Urban legend

:Urban Legend is also the name of a 1998 movie.

Historical examples

Certain early historians such as Suetonius (for example, his account about the infamous Emperor Caligula), Geoffrey of Monmouth and Herodotus functioned as forerunners of urban myth, recycling hearsay and anecdotal accounts as historical facts; these writings, in turn, served as the basis for other accounts, and thus many cycles of inaccurate historical narrative became self-perpetuating vicious circles. Contemporary historians tend to cast a very cold and careful eye over historical evidence emanating from writers such as these.

Related Topics:
Suetonius - Caligula - Geoffrey of Monmouth - Herodotus - Anecdotal

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