Illuminating ships : interrogating evidence from images and materials
Illuminating ships : interrogating evidence from images and materials
This thesis evaluates the extent to which comparisons can be drawn between archaeological remains and manuscript illuminations of northern European medieval vessels. It also explores the extent to which more complex forms of data integration may be established beyond the level of comparison in order to extract more information from the data in question. One potential form of integration appears to be the development of formalised analogies between archaeology and iconography. Comprising a form of ‘middle range’ theory, these analogies involve the identification of distinctive, repetitive characteristics of archaeological remains and manuscript illuminations of medieval vessels. It is proposed that these characteristics become more visible when large quantities of both types of data are employed.
These proposals are tested by reference to two databases created specifically for the purposes of this analysis. One is a catalogue of archaeological remains of medieval vessels from northern Europe. The other is a sample of illuminations of vessels in manuscripts from British and French library collections. A series of case-studies is used to explore the costs and benefits of the large-scale analysis of these databases. These case-studies examine how far archaeological and iconographic evidence can be compared and/or integrated in relation to shipbuilding traditions, vessel components and related activities.
While the comparison of archaeological and iconographic evidence for medieval vessels is almost always possible - and the use of larger databases of assistance to this process - the integration of different data is harder. While a range of workable ‘middle range’ methodologies for the integration of data are theoretically possible, the approaches explored in the thesis require enhancement to be successfully advanced into a workable methodology: computer-aided analyses offer one solution.
University of Southampton
2002
Flatman, Joe
(2002)
Illuminating ships : interrogating evidence from images and materials.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
This thesis evaluates the extent to which comparisons can be drawn between archaeological remains and manuscript illuminations of northern European medieval vessels. It also explores the extent to which more complex forms of data integration may be established beyond the level of comparison in order to extract more information from the data in question. One potential form of integration appears to be the development of formalised analogies between archaeology and iconography. Comprising a form of ‘middle range’ theory, these analogies involve the identification of distinctive, repetitive characteristics of archaeological remains and manuscript illuminations of medieval vessels. It is proposed that these characteristics become more visible when large quantities of both types of data are employed.
These proposals are tested by reference to two databases created specifically for the purposes of this analysis. One is a catalogue of archaeological remains of medieval vessels from northern Europe. The other is a sample of illuminations of vessels in manuscripts from British and French library collections. A series of case-studies is used to explore the costs and benefits of the large-scale analysis of these databases. These case-studies examine how far archaeological and iconographic evidence can be compared and/or integrated in relation to shipbuilding traditions, vessel components and related activities.
While the comparison of archaeological and iconographic evidence for medieval vessels is almost always possible - and the use of larger databases of assistance to this process - the integration of different data is harder. While a range of workable ‘middle range’ methodologies for the integration of data are theoretically possible, the approaches explored in the thesis require enhancement to be successfully advanced into a workable methodology: computer-aided analyses offer one solution.
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Published date: 2002
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Local EPrints ID: 464876
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/464876
PURE UUID: 54b23529-6a7b-482a-be1e-3941737a24e3
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 00:06
Last modified: 05 Jul 2022 00:06
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Contributors
Author:
Joe Flatman
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