12. Populating the resource

The proposed structure is highly complex and covers a range of specialist disciplines such as philology, runology, onomastics, archaeology, palaeography and codicology, and classical studies in addition to history of religions. Populating such a diverse resource is potentially a very large undertaking. Fortunately there are existing resources that can be incorporated either directly or indirectly or through Semantic Web technologies.

The Skaldic Database includes a range of materials which can be linked to the PCRN database and provide a basic resource for building the Old Norse material related to pre-Christian religion, including material from the Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog (dictionary headwords, prose works, manuscripts, etc.); the project’s own corpus (skalds, poems, stanzas, text, translation, notes, manuscripts, textual and critical apparatus); some 30,000 ms. images digitised by or for the project itself; a bibliography of some 3,000 items; and an index of mythological references (esp. heiti and kennings) in the skaldic corpus.

There are other existing digitised resources which can be linked to the proposed resource on religions. The Samnordisk runtextdatabas is one such data set: this resource, which includes text, translation and information about all Scandinavian runic inscriptions, it is planned, will have Semantic Web resources and can be linked to the PCRN resource. Handrit.is provides detailed manuscript information and images of a very large proportion of the Old Norse manuscripts held in Iceland and elsewhere. Additional images are supplied by the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar and can also be linked. The Monumenta Germaniae Historica has been recently digitised and includes a very large amount of source material in different languages. This does not provide semantic linking of these sources, but semantic links to this resource can be supplied by the PCRN project and linked to the digitised version. In addition, Riksantikvarieämbetet supplies data resources for cultural heritage materials from Sweden. There are a great many more such resources, particularly for non-manuscript sources.

Using the main example from this paper for textual sources (the Thor narrative), a large proportion of the data structure’s components can be linked to authoritative materials on the Web, including:

Repository: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, Reykjavík <http://www.arnastofnun.is>

Collection: Gammel kongelig samling (Old Royal Collection) [those now in Reykjavík] <http://handrit.is/en/manuscript/list/instcoll/SAM/GKS>

Object: GKS 2367 4to (Codex Regius, Konungsbók)

<http://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/GKS04-2367>

Image: of 14r/5 <http://www.am.hi.is:8087/VefUtgafa.aspx?ListIndex=18&RorV=R>

Image: of 14v/14 <http://www.am.hi.is:8087/VefUtgafa.aspx?ListIndex=18&RorV=V>

Object: AM 242 fol (Codex Wormianus, Ormsbók)

Image: of page 33 <http://abdn.ac.uk/skaldic/id.php?image.24975>
(all accessed 19 June 2013)

Figure 15 shows the full database schema. Data sets which have significant materials available on the internet are marked with a ‡. In addition, data sets that have the potential for dating or geographical information are also indicated.

Figure 15: Full database schema with mixed examples

For resources that are not available by Semantic Web or similar means, the data entry process will involve some level of semantic analysis on the part of the individuals populating the resource. In particular, the phenomena associated specifically with pre-Christian religion (generally the left-hand materials in Figure 15), will require some training and expertise in the field of pre-Christian religions. This includes narratives and their elements, attributes, beings and other religious phenomena, and the links between them and the texts. In addition, as most of the textual material has not been linked to dictionary headwords, this process will also have to be performed by the PCRN project where necessary.

The data entry can be done through a web interface. A similar interface is used for the Skaldic Database and has been adapted and implemented for all the data sets described in this paper (login required).

Although the structure appears to be highly complex, the process by which the different elements are linked is greatly simplified for particular sources by the interface. Modern web interfaces such as this include mechanisms for quickly searching and linking items and can prompt users based on previous and likely or possible choices.

References