This project will serve to build a computer tool for the collection and analysis of data from wills, post mortem donations, obituaries and anniversary books and test its effectiveness in a new approach to parish communities, more focused on individuals and their family, professional and clientele contextualisations.
For this project, we chose the parishes of Santiago and S. Bartolomeu de Coimbra, for which we have: obituaries and anniversary books transcribed and published; wills and post mortem donations identified and, in part, already published
Sources
Calendário obituário de São Bartolomeu de Coimbra
[14th and 15th centuries]
One of the oldest obituaries preserved for a Portuguese collegiate church, this document projects us into mental pictures and structures of thought, of living time and religion fundamental to the understanding of Western civilization. In turn, the identification of the deceased to be celebrated daily in the church of São Bartolomeu de Coimbra and the property bequeathed by them, for the maintenance of the funeral ceremonies, allows us to observe that parish, its space and its population, for over two hundred years.
Lisbon, ACL, série azul, 1186.
Sources
Livro de Aniversários de Santiago de Coimbra
[14th and 15th centuries]
This manuscript was produced in the Collegiate of Santiago of Coimbra. The document allows the collection of a countless elements to enhance knowledge of the socioeconomic life of the city under consideration and the relationship of the Christians in regard to death and the heavenly home. We emphasise the delivery of goods and money to Santiago clergy as a pledge for several ceremonies intended for the forgiveness of sins.
Lisbon, ANTT, Colegiada de Santiago de Coimbra, livro 2.
Methodologies
TimeLink
Timelink is a system designed to process information gathered from a variety of historical sources and which provides:
- a notation (kleio) for textual transcription of historical sources, capable of capturing complex information about people and their relationships in any type of historical documents.
- a word processor that extracts information from kleio transcriptions, infers personal attributes and relationships from agents' roles in historical events and generates data in formats suitable for importing into databases.
- a database management system capable of processing time-varying attributes and relationships, helping to reconstruct biographies and networks from fragmented information.
- A browser-based interface that allows users to quickly and easily consult the information entered - the attributes of people and goods, biographies, relationships, as well as perform more complex data cross-referencing using SQL syntax.
Timelink was the system used for the construction of databases, which uses open and free access software, with specific programming components produced by Joaquim Carvalho, consultant.
Other research that used this system: Campos 2012 ; Ribeiro 2012.