Proposed Methodology

I propose two main stages for moving forward with this project:

First, I will design and create a database of spatial information drawn from hundreds of documents from this period. I envision two different sources of data. One is an early fourteenth-century chronicle which tells a constructed narrative of the Prussian crusade.[1] This source will provide a wealth of information based on contemporary’s envisioning of the process of conquest. The second source is a collection of largely unrelated official documents—mostly letters and land-grants—compiled and edited by nineteenth-century German scholars.[2] My goal here is to assess whether the constructed narrative matches the composite information collected from hundreds of documents “on the ground,” and to experiment with how digital tools might help bridge the gap between “close” and “distant” readings of historical evidence.

Second, I hope to design a system that can map the information I have compiled according to a number of filters. Ideally, I envision this as an interface that can filter data into various layers which can be transposed on one another. For example, one layer might track the “Christianization” of territory (perhaps using as proxies the construction of churches or the declining frequency of pagan associations with certain regions), while another might track the presence of western colonists clearing and cultivating land. If successful, this might help detect patterns among the various “layers” of spatial configuration.