›Sortes Dictae Sunt‹. Methods for Editing Mediaeval Books of Fortune

Abstract

Superstition has long played a vital role in both traditional and modern societies. In the Middle Ages, people used sortes (books of fortune) to seek answers about the future, both in serious and in playful contexts. Sortes texts, like the Prenostica Socratis Basilei , provide insights into the mediaeval system of values, as well as in the worries and hopes of the people. However, the majority of these texts have not been edited yet, with none available as a digital scholarly edition. Our novel methodology, which combines graph-based modelling and computational editorial methods, allows for a dynamic, precise representation, enabling deeper analysis and making these historical documents more accessible and meaningful to modern audiences.

Keywords

• fachartikel
• losbuch
• graphdatenbank
• digitale edition
• altgermanistik
• konzeptionelle modellierung