The Medieval Memoria Online (MeMO) portal facilitates a new approach for researching the medieval culture of remembrance (memoria). It enables an interdisciplinary investigation in which case studies are combined with a comparative analysis of large amounts of source materials, including both objects and texts. This objective is achieved byA. making available on the Internet an information system containing databases with inventories and descriptions of sources that are fundamental to the study of memoria. These sources are1. memorial registers,2. narrative sources regarding memoria,3. memorial paintings and sculptures (Memorialbilder), and4. sepulchral monuments and gravestones.In addition to the four types of memoria sources, the MeMO research infrastructure also provides5. basic information on the institutions from which the sources originate.The application includes- photographs of the objects, links to full text scans of memorial registers, and links to related and other relevant websites- extensive introductory texts, both in English and Dutch, on the medieval commemoration of the dead- information about the sources used for the compilation of the database and about the criteria for including the objects and text carriers, and- both a written text manual and a video on how to use the database.B. websites (and PDF’s) created by the MeMO project as supporting tools both for introducing medieval memoria to students, pupils, teachers and the generally interested public, and for researchers. These applications range from a Rich Internet Application which helps the user to get acquainted with the phenomenon of memoria, to an extensive bibliography on memoria in the Netherlands, and a comprehensive glossary on words and expressions concerning memoria (Dutch, English and German). See Relations for the titles of these websites.Target group- researchers of the commemoration of the dead in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period- local historians, genealogists and researchers of heraldry who carry out research into ancient families- museum curators- teachers, pupils and students who wish to write a paper or a thesis, and- people with a general interest in the Christian art and culture of the Middle AgesRe-usability and extensibility of research data1. The portal has been designed to allow for more websites, PDF’s and links to other relevant websites2. The database has been designed to allow for- continuous inclusion of descriptions of newly found objects and text carriers of the type already included- descriptions of other types of sources- other areas and periodsGenerally the database is suited for data that are used for research projects that focus on the functioning of the material (e.g. paintings of guilds, confraternities and the civic militia; inventories; books of hours, liturgical books, archival sources that functioned in institutions)

LanguageThe database: records: English; transcriptions: Dutch and Latin; heraldry: English and Dutch; introductory texts: English and Dutch.Supporting websites and PDF's: either English or Dutch, or both English and Dutch.Relations:Please note that the first four websites have been important sources of information for the creation of the MeMO database. The other five websites are part of the supporting websites and PDF's of the MeMO project itself.Description standard and data model:To optimize the use of the MeMO information system and communication among memoria scholars, a description standard called MeMO Description Standard (MeMO DS) has been developed for the description of the source material. This standard formalizes the features of source types (objects and texts) for which an inventory and descriptions have been developed. MeMO DS has been developed because the existing description standards did not provide all fields that are needed for research that is mainly concerned with the use and functioning of the objects and texts in the memoria culture of the Middle Ages. The creation, use and maintenance of MeMO DS is based on the implementation procedure developed for the international Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI; http://www.dublincore.org). MeMO DS includes relevant descriptors of existing metadata standards such as EAD (Encoded Archival Description) and TEI (Text Encoding Initiative). An international editorial board consisting of experts from the different fields of memoria research has supervised the development of MeMO DS. The element sets and the definitions are included in the MeMO website.MeMO DS was taken as the starting point for the development of a data model. This model formed the basis for the creation of the database system. The database system comprises three sections: for the objects, the texts, and for the institutions of origin. The datamodel is included in the MeMO website.Please note that the size of some of the data files exceeds the download limit. Currently the size is not displayed correctly in EASY. If you'd like to download these large data files, please contact DANS via info@dans.knaw.nl.