Project »Virtual Middle Ages« publishes an overview
Juliet Diekkämper and Suzette van Haaren have compiled a list of »Digital Resources for Medieval Studies in German-speaking Countries«. This list is now publicly available. In this text, they describe which resources can be found there, how they are organized, and what information interested parties can find in the online database.
The Middle Ages are a vibrant part of our digital landscape, not in the least thanks to the digitisation of medieval source material. From the digital facsimiles of medieval manuscripts to interactive maps and imperial charters: digital methods are revolutionising medieval studies. This field employs cutting-edge techniques like text recognition software for digital paleography, computational analysis and data visualisation, and even VR and AR applications. German-speaking countries have been part of this digital transformation for decades: the Archdiocesan and Cathedral Library of Cologne (now found here) led the charge in the early 2000s, becoming the first in the world to digitise its entire medieval manuscript collection. Since then, projects have included a wide variety of digitised manuscripts, archives, and databases. These initiatives are invaluable resources, facilitating research and transforming our perspectives on medieval sources.
The project »Virtuelles Mittelalter« now presents a curated list of 164 digital medieval research projects that serves as an initial effort to provide an overview of digital initiatives within medieval studies that are initiated or located in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It aims to provide a starting point for scholars, aiding in orientation, collaboration, and understanding the development of digital medieval projects. Reflecting the dynamic nature of digital projects and the continuous evolution of the field, it is not exhaustive, but rather a first attempt. The list includes projects the contents of which covers the period from 500 to 1500 and spans diverse topics and geographical areas, promoting interdisciplinary research and innovative approaches to understanding the medieval period. In its current state our list includes 164 projects (112 German, 40 Austrian, 12 Swiss). Most of the listed digital resources are freely accessible.
The wiki list shows four columns: name of the project with the website link, key words to describe the projects, the type of the medieval digital methods, and the involved institution(s). The projects are broadly categorised as follows: auxiliary sciences (numerology, heraldry, diplomatic, palaeography and more), online dictionaries, digital editions of heroic epic, religion/monastic life, music, everyday life (cooking), itinerary, architecture, incunables and art history. Descriptors that improve searchability through the list are based on these topics. The digital resources projects are classified as types: computational textual analysis, computational linguistics, text-based digital editions, philological computational methods, databases with texts and/or descriptors (digital repositories), image-based editions and digital maps. Most projects are a combination of these identified types.
More than half of the medieval digital resources projects are databases (70 of the projects in Germany, 6 from Switzerland, 19 from Austria), enabling scholars to search documents and information in a limited field of study. Think for example of the platform Wasserzeichen-Informationsstelle, presenting an immense online collection of water marks. The next biggest group are digital editions (30 in Germany, 13 in Austria, 2 in Switzerland). Digital editions have become established practices within digital humanities, the digital environment in particular allows for addressing the instability, variability, and materiality of medieval texts. An early example is the Berner Parzival Projekt that seeks to compile all known textual sources of Wolfram von Eschenbach’s *Parzival* to create a hybrid edition including web-based digital copies, full transcriptions of the sources and a synoptic edition.
Computational textual analysis, computational linguistics, and philological computational methods are less represented in the list (6 in Germany, 5 in Austria, 1 in Switzerland), as are apparatuses for analysing manuscripts or codices. An example for textual analysis can be found in Gloss-ViBe focusing on the glosses in early medieval celtic textual tradition of Bede’s *De Tempora Ratione*. eCodicology promotes the digital analysis of manuscript corpora, developing algorithms to recognise macro- and micro-structural design features on medieval manuscript pages.
There are relatively many networking tools and maps (see for example Text Mining Medieval Mining Texts) in Austria (7 projects) whereas Germany has many digital reference works and online dictionaries (for example the Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch) (30 in Germany, 2 in Austria, 1 in Switzerland) underscoring regional nuances in research focus and methodology. It is also striking that numerous projects take an interdisciplinary approach. One example is the platform Welscher Gast digital, which provides an image-based edition, all manuscripts and their illustrations.
Even though it is often a difficult task, bridging the gap between medieval studies and digital humanities is crucial. This connection fosters collaboration and innovation, essential for addressing the unique challenges posed by medieval material in the digital age. But it is also important to secure the sustainability of already existing medieval digital resources.
Digitisation and the use of digital resources has become integral to medievalist research in German-speaking countries, where the adoption of digital technologies has significantly impacted research methodologies and perspectives. Each project in this list demonstrates significant advancement in digital scholarship and, consequently, offers new perspectives onto the Middle Ages. It shows the value of orientation, collaboration and reflection on the development of digital medieval projects in the German-speaking world. As the field continues to grow, this list serves as a foundation for further exploration and innovation in digital medieval studies.
Find the list of List of Digital Resources for Medieval Studies in German-speaking Countries here: http://vfu.virtuelle-lebenswelten.de:8080/index.php/Public:List_of_Digital_Resources_for_Medieval_Studies_in_German-speaking_Countries
Or on Zenodo: List of DigitalResources for Medieval Studies in German-speaking Countries (Version 1) [Dataset]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13332123
Bibliography
Bleier, R., F. Fischer, T. Hiltmann, G. Viehhauser and G. Vogeler (2019): »Digitale Mediävistik und der deutschsprachige Raum. Das Mittelalter«, in: Das Mittelalter 24(1), pp. 1-12.
Burrichter, B., B. Gebert, C. Mackert and G. Viehhauser (2021): »Digitale Mediävistik. Das Mittelalter«, in: Das Mittelalter 26(1), pp. 101-117.
Geelhaar, T. (2023): »Clio-Guide: Mittelalter«, in: S. Daniel, W. Enderle, R. Hohls, T. Meyer, J. Prellwitz, C. Prinz, A. Schuhmann, and S. Schwandt (eds.), Clio Guide – Ein Handbuch zu digitalen Ressourcen für die Geschichtswissenschaften. 3rd ed. Berlin. Online unter: https://guides.clio-online.de/guides/epochen/mittelalter/2023. (doi.org/10.60693/1smb-x145) [Accessed 20 Feb. 2023].
Hiltmann, T. (2022): »Vom Medienwandel zum Methodenwandel«, in: K. D. Döring (ed.), Digital History: Konzepte, Methoden und Kritiken Digitaler Geschichtswissenschaften, Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 13-44.
Unsworth, J. (2011): »Medievalists as Early Adopters of Information Technology«, in: Digital Medievalist 7. (http://doi.org/10.16995/dm.34)
Wannemacher, K. and A. Kaemena (2023): »Wissenschaft im digitalen Raum: Exemplarische Entwicklungen in Österreich und Deutschland«, in: ZFHE 18 (Special Issue: Forschung), pp.17-32.
excerpt from the image: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Codex Manesse, Cod. Pal. germ. 848, fol. 292v.
