Abstract. The article is considered the problem of the interaction of history and collective memory on the example of the evolution of the attitude of classical Russian historiography XVIII-XIX centuries for the folk epic. As examples, we analyze the perception by V.N. Tatishchev, M.M. Shcherbatov, N.M. Karamzin, S.M. Solovyov and D.I. Ilovaisky of the epics and of the data of epic origin in the Russian medieval annals. Is affected the impact of scientific and social factors on the perception of epics in the historical literature. It is shown that the scientific debate about the epic historicism have the minimal impact on the mass consciousness, where the evolution of the perception of the epic develops in its own logic. The conclusion is the independent natural coexistence of “academic” and “folklore” measurements of history, the futility of attempts to merge them.