Scribal networks: Visualizing twelfth-century Cistercian book production through network analysis

2023/12/21 by Kaska, Katharina
#Cistercians #Magnum Legendarium Austriacum #Manuscript Studies #Medieval Studies #Paleography #library history

paper · doi:10.25517/jhnr.v9i1.192

Abstract

This paper tests the application of network analysis to the visualization and analysis of paleographical data. In recent years, the twelfth-century scriptoria of the Austrian Cistercian monasteries of Heiligenkreuz, Zwettl and Baumgartenberg have been thoroughly investigated. A vast amount of data on scribes and their contributions to various manuscripts has been published in analog publications, as well as online on the website www.scriptoria.at, run by Alois Haidinger. The presentation of the data, mainly in the form of lists, makes it difficult for researchers to appreciate the possibilities that this groundbreaking work provides. For this paper, the data is instead presented as networks of codicological units and networks of scribes within and between the monasteries. These networks highlight the development and interconnectedness of twelfth-century Cistercian book production, point out potential research questions (e.g., for the Magnum Legendarium Austriacum), and aid in disseminating the results to a wider audience.

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