The work illuminates a segment of the history of French historiography, even before it begins in the 18th century under the conditions of a self-reflective, philosophical foundation of history. The starting point is the question of how a predominantly uncritical, topically traditional historiography, with its diverse perspectives, archival practices, and notes towards the end of the 17th century, gradually begins to evolve into a more regulated academic discourse, which can be described epistemologically using Foucault's concept of "representation." A particular problem that arises is imagination, which, although indispensable in the process of knowledge, is perceived as a precarious instance in the Cartesian sense. During the period in question (approximately 1670-1730), these conditioning factors are examined in historiographical practice.