How can fiction, mythology, poetry, and other non-historical sources be useful to a historian? What are some problems with using these types of sources?

1.) Read the primary source: “Boccaccio”
2.) Evaluate the primary source by answering the following questions in two or three paragraphs:
Who wrote this text?
Who was the author’s intended audience?
What was his purpose in writing the text? Think about audience and genre.
What does this text tell you about the values and daily lives of Europeans living in the Renaissance?
Do the ideas and values conveyed in the text differ from today? If so, in what ways?
3.) In a concluding paragraph, you will consider the value of fictional accounts for historical inquiry. How can fiction, mythology, poetry, and other non-historical sources be useful to a historian? What are some problems with using these types of sources?

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