Jewish personal data of the 15th–16th Centuries

Jewish history was characterized by great dynamism during the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. This is particularly evident in the significant geographical mobility of Jewish communities and individuals during this time, as well as in their diverse and constantly changing relationships both among themselves and with members of the Christian environment. To capture these phenomena as precisely and as nuanced as possible, we are developing a novel approach to the collection, structuring, and analysis of information about Jewish individuals.

Challenges in this context arise not only from the multilingualism and lack of standardization in the spelling of names in historical sources, but also from the fact that many members of Jewish communities had multiple, and often quite different, names. As a result, various sources may refer to the same individual using sacred names, given names, or changing nicknames to refer to the same person without this always being immediately apparent.

In Subproject 6, we address these challenges with several strategies: first, by distinguishing between a name as it appears in a source and a person’s profile. Second, by developing a data model that enables systematic collection and comparison of a wide range of relevant information about individuals. And third, by providing all subprojects of the research group with a tool for collecting person-related data in accordance with this data model. In this way, we can integrate personal data from the various subprojects, identify larger networks of individuals, and use them to gain new insights into Jewish life and agency during the period under investigation.