The Invention of Tradition

The Invention of Tradition is a classic collection of essays (co-edited with Terrance Ranger, a superb historian himself) on our modern creation of traditions. Eric Hobsbawm’s title essay explains the premise (specifically, that many “traditions [that] appear or claim to be old are often quite recent in origin and sometimes invented”), while other essays in the book give specific and typically UK-based examples. Hugh Trevor-Roper for instance details the history of the Scottish Highlands to expose the myth of supposedly ancient traditions of kilts and bagpipes, while Prys Morgan explores the recent creation of the Welsh Eisteddfod Festival. Other essays go further than just identifying these myths, and analyze the purpose of such creations, the role of myths in maintaining national unity, and what we can learn about ourselves and our societies by looking closer at the origins of invented traditions.