Nodegoat Day 2021 @ Unibe

projects / sources / data / networks / people

From source to visualization: Data modeling and analysis with Nodegoat

Friday, 04 June, 9-17 h via Zoom

Programme

9.00 Introduction by Kaspar Gubler (Universität Bern, Historisches Institut): SNSF Spark Projekt ‘Dynamic Data Ingestion’ for server-side data harmonisation: Creating a database with 200k students and scholars 1200-1800: Method, concept and practical implementation

9:30 Simon Bürcky (Universität Giessen, Historisches Institut): Dynastic Networks of the Counts of Solms during the 15th Century, PhD project

10:00 Katharina Vukadin (Universität München, Institut für Kunstgeschichte): Relic Networks in the Early Modern Period: the Wittelsbach collection since 1577, PhD project as part of the ERC Projekt: SACRIMA

10:30 Giulia Iannuzzi (Università di Firenze / Università di Trieste): Plotting European sea routes in the Modern age (1500-1900): modelling, visualising, and linking data in Nodegoat, Global Sea Routes Project

11:00 Discussion / Questions / Partisan round: Opportunity to present your own Nodegoat project or project idea

12:00-13:00 Lunch break

13:00 Daniel Jaquet (Universität Bern, Historisches Institut): Mapping Swiss wars in the Middle Ages (1350-1550) as part of the Project Martial Culture in Medieval Town

13:30 Nina Janz / Sarah Maya Vercruysse / Michel R. Pauly (Université de Luxembourg, Project WARLUX): Using data analysis on recruited Luxembourgers in WWII, https://digiwarhist.hypotheses.org

14:00 Stefanie Mahrer (Universität Bern, Historisches Institut): Transnational Science. Switzerland and Forced Academic Migrants 1933 to 1950, https://forced-academic-migration.net

14:30 Nuno Camarinhas (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Direito): Mapping justice administration in Portugal and the Portuguese empire (1600-1926), Project: Modern Portuguese judiciary

15:00 Milan Matthiesen (Europainstitut der Universität Basel): The Exterior of Philosophy: On the Practice of New Confucianism, https://europa.unibas.ch/de/forschung/european-global-knowledge-production/the-exterior-of-philosophy/

15:30 Pim van Bree / Geert Kessels (The Hague, LAB1100): Linked Open Data in the humanities: availability, linking and analysis with Nodegoat, https://lab1100.com

16:00 Discussion / Questions / Partisan round: Opportunity to present your own Nodegoat project or project idea

16:30 Apéro virtuel

 

 

 

CfP Nodegoat Day 2021

The Nodegoat Day 2021 will be run as an entirely virtual event via Zoom, hosted by the University of Bern (Switzerland). At Nodegoat Day 2020, only projects from the University of Bern were presented. As this had already attracted an international audience, projects from all over the world will be invited to Nodegoat Day 2021. Reports and impressions from Nodegoat Day 2020 can be found here:

https://www.infoclio.ch/de/tagungsbericht-nodegoat-day-2020

https://histdata.hypotheses.org/1937

Proposals for Project showcases (max. 300 word proposal)

Data visualisations in the Digital Humanities are booming. Through the visual representation of research data, previously unknown patterns and developments can be uncovered and lead to new insights. At the same time, data visualisation helps research gain more visibility and facilitates interdisciplinary exchange, especially when projects work with the same visualisation software. This is the case with Nodegoat, a multifunctional, virtual research environment for managing, analysing and visualising research data. The Nodegoat Day therefore will bring together research projects from very different disciplines. The aim of the conference is to show and reflect how a digital tool like Nodegoat can be used in humanities research and/or teaching, what influence digital tools can have on formulating and answering research questions, and how they can lead us to new insights and research horizons. Projects at Nodegoat Day should present experimental, substantial or completed research, provide concrete insights into their conceptual data models and visualisations, and situate their approach within their discipline and the Digital Humanities. Contributions from young scientists are explicitly welcome as well as trans- and interdisciplinary impulses. Special consideration should be given to the data models: the principle of data modeling in Nodegoat is object-oriented and follows the actor-network theory: Persons, events, artefacts, places or historical sources are first considered as objects of a horizontal order, which form a network and create a hierarchy only through their relationships to each other. Nodegoat users can define data models, objects and relationships individually and thus realise their own project-specific data structures. Furthermore, a data model can also be adapted to existing reference models, which also improves the interoperability of research data. The design of the data model is of course crucial for the visualisations: every object in Nodegoat can be given in the model geographical and temporal attributes that can be analysed and visualised for the research data. The potential of such data visualisation functions (maps, networks, time series) as well as the algorithmic calculations in Nodegoat will be reflected and discussed at the conference. Overall, there will be numerous opportunities for comparison between the individual projects, from which impulses and exchange across disciplinary boundaries can be expected as well as networking in the Nodegoat community. The contributors will have 20 minutes for presentation and afterwards there will be 10 minutes for questions and inputs.

In addition, two longer “partisan rounds” are scheduled for spontaneous ultra-short presentations on projects in the experimental stage, questions about how to run a Nodegoat project, functions of Nodegoat, long-term archiving of Nodegoat data, and questions about life in general, as well as critical reflections on methods and results of digital projects.

The abstracts are requested along with a brief biographical note by email no later than May 15,
2021, to Kaspar Gubler (kaspar.gubler@hist.unibe.ch). Feedback will be provided no later than
the end of May 2021. The conference language is English.

Guests can register sending an email to: larissa.achermann@hist.unibe.ch

Projects around the globe are welcome to participate in Nodegoat Day 2021. Map of Nodegoat projects worldwide (selection, December 2020):

https://nodegoat.net/usecases

 

Institutes where Nodegoat projects are running (November 2020):

SNSF SPARK Workshop on Dynamic Data Ingestion

Session 3

12 May 2021

“Introduction by Kaspar Gubler

I would like to welcome in this session all participants who are already familiar with Nodegoat and have therefore skipped sessions 1 and 2 and will now attend sessions 3 and 4. In sessions 1 and 2 we created a data model for people and books and imported data, including geo-coordinates, into Nodegoat by uploading CSV files. Importing data into Nodegoat will also be the central topic of today’s session. We have three ways to import data into Nodegoat.

1) We can upload data into Nodegoat as a CSV file, as we did in session 2.

2) We can import data directly into Nodegoat using a graphical interface without having to upload it, we will look at this process of dynamic data ingestion today.

3) We can import data into Nodegoat via an application programming interface (API), which, unlike 1) and 2), requires programming knowledge.

Of course, we can also start a project in Nodegoat without importing data first, not even geodata. In every Nodegoat installation, the object ‘City’ is already present. In ‘City’ about 130k places are available, which have geo-coordinates as well as a GeoNames-ID. ‘City’ is a collaborative object: all projects of a Nodegoat installation can add and use ‘City’-locations and thus benefit from each other.”

Programme Session 3 (12-05-2021)

14:00 Welcome and recap of last week’s session

14:15 Create Linked Data Resource to query GND

14:30 Create Linked Data Resource to query VIAF

14:50 Break

15:00 Ingestion of VIAF IDs from Wikidata

15:50 Break

16:00 Ingestion of biographical data from Wikidata

16:35 Looking forward to next session

16:45 Q&A

  • Can the mapping then only be done per 1 object? Or can you run it on a set (like reconciliation in open refine) and get unambiguous results automatically? → Yes, both.
  • Can I add/concatenate more of the json fields to the “label”? Because just the preferred name may not be sufficient to identify which one is the correct entry …→ Yes, add/include more of the relevant Values in your response, then open a “filter” dialog if necessary (there the additional fields/values will be shown).
  • Does nodegoat also support APIs that return XML instead of JSON? -> No
  • Wikidata SPARQL Query to only get Gregorian Dates Example: https://w.wiki/3KFq ->thanks!
  • Not really related to this session by I don’t see this referred to in any of the sessions: is there a nodegoat api from which one can draw the visualizations? or even simpler ‘embeds’? -> Public User Interfaces support embedding.
    • Does it expose JSON representations of our objects → next session
    • And is there a SPARQL endpoint (I know I would have to specify a kind of mapping)
  •  I am trying to create a LD resource from my API. The query: https://data.geo-kima.org/api/Variants/PlaceVariants/8964/100/1 works outside nodegoat. How can I spit this to fill the uri and query in nodegoat? (I get an error message when I do https://data.geo-kima.org/api/ in the url and Variants/PlaceVariants/8964/100/1 in the query. → next session
  • Is it possible to interact with database directly using SQL? → Not by design/purpose, API should be used

Links

https://nodegoat.net/usecases

Slides:

 

Preparation

If you are unfamiliar with the benefits of adding external identifiers to your dataset, please read this guide: https://nodegoat.net/guides/externalidentifiers.This example shows how to update 1 object at once. We can update multiple objects at once with the data ingestion (see below, data ingestion with Nodegoat).

Human Readable vs Machine Readable

Browse GND Data

Via Graphical User Interface (GUI):

https://d-nb.info/gnd/118637533 / https://lobid.org/gnd/118637533

Via Application Programming Interface (API): https://lobid.org/gnd/118637533.json

Query GND Data:

Via GUI: https://lobid.org/gnd/search?q=Zwingli

Via API: https://lobid.org/gnd/search?q=Zwingli&filter=type:Person&format=json

 

Data ingestion with Nodegoat

With the data ingestion in Nodegoat, you can enrich or update multiple objects with Linked Open Data (LOD) data from external data sources. This requires two steps. First, we configure a Linked Data Resource in Nodegoat, i.e. a query to the interface where the LOD data is available (data source). Secondly, we configure a data ingestion process, i.e. the mapping and storage of the LOD data in Nodegoat. Below are some examples of how to configure interfaces to Linked Data Resources.

Linked Data Resources

Label Value
Name Search the GND API via lobid.org
Protocol API
URL https://lobid.org/gnd/search?q=
URL Options &filter=type:Person&format=json
Query [query=name][variable]zwingli[/variable][/query]&from=[[offset]]&size=[[limit]]

 

Label Value
Name Search the VIAF API
Protocol API
URL http://www.viaf.org/viaf/AutoSuggest?query=
URL Options
Query [query=name][variable]zwingli[/variable][/query]

 

Label Value
Name Query Wikidata for VIAF ID based on GND ID
Protocol SPARQL
URL https://query.wikidata.org/sparql?query=
URL Options &format=json
Query SELECT ?person ?viaf

WHERE {

[query=gnd]?person wdt:P227 “[variable]118637533[/variable]” .[/query]

?person wdt:P214 ?viaf .}

Link Click to open Query

 

Label Value
Name Query Wikidata for Religion based on GND ID
Protocol SPARQL
URL https://query.wikidata.org/sparql?query=
URL Options &format=json
Query SELECT ?person ?religion ?religion_label

WHERE {

[query=gnd]?person wdt:P227 “[variable]118637533[/variable]” .[/query]

?person wdt:P140 ?religion .

?religion rdfs:label ?religion_label .

FILTER(LANG(?religion_label) = “en”)

}

Link Click to open Query

 

Label Value
Name Query Wikidata for Date of Birth based on GND ID
Protocol SPARQL
URL https://query.wikidata.org/sparql?query=
URL Options &format=json
Query SELECT ?person ?date_of_birth

WHERE {

[query=gnd]?person wdt:P227 “[variable]118637533[/variable]” .[/query]

?person wdt:P569 ?date_of_birth .

}

Conversion INPUT

1484-01-10T00:00:00Z

Script:

const date = new Date(INPUT);

const day = date.getDate();

const month = date.getMonth() + 1;

const year = date.getFullYear();

var OUTPUT = {‘date’: day+’-‘+month+’-‘+year};

Link Click to open Query

Click to open Query with reference statement

 

To start the ingestion process, we activate it for our project in ‘Management’. Then we define the process, the mapping and the storage of the LOD data, in the ‘Data’ section, like in the picture. We can add new objects (or values of objects = ‘object descriptions’ in Nodegoat), ad them if they not exist already or update objects, for example the object ‘Person’.

SNSF SPARK Workshop on Dynamic Data Ingestion

Session 2

05 May 2021

“Introduction by Kaspar Gubler

We are very pleased to have so many interesting projects and engaged participants in the workshop. And more participants have joined for session 2. For example, someone from Hamburg who used to do network analysis with the software Gephi and now wants to try out Nodegoat. A new participant is an archaeologist from the University of Bern who has documented sites in Excel and wants to import and visualise them in Nodegoat. Such data import is not difficult, especially if the data has been entered consistently in Excel. Another new participant plans to visualise cultural heritage with Nodegoat. A good example of how Nodegoat can be used for the presentation of digital, cultural heritage (thus also for art history) is the encyclopaedia on Romantic Nationalism: https://ernie.uva.nl/viewer.p/21/52/types/all/grid

Terminology

Before we start, I would like to remind you of the terminology of Nodegoat, in which we speak of Objects and Sub-Objects as well as Categories. We describe these Objects (column inExcel) in Nodegoat with Object descriptions (like rows in Excel). Object descriptions can be a text, a link, a picture or a link to another Object or a Category (= reference = relation). We can define in our data model the kind of description for each Object description. This gives us the possibility to describe an Object very precisely:

Find a common language

Important: if you want to communicate with another Nodegoat project it is very helpful if you use the terminology mentioned. So the first questions to another project would be: what Objects do you have? And how do you describe your Objects with what kind of Object descriptions? In which Sub-Object do you store your geo references? If you want to get in touch with other projects, you can organise your own zoom meetings on specific questions about Nodegoat. I see many projects that have a lot in common and could certainly benefit from an exchange. I would also like to draw your attention to the Nodegoat Day on 4 June, where you can present your project or your project idea.”

14:00 Welcome and recap of last week’s session

14:15 Object Type ‘Place’ Data Model + Data Entry

14:30 Object Type ‘Place’ Data Import

14:50 Break

15:00 Object Type ‘Person’ Data Import

15:30 Filter + Visualisation

15:50 Break

16:00 Scope & Visual Settings

16:15 Conditions & Export

16:35 Looking forward to next session

16:45 Q&A

  • Difference between Gephi and Nodegoat? → Nodegoat departs from data management + visualization functionality
  • Will there be a possibility to store Nodegoat Data in a data repository like Zenodo? → There are rumors about a Zenodo-Module in Nodegoat coming, currently it’s technically no problem to do it manually
  • How to download a “dump”?  → Via API, export dump of the data + of the model in JSON
  • Is it possible to export a complete project (instead of individual csv sheets)?  → Yes, via API you can export all of the data and the data model in JSON
  • How can I “undo” an import from csv when I notice that some things did not work as intended? Can I mass delete objects? → Yes, cou can mass delete objects via graphical interface, choosing all objects deleting them with the grey multi button, or delete in ‘Model’ the whole of a Object Type with clicking on ‘empty’ or mass delete mass objects via API
  • Can you import by just giving the URL of the Google Doc? → Yes, via API of Nodegoat, check what Google allows you to do via API
  • Can visualisations be downloaded in any way to the desktop? → Yes, Screenshot, or for high resolution use the ‘Capture’ functionality in the visualisation settings
  • Follow-up question to session 1:  can you create an itinerary of a person (object) with just knowing the sequence of the location but not the dates?→ Yes, with storing vague dates in Nodegoat, you make an statement in vague dates (‘Chronology’) like: ‘Studies came after Birth’. Or Yes, use as date: 1, 2, 3 etc. , or use the sequence identifier in a nodegoat date, so if you know a year use ‘1880 1’, ‘1818 2’, ‘1818 3’
  • We can include both a geometry (polygon) AND a precise coordinate in a sub-object? Or as separate subobjects of the same object? → Yes, , yes both options are possible! One geometry can be polygon + point(s) + line(s). Or each in a separate sub-object to be able to add attributes.
  • Are there any example projects that depicts more complex routes? → http://mnn.nodegoat.net/viewer.p/1/47/scenario/30/geo
  • Can you add your own icons to be displayed on the map? → Yes, in SVG format.
  • Nodegoat as Tool to visualise routes or itineraries? →  Yes
  • Is there also a method to show place-specific meta-information on the map instead of the person’s? →  Yes
  • In case of data model refactoring, how should we deal with the already inserted data? For example, if one wants to normalize repetitive data creating a new object type, how can he migrate the actual data to the new data model? Export + Transform + Import is the only way?  →  Yes, but because you now have nodegoat IDs, it’s a matter of a straightforward mapping. Or use an Ingestion process (session 4).
  • is it possible to mark a node with multiple conditions (e.g. one condition for people born in the low countries (orange) + people died in Italy (blue), so objects that fall in both categories marked in two colours)? →  Yes

Links

http://mnn.nodegoat.net/viewer.p/1/47/scenario/30/geo

Slides:

Download Google Sheets as CSV files:

RAG Places small selection: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zvcVj66nr1tm7PAmNJSSf2BI_o5e2rrPCSE2l4PAsHQ/
RAG People small selection:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K2SGF0TkQTVnZ5WQqgMc0MbJdGps1kA_oWVL3Qir6rs/

Guides:https://nodegoat.net/guides/csvfilehttps://nodegoat.net/guides/gazetteer

Another sample data Import:
https://histdata.hypotheses.org/nodegoat-tutorials
Tutorial No 10, to create this map (positions of ships):

SNSF SPARK Workshop on Dynamic Data Ingestion

Session 1

28 April 2021

Introduction by Kaspar Gubler

“Welcome to the Nodegoat SPARK workshop ‘Dynamic Data ingestion’ We are very happy about the 140 participants from all over the world. On the map, which was of course created with Nodegoat, we can see the places of origin of the participants. They come from very different disciplines: history, literary history, German studies, English studies, legal history, historical geography, art history, musicology, theatre studies, film studies, African studies, Islamic studies, sociology, digital humanities and also from archives and libraries. This impressively shows how Nodegoat has established itself in the last ten years as an international research infrastructure for the humanities, an interdisciplinary research infrastructure that helps digital research to gain new insights and more visibility – and facilitates the collaboration of projects, especially beyond one’s own subject boundaries. Pim van Bree and Geert Kessels began developing Nodegoat as part of a project at the University of Amsterdam in 2011. Pim van Bree has a Master’s degree in Media Studies, Geert Kessels a Master’s degree in History. Both are also accomplished software developers. Their particular strength is that they know both worlds, the world of humanities and the world of programming. They combine these two worlds in their workshops, which they conduct at educational institutions worldwide. With their deep knowledge of methods, sources and questions in the humanities, they can create fitting and working data models for the different disciplines in Nodegoat to extract new scientific information and knowledge from the data.”

Programme

14:00 Welcome by Kaspar Gubler

14:15 General introduction to nodegoat

14:40 Login and set up your nodegoat project

14:50 Break

15:00 Object Type ‘Person’ Data Model

15:15 Object Type ‘Person’ Data Entry

15:35 Classification ‘Capacity’ Data Model + Data Entry

15:50 Break

16:00 Object Type ‘Book’ Data Model

16:20 Object Type ‘Book’ Data Entry

16:35 Looking forward to next session

16:45 Q&A

  • I don’t have access to the ‘Model’ section in nodegoat → Check Page Clearence. Each nodegoat project has 1 administrator at the beginning, who can set up additional users. Management > Users > add User > add the user  and activate the ‘Model’ in the settings  for the page clearance (tab)
  • How does the Scope work? For Visualizations? → In the Scope you define which of your databasefields you want to use for the visualization, so you activate the field that contains the georeference wiht the coordinates
  • Are there facilities (planned?) helping to prepare a RDF rendition of the database? →Yes: on one’s own nodegoat installation, you can configure a translation module to translate the data model to some RDF vocabulary
  • Is it possible to export, as static or dynamic representation, a computed spatio-temporal / network analysis ? →Yes
  • Würden Sie sagen, dass sich Nodegoat grundsätzlich auch als Bilddatenbank (mit Zusatzbeschreibungen und Querverweisen) eignet? →Yes, absolutely, see the links below.
  • Regarding custom gazetteers and prosopographies: Are there size limitations? → Not in general, size limit of CSV import is set to 60’000 rows at a time
  • Is it better to store a region like Germany as JSON or via Reference >city > autofill option Germany? →It depends on what you want to show on your map, if you are more interested in areas it’s Geo JSON, if you are working in general with dots on your maps, it’s maybe better to store it as a point like your other data
  • Can we import polygon data from an existing map with territorial circumscription so that we don’t have to draw them by hand? → Yes
  • Can we specify a schema or other constraints to ensure consistency of the data (e.g. Birthdate < Deathdate, no overlapping residence periods etc.)? → You can use visualisation to do some error checking, but there can be no hard enforcement of such constraints at the moment. Or you can filter specifically on Birthdate < Deathdate, more advanced.
  • Does database harmonise the different sources of location, e.g. if I put “Roma (IT)” from “City” and also point from “Geometry” which is actually Rome, will database understand it is the same? On the map it looks the same, but how is it in database? Is it linked as the same entity? → More on this next session!
  • Is Arabic script supported or more generally, are scripts running from right to left supported? → Yes: Everything Unicode
  • Can we geo-visualize more than one object type, say author’s places and book’s publishing houses’ places? → Yes: using the Scope (https://nodegoat.net/guides/visualisationsettings)
  • Is there anything in the guides as regards Nodegoat and RDF? → Yes, it’s work in progress, see this sample nodegoat project working with a Subject-Predicate-Object (RDF Format) data model: https://www.manto-myth.org/blog/a-half-dozen-ways-to-die-mythically
  • If I uncheck „Fixed field“ in Object „book“ it throws: The data Model does not have a configuration that can be used to generate Object names, please check your settings.“ Why? → Tick/check one or more of the Object Description ‘name’ (‘use object description for name’) checkboxes
  • Can nodegoat handle localised object descriptions? E.g. book reviews in different languages? → Yes
  • Can nodegoat handle uncertain dates / data? → Yes, see the following blogposts:

https://nodegoat.net/blog.s/45/how-to-store-uncertain-data-in-nodegoat-ambiguous-identities

https://nodegoat.net/blog.s/44/how-to-store-uncertain-data-in-nodegoat-conflicting-information

https://nodegoat.net/blog.s/43/how-to-store-uncertain-data-in-nodegoat-incomplete-source-material

https://nodegoat.net/blog.s/42/how-to-store-uncertain-data-in-nodegoat

      Slides

Data Ingestion Episode III – May the linked open data be with you

The linking of research data has been a dominant topic for years, especially in digital history. Linked Open Data (LOD) is the buzzword at conferences and in research projects. However, it is not the collection of such data available on the internet that is the greatest challenge here, but its harmonisation, because research databases are usually structured differently. It is therefore not surprising that despite many initiatives no research project in digital history has yet been realised being able to harmonise data across several structural levels of the databases. This means, for example, not only linking persons of databases by their names, but going deeper into the data structure to harmonise, for example, the geographical origin or attributes of a person’s education. But that would be the aim: to answer scientific questions through structural data harmonisation. This is where our SPARK project comes in. The third and final phase of the project (Episode 3) has been completed in January 2021. What are the core results of this project? In essence, it is a software module (DDI module for ‘dynamic data ingestion) and a method: data (research data) is collected from different source databases and ingested on a central server using the module according to the spider principle, creating a new metadatabase. The harmonisation of the collected data in this new build database is done as far as possible already with the data ingestion by mapping the database fields of the source databases into corresponding database fields to the new metadatabase. If such a mapping is not or only partially possible because the database fields of the source database and the metadatabase are too dissimilar, in a second step, as soon as the data is stored on the central server, an algorithm can be used to bring uniformity to this data by data reconciliation. In addition, the data can also be automatically reclassified in order to standardise it. These measures prepare the data for analysis and ultimately for publication, which both can be done in the virtual research environment Nodegoat. We will explain the procedure with the help of a case study. In this study, we collected data from related projects that are researching the history of universities and have joined together in a network, the Atelier Heloïse. The common interest of the projects is a prosopographical based history of universities, scholars and academic knowledge in pre-modern Europe. The four projects were chosen more at random; there are numerous other and important database projects in the Atelier. However, we had to limit ourselves to these four projects. Furthermore, it will be the task of the Atelier to bring all of the databases together in a joint, international project. The projects we have been working on are covering the history of the universities of Bologna (http://asfe.unibo.it/it), Padova (https://www.ottocentenariouniversitadipadova.it), Paris (http://studium.univ-paris1.fr) and the universities of the Old Empire in the project Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (https://rag-online.org). The metadatabase we created from the four projects contains about 200,000 students and scholars from all over Europe in the period 1200-1800, with the projects covering different time spans. The tools for collecting, ingesting (1), reconciling (2) and reclassifying (3) the data in Nodegoat also represent the methodological approach to data harmonisation as a prerequisite for data analysis (visualisations, network analyses) and finally for the publication of the results on the internet.

As a result of this approach, the places of origin of the students and scholars in the four projects were united on a map for the first time in research, impressively demonstrating the potential of international data networking. The map is of course only the starting point for deeper analyses. Only through a joint analysis of the four research projects, which describe the areas of origin (of the students) of their universities and their sources, can a synthesis, which the projects work out together, lead to new insights and research questions. But how can such a map be created? We will now take a look at this, starting with data ingestion. In order to be able to collect data, we must first make two settings in Nodegoat: the definition of the Linked Data Resource and the definition of the Ingestion process. To create the definition, we use a graphical interface, which not only simplifies our work, but also makes the data ingestion process transparent for all team members (project members, programmers). The graphical interface is thus a very important tool for visual communication, enabling a common understanding of the structures of the data sources. In the graphical interface, all database fields can be made visible to the project team and then assigned together to the new meta-database. A clear mapping process in combination with very good knowledge of the database fields (and their meaning, especially in the humanities) are the success factors not only for the ingestion, but also for database migrations in general. In principle, the graphical interface helps to find a common language and understanding between historians and programmers. In the Linked Data Resource module, it must be first defined whether it is an API interface or a SPARQL endpoint. Then a test query is constructed, for example for a person. This requires the identifier of this person, which functions as a variable for all persons of the source database from which data is to be ingested. Then the mapping process follows and the database fields of the source database are assigned to the corresponding fields in the metadatabase. By mapping as closely as possible, harmonisation of the collected data can already be achieved. However, if the structures of the source database and the metadatabase are too different, the data will still be imported and subsequently harmonised with the data matching process in the reconciliation module. Things can get complicated if, in addition, the data formats of the source database are not compatible with the metadatabase. In such a case, the data can be converted before the data import, or only certain information and not the entire content can be extracted from the source database fields. With the reconciliation module, we can then search the imported, heterogeneous data for specific terms that we have previously defined in a vocabulary. The terms found are automatically saved in the metadatabase. We demonstrated at the Atelier Heloïse conference such a procedure using the places of origin of Parisian students as an example. The places of origin are not georeferenced in the Paris database and only the names of the places are available in the application programming interface (API). With Reconciliation we can assign geopoints to the places. To do this, we first import the places from the source database and then use the reconciliation module. We configure this module so that the names of the places in the Paris database are compared with a reference list of places with geo-coordinates that exists in our metadatabase. The places in this reference list also have identifiers of GeoNames, an internationally used geographic reference system. In the reconciliation module, we now set the algorithm to not only search for the Paris names in the reference list, but also to store the georeference location (which contains the coordinates) when a hit is made. In this way we can easily visualise the places of origin of the Paris database on a map and thus also check the data qualitatively in a simple way, as it is an interactive map: Clicking on a point takes us directly to the locations and georeferences. Of course, the reconciliation module works for any data type, not only for geodata. For example, texts can also be searched for specific terms with the algorithm and the hits are automatically saved. If at this point of the ingestion process the data is still not uniform enough for an evaluation, the data can be additionally classified with the reclassification module. The principle of reclassification is that we query the data according to certain criteria and use this query to automatically classify the results. Such reclassifications are useful when a project wants to organise a lot of complex data and prepare it for data analysis. However, automatic reclassification is also very important for maintaining data consistency, as inconsistent or incorrect entries of data can also be automatically filtered out. Let’s make an example. In our case study, the four projects use different categories and names for academic degrees. Although the degrees were already classified in a remarkably uniform way in pre-modern Europe. But of course, one must take into account here that the same degree can have different qualities depending on the university. But we can also overcome this challenge with reclassification by going from the general to the specific.  In the following, we are looking at the academic degrees of jurists. For reclassification of jurists, we first create a query in Nodegoat and check whether the expected results appear. Then we use this query in the reclassification module and give it a term. This term is then used to classify the data found. The reclassification is not bound to certain types of data. We can classify people, places, observations, texts, time periods or anything else. In our case, we can classify all jurists of the four projects accordingly and thus quickly obtain a general overview of the areas of origin and study of such persons. Of course, we have to take into account that the projects cover different periods and look at their definitions of jurists in detail. This is done subsequently to the overview and is part of the qualitative data evaluation, where we can further differentiate the data and, for example, reclassify scholars who had studied Roman law. For this group of people, we can then highlight the places of origin in colour and thus see the spaces of origin and communication of these jurists. If we have further data available, for example information on the activities of the jurists as in the Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG), we can also see where the legal knowledge was transferred with the persons – whom we regard as ‘knowledge carriers’. In this way, we could show the spread of law, and Roman law in particular, in pre-modern Europe. Of course, this also works for the other disciplines such as medicine or theology as well as for the large number of scholars holding a degree as a ‘Magister Artium’. It is then up to the researcher to classify, interpret, describe, if necessary correct and refine the results of the reclassification. With the procedure described, however, we are able to combine quantitative and qualitative research and thus reconstruct European knowledge spaces. With data ingestion, we can not only import and evaluate data from research projects, but in parallel, of course, also from other Linked Open Data to supplement or enrich the data set of our metadatabase, for example query the data on Wikidata that is linked to a person in our metadatabase. It would go beyond the scope looking at all the features of data analysis in Nodegoat, for example modules of network analysis, which can of course also be applied to our metadatabase. In any case, the data can be searched easily in full text and / or filtered specifically with complex, combined. It is further possible to query the data spatially drawing a polygon in GeoJOSN and simply copy its code into the database field that contains the geoinformation. This feature enables us to reconstruct, search and analyse specific knowledge spaces. Such spaces, as other results (data sets), can be published in so called data scenarios using an internet module that is configured in the backend of Nodeogat. A scenario is understood to be a data set with the corresponding visualisation settings.

Conclusion: The SPARK project makes it possible to link databases (research data) in a simple and transparent way and to harmonise and analyse the linked data with sophisticated tools – may the data be with you!

Looking back to nodegoat Day 2020

Climbing on the shoulders of digital giants: from data to knowledge

On November 27, 2020, the first nodegoat Day in history took place at the Historical Institute of the University of Bern via Zoom. The University’s nodegoat projects provided insights into the implementation of their data models and their methods of data analysis, with a focus on data visualization (maps, networks, time series). Originally, the ‘nodegoat Day 2020’ was planned as a local conference of the University of Bern, but more and more an international audience showed interest: via Zoom and live stream on YouTube people from Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg participated. The introduction to the conference, organized by Kaspar Gubler, University of Bern:

“In April this year (2020), the virtual research environment nodegoat was put into operation as a pilot project of the Historical Institute at the University of Bern within the framework of the university’s digitisation strategy. This was preceded by two workshops on nodegoat at the Walter Benjamin Kolleg here at the university. The great interest in these workshops made clear the need for digital tools. Supported by the Historical Institute, the pilot project nodegoat GO, a nodegoat installation for the entire faculty of humanities was launched. This means that all members of the faculty can now apply for a personal nodegoat research environment. Details can be found on the website of the Digital Humanities Department here in Bern. Since this month, nodegoat GO is officially supported by the faculty and the Digital Humanities departement within the framework of the university’s digitisation strategy, including a nodegoat support office starting next year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported the nodegoat GO project. Some short remarks on the virtual research environment. What does ‘environment’ actually mean here? Environment means in principle: one software for many things. What once had to be programmed laboriously with individual digital tools is now available to us in a virtual research environment, ready to use: Databases, front-ends for data input as well as analysis and visualisation functions, interfaces for data exchange and a website to present your results to the world. With this and with its sophisticated visualisation possibilities, nodegoat is also an important tool for visual communication.

The origins of nodegoat are in the Netherlands. Nodegoat was developed about 10 years ago at the University of Amsterdam by Pim van Bree (Master in Media Studies) and Geert Kessels (Master in Modern History) for specific research requirements and was transferred to a university spin-off called LAB1100. This spin-off now leads the development of the software, which is available in open source. In the course of time different functional modules were added to nodegoat, so that nodegoat today represents a sophisticated system for data analysis. These modules are, depending on the research needs, financed by different institutes worldwide and integrated into the open source version of the software, making it available to all users. So you finance, but you also profit when others do so.

The methodology

In simple terms, nodegoat works similar to an Excell table. In contrast to Excell, however, nodegoat has extensive analysis functions with which the entered data can be immediately analysed, visualised and contextualised spatially and chronologically – all this without any programming knowledge. Data analysis and visualisation therefore take place within nodegoat. The data do not have to be exported to another visualisation software first. Nodegoat is not a data prison. All data can be exported at any time from nodegoat into another software, either as CSV file or via JSON interface.

Data modelling

In Nodegoat, users define their own data models without restrictions in terms of structure or depth. Each object can be classified with geographical and temporal attributes and evaluated accordingly. Users are therefore free to implement a completely individual data model or to create a data model that is adapted to existing vocabularies (e.g. Dublin Core or the reference model CIDOC). Nodegoat can therefore also generate and provide standard data and is at the same time a digital tool for networking data sets, thus improving the interoperability of research data in the field of humanities. From the point of view of data modelling, nodegoat follows an object-oriented approach. Following the actor-network theory, this means that persons, events, artefacts and sources are regarded as equivalent objects. Only the linking of objects through relationships forms and hierarchises a network.

But why should one work with data at all in the humanities? Why with a database?

The answer is simple: data can make visible factors, patterns and developments that would otherwise remain hidden in the sources. By changing the aggregate state of the data collected from the sources, we can, thanks to visualisations, for example, identify patterns that can lead to new insights. At the same time, the data visualisations help research to become more visible. The data show us the path that can lead us onto the shoulders of the digital giants. Once we reach the top, new horizons open up for us when data becomes information and knowledge.

The nodegoat projects that give us insights today come from very different fields. Nodegoat is an interdisciplinary tool which, as my personal experience shows, promotes the exchange of information across disciplinary boundaries. The projects that we will see today are at different stages of development. It is not about delivering a glossy brochure, but about giving as concrete an insight as possible into the project work with nodegoat as well as getting to know the possibilities and the basic functions of nodegoat, including data management, visualisations, networks and time series.

Temporally and thematically we will go on a great journey today. It begins in the 20th century, opens up national and transnational perspectives with the academic forced migration to Switzerland and war-torn societies in Southeastern Europe, leads us to festivals in contemporary theatre, then back to melodies and songs of the early modern period, into the European Middle Ages to church account books and academic knowledge spaces, and finally ends up at the cradle of mankind in Mesopotamia. Towards the end, more technical aspects will be presented, such as the data harmonisation of Linked Open Data and the developers of LAB1100 will conclude with an overview of nodegoat projects in other countries and insights into software development.”

Kaspar Gubler (Universität Bern, Historisches Institut): Kaspar Gubler used the REPAC project as an example to show how nodegoat works as a collaborative research platform for international projects that enter and analyze data web-based (and thus independent of location) in nodegoat and publish it on the net in a live environment. REPAC operates a pool of prosopographic data, which contains about 70’000 persons with about 400’000 records about biographical stations and networks. From this data pool the persons and biographical information are automatically assigned to the different projects in nodegoat based on certain criteria (Germanicum / Helvetcium / Bernense).

Fig. Areas of origin of students at European universities 1250-1550.

 

Stefanie Mahrer (Universität Bern, Historisches Institut): Forced Academic Migration (FAM) is a research project (funded by SNF-PRIMA) at the Department of History of the University of Bern on the history of forced academic migration in Switzerland during the Nazi regime and the post-war period. FAM-online provides insight into research results and enables visitors to access, filter and graphically display research data in the near future.
The aim is to collect biographical data of the academics who fled to Switzerland, data of the academic refugee assistance organizations and their helpers, data of the universities concerning forced migrants as well as relevant decrees and laws as completely as possible. The data is published continuously, taking into account legal regulations.
FAM-online links projects and refers to publications with similar topics and thus also sees itself as a platform for scientific research into the history of academic forced migration in the context of National Socialism. The project uses nodegoat to visualize escape routes on maps and to analyze networks of academics, escape helpers and involved organizations.

Fig. Example visualization of escape routes of academics

 

Franziska Zaugg / Mevlane Sejdiji (Universität Bern, Historisches Institut): “A longue durée of violence? War-disabled societies in Southeastern Europe” is a postdoctoral project (SNSF Ambizione), based on the concept of “long duration” developed by Fernand Braudel, which leads the historian’s focus away from the history of events towards more long-term social, cultural and economic structures. The project examines war-disabled societies in Southeastern Europe from the Balkan wars of 1912/1913 to the Balkan conflicts of the late 20th century. The project asks about possible connections between the violence experienced, the nature of memory and its relevance for future conflicts. The projects uses nodegoat to identify and visualize violence clusters on maps and within actor networks.

Fig. Example visualization of clusters of violence

 

Alexandra Portmann, Anna Barmettler, Dominik Kilchmann (Universität Bern, Institut für Theaterwissenschaften): International theater festivals shape the contemporary theater landscape, although the variety of festival formats is difficult to categorize. The spectrum ranges from festivals that focus on a specific theme or author (e.g. Shakespeare), to festivals of the independent scene (e.g. Impulse Festival) and festivals such as the Manchester International Festival, which explicitly only shows premieres of international co-productions. These transnational co-productions of festivals with globally operating artists and independent production houses seem to increasingly shape the festival repertoire. This research project asks the question of how transnational working methods from the festival sector have a lasting effect on local theater systems. This SNSF Ambizione project uses nodegoat for visualizing the processes of festival productions on maps and within networks.

Fig. Example visualization of a network analysis on festival productions

 

Elie Jolliet (Universität Bern, Institut für Musikwissenschaft): Studied music (organ, historical keyboard instruments, choral conducting and church music) in Bern (B.A.) and Lausanne (M.A.). Church musician in Köniz and concert activity as soloist, ensemble musician and choir director. Winner of the Migros Culture Percentage Instrumental Competition 2016. Member of the board of the International Association for Hymnology. Dissertation project: The Bernese Songbooks 1606 to 1853. Corpus analysis of the songs outside the Geneva Psalter. Elie Jolliet uses nodegoat, for the difficult analysis of songs, which he examines and visualizes separately for melodies and texts. More about Elie Jolliet as a professional musician on his website: https://www.eliejolliet.ch/

Fig. Collection of church songs in the backend of nodegoat

 

Corina Liebi (Universität Bern, Historisches Institut): Corina Liebi studies history with a focus on the Middle Ages and is an assistant at the Historical Institute in Bern. In her master’s thesis she deals with the finances of the Hochstift Bamberg and evaluates a chamber office account from 1478. She visualizes the entries of these books on maps, which gives her insights into the quantitative and spatial distribution of financial transactions. With a network analysis she also investigates connections between officials.

Fig. Spaces of the diocese and the Hochstift Bamberg, reconstructed within nodegoat

 

Sebastian Borkowski (Universität Bern, Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften): Sebastian Borkowski, Master in Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Bern, currently a PhD student at the Unité d’Études Mésopotamiennes of the University of Geneva and assistant in the Department of Ancient Oriental Philology in the RIMES project (The Rivers of Mesopotamia) presented the project that Dr. Susanne Ruthishauser is leading at the Department of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Bern. For the area in the south of present-day Iraq, the project will evaluate satellite image data combined with archaeological, written and geomorphological sources in order to reconstruct the position of rivers and channels of the Mesopotamian alluvial plain during different epochs. This project uses very many functions of nodegoat. Among others, Sebastian Borkowski evaluates about 10’000 written sources in nodegoat.

Fig. Network analysis for reconstructing the rivers in Mesopotamia

 

Kaspar Gubler (Universität Bern, Historisches Institut): SNFS SPARK Projekt ‘Dynamic Data Ingestion’ for server-side data harmonisation. The principle of data ingestion in the so-called DDI module of nodegoat is that nodegoat pulls together data centrally on the server from any data sources available via interface. The DDI Module has two important strengths. Firstly, this software module is integrated into a fixed structure. It is therefore not a script which is stored and executed somewhere on a server and, as so often, at some point is no longer updated. Secondly, the DDI module has a graphical interface (Linked Data Module) in which the database fields of the data source can be assigned to the database fields of the nodegoat database, the mapping of the data. A great benefit of the DDI module is therefore the linking of data sets, for example Linked Open Data.

Fig. Testquery and response in the DDI Module. The responded data will be used for the mapping of the databasefields (from data source to nodegoat)

 

Pim van Bree / Geert Kessels (The Hague, LAB1100): nodegoat on the globe. Overview of nodegoat projects running at other institutes and insights into new and planned features of nodegoat. Pim van Bree received his Master in New Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Geert Kessels his Master in History as a research master at the same University. Pim van Bree and Geert Kessels bring together skills in new media, history, humanities and software development. They work with universities, research institutes, museums to conceptualise and develop dynamic applications. Their most important application is certainly nodegoat. Pim van Bree and Geert Kessels have extensive project experience in the field of Digital Humanities, and are engaged worldwide as consultants for digital projects and workshops sharing. On Nodegoat Day, they presented an overview of nodegoat projects in other countries, gave insights into the principles of nodegoat as well as in latest software developments and answered users’ questions.

Fig. Overview on nodegoat projects running and a sample visualisation out of the project ‘Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe’  (https://ernie.uva.nl/)

SNSF SPARK workshop: data ingestion and harmonization

Workshop on the results of the SPARK project of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) “Dynamic Data Ingestion (DDI): Server-side data harmonization in historical research. A centralized approach to networking and providing interoperable research data to answer specific scientific questions” (http://p3.snf.ch/project-190161). The workshop will take place in four sessions via Zoom. In sessions 1 and 2, participants will be introduced to the functions of the virtual research environment Nodegoat (VRE) and create a data model and import a data sample, which they will use in sessions 3 and 4 for the exercises on data ingestion. At the end, each participant will have a working VRE that can be used for further research or also used in teaching. It is highly recommended to attend all 4 sessions. The workshop is primarily aimed at members of the Phil.-Hist. faculty of the University of Bern, but is generally open to other interested parties on planet earth. The zoom link to the workshop will be sent to participants after registration. The workshop will be led by Nodegoat developers Pim van Bree and Geert Kessels (LAB1100), together with Kaspar Gubler, Institute of History, University of Bern.

Members of the Phil.-Hist. faculty of the University of Bern can apply for an VRE free of charge at the following link: https://www.dh.unibe.ch/dienstleistungen/nodegoat_go/index_ger.html Other participants can obtain an VRE at nodegoat.net. Or get Nodegoat Open Soruce on GitHub: https://github.com/nodegoat/nodegoat

The workshops always take place on Wednesdays from 2 – 5 pm. The workshops are recorded and can therefore be re-watched if a session cannot be attended.

Dates: 28.04.2021 / 05.05.2021 / 12.5.2021 / 26.5.2021

Registration for the workshop until 25.04.2021 to: kaspar.gubler@hist.unibe.ch

Session 1: Data Modelling (people and books)

In session 1 we get to know the central functions of Nodegoat (NG). Since NG is managed via the web browser, no additional software needs to be installed on the computer and location-independent working is no problem. With NG, research projects can be created, research data managed, analyzed, visualized, published on the Internet and shared with other researchers without any special programming skills. We will create our first data model, which we will fill with data in the next sessions. As we will see, NG is not a rigid ”boutique solution” that only fits a specific question or data model. Students and researchers can use NG to create custom data models based on their specific questions.

Session 2: Importing Data (including a VIAF id for each person)

In Session 2, we will import our first data sample and an identifier (VIAF) for each person. So we will work with a prosopographically oriented data model, but we can easily extend it for other research questions.

Session 3: Ingesting Biographical Data (like other IDs, or birth/death)

In session 3, we will learn about the principles of “Dynamic Data Ingestion”. There are numerous data sources on the Internet, whether for research or for the interested public. What types of data sources are there? And what about data quality? We will first explore these questions before connecting our Nodegoat environment to a typical data source via an interface (API) and importing the first test data. These data can be further identifiers of persons or also information about the life data.

Session 4: Ingesting Related Data (like published books of people)

In Session 4, we will enrich the data on the persons and check what other data is available on the Internet. For example, publications that we can add and, if we have full texts, additionally analyze in nodegoat. Finally, we will also look at the data harmonization capabilities in nodegoat.

Data Ingestion Episode II – The Empire strikes back, but not for long

The second test phase of the SNSF SPARK project (Episode 2) on Dynamic Data Ingestion (DDI) and server-side data harmonisation has been completed. Data from as many different data sources as possible were collected and stored centrally on the DDI server according to the spider principle, resulting in a new meta-database.

Fig. 1: One example of a data collection via DDI module , testphase 2: standardised biografical data and related publications.

However, the tests again drew our attention to two core problems of Linked Open Data (LOD) in research: The “empire strikes back” against LOD on a technical and content level, which are interdependent. On the technical level, the most important prerequisite for data exchange is missing, namely a kind of “industry standard” for a uniform query language and a standardised output format as well as a standardised structure of the data published via Application Programming Interface (API). Many data projects have individually designed APIs and project-specific data structures that do not comply with international standards and/or there is a lack of adequate documentation of the data output. At the content level of LOD, we are faced with challenges due to the heterogeneity of research data, especially in the humanities, which inevitably leads to inconsistent database structures and makes data exchange more difficult. Despite numerous international initiatives in recent years, no research project has yet been able to gain significant or groundbreaking scientific knowledge through Linked Open Data, especially not in the Digital Humanities. In addition to the technical and content-related obstacles, the ‘Empire’ has been quite successful in blocking communication between humanities scholars and software developers. Any researcher who has participated in relevant conferences of the humanities knows about the long discussions on possibilities and potential of linking databases in the field of Digital Humanities. In the end, it all comes down to good ideas and declarations of intent – without having linked a single data set. At the other extreme are initiatives that store large amounts of LOD data in a meta-database and reflect on whether this data represents information or already knowledge. This is an important question as LOD has been praised in the scientific community of the so-called ‘Semantic Web’ as pointing the way to the future of an ‘Internet of Knowledge’, an Internet from which users can retrieve data in a structured and standardised way and transform it into information and knowledge. But we have not yet reached that point. One important project that pursues these goals is Wikidata, a sister project of Wikipedia. Wikidata offers open, international standards for the storage, sharing and exchange of data. In order to exchange and harmonise data, projects would therefore have to store and document their data on Wikidata. This means efforts that not every project can or wants to make. Thus the situation in the Digital Humanities is still more or less the same when it comes to exchanging LOD: on the one side is the humanities spirit that floats on clouds with brilliant ideas for linking data, and on the other side is the analytical developer who collects highly complex data with a down-to-earth approach. The experience from many conferences shows that communication between cloud and earth has hardly been possible so far. Both sides send out signals that are usually misunderstood by the other side – people speak in a different language and do not understand each other, even if they mean the same thing. But how can we bring both worlds together and install a translation board (Rosetta’s stone) between cloud and earth? One such board is the DDI module developed as part of the SNSF SPARK project. In this module a graphical interface facilitates communication between humanities scholars and developers.

Fig. 2 Definition of the Linked Data Resource, in this example the API of swissbib (catalog and data hub of Swiss libraries, which will soon be replaced by a new version)

In the interface of the DDI module, the Linked Data Resource can be defined and queried for a sample data output, which can then be used to assign the data fields of the Linked Data Resource (e.g. data from another research project, from a library or an archive) to one’s own researcher database, which thus becomes a meta-database consisting of data from various data sources.

Fig. 3 Running a test query on swissbib API resources

The advantage of a graphical interface for data ingestion lies in the visual communication: researchers and developers (or researchers experienced in IT) jointly define the interface (API) and immediately see the result, the data output, in the test query. With the test query, it is visible to all participants which database fields and contents are actually present in the data source. Researchers and developers can then use the data of the test query as a template for mapping the database fields of the data source to the new meta-database. This type of visual communication leads to fewer misunderstandings, as we have already seen in test series in the context of the SNF project SPARK.

Fig4. Mapping source (right) and target database fields (left)

The test query also shows whether the data is compatible with your own question or whether it is meaningful – and to what extent these data structures must be compared with those of other data sources in order to obtain significant, scientific results. This brings us to the crucial point: collecting data is one thing, but harmonising data (structured and unstructured) from various data sources in order to be able to evaluate them is the last, but often too big hurdle, especially in the humanities. Therefore a translation tool for harmonising the data had to be integrated in the SPARK project: after the data has been collected by the DDI module, the reconciliation module for data harmonising is used. The module has an algorithmic pattern matching (named entity matching) function that identifies predefined terms or categories (in the sense of a controlled vocabulary) in the data, makes suggestions for assignments or can automatically store the matched terms in the database. This also means that one can see all relations of a term to the texts in which it was found. This matching of vocabularies (or: keyword spotting) has great potential not only for data harmonisation but also for the structuring and analysis of heterogeneous data in general, including for example texts available as OCR (Optical Character Recognition), generated by specialized OCR software like Transkribus. Not only researchers, but also libraries and archives will be able to use these functions to make their (handwritten) texts more accessible to the public, for example in the form of data visualisations such as the following example of publication locations.

Fig. 6 Publication locations of books, published in 1540, from the swissbib API resource found with pattern matching (reconciliation) in text strings

The results (locations) are automatically linked to geo-references, allowing a map of the publication locations to be created immediately after the reconciliation process, in this example with a historical background map (Mercator 1607). In addition to publication locations, authors or specific contents of publications can be found and linked by means of pattern matching, this is just one example, of course, the process of data ingestion and data reconciliation is not limited to certain data types. In the third and final phase of the SPARK project (Episode 3), different scenarios for data harmonisation will be run through to examine to what extent data harmonisation can lead to new research questions, especially in terms of a heuristic approach.

Thomas Schöpf (1520-1577) als Wissensträger im Kreise der Gelehrten seiner Zeit

Im Jubiläumsbeitrag zum 500. Geburtstag von Thomas Schöpf (1520-1577), Berner Stadtarzt und Namensgeber der ‘Schöpfkarte’, wird die These aufgestellt, Schöpf habe für die Herstellung der Karte lediglich seinen Namen gegeben und die Rolle eines ‘Strohmanns’ übernommen. Der folgende Beitrag widerspricht dieser Ansicht in aller Deutlichkeit:

Kaspar Gubler: Thomas Schöpf (1520–1577) im Kreise der Gelehrten seiner Zeit. Zugänge einer wissensbasierten Prosopographie, in: Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins, Bd. 170, 2022, S. 221-250.

Download PDF:

Gubler, Thomas Schöpf.PDF

Universitas Dolana: University of Law and Transit in the Land of the Legists (1498-1601)

Philip the Good receives a book. Representation in a magnificent manuscript made for him in 1447/1450. Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 2549, fol. 6r (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Romance_of_Girart_de_Roussillon,_Vienna,_Cod._2549,_fol._6r.jpg)

By Kaspar Gubler

Translated version of the article published in the RAG series: Gubler, Kaspar: Universitas Dolana: Juristen- und Transituniversität im Land der Legisten, in: Gubler, Kaspar / Schwinges, Rainer C.: Gelehrte Lebenswelten im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert (Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG). Forschungen, 2), Zürich 2018, 107-128.

Compared with the highly frequented European universities, the University of Dôle, founded in 1423, seems rather modest. In quantitative terms, it stands behind the large and well-known universities of the old Empire (HRE) as well as the French universities and was exposed to increasingly strong regional competition in the Upper Rhine university landscape in the course of the 15th century through the founding of the universities in Freiburg im Breisgau (1457), Basel (1460), Tübingen and Mainz (1477). Nevertheless, the University of Dôle was able to assert itself and during this period it distinguished itself as a university of law, a reputation that the university was to maintain until it was relocated to the neighbouring town of Besançon in 1691. In the sixteenth century, when it reached its peak, its slow decline began at the same time, not because of the attraction of other universities, but rather because of internal reform difficulties and, in particular, the denominationalisation of education. The rising Jesuits with their educational reforms, on the initiative of the city of Dôle, established a college with a grammar school there in 1582, which was, however, institutionally separate from the university. In the long run, these institutions weakened the university, and in the 17th and 18th centuries, leading families of Franche-Comté also visited the educational institutions of the Jesuits1.

When the first Burgundian university was founded in Dôle in 1423, the focus was on practical considerations. The context is illuminated by a letter that the founder, Duke Philip the Good (1396-1467), addressed to his confidant Robert de Baubigny2. Baubigny was abbot of Saint Paul in Besançon and vicar general of the of the same diocese. The Duke had sent him to Rome in 1420, together with one of his other councillors, the archdeacon of Langres Jehan Jobert (Jean Robert), to obtain the founding bull and privileges for the university, and a little later accepted Baubigny into his circle of advisors. Baubigny was Doctor of Canon Law and had taught at the University of Paris before entering the service of the Duke3. His profile thus matched the Duke’s staff, since the majority of his councilors, aster of requets and secretaries had a university law education4. It was also Baubigny who, together with Jehan Jobert, the Duke’s chancellor, Nicolas Rolin, finally delivered the papal bulls for the foundation of the university5.
In the aforementioned letter, the Duke lists the central arguments for the necessity of founding the university. At the beginning, he refers in general terms to the advantages for the administration and the prestige which arise from the studies in canon and civil law and other studies with corresponding degrees, comparable to the studies in the cities of Orleans, Bologna, Toulouse, Montpellier and others. The Church, the Duke continued, is also defended and protected by the application of ‘justes droiz’. The cities mentioned above, with their centres of legal doctrine, are mentioned by the Duke deliberately in order to prepare the main argument: the difficult accessibility of these universities due to war and discord, which had been going on for twelve years. This undoubtedly refers to the civil war of the Armagnacs and Bourguignons (1410-1419) and the second phase of the Hundred Years’ War (1415-1435). During the civil war, the dreaded brutal gangs of mercenaries of the Armagnacs made the Burgundian region insecure. After the settlement of the conflict by the Treaty of Arras in 1435, the gangs of ecorcheurs, who plundered on their own account, became a plague on the countryside6.
The Duke goes on to say that due to the warlike conflicts, parents would not have dared to send their children to the above-mentioned university towns to study, as one could not be safe from enemy and adversary, which was therefore not a pretended argument, but had a real background. For this reason, the children would have had to be given minor education and activities. The consequence was that in a short time no “jurist ne clerc souffisant” would be available in the Burgundian countryside, to the great detriment of the “bien publique”.7 The same argument of the lack of travel safety due to warlike conflicts was used by Philip the Good in 1437 to obtain the establishment of a theological faculty for Dôle in Rome8. Against this background, the choice of location for the university, centrally located between the free County and the Duchy of Burgundy, is only logical. Here the Duke was able to create and establish a new, easily accessible educational area. For this purpose, teachers were sought and various cities were contacted, which were thereby informed of the foundation at the same time, also in the hope of attracting students. The addressees were Frribourg, Bern, Lausanne, Constance, Basel, Utrecht, Trier, Strasbourg, Metz, Nancy, Toul, Heidelberg, Cologne and Worms9.
On 22 June 1423, the university was established in Dôle, capital of the Free County of Burgundy and seat of the Parliament of Franche-Comté. Chancellor Nicolas Rolin, the right hand of Philip the Good when the university was founded, immediately requested copies of the privileges and statutes of the universities of Avignon and Montpellier to serve as a model, and suitable buildings for teaching were sought. The faculties of law (ecclesiastical and secular), theology, medicine and art were established. Teaching began in November 1423, probably also at the theological faculty, which did not yet have the right to award doctorates10.

While the university flourished under Philip the Good, troubled times set in after his death in 1467. At first, the university was financially worse off under Charles the Bold, but after his death in 1477 in the battle for his inheritance, in which Dôle was destroyed, the university came to a standstill from 1479-1484. After the reopening by Charles VIII, who had held on to Dôle despite possible alternatives, the Free County of Burgundy passed to the Habsburg Empire in 1493. The university was now an university of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) in the French cultural area, surrounded by a variety of cultural and sovereign territories such as the Duchy of Burgundy, Savoy, the Old Swiss Confederation and the Upper Rhine imperial landscape.
Research at the University of Dôle has mainly focused on specific points, and has also attributed regional importance to the educational areas of Burgundy and the Upper Rhine in the European university landscape11 . A matrix edition, which would be a prerequisite for an in-depth analysis of the university and its effects, is missing. For the period 1498-1601, university registers (with some gaps), rectors’ annals and other university sources have been handed down in sufficient density for a corresponding evaluation12 . Dôle’s location in the midst of diverse cultural and knowledge spaces opens up perspectives for research. If one views the university, city and region as a knowledge space, questions arise as to the forms and processes of inter- and transcultural debate, interdependence and convergence. In a broader perspective, the effects and radiations of the processes not only for the regional, but also for the European area are to be examined, especially with regard to scholar mobility and knowledge circulation by means of the method of an extended prosopography, which observes and describes persons and their intellectual legacies (texts).
Surrounded by the very different dominations and cultural areas, the University of Dôle, in its original as well as superordinate function, formed the south-eastern pillar of academic education in the vast Burgundian Empire from the Jura mountains to the North Sea. The University of Leuven, which had been founded only a little after Dôle in 1425, formed the north-western pillar. The founding of both universities thus appears to be the establishment of a political bracket for education and power. Accordingly, the founding of the University of Dôle must be embedded in the context of the ruling and administrative powers in order to be able to assess its functions in their entirety. This makes it clear that the University of Dôle was a central component of Burgundian politics of rule in the course of a fundamental reorganisation of the administration by Philip the Good and his chancellor Nicolas Rolin, the driving force behind this undertaking. This reorganization was triggered by the lack of a central power in the Burgundian Empire and the need to reform the legal system13 . Philip the Good attempted to remedy these deficiencies by centralizing and professionalizing the administration while at the same time pushing back the old nobility. The founding of the regional University in Dôle was decisive for the implementation of these plans. It provided the trained staff, the legistes, the civil servants’ nobility for the administration, which could displace the old nobility in the filling of offices – as in the case of the newly created central authority of the Grand Conseil, the highest authority of the Burgundian administration in governmental, judicial and financial matters. The Grand Conseil was originally made up of high nobility, jurists and senior members of the financial administration, with Chancellor Rolin increasing the proportion of legistes at the expense of the nobility. The Grand Conseil was headed by Philip the Good and, in his absence, which was likely to have happened frequently, by its chancellor Nicolas Rolin, who was thus given the opportunity to shape its politics. The preference of the legists was not limited to the highest level, but was effective throughout all administrative levels. All in all, the nobility of civil servants could thus be integrated into the administration in the long term. Chancellor Rolin reorganised above all the Burgundian judicial and financial administration, using the administration in Dijon as a model. Later, with only a few changes, Rolin installed the newly created administrative structure in the Netherlands as well. As early as the day he was appointed chancellor, on 3 December 1422, Rolin summoned tax collectors and treasurers from Burgundy with the aim of creating order and centralising the financial administration. He consistently collected long outstanding as well as smaller debts which citizens had with the dukes. Characteristic of his sense of order and his initiative is the later compilation of the administrative documents in a thick volume (1448). The founding of the university and its orientation as a university of law must therefore be seen in the context of a major administrative reform. In the course of this reform, the county parliament was also firmly established in Dôle14 . The university now formed the reservoir of trained personnel, be it for secular or ecclesiastical administrative units of the Burgundian state or for the university itself, a cooperation between administration and university, as other sovereigns who founded a university were striving for15 . The proximity of the university, administration and parliament as well as the central accessibility of the university, situated between the Duchy and the Free County of Burgundy and adjacent areas, make the university location Dôle appear ideal. However, power-political considerations also played a role. Philip the Good was able to exercise greater control over the University in Dôle than in other, more powerful cities in the region such as Besançon or Dijon, where the influence of the church was also greater and where economic life was more hectic. Dôle was comparatively a quiet town in this respect, which could only be conducive to studies16.
The University of Dôle opened up a new labour market for social climbers, just as Nicolas Rolin was one. As well as for small nobles and the aristocracy from Franche-Comté, which was the intention of the founder17. The establishment of this new education and labour market was certainly favoured by the lack of competition from universities in the neighbouring area. Last but not least, the crisis of the University of Paris from 1418-1425 may also have favoured the founding project, as Parisian students at that time approached the Duke of Burgundy and the Pope with a request to be allowed to continue their studies outside of Paris18. This crisis came in handy for Philip the Good to strengthen Burgundy’s educational and ruling powers by founding the University of Dôle and supporting the creation of the University of Leuven. Ten years after its foundation, the University of Dôle was already perceived as an established force in the training of jurists, as demonstrated by the sharp intervention of the University of Paris in 1433 against the founding of a University in Caen. The University of Paris attempted to prevent the establishment of a faculty of secular law (droit civil) in Caen and argued that there were already enough law schools in Leuven, Dôle and elsewhere “pour fournir ce royaume de legistes & juristes”.19

Dôle was conceived from the outset as a university of law, a university initiated by jurists for jurists , like Nicolas Rolin was, and by Philip the Good as an exceptionally educated prince with an interest in Roman law and its communication, historical content and literature. Philip the Good constantly expanded his library, collected manuscripts in large numbers and promoted the printing of books20 . He sought direct contact with the university and teaching, and endeavoured to keep the quality of teaching high21. He had Italian professors come to Dôle to teach Roman law. One of them was Anselmus de Marenches, coming from a noble family, who had taught Roman law at the University of Turin. He became professor at Dôle in 1452 and remained in office until his death in 149222. Marenches was one of not a few professors who had taught at Dôle and who were also conseillers of Philippp the Good, although the Duke apparently based their selection more on expertise than origin, because these professorial councils came from Italy as well as from the Burgundian area or even from the northern regions of the Burgundian Empire, like the Flemish Jean de Maldeghem, from an old noble family of Flanders. In 1429 he was rector in Dôle and in 1432 professor in the droit civil. Quite a few of the professors of law were also active in the parliament of Dôle, thus fulfilling the mode of operation intended with the foundation, the interlocking of university and administration with the corresponding circulation of knowledge23 . The professors were also able to improve their income by working in the parliament, just as professors in Orléans did, where a seat in parliament was far better compensated than the professorship itself24 .

Philip the Good therefore always surrounded himself with a learned staff of advisors and it is no coincidence that he was assisted in the founding of the University of Dôle by a jurist who was extremely well versed in both technical and diplomatic matters, his chancellor of Burgundian origin Nicolas Rolin (1376-1462). Rolin had already served under Philip’s father, John the Fearless. Nicolas Rolin, licentiate in law and baccalaureate in canon law, probably studied in Avignon with his brother Jean and completed his studies around 140125 . In 1408, Rolin was already in high esteem as a advocate in the parliament in Paris, the royal court, and also worked for the University of Paris26. In 1420, he appears as their advocate in the Parisian parliament27. He was able to contribute his experience from practical, legal work to the founding of the University of Dôle. As an advocate, he was aware of the influence of jurists in the civil service. Due to his Burgundian origins, from Autun, which is about 100 kilometres away from Dôle, he was familiar with the geopolitical orders and power constellations of the region. For his efforts to strengthen Burgundian independence, the founding of a regional university could only be logical. Rolin had certainly exercised his influence in the choice of location. He knew the conditions in Dôle very well. In 1413, still in service at the court of John the Fearless, he appears as conseiller in the parliament of Dôle28 . In 1422 the parliament was permanently installed in Dôle, in 1423 the university started its operations and with it a structure was created that was familiar to Rolin of Paris as a jurist. Nicolas Rolin also certainly exerted his influence on the founding efforts for the University of Leuven; in any case, he often stayed in the region at the time because of the Dutch policy of Duke Philip the Good29 . In contrast to Dôle, however, the influence of the city of Leuven the foundation was much greater30 . In Rome, Anselm Fabri of Breda (1379-1449), a confidant of Philip the Good, also lobbied for the foundation of the University of Leuven. Fabri studied in Bologna in 1412 and was awarded a doctorate in Canon Law in 1415. Fabri had previously worked on the foundation bull of the University of Rostock and was now able to successfully apply his experience to Leuven. He was invited to the opening of the university as guest of honour of the city. Anselm Fabri was also in the service of the Dukes of Brabant as well as Philip the Good, and he is referred to as his advisor in various letters of Philip the Good, as is the Parisian scholar Robert Auclou, the Duke’s ordinary representative at the Curia and his envoy at the Council of Basel31. Philip the Good later instructed the two scholars to support his envoy, the licentiate of rights Jean Ostius, in Rome in order to achieve the establishment of the theological faculty in Leuven in 1432, which finally succeeded after years of unsuccessful attempts. At the same time, the studium generale in Leuven was elevated to university status32 . As in Dôle, in Leuven, the creation of a university, the centralisation of administration and the promotion of legists and Roman law were all coordinated. The two universities appear as comparable building blocks in a major Burgundian project to consolidate and centralise the rule. From 1430 Philip the Good was able to strengthen his influence, as from this time he was sovereign of both universities through the inheritance of the Duchy of Brabant from his uncle John of Burgundy. According to Waelkens, he based the principle of his rule on Roman law, on its mediation and application by the legists. Roman law was the means of rule and power according to the principle ‘gouverner par la jurisprudence’. Roman law, for example, created the possibility of an appeal at the level of princes in order to circumvent traditional local courts and to weaken the local authorities accordingly33.

A famous university of law

The founding of the University of Dôle was a success story from the very beginning. Dôle was able to establish itself within a short time as a university of law and soon became very well known. Over the centuries it attracted many scholars from all over Europe, including a dazzling scholar such as Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, who had taught at Dôle34 .
Only the Faculty of Law gained fame in Dôle, especially in the 16th century and especially through the teaching of Roman law. Dôle is then described in the literature as a “radiant point of Roman law” or also as the “gateway to Europe” for the dissemination of Roman law and Franche-Comté as the region from where “Roman law conquered Europe “35. The ways and effects of these legal innovations would have to be investigated in greater depth.
Contemporaries reported on the high standing of the university and legal doctrine. According to the physician Gervasius Marstaller (1520-1578), only the study of law actually flourished in 154736. When Lucas Geizkofler (1550-1620) stayed at the university in 1574, it still had a good reputation37 . Around 1600 Thomas Platter the Younger (1574-1628), who had travelled from Paris to Dôle, wrote in his travel diary that Dôle was famous far and wide for its legal doctrine and was visited by many foreigners and Germans. The Protestant Platter also noted a religious zeal as the basis of a sharp Spanish Inquisition, through which, according to Platter, even at that time many Protestants were still being burned in Dôle. Platter compared the conditions with the Netherlands and doubted that the same severity of treatment in religious matters would be applied there38.

In the land of the Legistes

The foundation of the University of Dôle had fallen on fertile ground. The concept of a university of law in a sparsely populated area created a new space of knowledge, gave it its imprint, an identity, filled it with new legal doctrines, beliefs, ideas, texts and scholars. Franche-Comté became the <Land of Legist>. The legist, according to Walther, was looking for “money, honour, influence on business”, he is in competition with the nobility and therefore supports efforts of his prince to centralize the rule39. This corresponds to the profile of the chancellor Nicolas Rolin, who was able to prepare the ground with the founding of the university for legists of his type, his geographical and civil origins, for social climbers who wanted to make a career, which they often succeeded in an impressive way. Compared to its comparatively modest size, the University of Dôle produced a considerable number of scholars who reached top positions. The Burgundian scholars were particularly successful, especially scholars from Franche-Comté, and the Burgundian networks of scholars obviously functioned very effectively. Besides Nicolas Rolin, the chancellors of Charles the Bold (1433-1477) and Philip the Fair (1478-1506) were Burgundians, as were the important secretaries of Margaret of Austria (1480-1530), governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. Strongly represented were the Burgundian councillors at the court of Charles V (1500-1558), who came from the “insignificant landscape” of Franche-Comté, a landscape which gave rise to some important families of jurists such as the Carondelet40 . The location of Franche-Comté, at the heart of the French, German, Swiss and Italian cultural areas, as well as the Italian influence on the university, gave Franche-Comté an “international character” which was conducive to the cosmopolitanism of students and scholars and could broaden their career horizons41 .

Dôle as a hub for career paths

The diversity of career paths of students and scholars who attended Dôle University would first have to be thoroughly quantified by a systematic evaluation of the matriculation records. This would also make the transit routes of the scholars who crossed at Dôle more clearly visible and, in parallel, would shed light on the scholarly transfer of knowledge to and from Dôle. The latter could be achieved above all by an investigation into the activities of the scholars in secular and church institutions as well as their personal connections. These partly very dense scholarly networks cannot be shown by far even for the following scholars among themselves, nor can their numerous career stages. For the time being, some career paths will therefore only be outlined, starting with scholars from Franche-Comté. Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle (1484-1550) began his career at the University of Dôle. He grew up not far from Besançon in simple bourgeois circumstances, enrolled in 1504, studied law and was awarded a doctorate in law there, later also ennobled42. Perrenot made his career at the court of Charles V and succeeded Grand Chancellor Gattinara43 in 1530, the jurist Jean Matal (c. 1517-1597), a representative of a humanistic jurisprudence, came from an established middle-class family from Franche-Comté. Matal, like his father Jean Matal the Elder, was devoted to the HRE and the emperor. His father had already served various regents of the Habsburg house, was ennobled, elevated to the rank of knight and accepted into the imperial familia44. Jean Matal the Younger began his studies at his home University Dôle, then attended the university in Freiburg im Breisgau and spent a longer period of study in Italy. His further path led him via the Netherlands to Cologne45. There he received a call to the University of Leuven for a professorship in Roman law, which he declined for various reasons. Matal belonged to the humanist circle of reform jurists. His willingness to reform and to shape things is reminiscent of other talented jurists from Franche-Comté, such as a Gilbert Cousin (1506-1572), jurist and theologian, secretary of Erasmus of Rotterdam, student friend of the aforementioned Jean Matal.

Although the jurists from Franche-Comté also made a career in the northern areas of the Burgundian dominion, they hardly studied at the University of Leuven but, like Jean Matal, went to Italy46 . So did students from the Netherlands and Belgium, who often stopped off in Dôle on their way to Italy. Like the jurist Willem Obrecht from Delft, who enrolled in Leuven in 1492, was rector in Dôle in 1505, then moved to Bologna to study and finally became secretary and clerk of the court of the 22nd in Liège47 . Also from Delft came the jurist Joost (or Josse) Sasbout, who was rector in Dôle in 151248. Sasbout was charged, among other things, with establishing courts in the new Dutch-Habsburg territories.49 Among scholars from the northern territories of the Burgundian Empire, however, it should be differentiated that learned councillors in the Brabant Council did not visit the University of Dôle throughout the year, which needs to be explained, but students from the southern Netherlands did, especially on their way to Italy50.
In the other direction, on the axis from Italy to the north, Dôle was not only a transit point, but could, through work in the Burgundian administration or at the university, become a springboard for further careers51. Raimondo de Marliano (c. 1410-1475), from an important Milanese family whose members were in the service of the Dukes of Milan, is an example of this, and who produced a number of scholars who had considerable careers, especially in Italy, but also, as an exception, abroad52 . Such as Raimondo Marliano, who made his career in the Burgundian domain, where he also settled and only returned to Italy for diplomatic matters. He had completed his university education in Italy. In 1436 Marliano was awarded a doctorate in both laws in Pavia, he entered the Milanese College of Law two years later and taught law at Dôle University in 1441. In 1443 he is mentioned in the Burgundian Parliament as Councillor of Philip the Good. It is obvious that the Duke had summoned him to the University of Dôle, it is also conceivable that the Dukes of Milan had at the same time recommended or even sent him to install him also as an intermediary between the duchies of Milan and Burgundy. Marliano stayed at Dôle for a long time and certainly contributed to its good reputation as a university of law with his teaching activities. In 1460, the city of Basel, with the support of Count Ulrich von Württemberg, wanted him to become professor at the newly founded university, but Marliano’s salary expectations obviously exceeded the expectations of the Basel Council53 . Only a short time later the call came from Leuven, probably not by chance, as Marlianos market value had risen due to the foundation of the University of Basel, which was specifically looking for Italian professors, and also due to the foundation of the University of Freiburg im Breisgau. Marliano, however, decided in favour of Leuven, the decisive factor probably being not only the significantly higher salary than in Basel but also the fact that he remained under the Burgundian rule with the advantages of his excellent political network54 .

Marliano had taught canon law in Leuven since 1461, as he had done previously in Dôle55 . In Leuven, Marliano continued to grow in prestige and became a sought-after legal expert, a ‘star jurist’56 . Marliano was also canon in Liège and Besançon and counsellor to Philip the Good and Charles the Bold, who entrusted him with diplomatic duties. In this context, Marliano appears as a link between the Dukes of Burgundy and Milan, for whom Marliano worked in parallel, allowing his excellent network to play a role, as he did in a meeting with Cardinal Jean Rolin, son of the Chancellor Nicolas Rolin, in Milan in 1452. Rolin told Marliano about a contract of Philip the Good, who passed the information on to the Duke of Milan. It is no coincidence that the function of advisor to two sides was held by a later member of the family, the physician and councillor Luigi de Marliano during the Habsburg-Burgundian period57 . Friendly relations and exchanges between Milan and Burgundy are also evident in Raimondo’s appointment to the University of Leuven. Francesco Sforza, in a letter to Philip the Good and his advisor Jean de Croy, from the French-Burgundian noble family of the Croy, described the appointment as a tribute to Marliano and he paid tribute to his services58 . The special feature of the source tradition of Marlianos is his will, which sheds light on the knowledge gained from the connection between persons and their written knowledge, as it is only his will that sheds light on the life of this scholar, enriching it with remarkable observations on the stages of his life, including an extensive study foundation for poorer students and the establishment of the Collegoium Marlianorum in Pavia for eleven students. The city and university in Leuven, such as Dôle, were also considered and authorised in the will to select students who were favoured by the foundation59 . Jean Carondelet, one of the executors of the will and chancellor of Maximilian, came from the aforementioned family of jurists from Dôle, where he had also completed his legal studies60 .

In contrast to the Burgundians, French students did not choose Dôle as their first choice for a visit to an Imperial University, given the density of universities in their own country. They went primarily to Leuven or Cologne61 . In the other direction, for students from the HRE, Dôle was more attractive. A census of genealogical records of German students at Italian and French universities in the 16th century contains the most entries for Dôle at French universities, even before Paris and Orleans62 . Dôle was an important transit point on the way to Italy or France, especially for aristocrats from the HRE, whereby such educational trips were limited to the nobility or socially higher ranking students and accordingly represented an exception with regard to student mobility63 . The much frequented aristocratic route via Dôle to France had at least found its way into the aristocratic mirror of Cyriacus Spangenberg (1528-1604), the important reference work of the early modern period on the exemplary aristocratic way of life. Spangenberg’s authoritative legal studies path is illustrated by the example of Georg von Crailsheim, who became interested in studying law, whereupon friends recommended him to the University of Ingolstadt, which at the time had the best reputation in the Empire for studying law. Crailsheim thus enrolled in Ingolstadt in 154464. After some studies in Ingolstadt, Spangenberg continued, he had visited the universities of Dôle, Orléans and Paris, learned the French language and had a command of it as good as that of German65.

The French cultural area had an attraction for the nobility, and Dôle offered a good opportunity to enter a foreign cultural area in the protected domain of the Empire and to become familiar with it. An ideal example of this is the multi-talented jurist Johann Wolff (1537-1600) from Bergzabern66 . His education began with attendance at the grammar school in Strasbourg. Wolff then studied at the Universities of Wittenberg and Tübingen and finally turned to legal studies in France at the Universities of Bourges, Angers and Dôle. He then travelled through France and Burgundy and acquired a profound knowledge of French. Back in the Empire, the Dukes of Pomerania-Stettin, the brothers Ernst Ludwig (1545-1592) and Barnim (1549-1603), became aware of him, not least because of his very good knowledge of the French language. The brothers had previously studied together in Wittenberg. In 1563 Ernst Ludwig held the office of honorary rector of the university and in the following year it was the turn of Barnim67. The Protestant dukes now chose Dôle as a further place of study, which is an example of the interdenominational openness that was cultivated at this Catholic university. Johann Wolff accompanied the Dukes to Dôle, where he was awarded his doctorate in law on 29 January 1568. The costs of the doctorate were borne by the Dukes. After his stay in Dôle, Wolff began a legal career at the Reichskammergericht in Speyer, where he became an associate judge (Beisitzer) after two years. Wolff also worked as a translator and historian and was in demand in diplomatic missions. One such mission took him to France because of his knowledge of the language and the country. Wolff accompanied the Protestant Count Palatine Wolfgang von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1526-1569) to France in a campaign to support the Huguenots, during which the Count Palatine fell ill and died, but was not repatriated. Two years after his death, Wolff was commissioned to carry out the covert return transport of the body from France. Since the land route had proved too dangerous, Wolff had to choose the sea route and, despite the danger of piracy, he brought the body back safely68.
The acquisition of language was of great importance in Dôle, in addition to legal training for students from the Empire, not only for nobles69 . However, since many German speakers attended the University in Dôle, this could hinder the learning effect. Count Eberhard von Erbach (1511-1564), who was in Dôle in 1528 to learn French70 , complained that there was “a lot of German business” in Dôle. Other students were more interested in the French daughters than in their language lessons71 . Language skills were of the utmost importance in the scholarly world, especially for a career in diplomatic services; in the course of the 15th century they became increasingly indispensable. Johann von Lannoy (1410-1493), a West Flemish nobleman, worked for the Burgundian dukes in the 15th century, including Philip the Good, who appointed him governor of Holland and Zeeland in 1448. Lannoy, as the Duke’s adviser, regretted not having learned more languages and therefore wrote to his son Louis advising him to attend Latin schools in Leuven, Cologne or Paris together with a German-speaking priest in order to learn the language. At the beginning of the 16th century, Emperor Maximilian I supported students who were learning languages in Paris or Leuven. In his chancellery, Johannes Collauer, a doctor of both laws, was responsible for Latin and French correspondence72 . The famous legist from Savoy, Mercurino Arborio di Gattinara (1465-1530), Grand Chancellor at the court of Charles V since 1518, was in demand because of his broad knowledge of languages73 . In addition to language acquisition, it was above all important for the nobles of the Empire to familiarize themselves with the French cultural area. Rides in the Dôle area, as undertaken by the Counts of Castell, provided an initial overview. In addition, Konrad von Castell (1519-1577) had city pipers in Dôle teach him the Welsh dance, as can be seen from his account book74 . It was also possible to gain insights into the local legal system. Lucas Geizkofler was allowed to follow a criminal trial in the parliament in Dôle and maintained a legal exchange with the well-known professor of law and Viglius von Zwichem (1507-1577)75 who was elected rector in Dôle in 1574. Dôle remained an important reference point for the education of the nobility in the 17th century. According to the instructions of the guardian of Count Ferdinand Bonaventura von Harrach (1637-1706), he was to take up the study of law and complete it with a doctorate. He was to learn languages, French and welsche, spoken and written, and practice riding, fencing, dancing and vaulting, without having to abandon his studies. The count then studied at Dôle, as other Austrian nobles did. In Brussels he also received instruction from a “renowned legal teacher” and was “intensively” trained in Roman law, primarily in the institutions, during his travels76 . The lessons brought the desired success. Von Harrach reached various management positions, worked in diplomatic services and became advisor to Emperor Leopold I. (1640-1705).

Cultural reach of the University of Dôle – first allocations

The cultural reach of the University of Dôle can only be outlined for the time being. In addition to the analysis of career paths, the texts of the scholars who studied and taught at Dôle should be included in particular, in order to assess the charisma of this university in terms of the circulation of scholarly knowledge in a European perspective which is of particular interest because of the location of this institution in the transcultural space with its resulting interdependencies. The University of Dôle was a “université de passage”77 and can also be seen as a “université de qualité” in terms of the Faculty of Law. Both aspects would have to be examined from a transcultural as well as a knowledge-historical perspective, also in order to better assess the effects and impact that a smaller university could have. Only exceptionally, more than 100 students visited the University of Dôle in one year. For the 15th century, only about 70 students are known due to missing matriculates, in the 16th century, with the introduction of the matriculate in 1498, the annual average might have been about 7078. The University of Leuven, situated in a much more densely populated area, attracted over 500 students a year at peak times in the 15th century79 . Compared with such high figures, however, the numerous top and executive positions held by scholars who had attended Dôle University are impressive, particularly by the group of scholars from Franche-Comté.
The Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG)80 gives a first impression of the cultural reach from a German perspective. The University of Dôle is the only university within the Empire that the RAG has not yet completely recorded. It is therefore comparable with universities outside the Empire, whose German university visitors were generally only included in the database if they had attended a German university in addition to their studies abroad. The systematic registration of German university visitors at universities outside the Empire by the RAG is therefore still pending. It will also open up new perspectives with regard to the circulation of knowledge in the European scholarly area. Thus, at best, initial allocations can be made for Dôle to the cultural functions and ranges of the university. 45 scholars have so far been recorded in accordance with the RAG definition for data collection with reference to Dôle University. Prerequisite for the recording of a scholar are Master’s degree or studies at a higher faculty (law, theology, medicine) or noble origin, whereby a scholar must have attended at least one German university in the period 1250-1550. The data on scholars with a visit to Dôle University range from 1440 to 1590, rising sharply towards the end of the 15th century and being clearly distributed over the 16th century. 34 of these scholars were, as one might expect, jurists, only three each were theologians or physicians, the remaining artists. A good third of the scholars (17) were of noble origin. As far as the geographical origin of the students is concerned, the RAG hardly covers the city and region of Dôle, as can be expected on the basis of the criteria for recording. In the 15th century, however, quite a few of the demonstrable students came from this area, which is to be expected, since most of the students came from the immediate vicinity of a university, which will also be confirmed for Dôle in the 16th and 17th century, as a cursory review of the register already showed81. The places of origin of the students recorded in the RAG thus represent students who had attended at least one university of the Empire before or after their stay in Dôle.

Fig. 1 Geographical origin (green) of the scholars in the RAG with a study-stay in Dôle (blue)

The geographical origin of the scholars (Fig. 1) clearly shows the densification of the area of origin in the southwest of the Empire and few in the Burgundian and Savoyan area as in the Netherlands. As mentioned above, the data can be clearly narrowed down, because they first increased around the turn of the 15th century, but then continuously, which confirms the increasing attractiveness of studying at Dôle for students from the Empire in the 16th century.
From the southwest of the Empire came the nobles as well as the social climbers of middle-class origin, who made careers as jurists. This also reflects the competitive situation between the old nobility and up-and-coming jurists of lesser social origin, as was deliberately created in Franche-Comté by the establishment of the university. The northernmost place of origin is Leuvaarden in the Netherlands, where one of the most famous scholars who had attended the University of Dôle, the aforementioned jurist Viglius van Zwichem (Aytta)82, came from. After his first legal studies at the University of Leuven, Viglius moved to Dôle, where he stayed from 1526 to 1529 and established contact with Anton Fugger (1493-1560). Viglius will later describe the study of law at Dôle as unsuitable for beginners83 . In March 1529 Viglius transferred to the University of Avignon and became a student of the famous jurist Andreas Alciatus84 . On 8 May 1529 Viglius was awarded a doctorate in both laws at the neighbouring university in Valence and in June 1529 he followed his teacher Alciatus to Bourges, where Viglius stayed for two years and temporarily represented Alciatus as Professor during this stay. Around 1531 he left Bourges and went via Orléans, Paris, Basel and Freiburg im Breisgau to Augsburg to stop over at the Fuggers. He then set off for Italy and taught Roman law in Padua in 1532. In 1534 Viglius returned to the University of Freiburg, where he met Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) and the jurist Ulrich Zasius (1461-1535), who had offered him his chair. However, Viglius renounced the generous offer in order to remain in practice85. In 1537 he enrolled at the University of Ingolstadt, where he became Dean of the Law Faculty and Professor of Law. He subsequently held several high offices and was appointed head of the Burgundy Library in 1559.

Fig. 2 shows the places of study of the scholars with a visit to the University of Dôle. In comparison with the limited areas of origin, the high mobility of the scholars is striking. The target universities in France and Italy as well as the transit routes to and from Italy, France and the Netherlands are clearly visible. These transit routes, from northeast to southwest as well as from east to west, were at the same time important trade routes with a lot of traffic, security and infrastructure, which simplified the travel of the students and, correspondingly, favoured the study stay outside the home territory. The example of a frequently used aristocratic route from the Empire via Dôle to Italy is again linked to Viglius.

Fig. 2 Study locations of scholars at the RAG with a study visit to Dôle

Under him studied 1527-1530 the teacher (preceptor) Lukas Landstrasser from Salzburg. Landstrasser received his doctorate in Dôle or later in Padua as a doctor of both rights. He enrolled at the University of Tübingen in 1521 and became the first teacher of Baron Wilhelm Truchsess von Waldburg (1518-1566). Landstrasser accompanied him and his brother Otto (1514-1573) to study in Tübingen, where Otto enrolled in 1524 and Wilhelm in 1526. From Tübingen the group went to Dôle, where they studied under Viglius from 1527 to 1530 and followed him to Padua in 1531 to continue their studies. In 1532 the group went on an educational journey to Venice, then to Pavia for studies, where Otto became rector of the university in 1535, as his father had been. In the same year Otto von Waldburg received his doctorate in law in Bologna, while Wilhelm’s last study reference in 1534 was the joint study of law in Pavia. Otto von Waldburg will have a spiritual career and will serve, among other things, as Bishop of Augsburg and Cardinal Bishop. In Dôle the later jurist Joachim Münsinger had joined the group. Münsinger first attended the Latin school in Stuttgart (1521-1527). He returned from Dôle to Stuttgart in 1531. His father then sent him, contrary to Münsinger’s intentions, to study in Padua. Münsinger joined the group again, but left it after the educational trip to Venice and returned to Stuttgart, enrolled at the University of Tübingen in 1533, moved to Freiburg im Breisgau, where he was awarded a doctorate in both laws in 1536 and subsequently taught at the institutions there. One of his students was the aforementioned Count Konrad von Castell, who was a temporary guest of Münsinger. Later Münsinger became dean of the law faculty in Freiburg as well as rector of the university. In 1548, the emperor appointed him an assessor at the Imperial Chamber Court for the Upper Rhine district.

Fig. 3 Place of activity (orange) of the scholars at the RAG with a study visit
in Dôle (blue)

The places of activity (Fig. 3) of the scholars with a study stay in Dôle show what can be expected, since many of them returned to their places of origin, as can be observed for other universities. Again, however, the links with Italy and the Netherlands can be seen, which would become more prominent if all students at Dôle were included. Looking at the universities of Basel, Freiburg im Breisgau and Ingolstadt in detail, there is evidence of an accumulation of activities, on the one hand through the aristocratic routes, especially to the Catholic aristocratic University of Ingolstadt, but on the other hand, in the case of Basel and Freiburg, they also point to the networks of scholars. A further focus is on ecclesiastical offices in the cathedral cities of Augsburg and Speyer, which points to the noble scholars, as well as the activities at the Reichskammergericht in Speyer. If all the students who had visited Dôle are included, it is to be expected that the places of activity west and northwest of the Empire in the Burgundian dominion will become more dense and that the transit routes from the Netherlands to Italy will become more prominent.
For the time being, these sketchy observations must remain. The position, functions, and effects of the University of Dôle in the European knowledge landscape will only be revealed through a comprehensive combined analysis of matriculates, careers, networks, and texts of scholars. According to Paravicini, Raimondo Marliano’s path in life can only be revealed through a “synopsis of North and South”, which is only made possible by the text of his will86. A study of the University of Dôle can contribute to both aspects. Dôle also expands the synopsis towards East and West and thus opens up a broad European perspective. With regard to the scholars with their networks and texts, it is to be seen as a kind of hub of the circulation of knowledge in the transcultural area with manifold effects and influences on the world of scholars and society, specifically also on the dissemination and reception of Roman law north of the Alps.

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1 Jacky Theurot, L’Université de Dôle, de sa fondation à son transfert à Besançon (1422-1691), in: Institutions et vie universitaire dans lГEurope dГhier et dГaujourdГhui (Cahiers dГétudes comtoises, 51), Besançon 1992, S. 25-44, hier: S. 35; Bruno Boute, Universitätsreform und Konfessionalisierungspolitik: das Beispiel der Habsburgischen Niederlanden und Burgund (Dole, Douai, Löwen) 1590-1620, in: Universität – Reform: Ein Spannungsverhältnis von langer Dauer (12.-21. Jahrhundert), hg. von Martin Kintzinger et al. (Veröffentlichungen der Gesellschaft für Universitäts- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Band 14), Basel 2018, S. 87-129, hier: S. 89 ff.; Anton Schindling, Die katholische Bildungsreform zwischen Humanismus und Barock. Dillingen, Dôle, Freiburg, Molsheim und Salzburg. Die Vorlande und die benachbarten Universitäten, in: Vorderösterreich in der frühen Neuzeit, hg. von Hans Maier und Volker Press, Sigmaringen 1989, S. 137-176, hier: S. 158-163. Die Jesuiten konnten sich im 16. Jahrhundert bereits in Flandern durchsetzen mit der Gründung der dritten burgundischen Universität nach Dôle und Löwen 1562 in Douai. Diese wurde (wie in Dôle später auch Kolleg und Gymnasium) von Spanien gefördert, allerdings bereits von den Jesuiten geführt, vgl. Matthias Asche, Peregrinatio academica in Europa im konfessionellen Zeitalter. Bestandesaufnahme eines unübersichtlichen Forschungsfeldes und Versuch einer Interpretation unter migrationsgeschichtlichen Aspekten, in: Jahrbuch für Europäische Geschichte 6, 2005, S. 3-33, hier: S. 24. 

2 Jules Gauthier, LГUniversité de Dôle au comté de Bourgogne, in: Annales FrancYComtoise 13, 1870, S. 453-465, hier: S. 458; Jacky Theurot, L’université de Dôle au service de Bourgogne. L’université, les gens de savoir et le prince (1423Ydébut XVIe siècle), in: Hommes dГÉglise et pouvoirs à lГépoque bourguignonne (XIVe-XVIe siècle) Publications du Centre européen dГétudes bourguignonnes, 38, 1998, S. 263-300, siehe Annexe. 

3 Denis de Sainte-Marthe, Gallia christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa; qua Series et Historia archiepiscorum, episcoporum et abbatum franciae vicinarumque ditionum ab origine Ecclesiarum ad nostra tempora deducitur, et probatur ex authenticis Instrumentis ad calcem appositits, Tomus quartus, Paris 1728, Sp. 762. 

4 Henri Beaune und Jules D’Arbaumont, Les Universités de Franche-Comté: Gray, Dôle, Besançon, Dijon 1870, p. XVIII; siehe zur Universitätsbildung der Räte Rainer Christoph Schwinges, Im Dienst. Gelehrte im Reich der deutschen Könige und Fürsten des späten Mittelalters, in: König, Reich und Fürsten im Mittelalter, FS Karl-Heinz Spieß, hg. von Oliver Auge, Stuttgart 2007, S. 421-440, hier: S. 427 f. 

5 Roman Berger, Nicolas Rolin. Kanzler der Zeitenwende im burgundisch-französischen Konflikt 1422-1461, Freiburg/ Schweiz 1971, S. 69 Anm. 128. 

6 Berger, Rolin (Anm. 5), S. 164. 

7 Der Herzog argumentierte folglich nicht damit, Eltern sollen ihre Kinder nicht nach ausserhalb zum Studium schicken, so wie es Mertens erwähnt. Sie konnten ihre Kinder nicht auswärts zum Studium schicken, so der Herzog, vgl. Dieter Mertens, Die oberrheinischen Universitäten zwischen Habsburg und Burgund, in: Zwischen Habsburg und Burgund. Der Oberrhein als europäische Landschaft im 15. Jahrhundert, hg. von Konrad Krimm und Rainer Brüning (Oberrheinische Studien 21), Ostfildern 2003, S. 275-287, hier: S. 280. 

8 Marcel Fournier, Les statuts et privilèges des Universités françaises depuis leur fondation jusqu en 1789, Tome III., Paris 1892, Nr. 1623 S. 125. 

9 Berger, Rolin (Anm. 5), S. 69 Anm. 128. 

10 Jacky Theurot, LГUniversité de Dôle, de sa fondation à son transfert à Besançon (1422-1691), dans Institutions et vie universitaire dans lГEurope dГhier et dГaujourdГhui (Cahiers dГétudes comtoises, 51), Besançon 1992, S. 25-44, hier: S. 33-34; Theurot, Service, (Anm. 1) S. 270; Mertens, Habsburg und Burgund (Anm. 7), S. 280; Marie-Thérèse Berthier und John-Thomas Sweeney, Le chancelier Rolin, 1376-1462: ambition, pouvoir et fortune en Bourgogne, PrécyYsousYThil, 1998, S. 81-82.

11 Mertens, Habsburg und Burgund (Anm. 7), S. 284. 

12 Bibliothèque municipale de Besançon, Ms 982-984 (1498-1616), Acta rectorum et matricula Universitatis Dolanae. Der Autor bereitet eine Matrikeledition (1498-1601) vor im Rahmen einer wissensgeschichtlichen Studie zur Univer- sität Dôle. 

13 Herta-Florence Pridat, Nicolas Rolin. 1376?-1462 Kanzler von Burgund im Schrifttum von fünf Jahrhunderten (Schriften zur Europäischen Rechts- und Verfassungsgeschichte, Bd. 13), Berlin 1995, S. 39-45. 

14 Theurot, Fondation (Anm. 1), S. 27. 

15 Theurot, Service (Anm. 2), S. 264. 16 So Theurot, Service (Anm. 2), S. 266; Theurot, Fondation (Anm. 1), S. 28-30

17 Sven StellingMichaud, Quelques remarques sur l’histoire des universités à l’époque de la Renaissance, in: Les universités européennes du 14e au 18e siècle, aspects et problèmes: actes du colloque international à lГoccasion du VIe centenaire de lГUniversité Jagellonne de Cracovie, 6-8 Mai 1964, Genève 1967, S. 71-83, hier: S. 79. 

18 Lyse Roy, LГuniversité de Caen aux XVe et XVIe siècles: identité et représentation, Leiden/Bosten 2006, S. 31. 

19 Michel Félibien, Histoire de la ville de Paris. Composée par D. Michel Felibien, reveue, augmentée et mise au jour par D. GuyYAlexis Lobineau, tous deux prêtres religieux benedictins, de la Congregation de Saint Maur; justifiée par des preuves autentiques, et enrichie de plans, de figures, et dГune carte topographique. Divisée en cinq volumes in folio, Tome 4, Paris 1725, zit. S. 594; Lyse Roy, Caen (Anm. 18), S. 33. 

20 Theurot, Service (Anm. 2), S. 276; Laurent Waelkens, LГinfluence de la fondation de la Faculté de droit de Louvain (1425) sur la formation des PaysYBas, in: Science politique et droit public dans les facultés européennes (XIIIe-XVII- Ie siècle), hg. von Jaques Krynen und Michael Stolleis, Frankfurt a. M. 2008, S. 251-261, hier: S. 257; Klaus Oschema, Des Fürsten Spiegel? Anmerkungen zu den Bibliotheken der burgundischen Herzöge im 14. und 15. Jahrhundert, in: Buchkultur im Mittelalter: Schrift, Bild, Kommunikation, hg. von Michael Stolz, Berlin [u.a.] 2005, S. 177-192, hier: S. 179, 183 u. 191; Sven Stelling-Michaud, remarques (Anm. 17), S. 79. 

21 Theurot, Fondation (Anm. 1), S. 33. 

22 Theurot, Service (Anm. 2), S. 276; Henri Beaune und Jules D’Arbaumont, universités (Anm. 4), S. 190. 

23 Francis Rapp, Universités et principautés: les Etats bourguignons, in: Milan et les états bourguignons. Deux ensembles politiques princiers entre Moyen Áge et Renaissance (XIVe -XVIe s.). Rencontres de Milan (1-3 oct. 1987), hg. von JeanYMarie Cauchies und Giorgio Chittolini, Basel 1988, S. 115-131, hier: S. 120; Henri Beaune/D’Arbaumont, uni- versités (Anm. 4), S. 189 und passim. 

24 In der ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts, vgl. Hilde De Ridder-Symoens, Milieu social, études universitaires et car- rière des conseillers au conseil de Brabant (1430-1600), in: Recht en instellingen in de oude Nederlanden tijdens de middeleeuwen en de nieuwe tijd. Liber amicorum Jan Buntinx, Louvain 1981, S. 257-301, hier: S. 292. 

25 Berthier/Sweeney, Rolin (Anm. 10), S. 29-30. 

26 Berger, Rolin (Anm. 5), S. 36. 

27 Serge Lusignan, La construction dГune identité universitaire en France (XIIIe-XVe siècle): «vérité garde le roy» (Publications de la Sorbonne), Paris 1999, S. 65 u. 117. 

28 Berger, Rolin (Anm. 5), S. 38. 

29 Berger, Rolin (Anm. 5), S. 69-73. 

30 Rainer Christoph Schwinges, Deutsche Universitätsbesucher im 14. und 15. Jahrhundert. Studien zur Sozialgeschichte des Alten Reiches, Stuttgart 1986, S. 137. 

31 Brigide Schwarz, Anselmus Fabri (Smit) aus Breda in Brabant (1379-1449), Abbreviator, Referendar, Protonotar und – beinahe – Kardinal : Skizze einer Biographie, in: Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Biblio- theken, 88, 2008, S. 161-219, hier: S. 192; Thomas Woelki, Lodovico Pontano (ca. 1409-1439). Eine Juristenkarriere an Universität, Fürstenhof, Kurie und Konzil, Leiden 2011, S. 450. 

32 Placide Lefèvre, Une lettre de Philipppe le Bon en faveur de la création d’une faculté de théologie à l’université de Louvain, in: Ephemerides theologicae Lovanienses, 40, (1964) S. 491-494. 

33 Waelkens, Influences (Anm. 20), S. 252: «En fait le gouvernement par la jurisprudence était la formule du gouvernement selon le droit romain.» 

34 RAG (Anm. 80), Heinrich Cornelius Y uniquID: ngbR1A476bz24qxbvbuq7ZnI, 9.7.2018. 

35 Rudolf Hoke, Die Freigrafschaft Burgund, Savoyen und die Reichsstadt Besançon im Verbande des Mittelalter- lichen deutschen Reiches, in: Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Germanistische Abteilung Bd. 79 (1962) S. 106-194, Zitat S. 186; Andreas Walther, Die Anfänge Karls V., Leipzig 1911, Zitat S. 28. 

36 Zu welchem sich Gelehrte zur selben Zeit vereinzelt kritisch äusserten, vgl. Karl Heinz Burmeister, Das Studium der Rechte im Zeitalter des Humanismus im deutschen Rechtsbereich, Stuttgart 1974, S. 71; RAG (Anm. 80), Gervasius Marstaller – UniquID: ngQG5f577Qo39fmQkQZf0OcB, 9.7.2018. 

37 Manfred Linsbauer, Lukas Geizkofler und seine Selbstbiographie, in: Veröffentlichungen des Tiroler Landesmuseums Ferdinandeum 60 (1980), S. 35-84, hier: S. 56. 

38 Die Quellenstellen bei Rut Keiser, Akademische Ökumene um 1600 im Spiegel des Reisetagebuches des jüngeren Thomas Platter aus Basel 1595-1600, in: Schaffhauser Beiträge zur Geschichte, 45, 1968, S. 291-315, hier: S. 314-315. 

39 Walther, Anfänge (Anm. 35), S. 28; John Bartier, Légistes et gens de finances au XVe siècle. Les conseillers des ducs de bourgogne Philipppe le bon et Charles le Téméraire, bruxelles 1955. 

40 Zit. nach Walther, Anfänge (Anm. 35), S. 27; Alfred Kohler, Zur Bedeutung der Juristen im Regierungssystem der «Monarchia universalis» Kaiser Karls V., in: Die Rolle der Juristen bei der Entstehung des modernen Staates, hg. von Roman Schnur, berlin 1986, S. 649-674, hier: S. 658. 

41 Walther, Anfänge (Anm. 35), S. 29. 

42 Hoke, Burgund (Anm. 35), S. 176. 

43 Kohler, Juristen (Anm. 40), S. 663-666. 

44 Matal der Ältere diente unter anderem Maximilian I., König philippp I. von Spanien, Margarethe von Österreich und Kaiser Karl V., siehe Peter Arnold Heuser, Jean Matal. Humanistischer Jurist und europäischer Friedensdenker (um 1517-1597), Köln 2003, S. 34. 

45 Heuser, Matal (Anm. 44), S. 162 u. 442. 

46 RAG (Anm. 80), Gilbert Cousin Y uniquID: ngHX2K072Gp80wdpbGgw1Fta, 9.7.2018; siehe zu den burgundischen Studenten in Bologna Sven Stelling-Michaud, La «nation» de Bourgogne à l’université de Bologne du XIIIe au XVIe siècle, in: Mémoires de la Société pour lГhistoire du droit et des institutions des anciens pays bourguignons bd. 18 (1956) S. 8-43. 

47 RAG (Anm. 80), Wilhelm Obrecht Y uniquID: ngpF8W072QX80elfjOYebNbK, 9.7.2018; Bibliothèque et Archives Municipales Besançon, Ms 982, fol. 51: Giullaume Obrecht. 

48 Bibliothèque et Archives Municipales Besançon, Ms 982, fol. 86: Josse Sasbout. 

49 Serge ter Braake, Met recht en rekenschap: de ambtenaren bij het Hof van Holland en de Haagse Rekenkamer in de Habsburgse Tijd (1483-1558), Hilversum Verloren 2007, S. 159 ff. 

50 De Ridder-Symoens, Conseillers (Anm. 24), S. 287; siehe auch Ad Teervort, The iter Italicum and the Northern Netherlands: Dutch students at Italian universities and their role in the NetherlandsГ society (1426-1575), Leiden 2005. 

51 Hoke, Burgund (Anm. 35), S. 179. 

52 Siehe eingehend zu Marliano und zum Folgenden: Werner Paravicini, Raimondo de Marliano. Ein Schicksal des Quattrocento zwischen Italien und Burgund, in: Revue belge de philologie et dГhistoire, tome 89, fasc. 3-4, 2011, S. 1075-1164. 

53 Guido Kisch, Die Anfänge der Juristischen Fakultät der universität basel 1459-1526, basel 1962, S. 47. 

54 Paravicini, Marliano (Anm. 52); Wilhelm Vischer, Geschichte der Universität Basel. Von der Gründung 1460 bis zur Reformation 1529, basel 1860, S. 67-69. In Löwen wurden Marliano 1461 400 Rheinische Gulden geboten, was das Basler Angebot, dessen Höhe wir nur indirekt durch andere Saläre für italienische Rechtsprofessoren zur selben Zeit abschätzen können, sicher deutlich übertraf. 

55 Paravicini, Marliano (Anm. 52), S. 1097-1098. 

56 So die Bezeichnung von Paravicini, Marliano (Anm. 52), S. 1116. 

57 Paravicini (Anm. 52), S. 1108 Anm. 175; Andreas Walther, Anfänge (Anm. 35) S. 29. Luigi (Ludovico/Ludovicus/ Louis/Aloisius) de Marliano war Leibarzt der Herzöge von Mailand wie auch Karls V., dessen Rat er ebenso war wie derjenige Phillips des Schönen und Margaretes von Österreich. 

58 Paravicini, Marliano (Anm. 52), S. 1104 u. S. 1120: Marlianos juristische Brillanz zog naturgemäss auch den Neid an. In einer Auseinandersetzung zwischen Bischof und Stadt Lüttich vertrat Marliano erfolgreich den Bischof. Er konterte in beeindruckender Art und Weise die Argumentation dreier Kölner Universitätsjuristen, welche die Stadt für den Streitfall eigens angestellt hatte. Anerkennend rühmte der Geistliche, der 1462 darüber berichtet hatte, die Literaturkenntnisse Marlianos – mit den Sitten und Leuten des Landes sei er als Italiener hingegen nicht vertraut, so werde berichtet. 

59 Paravicini, Marliano (Anm. 52), S. 1082. 

60 Kohler, Karl V. 1500-1558. Eine biographie, 3. Auflage, München 2014, S. 123. 

61 Rainer Christoph Schwinges, Studenten und Gelehrte. Studien zur Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte deutscher Universitäten im Mittelalter, Leiden/Boston 2008, S. 147. 

62 Wolfang Klose, Stammbucheinträger an italienischen und französischen Universitäten im 16. Jahrhundert, in: Dona Melanchthoniana. Festgabe für Heinz Scheible zum 70. Geburtstag, hg. von Johanna loehr, 2. Aufl. Stuttgart/ bad cannstatt 2005, S. 211-215, hier: S. 213. 

63 Vgl. Schwinges, Studenten und Gelehrte (Anm. 61), S. 592. 

64 RAG (Anm. 80), Georg von crailsheim Y uniquID: ngDT1c678EV4pszlxccs1bps, 9.7.2018. 

65 Cyriacus Spangenberg, Adels-Spiegel (Band 2): Was Adel mache, befördere, ziere, vermehre […], Schmalkalden 1594, fol. 194r: Als er nun seine fundamenta nach notdurfft gelegt / und lust ad Iurisprudentiam gewonnen / ist er auff seiner Freunde rhat gen Ingolstadt (welche Academia damals des Studij Iruis halben den groesten beruff in Deutschland gehabt) verschickt worden… 

66 Wolfgang Irtenkauf, Johann Wolff, in: lebensbilder aus Schwaben und Franken, 13, 1977, S. 73-83. 

67 Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle, Saale, Wittenberger Matrikel, Bd. 3, fol. 151r u. 160r. 

68 Julius Ney, Pfalzgraf Wolfgang. Herzog von Zweibrücken und Neuburg, in: Schriften des Vereins für Reformations- 

geschichte, 29, Nr. 106/107, leipzig 1912, S. 1-124, hier: S. 93 ff. 

69 Burmeister, Studium der Rechte (Anm. 36), S. 59-60. 

70 RAG (Anm. 80), Eberhard von Erbach – UniquID: ngWM3N577V63glsWqW7l6UiJ, 9.7.2018. 

71 Linsbauer, Geizkofler (Anm. 37), S. 57. 

72 Stelling-Michaud, Remarques (Anm. 17), S. 79; Burmeister, Studium der Rechte (Anm. 36), S. 60

73 Walther, Anfänge (Anm. 35), S. 29 Anm. 1: 1518 zählte ein Gesandter die Sprachkenntnisse Gattinaras mit Bewunderung auf, neben der Muttersprache (Italienisch), beherrsche er Latein, Spanisch, Französisch und Deutsch. 

74 Stephan Sauthoff, Adliges Studentenleben und Universitätsstudium zu Beginn des 16. Jahrhunderts. Darstellung an- hand des Ausgabenbüchleins von Conrad zu Castell (= Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe 3, 367), Frankfurt am Main 1988, S. 101. 

75 Linsbauer, Geizkofler (Anm. 37), S. 56 u. 75. 

76 Gernot Heiss, Bildungs- und Reiseziele österreichischer Adeliger in der Frühen Neuzeit, in: Grand Tour. Adeliges Reisen und Europäische Kultur vom 14. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert. Akten der internationalen Kolloquien in der Villa Vigoni 1999 und im Deutschen Historischen Institut in Paris 2000, hg. von Rainer Babel und Werner Paravicini, Ostfildern 2005, S. 217-235, hier: S. 223, vgl. auch das beispiel S. 22: Maximilian von lichtenstein, Studium der Rechte 1659 in Dôle und Löwen mit dem Ziel des Doktorats. 

77 De Ridder-Symones, Conseillers (Anm. 24), S. 287. 

78 Theurot, Fondation (Anm. 1), S. 35-38. 

79 Schwinges, Universitätsbesucher (Anm. 30), S. 144. 

80 Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG), [www.rag-online.org]. 

81 Vgl. die Karte bei Jacky Theurot, Fondation (Anm. 1), S. 37; ders., Service (Anm. 2), S. 277. 

82 RAG (Anm. 80), Viglius van Zwichem Y uniquID: nglb5a072KT80ahhfmuawJxa, 9.7.2018; ebd., Anton Fugger – UniquID: ngGW4R577G638vceaGfv8EsN, 9.7.2018. 

83 Burmeister, Studium der Rechte (Anm. 36), S. 71. 

84 RAG (Anm. 80), Andreas Alciatus – UniquID: ngHX7O274Gf0qwdVbIAwtFtO, 9.7.2018. 

85 RAG (Anm. 80), ulrich Zasius Y uniquID: ngGW9X779Fe5pvccaG9v1EsF7FT, 9.7.2018; ebd. Erasmus von Rotterdam – UniquID: ngVL0U870UN6ekrHpVOk3ThQ, 9.7.2018. 

86 Paravicini, Marliano (Anm. 52), S. 1077. 

Data Ingestion Episode I – A New Hope

Data ingestion can be described as a process of dynamic collecting and importing data for storage and immediate use in a database. The data ingestion process starts by prioritizing and validating data sources and assigning data items to the correct database fields. This process can be particularly challenging when working with large and complex data sets like we are dealing with in the first test phase (Episode 1) of the SNSF SPARK project on dynamic data ingestion. As planned for Episode 1, the ingestion module was completed and implemented by Pim van Bree and Geert Kessels (LAB1100) in the virtual research environment (VRE) nodegoat. This module offers to the user an intuitive interface with (almost) no coding, except for setting up SPARQL  / API queries to connect to the different external sources. From May 2020 on Kaspar Gubler has been compiling with the module a data sample of 20k persons from various databases within the research area of contextualized prosopography – for the final test series (Episode 4) we will compile a data sample of 500k people. To compile the first sample of the 20k people, we used different identifiers like the GND (Gemeinsame Normdatei), the VIAF (Virtual International Authority File) and of course Wikidata, the innovative and forward-looking sister project of Wikipedia. At Wikidata you can find various interesting data samples like the Cambridge Alumni database. The screenshot shows an example how the ingestion process is captured in the module’s interface. In principle, an external data source based on identifiers and/or database values is queried from the module and the external data is mapped to the database fields of the ingestion database in nodegoat.

In this example the identifiers of the Cambridge Alumni database are used to get and map the data. The ingestion module is not limited to certain external data sources. Thus, data from image databases can be integrated as well as literature references or knowledge and/or information of different provenance. The extension and enrichment of the data sample will be tested in Episode 2-4 as well as the harmonization of external data on the server level by means of scripts, for example format adjustments for dates. In an international network of database projects of Digital Humanities, for which Kaspar Gubler acts as secretary, a data harmonization strategy has been worked on for years. With the ingestion module, there is now a new hope that, if the SNSF SPARK project will be successful, this network will finally be able to merge its data and thus develop new questions and simplify worldwide cooperation.

Kick off SPARK Project: Dynamic Data Ingestion

On February 1 2020, this SPARK project officially started. Together with Geert Kessels and Pim van Bree (LAB1100) the kick off meeting took place in Montreux on Lake Geneva and the milestones for the project were set. Core tasks are the development of a new module for the virtual open source research environment nodegoat (github) for central data harmonisation and the creation of a common ontology with selected database projects. The kick off it made clear that we have to do the module development and the harmonization of the database structures in small steps and in very close coordination, which is why we decided for an agile software development and project management. The progress of the project can be followed in this blog. The project will also be presented at several events and conferences, such as the Research Day of the University of Bern (March 2020), in a panel at the Annual Congress of Italian Medievalists (Bertinoro, June 2020), in a presentation at the Annual Congress of Atelier Heloise, a European network on digital academic history (Bologna, September 2020) and at a conference on the use of virtual research environments (VRE) with ancient manuscripts (Dorigny, September 2020) as well as at a conference of the the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Scienceson on ‘knowledge locations’ (Bern, October 2020), which i will co-organise. The public SPARK workshop with data testing and results is planned for november 2020 in Bern, later a public lecture on the results will be held at the University of Bern.

Database Migration Case Study: Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG)

The goal of the Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG) is to develop the history of the cultural reach of a pre-modern intellectual leadership and impulse group to gain a comprehensive insight into the medieval origins of the modern knowledge society with around 60.000 scholars with 400.000 observations on their life and career paths, within the framework of an analysis of contextualized prosopography. The RAG uses nodegoat as their primary data storage application and research environment. nodegoat is also used to create and publish diachronic geographical and social visualisations (networks).

Work on the RAG began in 2001 under the direction of Rainer Schwinges and Peter Moraw, financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the German research foundation and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. From 2007 to 2019 the project was funded by the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities and from 2008 on as well by the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. The project will be run from 2020 at the University of Bern as part of the larger project Repertorium Academicum (REPAC), which is led by Christian Hesse and Kaspar Gubler and advised by Rainer Schwinges.

In 2017, the RAG research project found itself in a difficult situation. The database that the RAG had been working with for years was technically so outdated that an update of this software was no longer possible. The frontend was running on MS Accesss 2003 and the backend on a MS SQL Server 2005. A serious omission was that data entry could be completely free without technical restrictions, for example dependent combination lists. Although there was an internal Wiki that documented the rules for data entry, but not a few of these rules were no longer up-to-date. Accordingly, the large data set was heterogeneous and inconsistent when I started my work at the RAG. Furthermore, with the outdated software constellation it had become more and more difficult for the RAG to publish the research data on the internet, because the data first had to be exported from the SQL-Server and imported into a web application, which was very time-consuming and error-prone. Therefore a new software for the RAG had to be evaluated in a timely manner. A colleague at the University of Bern, who had attended a nodegoat workshop, drew my attention to nodegoat. It was immediately clear that nodegoat fulfilled exactly the functions we urgently needed for the RAG’s research data, namely data management and data visualization in one and the same software.

We invited LAB1100 to our office in Bern to discuss the data import in nodegoat. Before the meeting, LAB1100 had analysed the RAG data model and made some decisive suggestions at the meeting on how we could simplify the data model and make it easier to understand. An important change was that institutions were introduced as location types (e.g. university, school, town, court, princely court, church, monastery) and, in addition, these were linked hierarchically. In the previous database, such types existed only sporadically. The main part of the data was only assigned to the main type ‘Location’, which was not conducive to systematic evaluation.

The database migration was started in September 2017. First, the data was exported from the Microsoft SQL database, then cleaned, sorted and partially reordered in various programming steps. The final import into nodegoat was done with Python via the nodegoat JSON-API. By the end of 2017 the database migration was completed and the RAG teams at the universities of Bern and Giessen were able to enter and visualize research data in nodegoat in January 2018.

The biggest advantage of nodegoat for us is the acceleration of the work process. We now need a fraction of the time compared to the previous database to enter, analyze and publish research data. In addition, with the automated data checks of nodegoat we have data consistency under control, which is very important given the large dataset of the RAG.

Project Website: rag-online.org
Public User Interface: database.rag-online.org/viewer