A Dictionary of British and Irish History. Группа авторов

      Preface

      Readers who chance upon this work may wonder why its editors have created a reference book when so much information is now freely available through the Internet. The explanation is the editors’ conviction that the book remains an effective medium for the presentation and communication of knowledge.

      The content of books represents the desire of editors and authors to communicate with particular readers and users, and to address their perceived interests or requirements. Long‐established facilities, namely the book trade, book reviews and libraries, enable them to reach intended audiences. The Internet, despite its advantages for many purposes, can be a sprawling, uncertain medium. Although authors of websites can communicate potentially with over 4 billion people, they cannot necessarily reach interested readers; publishing through a website is rather like posting an announcement in the hope that someone might notice it. This absence of channelled interaction tends to encourage authors to give unlimited expression to their own concerns and enthusiasms, rather than providing what an audience wants. Books have other advantages. Many people find that they can browse more easily through printed books than through electronically held material and can absorb content more effectively from print than from a screen.

      All facets of A Dictionary of British and Irish History have been carefully designed for particular users and purposes. It is aimed, in the first instance, at history students in universities, colleges and schools, in Britain and Ireland and worldwide. Like all reference books, it provides items of information that may be required instantly, such as definitions of concepts and dates of births, deaths, treaties and battles. But it also offers further assistance. Two difficulties often encountered in studying historical topics are ascertaining essential elements and appreciating them within broader contexts. The latter problem occurs particularly when history is studied as ‘modules’ covering brief periods or narrow topics. This Dictionary provides numerous short synoptic entries on broad subjects from which students can quickly absorb basic subject‐matter and appreciate it as part of a larger story. The provision of extensive cross‐referencing also enables students to expand their learning immediately. Content is deliberately factual and chronological in emphasis, rather than analytical; and brevity necessarily excludes deeper matters such as causation, consequences and alternative theories. The production of short entries has inevitably required simplicity, ruthless selection of facts and sometimes sharp generalization. The editors hope that use of the Dictionary’s entries will leave students with a clear grasp of basic information with which they can then tackle more detailed and discursive publications.

      The editors further hope that the book will prove useful to other groups who need to obtain basic historical information rapidly and easily, such as teachers, journalists, museum curators, tourism promoters, civil servants, diplomats and politicians — not to mention readers who have a natural curiosity about the past.

      In providing a reference work on British and Irish history, the editors have sought to be even‐handed in dealing with the component parts of the British Isles. This is done in a flexible way. For some topics (e.g., housing, the Reformation) there are separate entries on the constituent parts of Britain and on Ireland. In other instances (e.g., divorce law), a single entry covers different jurisdictions.

The editors wish to draw attention to and explain certain features of the Dictionary.