Two graphical models for the analysis and comparison of cartularies

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses two of a number of methods for the computer-aided analysis of cartularies that are currently under development at the Instituto de Historia – CSIC. The first one, which we call the Order/Date Model, is oriented to the integral visualization and analysis of an individual cartulary as a project. The second, which we call the Order/Order Model, is applied to pairs of cartularies that share at least part of their contents, and is aimed at revealing to what extent the most recent one made use of the oldest. Our method is based upon a relational database that stores all the information about the cartularies and a number of statistical graphs that generate a two-dimensional grid (the Order/Date or the Order/Order grids) upon which additional variables can be displayed. Our method draws on traditional codicological and palaeographical methods of analysis, but it represents a significant development, as it allows to visualize in an intuitive way very complex phenomena that are otherwise hard to grasp or difficult to analyze manually