What does «crítica externa» mean in Spanish?
- In the historical sciences, external criticism consists of the analysis of the sources that determine their authenticity and, as far as history is concerned, their evidential value. External criticism is concerned with determining the legitimacy of a historical document, for which it is interested in discovering forgeries and establishing the paternity, date and circumstances of the origins or sources. For this purpose, both the external factors of the documents are studied: paper, ink, surface appearance, as well as the internal factors provided by the analysis of their content.