Agents persons, peoples and institutions
Browse and discover
A module for identifying agents - encompassing persons, peoples and organisations - and managing information about them has been around for many years, continually evolving as time went by, but what was absent all this time is a public interface for accessing relevant data in a user-friendly way.
This is a first attempt at offering such an interface, which is provided "as-is" and should be considered beta-quality for now (not that there is any official product release cycle as such but using the label is a convenient means to sound the right alarm bells). It currently consists of a basic search, aggregated data overviews for individual agents, and hover-card labels that you will meet elsewhere in the catalogue.
I am aware of duplicates, uneven coverage and other shortcomings that typically arise from the progressive nature of this website or simply, lack of personpower. An earlier version of the interface was available to editors partly because it helps us address some of those issues. None of these objections, however, seemed to weigh heavily against the alternative, which is having nothing at all to offer.
Note that for convenience's sake, many agents are not formally indexed but are nonetheless included by exclusive virtue of being linked. It is a wonderful forte of the system that allows us to retrieve and bring together disparate data from disparate data sources, but some useful metadata will be missing and discoverability is more limited as a result. For instance, we may be linking to a scribe whose name and associated data can be retrieved and presented, but without, say, a floruit it will be difficult to find this person within the appropriate time range. I say "difficult" because it is possible, to an extent, to rely on the dates we have, if any, for associated objects (manuscripts, scribal hands), but such a circuitous approach comes with limitations of its own and is not necessarily methodologically sound.
Meanwhile, I hope that the new interface will improve your experience in using this website. Next up are thematic categories for scribes (in the broadest, non-pejorative sense of the word), authors and scholars.
Last added
- AbsalomIn biblical narrative, third son of King David of Israel, who rebelled against his father and was killed in the battle of the Wood of Ephraim.
- Edward Dafydd [of Margam]c.1600–1678?Welsh bardic poet.
- David Herndon Wright1929–2018
- Giolla Brighde Albanachfl. 13th c., first halfScottish poet who became active in Connacht.
- Paul E. DuttonMedievalist.
- Áed Rúad mac BaduirnA legendary king of Ireland mentioned in some tales of the Ulster Cycle and related texts. According to an origin legend concerning Emain Macha, he ‘shared’ the kingship with Díthorba and Cimbáeth, being the first of them to hold it until he drowned in Ess Ruaid (Assaroe); he is identified as the father of Macha Mongrúad, from whom Emain Macha is said to take its name.
- Maine MilscothachOne of the seven Maines, sons of Ailill and Medb in the Ulster Cycle; or one of two or three different characters in the tale of Togail bruidne Da Derga.
- John O. Westwood1805–1893English archaeologist, art historian and entomologist.
- John Humphreys Davies1871–1926
- Cynan Garwynfl. 2nd half of the 6th centuryRuler of Powys.
- Heleddsupp. fl. c.first half of the 7th centuryThe voice or narrator of Canu Heledd, a collection of englynion lamenting the death of Cynddylan, ruler of Powys. Heledd is identified as Cynddylan’s sister and a witness and solitary survivor of an English invasion which killed her brothers and brought destruction to her country.
- Cynddylanfl. c.616–c.641Cynddylan ap Cyndrwyn, a ruler of Powys who is thought to have allied with Penda, king of Mercia. It has been suggested that he was defeated and killed, along with Penda, in the battle of Winwaed.
- Urienfl. c.560–c.580Ruler of Rheged, son of Cynfarch and identified in genealogies as a descendant of Coel Hen.
- Cathal Mac Muireadhaighfl. first half of the 17th centuryGaelic poet and scribe.
- Dub Innse [bishop of Bangor]d. 953Bishop of Bangor. It is thought that he did not hold the abbacy, seeing as the title of abbot is given to Máel Cothaid mac Lachtnáin, who died in the same year as Dub Innse.
- Sawley abbey
- Kilmallock, Dominican prioryDominican priory in the village of Kilmallock (Co. Limerick), founded in the 13th century and associated with the FitzGeralds.
- Galway, James Hardiman Library
- Edinburgh, National Museum of Scotland
- Société d'émulation des Côtes-d'ArmorLearned society based in Saint-Brieuc.
- Saint-Brieuc, Bibliothèque municipale
- Albi, Bibliothèque municipaleToday, the Bibliothèque/Médiathèque Pierre-Amalric.
- Saint-Jacut abbey
- Bruges, Public Library
- Alet
Episcopal see said to have been founded by St Malo/Machutus, who settled as a hermit on a small island (Insula Aaronis, Ile d'Aaron, now a part of Saint-Servan-Sur-Mer and no longer an island) near Saint-Malo and became bishop.
- Montreuil-sur-Mer, abbey of Saint-Saulve
Abbey founded as the abbey of Saint-Walloy (‘Saint Gwenolé’), following the arrival of monks from Landévennec who had fled Norman attackers and brought with them relics of their founding saint. It was refounded in the early 12th century and dedicated to Salvius of Amiens.
- Erpernburg, Archiv von und zu Brenken
Private archive and library of Schloss Erpernburg, near Büren (Brenken, Kreis Paderborn).
- Quimper, Bibliothèque municipale
- Verona, Biblioteca capitolare
- National Records of Scotland
Randomised results
A random selecton of authors and those so described.
