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SUMMARY:Access\, Archive\, Memory: Some Insights from the MAMEMS Prosopogr
 aphical Database
DTSTART:20260925T203000Z
DTEND:20260918T220000Z
UID:https://cdh.princeton.edu/events/2026/09/access-archive-memory-some-in
 sights-from-the-mamems-prosopographical-database/
DESCRIPTION:\n\n  This lecture explores challenges in working with monasti
 c archives in order to create a prosopographical database cataloging every
  Athos-related person in the Middle Ages: the MAMEMS Prosopographical Data
 base. While the vast majority of the material included in the database con
 sists of legal documents published from Athonite archives in the series Ar
 chives de l’Athos\, other texts are much less straightforward\, at multi
 ple levels.One particularly important group of sources in this context are
  commemorative lists: lists of deceased persons to be memorialized in the 
 liturgy. Such lists\, which are often simply series of names with no disce
 rnible chronological\, geographical or other context\, can sometimes only 
 be evaluated on a speculative basis (onomastics\, relation to other names
 \, patterns in names). As documents that in some instances still have a co
 ntemporary liturgical use\, they also represent far more sensitive materia
 l than\, for instance\, medieval legal transactions with no present-day ra
 mifications. Moreover\, commemorative lists are not the only texts in mona
 stic archives that possess a contemporary relevance – this is also the c
 ase for Hagiorite vitae and other hagiographical compositions.Another aspe
 ct of dealing with the Athonite tradition this lecture will consider are t
 he challenges of converting written material onto a digital platform. Agai
 n\, the incorporation of certain types of materials\, including commemorat
 ive lists and hagiographical texts\, poses questions that go beyond the ev
 aluation of more traditional written sources like legal documents or histo
 riography.About the speaker: Zachary Chitwood has been Professor of Byzant
 ine Studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) of Munich since 2024
 . From 2020 to 2025 he was the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Project 
 “Mount Athos in Medieval Eastern Mediterranean Society: Contextualizing 
 the History of a Monastic Republic (ca. 850–1550)” (MAMEMS) project\, 
 which sought to situate the communities of the Holy Mountain as part of th
 e as independent actors in medieval Eastern Mediterranean society.Professo
 r Chitwood’s Athos-related publications consist\, alongside individual e
 ssays\, principally of three edited volumes stemming from the MAMEMS proje
 ct\, dedicated to the broader topics of the economy (Wealth and Poverty on
  Medieval Mount Athos. Leiden 2025)\, cultural belonging (Between Polyglos
 sia and Polyethnia: Ethnicity and Identity on Premodern Mount Athos. Leide
 n forthcoming) and gender (A Special Relationship? Gender on Premodern Mou
 nt Athos. In preparation). In addition\, he is completing a prosopographic
 al database documenting all Athos-related persons until ca. 1550. This le
 cture is the keynote of the Athonite Collections and Their Challenges: Sch
 olarly Access and Digital Surrogates symposium\, September 25-26\, 2026. 
 \n\n\nhttps://cdh.princeton.edu/events/2026/09/access-archive-memory-some-
 insights-from-the-mamems-prosopographical-database/
LOCATION:A17 Julis Romo Rabinowitz Building
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