Telling stories is one of the unique qualities that make us human. Since Man began to talk, we have imparted our knowledge and wisdom through stories and used them to entertain those around us. The noun story derives from the post-classical Latin, storia, which was a narrative account or legend. In its early use, its meaning frequently overlapped with the word history, which is a chronological narrative of events. The post-classical Latin term storia passed into Anglo-Norman as storie, which passed into Middle English to become story.
A story sometimes dies with the last person who spoke its language, while others pass down the generations. Sometimes we can’t be sure whether the events in stories are purely fictional or based on real events. The Trojan War, which is detailed in the Ancient Greek collection of epic poems called The Epic Cycle, is an example of a fictional event which some scholars believe may have its basis in numerous similar historical events that took place during that period of history.
And the term, indeed, firstly entered the written English language in the meaning of an oral or written record of an event which is believed to had occurred to mainly relate to passages of Bible history and legends of saints.
The first written records come from the 12nd and 13th century to describe examples of the glorious past of kings and heroes.
In the following century, the term appeared to also relate to a work of history or to even directly name a historical book or one which lists a set of events in their chronological way of happening.
In 1387, in his English translation of the chronicle of theology an history – Polychronicon, the well-familiar to our readers – John Trevisa honoured Herodotus as the writer of stories.
Later the term broke its tight relations with history to jump into the area of art where to describe different works of art depicting human bodies (though, keeping its history related roots, most often such of mythical and historical figures).
We have tried to follow the written history of the word stories, but not all great stories are written down. Sometimes, the traditional way is best; you simply sit back and listen.
