Von der Metapher zur Methode

Abstract

Summary From Metaphor to Method. Network Analysis as an Instrument for Research into Pre-Modern Societies The paper introduces an important and promising branch into the field of the rapidly evolving Digital Humanities, the Social Network Analysis (SNA). SNA can be defined as the application of the graph theory to the problem of modelling and analysing social structures. The network paradigm stresses the importance of relational aspects in history and it fits very well into pre-modern mentality and social practices. In a weakly institutionalised face-to-face society, social entanglements and interactions were absolutely crucial. Today, the development of modern computer technology and the ubiquity of the World Wide Web as well as social networks such as Facebook promote the application of this research paradigm. The article alludes to recent research contributions and discusses frequent methodological objections against the use of SNA in medieval and early modern history studies. In a second step, medieval network thinking and networking strategies which can be found for instance in genealogical sources and humanistic exchange of letters are discussed as possible objects of historical network research. Finally, a preliminary case study demonstrates how techniques of Text Mining and SNA can be applied to the investigation of late medieval Vatican registers, providing new insights into the money transfer (payment of annates) between Germany and Rome during the pontificate of Pope Sixtus IV. (1471 - 1484).