Early Modern Digital Itineraries (EMDigIt)

Historians use data science to mine the past | PNAS Historians use data science to mine the past

✨✨Maps & newspaper research from LwM & MRM teams (@danielwilson.bsky.social @joshrhodes.bsky.social @jonhistorian61.bsky.social @nottinauta.bsky.social @ruthahnert.bsky.social @npedrazzini.bsky.social @kallewesterling.bsky.social + more) featured in @pnas.org this week!

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

As well as times based on mode of travel. Based on current ratios (still being tested against sources) this 398.48 km path from Rome to Bologna would take fast couriers at least 26 hours (~3 days), riders around 60 (~7 days), and pedestrians around 100 (~12 days).

The EMDigIt platform will also provide more details, such as the stops on this journey: Rome, La Storta, Isola Farnese, Campagnano di Roma, Monterosi, Ronciglione, Monti Cimini, Viterbo, Montefiascone, Capraccia, Bolsena, San Lorenzo Nuovo, Acquapendente... (etc.)

Map of Italian Peninsula with legend representing proxy measure for difficulty of travel, as shown by heat scale

Map of Italian Peninsula with waypoints from Rome to Bologna shown in green

Two new teasers from the forthcoming Italian Itineraries data for routes in Italy, #16thc - #18thc. On the left, heat map showing difficulty of travel based on elevation and slope. On the right, shortest route by km between Rome and Bologna #earlymodern #digitalhistory 🗃️

Italian route network is done! 8 influential itinerary books from the #16thcentury through the #18thcentury ready for Maps-style route planning. We're on track for sharing the shapefiles in coming weeks as we continue to develop the tool. Watch this space! #earlymodern #digitalhistory 🗃️

Screenshot of an ArcGIS map of northern Italy from Milan to Venice showing green waypoints and red and green paths

Probably one more session of tidying to go before I've got a complete route network for Italy as published #16thCentury - #18thCentury! I like this view of Northern Italy to show that the #earlymodern routes (red) are not just the Roman roads (green). 🗃️ @emdigit.bsky.social

@toffolosandra.bsky.social @flabruni.bsky.social @kaylaecampana.bsky.social @viabundus.bsky.social @geophilologist.bsky.social

The cover of a white paper booklet titles Early Modern Digital Itineraries and featuring an early printed map of Europe

📯 New publication! 📯 We are proud to share the outcomes of our NEH workshops in 2024, which brought together researchers from around the world to pilot data-driven approaches to the history of travel 🗃️ #earlymodern #digitalhumanities #digitalhistory read more here: github.com/rmidura/EMDi...

If you’re working on interpersonal encounters produced by early modern mobility, @toffolosandra.bsky.social & I are welcoming abstracts for our ‘Mobility & Encounter’ panel @srsrensoc.bsky.social in Bristol next July! Deadline 15 Sep: tinyurl.com/bdhs2hfc #skystorians #earlymodern #RenSA25

Screenshot of Trello board showing a number of cards related to data management and analysis with assigned student researchers shown by initials

Ended up somewhat overcommitted this semester (at least given the general environmental chaos), but it is hard to regret working with so many student researchers on @emdigit.bsky.social. Just logging in to the Trello board this morning reminded me that #digitalhumanities collaboration = community ☺️

A simple grey map showing routes as red lines and waystations as green dots in central Italy

A photographed page from a digitized book listing several central Italian routes in two columns

Made it to Rome, Bologna and Florence this week in #historicalGIS data cleaning for @emdigit.bsky.social. This time I'm sharing it with a page from one of the itineraries for comparison (OC1623, or Ottavio Codogno's 1623 Compendio delle poste) #earlymodern #bookhistory 🗃️

A Journey to the Far North in the Middle Ages - Medievalists.net The name Ohthere does not usually rank among the famous explorers of the Middle Ages, such as Leif Erikson or Marco Polo. However, his exploits are very impressive, for he would sail into the Arctic…

A Journey to the Far North in the Middle Ages https://www.medievalists.net/2023/12/journey-far-north-middle-ages/ #Arctic #MedievalHistory

The Atmosphere in Spatial History: Digital Evidence and Visual Argument* Abstract. Taking its cue from the weather wars that unfolded around the Alps in the eighteenth century — conflicts between neighbouring towns and polities

New on advance access: "The Atmosphere in Spatial History: Digital Evidence and Visual Argument"

by Luca Scholz (University of Manchester)

#OpenAccess

academic.oup.com/past/advance...

A simple gray map shows southern Italy from Rome to Palermo and Messina. Points reflect waystations connected by red lines reflecting likely routes.

Engraving of Giovanni de Rossi's 1695 L'Italia con le sue poste

Progressed up to the ankle of southern Italy this week. Early modern itineraries based on named locations, narrative, topography, and Roman-modern road networks. Bonus 17C map for comparison 🤩 #historicalGIS #digitalhistory @emdigit.bsky.social

#HelloESR, Hi #skystorians, Rome is soon entering its jubilee year, so I thought I'd talk a little about the Urbs in the 1570s through the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae
bibliotheque-numerique.inha.fr/collection/i...

In Our Ancestors’ Shoes: The Slow Road to London (1604 Edition) On finding a 1604 ‘sat-nav’ in the archives – some thoughts about how people move around long-occupied human landscapes, then and now.

I wrote a new thing about travel and history and the human landscape. If you enjoy it please share! 👍

A screenshot shows the Veneto and Emilia Romagna regions of northern Italy in spatial analysis software

Spent the first part of today's #DayOfDH2024 in ArcGIS adjusting @emdigit.bsky.social routes (red lines) to account for elevation, Roman roads (blue lines), and locations where authors indicated crossing bodies of water (blue points) or shifting to travel by boat (icons).

looking forward to some mappy fun in FL! (This Thursday evening)

Sorry, would need a little more info to say!

Pilgrimage contents (by request)

#newbooks #medievalsky #skystorians #pilgrimage

Wireframe showing the landing page of EmDigIt, Early Modern Digital Itineraries webpage.

Wireframe showing an interactive map on the website EmDigIt, Early Modern Digital Itineraries. A left bar allows users to pose queries about travel in the style of other web map platforms.

Oops, trying again with better quality images and alt text. Haven't had my coffee yet ☕

We're working on it! :) @emdigit.bsky.social

Today's accomplishment: prepping this interactive map for Wednesday's @emdigit.bsky.social webinar showing the routing of #earlymodern Europe in Italian itineraries, 1562-1720 🗃️

Given the X-odus (see what we did there? A true fire bird): which other #earlymodern centres have arrived here already?

We've got a starter pack for easy following, but keen to hear about more: go.bsky.app/LLzFj3b
#skystorians

I have created a starter pack for scholars of the long seventeenth century! I will be adding to it; do comment or message if you would like to be added - & share!

go.bsky.app/BtkNcRq

GOOD NEWS for the discipline: there are *many* #earlymodern historians. Bad news: we couldn't all squeeze into one pack. So here's the second, do follow all the wonderful researchers in this one as well: go.bsky.app/NQqDFr1 #skystorians

Map of Europe with routes shown in four different colors

Some days you just need to put on headphones and adjust points in GIS. Route network from four different itinerary books published 1562-1610 shown here w/ borders c.1600 @emdigit.bsky.social #earlymodern #digitalhistory

MarineLives is launching a Collaboratory for doctoral students interested in the application of large language models to historical research #earlymodern #Skystorians @tedunderwood.me @timhitchcock.bsky.social github.com/Addaci/marin...

#c18 #dh 🗃️