Mapping the Archives: Epistolary Networks and the State Papers of England, 1523–1540

Abstract

As the number of digital archives increases – both traditional archives that have been digitized and ‘born digital’ collections – so, too, grows the number of tools and methodologies through which they can be better understood. This article explores how archives can be ‘mapped’ digitally, using network analysis to examine epistolary networks built on the State Papers archives of England. It will outline some of the core contributors to the archives, while also pointing to smaller actors and collections, whose place in the epistolary network and the archives are best revealed when viewed at scale within this ‘mapping’ process. This article demonstrates that – as with any other historical dataset – understanding the archives and the ways in which they are constructed is vital to further quantitative analysis, and how this is turn may bolster digital historical narratives. As such, this article not only demonstrates the outcomes of adopting digital methodologies, and how they may shape ongoing historical research and narratives, but also illustrates the ways in which the adoption of these quantitative measures allows for a critical reconsideration of historical sources, their origins and the ways in which they can be used.