ABSTRACT
Uncertainty is part of historians’ stock in trade, yet historians differ enormously in how uncertain they are. In this chapter I address the limitations to certain historical knowledge arising from three main sources: the nature of historical evidence, the historian, and the narrative and analytical forms within which historians necessarily present their findings. A more detailed exposition of these issues can be found in Curthoys and Docker (2005). Finally, I consider some challenges for and likely future directions in historical practice, though as a historian I have to say I am much happier talking about the past than the future.
