Yes, but due to the lack of wide-ranging communication, the vast majority was left outside of the hearing range of those who would have put it in history books. And quite a few that made it into the book were probably of the form “My brothers and I heard John saying that the King is evil and must be killed!” - “Thank you for reporting, take Johns farm as a sign of gratitude!”…
Exactly.
But even so, the history books are full of the things OP is asking about.
In other words: both small-form and big-form criticism existed.
Yes, but due to the lack of wide-ranging communication, the vast majority was left outside of the hearing range of those who would have put it in history books. And quite a few that made it into the book were probably of the form “My brothers and I heard John saying that the King is evil and must be killed!” - “Thank you for reporting, take Johns farm as a sign of gratitude!”…