Digital Byzantine Studies: Current Methods and Future Applications, Maison Française, Oxford, May 16, 2025
In recent years, related fields such as Classical and Medieval Studies have made significant progress in developing auxiliary disciplines—papyrology, epigraphy, numismatics, and linguistics—through the use of digital tools. Byzantine Studies, however, still lag behind in this area. Institutions like Sorbonne University, the University of Cologne, and the CNRS Orient & Méditerranée (Paris) have recently come together to apply digital methods to Byzantine sources, including seals, manuscripts, and coins. Nevertheless, more work is needed to establish standardized, reliable methodologies and sustainable data practices, particularly through engagement with broader digital initiatives in Classics and Medieval Studies. This workshop will explore XML encoding and AI applications in areas such as digital palaeography, sigillography, and epigraphy (using TEI and EpiDoc for post-classical Greek); prosopography (via the PROSOPON consortium); numismatics (AI-assisted EpiDoc for coin inscriptions); and papyrology and manuscript studies (ontology-based metadata description).
This workshop is made possible through the support of the DigiByzSeal project, funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the University of Cologne, Sorbonne University (Initiative Circulation médiévales – MeCir), the CNRS (UMR 8167 Orient & Méditerranée, Paris), the VolkswagenStiftung-funded initiative “Creating a Sustainable Digital Infrastructure for Research-Based Teaching in Byzantine Studies” based at the University of Cologne, and the Maison française d’Oxford.