Why is it so important to be critical of sources in today’s society?

What is history to you?
Why is it good to study history? Does it even matter?

Name an important historical event for you. Why do you consider this event important?

The prisoners at Långholmen

When a convict was released from the Central Prison on Långholmen around the turn of the century 1900 so
a biographical sheet was created about the prisoner. The leaves were collected in so-called portrait rolls, and
contains photographs of the convicts. The rolls also contain information about appearance,
date of birth, when the prisoner started serving the sentence, from which prison he was transferred, when he
released and where he was sent as well as how much money he earned during his stay
Långholmen. Your task is to investigate how the portrait rolls can be used as historical ones
sources!
Sources: Go to Stockholmskällan – search for: “Porträttrollor”. Then you will find the portrait series at
people who have been in the prison at Långholmen.
Task: Go through some of the scrolls. Then answer the following questions:
A: What crimes have the prisoners committed? Give ten examples.
B: What do the sources say about the society of the time?
C: Who drew up the portrait scrolls, and why, do you think?
D: How credible are these sources? Is there any information about the prisoners that you can
question? Examine some of the portrait rolls more closely based on the source critical criteria
proximity, dependence and tendency.
E: Is it important to save this type of document? Why or why not?
Q: What can these sources be used for?
Discuss:
A: How do we know what we know about the past?
B: Why is it so important to be critical of sources in today’s society?
www.stockholmskallan.se