Workshop: Forenames and Surnames as Sources of Cultural History

The workshop aims to provide students with the tools to critically analyse the processes of socio-cultural change that took place in medieval Europe. In particular, it will focus on the great onomastic transformation that affected the continent between the 10th and 16th centuries, an exceptional indicator to measure phenomena such as Christianisation, processes of social and geographical mobility, education, and changing family structures. Moreover, the workshop aims to develop students' familiarity with digital technologies (e.g., database construction software and relational databases) applied to the field of the humanities.

At the end of the workshop, students will be able to identify, through the vantage point offered by onomastic changes, the main factors of social, political and cultural transformation in the Middle Ages. They will also acquire the ability to analyse serial and complex data (e.g., long lists of names) through the use of digital technologies, and to identify the potential and methodological criticalities implied in different types of analyses (qualitative/quantitative).