not likeable. And yet you can't take your eyes off them. I'm far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-willimon/richard-iii-is-not-likeable-macbeth-is-not-likeable-hamlet-is-not/) [Beau Willimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-willimon/) > [There's an honourable tradition of British actors who've gone to Hollywood playing baddies. Part of that is because we grow up with Richard III…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strong/there-s-an-honourable-tradition-of-british-actors-who-ve-gone-to/) [Mark Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strong/) > [You can't get any more evil than Iago or Richard III. Those guys are bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pellegrino/you-can-t-get-any-more-evil-than-iago-or-richard-iii-those-guys-are/) [Mark Pellegrino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pellegrino/) > [The trap in Hamlet is he's the most passive of Shakespeare's characters. He's not a Richard III, not out there taking a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-sutter/the-trap-in-hamlet-is-he-s-the-most-passive-of-shakespeare-s/) [Kurt Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-sutter/) > [“Sir Thomas More, son of Sir John More, a justice of the King's Bench, was born in 1478, in Milk Street, in the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/sir-thomas-more-son-of-sir-john-more-a-justice-of-the-king-s-bench/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [The 16th-century theatre witnessed the particularly English manifestation of 'the history play.' There can be no doubt that Shakespeare's presentations of 'Henry V' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/the-16th-century-theatre-witnessed-the-particularly-english/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [I would love to play Richard III.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-would-love-to-play-richard-iii/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [I love 'Richard III,' but in terms of a general play, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' has always been a big one for me. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-maher/i-love-richard-iii-but-in-terms-of-a-general-play-a-midsummer-night-s/) [Sean Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-maher/) > [Shakespeare villains were extraordinary. Macbeth, Iago, Richard III... They're so richly layered that a British actor would find it almost impossible to create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/shakespeare-villains-were-extraordinary-macbeth-iago-richard-iii-they/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [The leaping Jaguar on the bonnet, to me, makes it look more like a hunter than something that is getting away. It's a hunter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/the-leaping-jaguar-on-the-bonnet-to-me-makes-it-look-more-like-a/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [My role 14 years ago in Richard III - that was the first time I played a bad guy and learned a lot about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/my-role-14-years-ago-in-richard-iii-that-was-the-first-time-i-played/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Theater will cast in a more open way; Denzel Washington might play Richard III. Television and film don't really cast openly like that. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/theater-will-cast-in-a-more-open-way-denzel-washington-might-play/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [“It is hard to tell the story of Elizabeth of York without her farbetter-known husband, Henry VII, as the hero. Henry himself, Jasper Tudor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/it-is-hard-to-tell-the-story-of-elizabeth-of-york-without-her/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [“brain activity in a heartbeat. All of that says Richard. But the DNA in consort with the paper trail of a genealogy available only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/brain-activity-in-a-heartbeat-all-of-that-says-richard-but-the-dna-in/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [A couple of clues came my way of what I might be getting myself into when I sat down with a number of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/a-couple-of-clues-came-my-way-of-what-i-might-be-getting-myself-into/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) ## More by Sharon Kay Penman > [“Outside, the sky was clear, stars gleaming in its ebony vastness like celestial fireflies. It was bitterly cold, and Hywel's every breath trailed after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/outside-the-sky-was-clear-stars-gleaming-in-its-ebony-vastness-like/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“He'd never seen one so vibrant, though, or so vividly compelling... those glowing green eyes sparkling with sunlight and curiosity and silent laughter, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/he-d-never-seen-one-so-vibrant-though-or-so-vividly-compelling-those/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“We've schemed and fought and loved until we are so entangled in hearts and minds that there is no way to set us free.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/we-ve-schemed-and-fought-and-loved-until-we-are-so-entangled-in/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“You seem to forget, Dickon, that we are dealing with the Spider King. Louis realized, just as you have, that it would take more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/you-seem-to-forget-dickon-that-we-are-dealing-with-the-spider-king/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“I asked Simon if he’d ever feared that all our struggles, all our suffering might be in vain. Not a priest’s question, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-asked-simon-if-he-d-ever-feared-that-all-our-struggles-all-our/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [In writing my historical novels, I have to rely upon my imagination to a great extent. I think of it as 'filling in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/in-writing-my-historical-novels-i-have-to-rely-upon-my-imagination-to/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [My novels about medieval Wales were set in unexplored terrain; my readers did not know what lay around every bend in the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/my-novels-about-medieval-wales-were-set-in-unexplored-terrain-my/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“Otherwise, I’d like nothing better than…conversing with you. You’re such a deep, penetrating conversationalist, after all,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/otherwise-i-d-like-nothing-better-than-conversing-with-you-you-re/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [Poor Wales. So far from Heaven, so close to England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/poor-wales-so-far-from-heaven-so-close-to-england/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“Richard grinned, very pleased with himself for having found a way to honor his mother, thwart his father, and serve God, while having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/richard-grinned-very-pleased-with-himself-for-having-found-a-way-to/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [I was actually born in New York City, but my family moved to Atlantic City when I was five, this being my dad's home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-was-actually-born-in-new-york-city-but-my-family-moved-to-atlantic/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“In time of war, the Devil makes more room in Hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/in-time-of-war-the-devil-makes-more-room-in-hell/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“You asked what the Londoners wanted of you, and he…he said ‘ballocks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/you-asked-what-the-londoners-wanted-of-you-and-he-he-said-ballocks/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“...for he of all men knew how dangerously stubborn Henry Fitz Empress could be. There were faint bloodstains upon the tiles in Canterbury Cathedral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/for-he-of-all-men-knew-how-dangerously-stubborn-henry-fitz-empress/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [I certainly know all about the Jersey jokes that amuse the rest of the country. You've probably heard them. Our state bird is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-certainly-know-all-about-the-jersey-jokes-that-amuse-the-rest-of/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) [Explore all 98 Sharon Kay Penman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) ## More Falsehoods quotes > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Tangible language, which often tells more falsehoods than truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tangible-language-which-often-tells-more-falsehoods-than-truths/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Inculcating the various competing - competing, note - falsehoods of the major faiths into small children is a form of child abuse, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/inculcating-the-various-competing-competing-note-falsehoods-of-the/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [Many falsehoods are passing into uncontradicted history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/many-falsehoods-are-passing-into-uncontradicted-history/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Vulgarity is the conduct of other people, just as falsehoods are the truths of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/vulgarity-is-the-conduct-of-other-people-just-as-falsehoods-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/a-reliable-way-to-make-people-believe-in-falsehoods-is-frequent/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [In the world of the Internet, there are many falsehoods. Anyone can write stuff on Wikipedia, and it doesn't have to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hulce/in-the-world-of-the-internet-there-are-many-falsehoods-anyone-can/) Tom Hulce > [“The truth is a powerful force. It is the foundation of all things. The truth is so all-consuming that it cannot be denied. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/the-truth-is-a-powerful-force-it-is-the-foundation-of-all-things-the/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [“I have now gone through the examination of the four books ascribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; and when it is considered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/i-have-now-gone-through-the-examination-of-the-four-books-ascribed-to/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“I can't admit of an old boy of a God who takes walks in his garden with a cane in his hand, who lodges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-can-t-admit-of-an-old-boy-of-a-god-who-takes-walks-in-his-garden/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [ “I just wish this social institution \[religion\] wasn't based on what appears to me to be a monumental hoax built on an accumulation of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-just-wish-this-social-institution-religion-wasn-t-based-on-what/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Alternative facts are not facts. They're falsehoods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-todd/alternative-facts-are-not-facts-they-re-falsehoods/) [Chuck Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-todd/) > [“Falsehoods not only disagree with truth, but usually quarell among themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/falsehoods-not-only-disagree-with-truth-but-usually-quarell-among/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [Maybe honesty is overvalued. What's truly priceless is picking out from a stream of falsehoods the ones you most need to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-honesty-is-overvalued-what-s-truly-priceless-is-picking-out/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [That public men publish falsehoods Is nothing new. That America must accept Like the historical republics corruption and empire Has been known for years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/that-public-men-publish-falsehoods-is-nothing-new-that-america-must/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) [Browse all 89 Falsehoods quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehoods/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I once came upon a definition of history as ‘the process by which complex truths are transformed into simplified falsehoods’. 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