Videos by Kaspar Gubler
This visualization from the project rag-online.org on the academic scholars of the European Middl... more This visualization from the project rag-online.org on the academic scholars of the European Middle Ages shows the differences between the catchment areas between the older University of Vienna and the younger, up-and-coming University of Ingolstadt (near Munich), which attracts more and more students who would have gone to Vienna to study earlier 5 views
In this visualization one can see the importance of the Italian universities in the formation of ... more In this visualization one can see the importance of the Italian universities in the formation of academically trained doctors. Increasingly, however, from the 15th century onwards, the universities in the HRE also offered courses of study for physicians, who began to attend them in large numbers. 5 views
Papers by Kaspar Gubler
Specimina Nova Pars Prima Sectio Mediaevalis XIII, 2024
This article aims to provide an overview of the methodological and technical foundations of the R... more This article aims to provide an overview of the methodological and technical foundations of the Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG), a pioneering project in digital history and prosopography. The RAG is based on meticulous data collection from university registers and supplementary sources from the Middle Ages, offering a comprehensive perspective on academic life within the Holy Roman Empire (HRE).
While the project primarily focuses on the HRE, it also serves as a valuable resource for studying Hungarian students. Although smaller in scope compared to databases such as the Repertorium Academicum Hungariae (RAH), the RAG nonetheless provides significant insights into the historical academic landscape and its broader connections.
Zeitschrift für Geschichte des Oberrheins, 2022
Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins 170 (2022) Thomas Schöpf (1520-1577) im Kreise der ... more Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins 170 (2022) Thomas Schöpf (1520-1577) im Kreise der Gelehrten seiner Zeit Zugänge einer wissensbasierten Prosopographie Von Kaspar Gubler Es war eine Pioniertat. Erstmals war das Berner Herrschaftsgebiet 1578 auf einer diesem Gebiet gewidmeten Karte zu sehen. Ein modernes und anschauliches Abbild der Landschaft, eine Art der Informationsvisualisierung, die neu auf einfachen Formen der Vermessung und nicht mehr nur auf Augenschein oder bloßen Skizzen beruhte. Für die Umsetzung eines solch innovativen und komplexen Großprojekts brauchte es Fachkräfte in technischer, handwerklicher, künstlerischer und publizistischer Hinsicht. Als führender Kopf des Projekts ist der Gelehrte Thomas Schöpf anzusehen, der aus Breisach am Rhein stammte. Schöpf eignete sich zuerst kartographisches Fachwissen an den Universitäten in Basel und vor allem in Wittenberg an. Anschließend erweiterte er seinen Bildungshorizont mit einem Medizinstudium in Montpellier und war fortan als Stadtarzt tätig, zuerst in Colmar und dann in Bern, wo er beim Kartenprojekt erstmals nachweislich sein Fachwissen anwenden sollte. Die Karte blieb jedoch sein einziges Werk dieser Art. Kurz vor ihrer Publikation verstarb Schöpf im Amt als Stadtarzt an der Pest. Die Frage nach seinen Werken und seinem Wirken führt uns zum Thema des Beitrags. Auffallend ist das fast völlige Fehlen einer schriftlichen Hinterlassenschaft. Es sind keine Publikationen von ihm überliefert und nur spärliche Korrespondenzen, in denen Schöpf außerdem nur wenig Persönliches preisgab. Der Versuch einer Annäherung an seine Person in einem Jubiläumsbeitrag zu seinem 500. Geburtstag musste aufgrund dieser Quellenlage scheitern 1 . Kritisiert werden muss an dem Beitrag aber vor allem die Darstellung zum Wirken Schöpfs als Kartograph, da die Quellen zu seiner Ausbildung kaum berücksichtigt und nicht im wissenschaftshistorischen Kontext eingeordnet wurden. Dagegen wird ohne Quellenbelege eine geheimnis-
Berner Zeitschrift für Geschichte (BEZG) , 2024
Nikolaus Wynmann (*1510 in Saanen, † after 1550) narrowly escaped drowning as a teenager during a... more Nikolaus Wynmann (*1510 in Saanen, † after 1550) narrowly escaped drowning as a teenager during a spa visit in Leuk, Valais. As he later recounted in his swimming manual, an elderly woman saved him at the last moment, after which playmates taught him how to swim. This experience sparked his lifelong fascination with water and led to the creation of the first known swimming manual, enriched with autobiographical anecdotes. Wynmann, a humanist scholar, studied in Zurich, Wrocław, Vienna, and Tübingen before teaching classical languages at the University of Ingolstadt. He later moved to Poland, where he worked at various schools, drafted a school ordinance in Nysa, and enrolled at the newly founded University of Königsberg. His last known work, a vivid travelogue documenting a sea journey from Gdańsk to Amsterdam, was published in 1550.
Wynmann is one of approximately 70,000 individuals recorded in the Repertorium Academicum (REPAC), a research project at the University of Bern. REPAC integrates social, cultural, and knowledge history with digital methods to analyze the impact of students and scholars from 1300 to 1550. The project’s subfields focus on Switzerland (RAH), the Bernese territory (RB), and the Holy Roman Empire (RAG). Using data visualization, REPAC reconstructs historical knowledge networks, offering new insights into the transmission and application of academic expertise in pre-modern Europe.
Examens, grades et diplômes. La validation des compétences par les universités du XIIe siècle à nos jours, Paris, Éditions de la Sorbonne,, 2023
The empirical study by Kaspar Gubler and Rainer Christoph Schwinges explores the academization an... more The empirical study by Kaspar Gubler and Rainer Christoph Schwinges explores the academization and professionalization brought about by university degrees in the German and European context between the 14th and 16th centuries. Using the "Repertorium Academicum Germanicum" (RAG) as a data foundation, the study documents around 60,000 graduates from higher faculties and their societal impact. Despite the rising number of graduates, the demand for academically trained individuals remained limited, making integration into professional fields challenging. The focus was predominantly on the arts, which accounted for the majority of graduations, while the demand for jurists stagnated. Regional differences and social factors heavily influenced the process of academization. Visualizations reveal how graduates applied their knowledge and expertise in society and politics, although non-academic qualifications remained common. The authors advocate for further research on the societal impacts of academic knowledge to better understand the dynamics of medieval and early modern education systems.
Approcci digitali al patrimonio culturale delle università Gli oggetti, le collezioni, i luoghi della scienza, Bologna, 2024
Understanding objects and works in archives, libraries, and museums is enriched when contextualiz... more Understanding objects and works in archives, libraries, and museums is enriched when contextualized within the biographies of their creators. The Repertorium Academicum (REPAC) project, situated at the intersection of cultural heritage and digital history, approaches this from a biographical lens, documenting students and scholars in Europe (1250–1550) with a focus on the Old German Empire. REPAC’s digital prosopography integrates individuals' life trajectories with their intellectual contributions, employing biographical and textual data to reconstruct knowledge spaces and cultural exchange. The project is documenting over 74'000 individuals. It focuses on influential figures such as nobility and higher-degree graduates while acknowledging the challenges of representing less-documented students. Methodologically, REPAC adopts a dual approach: manual data entry for precision and computational tools for scale, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis. The database links people, works, events, and locations, enabling a comprehensive understanding of knowledge transmission. Digital tools like AI, OCR, and visualizations play key roles in REPAC. Algorithms identify patterns in texts, linking biographical details with written works and correspondence. Visualizations, such as maps and networks, reveal the geographical and relational dynamics of knowledge transfer. For instance, the mobility of 15th-century Italian law professors highlights their role in spreading Roman law across Europe.
Gerundium, 2024
The Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG) is a long-term digital project that has been research... more The Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG) is a long-term digital project that has been researching the students and scholars of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) between 1250 and 1550. In 2020, the RAG was integrated into the larger project Repertorium Academicum (REPAC), which now also includes the Repertorium Academicum Helveticum (RAH) and the Repertorium Bernense (RB). The three sub-projects analyse different European regions: the HRE in the RAG, the Swiss Confederation in the RAH and the territory of the city of Bern in the RB. REPAC is based at the Historical Institute of the University of Bern. The common goal of the projects is to create prosopographical foundations for the history of the impact of scholars and their knowledge in order to clarify the origins and developments of the modern knowledge society.
Methodologically, the projects combine approaches from social, university and knowledge history with digital prosopography. At the centre is a research database in which the biographical events of students and scholars are recorded. This data is localised geographically and temporally to enable dynamic visualisations on maps, in networks and time series. The analyses focus on the geographical and social mobility of individuals and on the dissemination and application of academic knowledge by individuals and institutions such as universities, schools, churches, monasteries, ecclesiastical and secular courts and tribunals. In addition, this digital methodology enables together with the tools for data visualisation the reconstruction of specific knowledge spaces analysing their determining factors.
Acta Universitatis Carolinae – Historia Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis , 2023
This study uses the example of data from the Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG) to highlight... more This study uses the example of data from the Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG) to highlight various aspects of dealing with research data in historical research. The RAG is a project focused on scholars from the Old German Empire (1250-1550), whose lives and studies are collected and evaluated in a prosopographical database. The database combines quantitative and qualitative methods for the collection, analysis, and interpretation of research data. Using the example of scholars included in the RAG who stayed at the Basel University in 1460-1550, the author presents the basic approaches to network analysis used in the project. The example of Basel scholars in the RAG shows how students and scholars from Eastern and Central Europe can be identified in this network. Although their numbers by mid-sixteenth century were not high, a qualitative examination of their biographies shows that they had a variety of contacts in Basel prior to their arrival and that they played an important role in early relations with Eastern and Central Europe. In addition to personal encounters linked to studies and related activities, correspondence and general references in written works are also taken into account.
Digital Turn und Historische Bildungsforschung. Bestandsaufnahme und Forschungsperspektiven, 2022
This paper explores methodologies for networking, harmonizing, and analyzing research data, using... more This paper explores methodologies for networking, harmonizing, and analyzing research data, using the example of a prosopographical database comprising approximately 200,000 students from European universities between 1200 and 1800. The focus lies on overcoming the challenges of integrating heterogeneous data sets, which are often characterized by inconsistencies due to diverse historical sources and varying data models. The study introduces a dynamic data ingestion (DDI) module designed to import, map, and harmonize data across different databases without altering the original data structures. The process emphasizes the qualitative enrichment of data through contextual knowledge and manual verification, supplemented by automated reconciliation techniques. The case study involves the integration of datasets from universities in Bologna, Padua, Paris, and the Holy Roman Empire, illustrating the potential of linked open data (LOD) to reveal transnational academic networks and mobility patterns. Furthermore, the paper discusses the role of digital humanities tools, such as network analysis and data visualization, in enhancing historical research. The findings highlight that while technical solutions facilitate data integration, the key to meaningful insights lies in interdisciplinary collaboration and the critical interpretation of data within its historical context.
Der Autor beleuchtet die eigentümliche Urteilspraxis der Strafjustiz in spätmittelalterlichen Stä... more Der Autor beleuchtet die eigentümliche Urteilspraxis der Strafjustiz in spätmittelalterlichen Städten. Das finstere Blutgericht mit seiner martialischen Härte und Grausamkeit steht, wie die Forschung in den letzten Jahrzehnten gezeigt hat, nur für einen Teil der Strafjustiz. Der Rechtsalltag war weniger spektakulär. Die Richter mussten sich mit zahlreichen kleineren Delikten befassen. Sie fuhren nur ausnahmsweise grobes Geschütz auf, liessen oft Gnade vor Recht ergehen und passten das Strafmass den finanziellen und sozialen Verhältnissen des Verurteilten an. Dadurch waren die meisten Strafen verkraftbar. Diese Urteilspraxis war aber nur vordergründig mild. Im Hintergrund spielten ausgeklügelte Mechanismen von Macht und wirksamer gesellschaftlicher Disziplinierung. Der Strafvollzug war effektiv und die Durchsetzungskraft der städtischen Obrigkeit hoch. Schauplätze der vorliegenden Arbeit sind einerseits die Strafgerichte in Schaffhausen. Andererseits blickt der Autor über die Stadtma...
Kaspar Gubler, Christian Hesse, Rainer C. Schwinges (Hrsg.): Person und Wissen. Bilanz und Perspektiven, 2022
Von Daten zu Informationen und Wissen. Zum Stand der Datenbank des Repertorium Academicum Germani... more Von Daten zu Informationen und Wissen. Zum Stand der Datenbank des Repertorium Academicum Germanicum, in: Kaspar Gubler, Christian Hesse, Rainer C. Schwinges (Hrsg.): Person und Wissen. Bilanz und Perspektiven, Zürich (RAG Forschungen 4), Zürich 2022, S. 19-47.
Was haben etwa der Walliser Mediziner Thomas Platter der Altere und der Berner Ratsherr Thuring F... more Was haben etwa der Walliser Mediziner Thomas Platter der Altere und der Berner Ratsherr Thuring Fricker gemeinsam? Beide pflegten ein personliches Netzwerk mit anderen Gelehrten in ganz Europa. Seit es Universitaten in Europa gibt (Paris und Bologna um 1200), konkurrierten gelehrte mit nicht gelehrten Fachleuten, traf gelehrtes Wissen auf Erfahrungs- und Alltagswissen. Diesen Prozess von Konkurrenz und Austausch zwischen den Wissenstragern und Wissensebenen zu verfolgen, gehort zu den Aufgaben, die sich das Repertorium Academicum Germanicum (RAG) gestellt hat. Die Datenbank des RAG bietet derzeit biographische und wissensbasierte Informationen zu Personen und Verfasserschaften von rund 62’000 Gelehrten aus allen Landern des ehemaligen romisch-deutschen Reiches (Deutschland, Schweiz, Benelux-Staaten, Osterreich- Ungarn, Tschechien, Teilen Frankreichs und Italiens) fur den Zeitraum von 1250- 1550. Der Vortrag gibt Einblick in die dynamische Visualisierung von kontextualisierten Biogra...
Gelehrte Lebenswelten im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert. (RAG Forschungen 2)., 2018
The University of Dôle, founded in 1423 in the Free County of Burgundy, emerged as a pivotal inst... more The University of Dôle, founded in 1423 in the Free County of Burgundy, emerged as a pivotal institution within the European academic landscape, primarily serving as a law university and a transit hub for scholars between France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Italy. Despite its modest size compared to major universities like Paris, Bologna, or Louvain, Dôle played a critical role in the dissemination of Roman legal principles and in the professionalization of administrative elites in Burgundy. Its foundation aligned with the administrative reforms of Duke Philip the Good and Chancellor Nicolas Rolin, who sought to centralize governance through a cadre of legally trained officials. The university’s strategic location fostered transregional intellectual exchange, attracting students from the Franche-Comté, the German Empire, and beyond. Dôle's influence extended through the careers of its alumni in both secular and ecclesiastical roles across Europe. The university’s decline in the late 16th century was influenced by internal reforms, the rise of Jesuit educational institutions, and the broader confessionalization of education during the Reformation. This study situates Dôle within the dynamic networks of knowledge circulation and administrative power, highlighting its contribution to European legal and academic history.
Teaching Documents by Kaspar Gubler
histdata.hypotheses.org, 2020
Conference Presentations by Kaspar Gubler
Atelier Heloise, 2024
At the annual meeting of Atelier Héloïse, a European research group on the digital history of uni... more At the annual meeting of Atelier Héloïse, a European research group on the digital history of universities, space and knowledge, I will be giving a lecture on Charitludium iuridicum, a card game developed by the theologian Thomas Murner. His aim was to improve students’ learning success with this didactic tool, which actually worked. The cards provide students with an overview of the structure and the main contents of the popular introductory legal lecture on Justinian’s institutions.
In my presentation I will show how digital history methods can be used to contextualise the creation, distribution and reception of playing cards: Kaspar Gubler: “Learning by playing: Card games as a didactic tool for teaching law, developed by Thomas Murner (1474-1537), professor at the Universities of Basel and Krakow.”
Uploads
Videos by Kaspar Gubler
Papers by Kaspar Gubler
While the project primarily focuses on the HRE, it also serves as a valuable resource for studying Hungarian students. Although smaller in scope compared to databases such as the Repertorium Academicum Hungariae (RAH), the RAG nonetheless provides significant insights into the historical academic landscape and its broader connections.
Wynmann is one of approximately 70,000 individuals recorded in the Repertorium Academicum (REPAC), a research project at the University of Bern. REPAC integrates social, cultural, and knowledge history with digital methods to analyze the impact of students and scholars from 1300 to 1550. The project’s subfields focus on Switzerland (RAH), the Bernese territory (RB), and the Holy Roman Empire (RAG). Using data visualization, REPAC reconstructs historical knowledge networks, offering new insights into the transmission and application of academic expertise in pre-modern Europe.
Methodologically, the projects combine approaches from social, university and knowledge history with digital prosopography. At the centre is a research database in which the biographical events of students and scholars are recorded. This data is localised geographically and temporally to enable dynamic visualisations on maps, in networks and time series. The analyses focus on the geographical and social mobility of individuals and on the dissemination and application of academic knowledge by individuals and institutions such as universities, schools, churches, monasteries, ecclesiastical and secular courts and tribunals. In addition, this digital methodology enables together with the tools for data visualisation the reconstruction of specific knowledge spaces analysing their determining factors.
Teaching Documents by Kaspar Gubler
Conference Presentations by Kaspar Gubler
In my presentation I will show how digital history methods can be used to contextualise the creation, distribution and reception of playing cards: Kaspar Gubler: “Learning by playing: Card games as a didactic tool for teaching law, developed by Thomas Murner (1474-1537), professor at the Universities of Basel and Krakow.”
While the project primarily focuses on the HRE, it also serves as a valuable resource for studying Hungarian students. Although smaller in scope compared to databases such as the Repertorium Academicum Hungariae (RAH), the RAG nonetheless provides significant insights into the historical academic landscape and its broader connections.
Wynmann is one of approximately 70,000 individuals recorded in the Repertorium Academicum (REPAC), a research project at the University of Bern. REPAC integrates social, cultural, and knowledge history with digital methods to analyze the impact of students and scholars from 1300 to 1550. The project’s subfields focus on Switzerland (RAH), the Bernese territory (RB), and the Holy Roman Empire (RAG). Using data visualization, REPAC reconstructs historical knowledge networks, offering new insights into the transmission and application of academic expertise in pre-modern Europe.
Methodologically, the projects combine approaches from social, university and knowledge history with digital prosopography. At the centre is a research database in which the biographical events of students and scholars are recorded. This data is localised geographically and temporally to enable dynamic visualisations on maps, in networks and time series. The analyses focus on the geographical and social mobility of individuals and on the dissemination and application of academic knowledge by individuals and institutions such as universities, schools, churches, monasteries, ecclesiastical and secular courts and tribunals. In addition, this digital methodology enables together with the tools for data visualisation the reconstruction of specific knowledge spaces analysing their determining factors.
In my presentation I will show how digital history methods can be used to contextualise the creation, distribution and reception of playing cards: Kaspar Gubler: “Learning by playing: Card games as a didactic tool for teaching law, developed by Thomas Murner (1474-1537), professor at the Universities of Basel and Krakow.”