Year
2020
Authors
AKOKA Jacky, WATTIAU Isabelle, DU MOUZA C.
Abstract
Prosopography aims to study similarities in the trajectories of people in their biography. It is based on a database containing information relating to people from a specific environment defined chronologically and geographically. The objective of this article is to propose a state of the art of prosopographic databases emphasizing its specific concepts and the research relating to the modeling of these concepts. We present different definitions of prosopography. Then we describe the prosopographic method which has undergone a certain evolution due to the use of computerized databases. An overview of these prosopographic databases is presented, highlighting their advantages and limitations. The main concepts of these systems are described, including the person who is the central concept, the onomastics which allows the study of the names of people and institutions and the biographical notes which list the events to which people are linked. The description of these events raises the problem of time and its representation. All the information thus considered is associated with a level of uncertainty and imprecision, even contradiction. The information comes from historical sources whose credibility is essential. These concepts are sometimes modeled. We present the main conceptual prosopographic models, including ontological approaches. The conclusion opens towards the lines of research to be pursued in this field.
AKOKA, J., WATTIAU, I. et DU MOUZA, C. (2020). Conception de bases de données prosopographiques en histoire – un état de l’art. Revue Ouverte d’Ingénierie des Systèmes d’Information, 1(3).