The concept of the timeline is a new phenomenon. In fact, it was only created around 250 years ago. Ancient and medieval historians had their own methods of representing chronology: the chronological table. However, now “our idea of time is so wrapped up with the metaphor of the line that taking them apart seems virtually impossible” (Grafton, p. 13). Presently, lines are more common than often perceived. For example, even in an analog clock, the hour and minute hands trace lines through space. The fact that these lines are circular is irrelevant; they are lines regardless. So what are the advantages of using a timeline?
“History, indeed is the body, but chronologie the soul of historical knowledge; for history without chronologie, or a relation of things past, without mentioning the times in which they were acted, is like a lump or embryo without articulation, or a carcass without life” (Grafton, p. 19). In his book “Cartographies of Time”, Anthony Grafton discusses how history deals with stories but chronology deals with facts. These aspects of time work symbiotically; without one or the other, a time period is not described to its fullest potential. For this reason, a simple line can be much more efficient in representing information than initially anticipated. Especially considering the fact that “Graphic representation is among our most important tools for organizing information” (Grafton, p. 10).
Using a timeline was helpful in painting a larger picture in understanding the general themes of Esther Latrobe’s memoir. A recurring theme was the suffering through diseases. The picture below represents the time period of a cholera epidemic. From this portion of the timeline, we can see how the dates 1817-1824 (when the epidemic occurred) were relevant to Latrobe because she lived through this time period. In this manner, the timeline provides contextual evidence from a single glance.
The picture below describes how from 1820-1830 she was not only educated but also became a teacher at a ladies boarding school in Ireland. From this information, we can conclude that she came from at least middle class because education was more rare for a female in this time period
