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False document
A <b>false document</b> is a literary (or artistic) device which attempts to create in the reader (viewer, audience, etc) a sense of authenticity beyond the normal and expected suspension of disbelief. That is, it wants to fool the audience briefly into thinking that what is being presented is actually a fact.

In practice, the device takes a very simple form. The work of art (be it a text, a moving an image, a comic book or whatever) usually is composed of or includes some piece of forgery. The false document effect can be achieved in many ways including faked police reports, newspaper articles, bibliographical references and documentary footage. The effect can be extended outside of the confines of the text by way of supplementary materials like badges, ID cards, diaries, letters or other objects.

The moral and legal implications of false document art are, by necessity, complex and perhaps insoluble. The difference between a great artistic achievement and a stunning forgery is slim. Sometimes the false document technique can be the subject of a work instead of its technique, though these two approaches are not mutually exclusive as many texts which engage falseness do so both on the literal and the thematic level.

<b>Origin of the false document technique</b>

The technique is chiefly associated with [[postmodernism]], but is both older than that movement, and also encompasses art pieces and activities outside of the scope of art usually considered part of any "artistic movement."

It seems to grow out of the [[epistolary novel]] but has more in common with the newspaper serial from which it draws most of its technique. The conceit is most commonly used where a heightened sense of authenticity is required for the desired effect of the story to be maintained. Blurring the line of reality and fiction is an important component or horror, mystery, detective or fantasy narratives because they wish to engender in a reader a sense of wonder, and of danger, both of which need to feel more present then a typical narrative form would allow. For this reason, false documentary techniques have been in use for at least as long as these literary genres have been around. <I>[[Frankenstein]]</I> draws heavily on a forged document feel, as does <I>[[Dracula]]</I>, <I>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</I> and many of the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

 
<b>False Documents in Art</b>

Orson Welles' [[F for Fake]] is a prime example of a film which is both about falsification (art forgery and the journalism surrounding art forgery) as well as having falsified moments within the film. The movie follows the exploits of a famous art forger, his biographer [[Clifford Irving]], and the subsequent "fake" biography of [[Howard Hughes]] that Irving tries to publish. The issues of veracity and forgery are explored in the film while at the same time, Welles tricks the audience by incorporating fake bits of narrative alongside the documentary footage.

Another artist who has run afoul of the technique is the artist JSG Boggs, whose life and work have been extensively explored by author and journalist Lawrence Weschler. Boggs draws currency. He draws with exceptional care and accuracy. But he only ever draws one side. And then he attempts to "buy" things with the piece of paper upon which he has drawn the currency. His goal is to pass each bill for its face value in common transactions. He buys lunch, clothes and lodging in this manner, and his bills after the transactions are complete fetch many times their face value on the art market along with accompanying evidence (receipts, photos and the like) which prove the veracity of the actual transaction. Boggs does not make any money off of the much larger art market value of his work. He only exists on the profit of the actual transaction. He has been arrested in many countries, and there is much controversy surrounding his work.

Mostly, however, the technique is employed in more mundane ways that hark back to its nineteenth century origins. Whether or not a particular piece of art is a false document, or is using false documentary techniques in a central way, is of course arguable. Usually, the character and extent of the use is examined. 


<b>False Documents, Fakery and Forgery</b>

Documentary filmmaking, and other attempts at actual documentation, can wittingly and unwittingly participate in the form as its goals of authenticity are so closely aligned with direct false documentation (that is, in both cases there is an element of authenticity and an element of narrative fudging). In Schwarzenegger's <i>Pumping Iron</i> for example, Arnold talks about how his father died in the months preceding a major body building competition. He uses this anecdote to illustrate how important the final months before a competition are to  truly dedicated bodybuilder. He says that, though his father's funeral was set during the penultimate month, he did not attend because he could not be distracted from training. However, in the companion book it is revealed that as the time of printing, Arnold's father had not died. It does not say the story was a lie, it merely provides contrary evidence. Schwarzenegger was executive producer of both the film and the companion book. It is unclear what the purpose of the falsification exercise was, but it has been theorized by Professor Sally Robinson that Schwarzenegger was intentionally undermining his own narrative, effectively creating a mildly self-deprecating re-examination of his own obsessions for perfection at any cost. In the end, whether Arnold intentionally fabricated the story for a desired effect is left to the audience.

This has left open a very troubling debate. The divisions between the creation of authenticity through documents and actual authenticity in documentary evidence is unclear. The distinction between an "official" document and a forgery is sometimes only as clear as the prevailing political winds. Confederate Currency from the American Civil War and the Japanese Dollars printed by Japan in WWII in anticipation of taking American lands both illustrate the ambiguity of even the most officially produced documents. The work of Mr. Boggs further complicates the issue.

What divides an artistic endeavor from a political one or an economic one rests, almost entirely, on the ephemeral issue of intent.

''somebody needs to fix H.G. Wells vs. Orson Welles''

False Documents in Art
* [[Fernando Pessoa]]
* <i>[[Dracula]]</i> by [[Bram Stoker]]
* <i>F for Fake</i> by [[Orson Welles]]
* <i>[[The War of the Worlds]]</i> by [[Orson Welles]]
* <i>[[Citizen Kane]]</i> by [[Orson Welles]]
* <i>House of Leaves</i> by Mark Danielewski
* <i>[[Lord of the Rings]]</i> by [[JRR Tolkien|J.R.R. Tolkien]]
* The <i>[[Necronomicon]]</i>, created by [[H.P. Lovecraft]]
* <i>Emigrants</i> by [[W. G. Sebald]]
* <i>[[Museum of Jurassic Technology]]</i>
* <i>The White Hotel</i> by [[D.M. Thomas]]
* [[Dungeons and Dragons]] by [[Gary Gygax]]
* <i>Andromeda Strain</i> by [[Michael Crichton]] and the 1971 film.
* Most [[role-playing game]]s
* <i>Memoirs of Hadrian</i> by Maurgeritte Yourcenair
* <i>I, Claudius</i> and <i>Claudius the God</i> by [[Robert Graves]]
* <i>The Scarlet Letter</i> by [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]
* <i>[[Watchmen]]</i> by [[Alan Moore]]
* <i>[[The Princess Bride]]</i> by [[William Goldman]]
* <i>[[Book of Counted Sorrows]]</i> by [[Dean R. Koontz]]
* <i>[[Works of Kilgore Trout]]</i> by [[Kurt Vonnegut]]
* <i>[[Avalon Landing]]</i> by [[Sean Connery]] in the film ''Finding Forrester''
* <i>[[Dune]] by [[Frank Herbert]]

False Documents in Theory
* <i>Boggs</i> by Lawrence Weschler
* <i>Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder</i> by Lawrence Weschler
* <i>Simulacra and Simulation</i> by Baudrillard

Hoaxes (are they art or not?):
* "Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity" <br>by Alan Sokal, Spring/Summer 1996 issue of <i>Social Text</i>). See [[Sokal Affair]]
* "The endochronic properties of resublimated thiotimoline", [[Isaac Asimov]].
* [[Ova Prima]]
* [[Salamander letter]]

----
<b> Sources: or, False Documents as a field of study</b><p>
False documents were recently the topic of a graduate level seminar in the humanities at the [[University of Michigan]]. The seminar was taught by Professor Eileen Pollack. While the form has existed for at least two  hundred years, focused study is fairly recent.
----
see: [[literature]], [[frame tale]], [[conspiracy theory]], [[urban legend]], [[fictional guidebook]]
----
[[talk:False_document|Talk]]
⏎

⏎
''This article is about a mythical people of Ireland. See [[Achaeans]] for the homeric Greek Danaans.''

The '''Tuatha Dé Danann''' ("peoples of the [[goddess]] [[Danu]]") were the fifth group of inhabitants of [[Ireland]] according to the [[Lebor Gabála Érenn]] (Book of Invasions) tradition. They are thought to represent the [[deity|gods]] of the [[Goidelic]] Irish, athough their [[Christian]] redactors have reduced them to historical kings and heroes. They have many parallels across the [[Celtic]] world. [[Nuada]] is [[cognate]] with the [[Prehistoric Britain|British]] god [[Nodens]]; [[Lug]] is a reflex of the pan-[[Celtic]] deity [[Lugus]]; the name of Lug's successor, [[the Dagda]], is explained by the Irish texts as "the good god"; [[Tuireann]] is related to the [[Gaulish]] [[Taranis]]; [[Ogma]] to [[Ogmios]]; the [[Badb]] to [[Catubodua]]. Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lug, the [[Mórrígan]], [[Aengus]] and [[Manannan]] appear in stories set centuries later, showing all the signs of immortality.

The Tuatha Dé were descended from [[Nemed]], leader of a previous wave of inhabitants of Ireland. They came from four northern cities, Falias, Gorias, Murias and Finias, where they acquired their occult skills and attributes. They arrived in Ireland, on or about [[May 1]] (the date of the feastival of [[Beltaine]]), on dark clouds, although later versions rationalise this by saying they burned their ships to prevent retreat, and the "clouds" were the smoke produced.

Led by their king, [[Nuada]], they fought the first First Battle of [[Magh Tuiredh]] ([[Moytura]]), on the west coast, in which they defeated and displaced the clumsy and ill-armed [[Fir Bolg]], who then inhabited Ireland. Nuada lost an arm in the battle. Since he was no longer perfect, he could not continue as king and was replaced by the half-[[Fomorian]] [[Bres]], who turned out to be a tyrant. The physician [[Dian Cecht]] replaced Nuada's arm with a working silver one and he was reinstated as king.

The Tuatha Dé then fought the [[Cath Maige Tuireadh|Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh]] against the Fomorians. Nuada was killed by the Fomorian king [[Balor]]'s poisonous eye, but Balor was killed by [[Lug]], who took over as king.

A third battle was fought against a subsequent wave of invaders, the [[Milesians (Irish)|Milesians]], from [[Spain]], descendants of [[Míl Espáine]] (who are thought to represent the [[Goidelic]] Celts). The Milesians encountered three goddesses of the Tuatha Dé, [[Ériu]], [[Banba]] and [[Fodla]], who asked that the island be named after them; Ériu is the origin of the modern name [[Éire]], and Banba and Fodla are still sometimes used as poetic names for Ireland.

Their three husbands, [[Mac Cuill]], [[Mac Cecht]] and [[Mac Gréine]], who were kings of the Tuatha Dé at that time, asked for a truce of three days, during which the Milesians would lie at anchor nine waves' distance from the shore. The Milesians complied, but the Tuatha Dé created a magical storm in an attempt to drive them away. The Milesian poet [[Amergin]] calmed the sea with his verse, before his people landed and defeated the Tuatha Dé at [[Tailtiu]]. The Tuatha Dé were led underground into the [[Sidhe]] mounds by [[The Dagda]].

The Tuatha Dé Danann fought against the witch [[Carman]] and her three sons. They are said to have brought [[chariots]] and [[druidry]] to Ireland.

{{sequence|
prev=[[Fir Bolg]]|
next=[[Milesians (Irish)|Milesians]]|
list=[[Lebor Gabála Érenn|Mythical invasions of Ireland]]|
}}

==The Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann==

The Tuatha Dé Danann brought [[Four Treasures|four magical treasures]] with them to Ireland:

* [[The Dagda]]'s Cauldron
* the Spear of [[Lugh]]
* the Stone of [[Fal]]
* the Sword of [[Nuada]]

==Tuatha Dé Danann High Kings of Ireland==
''AFM'': chronology from the [[Annals of the Four Masters]]; ''FFE'': chronology based on reign-lengths given in [[Seathrún Céitinn]]'s ''Forus Feasa ar Erinn''. 

*[[Bres]] ''AFM'' 1897-1890 BC; ''FFE'' 1575-1568 BC
*[[Nuada]] ''AFM'' 1890-1870 BC; ''FFE'' 1568-1545 BC
*[[Lug]] ''AFM'' 1870-1830 BC; ''FFE'' 1545-1505 BC
*[[The Dagda|Eochaid Ollathair]] ''AFM'' 1830-1750 BC; ''FFE'' 1505-1435 BC
*[[Delbáeth]] ''AFM'' 1750-1740 BC; ''FFE'' 1435-1425 BC
*[[Fiachna]] ''AFM'' 1740-1730 BC; ''FFE'' 1425-1415 BC
*[[Mac Cuill]], [[Mac Cecht]] and [[Mac Gréine]] ''AFM'' 1730-1700 BC; ''FFE'' 1415-1385 BC

==Tuatha Dé Danann family tree==

The following table is based on the [[genealogies]] given by [[Seathrún Céitinn]] and in the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'', and references in ''[[Cath Maige Tuireadh]]''. It is not clear whether the various Elathas and Delbáeths are meant to be different figures of the same name or different traditions regarding the genalogy of the same figure. It is also notable that [[Fomorians]] such as Elatha and Balor are closely related to the Tuatha Dé.

                                          [[Nemed]]
                                            |
                                     Iarbonel Faidh
                                            |
                                        Beothach
                                            |
                                         Iobáth
                                            |
                                          Enna
                                            | 
                                         Tabarn
                                            |
                                           Tat
        ____________________________________|__________________________________
        |                                                                     |
      Allai                                                                 Indai
        |                                           __________________________|__________________________
        |                                           |                                                   |
      Orda                                         [[Neit|Nét]]                                               [[Elatha]]
        |                       ____________________|______________________________________________     |
        |                       |                                    |                            |     |
     Etarlám                 Esar Brec                           Delbáeth                        Dot  [[Bres]]
        |                       |                                    |                            |
        |                       |                                    |                            |
     Eochaid                [[Dian Cecht]]                            Elatha                        [[Balor]]
        |                       |                                    |                            |
        |            ___________|___________        _________________|______________________      |
      [[Nuada]]          |    |     |    |     |        |         |          |       |         |      |
     ([[Elcmar]])       Cu Cethen [[Cian]] [[Miach]] [[Airmed]]   [[Dagda]]    Fiacha    Delbáeth   [[Ogma]]     Allód  [[Ethniu]]
    ([[Nechtan]])        |          |                   |                    |       |       (Ler)
   _____|____        |          |      _____________|____________        |       |         |
   |        |        |          |      |      |     |     |     |        |       |         |
 Etarlám [[Nemain]]  Bec-Felmas    [[Lug]]  [[Cermait]] [[Aengus]] [[Bodb]] [[Midir]] [[Brigid]]   [[Boann]]  [[Delbáeth]]  [[Manannan]]
   |                 |                 |                                     ([[Tuireann]])
   |                 |        _________|_________          ______________________|__________________________________
   |                 |        |        |        |          |      |      |       |     |      |       |      |     |
 [[Ernmas]]            [[Abhean|Abean]]  [[Mac Cuill|MacCuill]] [[Mac Cecht|MacCecht]] [[Mac Gréine|MacGréine]]   [[Fiachna]] [[Brian]] [[Iuchar]] [[Iucharba]] [[Danu]] [[Goibniu]] [[Creidhne|Credne]] [[Luchta]] Ollam
   |__________________                                                                                             |
   |        |        |                                                                                             |
  [[Ériu]]  =  [[Badb]]      |                                                                                            [[Aoi Mac Ollamain|Aoi]]
 [[Banba]]  = [[Macha]]      |
 [[Fódla]] = [[Mórrígan]] = [[Anu]]

Other members of the Tuatha Dé Danann include:

* [[Abarta]]
* [[Beag]]
* [[Bechuille]]
* [[Brea]]
* [[Fand]]

== The Tuatha Dé Danann in modern popular culture==

===Literature===

*The [[Pliocene Saga]] by [[Julian May]] posits that the Tuatha Dé Danann and other mythological creatures were descended from [[extraterrestrial]]s with advanced technology and [[psychic]] abilities.
* [[Diane Duane]]: ''A Wizard Abroad''.
*The David Sullivan series, beginning with ''Windmaster's Bane'' by Tom Deitz, deals with a Georgia teen accidentally getting tangled up in faery affairs.
*The crux of O.R. Melling's ''The Singing Stone'' is a young woman's quest to recover the four treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

===Film===

*The '''Tuatha Dé Danann''' is the name of a fictional submarine in the anime series ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]''.

===Roleplaying games===

* The '''Tuatha Dé Danann''' is a term used in reference to certain characters in the online roleplaying game ''[[Darkages]]''.

===Music===

'''Tuatha De Danann''' is a folk metal group from Brazil, inspired by Celtic culture, with a mediaeval sound.

See official website([http://www.tuathadedanann.com.br]) for more information.
[[category:Irish mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological cycle]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]

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