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Encode Persons

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The Personography File

All personography entries are contained in a single XML file named PERS1.xml. This file is contained in the data folder of the subversion repository. All teams members occasionally edit PERS1.xml. Before you edit the file, make sure no one else is working in the file. If you are in HCMC, talk to the other MoEML team members. If you are not in the lab, send an email to all team members with the subject Working in PERS1. When you have finished, validated, and committed your work, send out another email with the subject Finished working in PERS1. If you are unable to add an entry to PERS1 when you need to, you can link instead to the placeholder entry mol:PPPP1, and then come back to the problem later. When linking to the placeholder, make sure you include a comment with full details of what needs to be done.

Add a Historical or Literary Person to the Personography

Encode the Root Element

The <person> element is the root of every personography entry. It requires a unique @xml:id, so that references in other documents to people may be tagged with that unique @xml:id and links made to the information in the Personography file (PERS1.xml). The value of the @xml:id should be comprised of the "mol:" pointer plus a unique four digit and one letter identifier. Use the Transformation Scenario Retrieve Next Free Id in oXygen, or use Ctrl+F on the A-Z Index on the Jenkins site to find the next unused id.
For historical persons, you must also add a @sex attribute to the <person> element. Enter a value of "0" if the person’s sex is unknown, "1" if the person is male, "2" if the person is female, or "9" if the person’s sex is not applicable.
Here are some examples of how to encode the <person> root element:
<person xml:id="THRO4000" sex="1"> </person>
<person xml:id="HUNG7000" sex="2"> </person>
Nested within the <person> element should be the following second-tier elements: <persName>, <birth> (if known), <death> (if known), <floruit> (if birth and death are not known), and <note>. The following sections describe how to encode these elements.

Encode Names

Nest a <persName> tag inside the <person> element. We use the <persName> element to tag the various names (forename, surname, etc.) associated with a person. Before tagging these names, add a @type attribute to the <persName> element. We use this attribute to identify a person as a historical figure or a literary figure. If a person is historical, supply a @type value of "hist". If a person is literary, supply a @type value of "lit".
Nest name tags within the <persName> element. There are six name tags that you can use when encoding a person’s name: <reg>, <forename>, <surname>, <roleName>, <genName>, and <addName>.
Use the <reg> element to tag a regularized version of the person’s name. In most instances, the regularized version will be the person’s forename followed by their surname (e.g., <reg>William Shakespeare</reg>). In special cases, however, the regularized version of a person’s name may contain only certain components of their1 name or components in a certain order. The following table outlines a number of special cases in which a person’s regularized name does not follow the usual Forename + Surname format:
Type of Person Template Example
Monarch of England Forename + Ordinal
<reg>Elizabeth
                    I</reg>
Monarch of a country other than England Forename + Ordinal + of + Dominion
<reg>Charles I of
                    Spain</reg>
Member of the peerage Forename + Surname [No Title]
<reg>Thomas
                    Howard</reg>
Member of the gentry Sir or Dame + Forename + Surname
<reg>Sir William
                    Roch</reg>
Pope Forename + Ordinal
<reg>Innocent
                    III</reg>
Saint St. [Not Saint] + Forename + Surname
<reg>St. Augustine
                    of Canterbury</reg>
Bishop or priest Forename + Surname [No Title]
<reg>Thomas
                    Arundel</reg>
Doctor Dr. [Not Doctor] + Forename + Surname
<reg>Dr. William
                    Chichele</reg>
Person with a different birth name Forename + Surname + (née + Surname at Birth + )
<reg>Anne
                    Farrant(née Bower)</reg>
Person with no known surname Mr. or Ms. + Forename
<reg>Mr.
                    Robert</reg>
Person with no known forename Mr. or Ms. + Surname
<reg>Mr.
                    Randoll</reg>
Use the <forename> element to tag a person’s forename or given name (e.g., <forename>William</forename>). Sometimes, a person will have more than one forename (i.e., they will have a middle name or middle names). We tag every such name separately using the <forename> tag. We also use the <forename> element to tag the names of allegorical or mythological figures (e.g., <forename>Truth</forename> or <forename>Zeus</forename>):
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Henry Frederick</reg>
                <forename>Henry</forename>
                <forename>Frederick</forename>
              </persName>
Use the <surname> element to tag a person’s surname or family name (e.g., <surname>Shakespeare</surname>). Sometimes, a person’s surname will contain a preposition (e.g., Robert de Arras, or Chet van Duzer). Tag these prepositions using the <nameLink> element nested within the <surname> element:
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Robert de Arras</reg>
                <forename>Robert</forename>
                <surname><nameLink>de</nameLink> Arras</surname>
              </persName>
Note that some people, often married women, may be known by more than one surname. As with people who have multiple forenames, we tag each surname separately:
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Anne Farrant (née Bower)</reg>
                <forename>Anne</forename>
                <surname>Farrant</surname>
                <surname>Bower</surname>
              </persName>
Use the <roleName> element to tag any titles or roles associated with a person’s name. Often, a role name will be the first component in a person’s name:
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Sir David Craddock</reg>
                <roleName>Sir</roleName>
                <forename>David</forename>
                <surname>Craddock</surname>
              </persName>
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Urban IV</reg>
                <roleName>Pope</roleName>
                <forename>Urban</forename>
                <genName><num type="roman" value="4">IV</num></genName>
              </persName>
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>St. Anthony of Egypt</reg>
                <roleName>Saint</roleName>
                <forename>Antony</forename>
                <surname><nameLink>of</nameLink> Egypt</surname>
              </persName>
Note that each of these tags identify a person as occupying a particular station or rank within society. Sometimes, a role name will be the last component in a person’s name:
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Sir Edward Barkham</reg>
                <roleName>Sir</roleName>
                <forename>Edward</forename>
                <surname>Barkham</surname>
                <roleName>Sheriff</roleName>
                <roleName>Mayor</roleName>
              </persName>
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Thomas Savage</reg>
                <forename>Thomas</forename>
                <surname>Savage</surname>
                <roleName>Bishop</roleName>
                <roleName>Archbishop</roleName>
              </persName>
These kinds of role names are usually titles or offices that a person holds. If the person is a monarch, we list their <roleName> as the last component of their name:
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Elizabeth I</reg>
                <forename>Elizabeth</forename>
                <genName><num type="roman" value="1">I</num></genName>
                <roleName>Queen of England</roleName>
                <roleName>Queen of Ireland</roleName>
                <addName>Gloriana</addName>
                <addName>Good Queen Bess</addName>
              </persName>
It is important to note that not everyone who holds an office/title should have a <roleName> tag. As a general rule, we tag the role names of monarchs and other members of royalty (e.g., King of England, Queen of France etc.), religious officials (e.g., Pope, Saint, Archdeacon of London, Bishop of Durham, Archbishop of York etc.), lord mayors (e.g., Mayor), sheriffs (e.g., Sheriffs), and members of the gentry (e.g., Sir, Dame, Lord, Lady). Conversely, we do not tag the role names of aldermen, livery company directors, etc. Since the order of tags (<forename>, <surname>, <roleName>, <genName>, <addName>) are rendered in the order they are encoded, it is important to stay consistent and know where the <roleName> element should appear. While there may be exceptions to the rule, usually:
  • Sir, Dame, Lord, and Lady are encoded before <forename>.
  • Pope is encoded before <forename>.
  • Saint is encoded before <forename>.
  • Sheriff and Mayor are encoded after <surname>.
  • Bishop of, Archbishop of, and Archdeacon of are encoded after <surname>.
  • King of and Queen of are encoded after <surname>.
Use the <genName> element to tag any ordinals in a person’s name. Usually, only monarchs or popes will have ordinals in their names (e.g., Elizabeth I or Innocent III). We write ordinals as roman numerals and, accordingly, nest a <num> tag with a @type value of "roman" within the <genName>. We also add a @value attribute to the <num> tag with a value that corresponds to that of the roman numeral being tagged:
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Boniface IX</reg>
                <roleName>Pope</roleName>
                <forename>Boniface</forename>
                <genName><num type="roman" value="9">IX</num></genName>
              </persName>
When a person has more than one ordinal in their name, we tag each ordinal separately:
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>James VI and I</reg>
                <forename>James</forename>
                <genName><num type="roman" value="6">VI</num></genName>
                <genName><num type="roman" value="1">I</num></genName>
                <roleName>King of Scotland</roleName>
                <roleName>King of England</roleName>
                <roleName>King of Ireland</roleName>
              </persName>
The <genName> element is also used to tag the Younger and the Elder:
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Cato the Younger</reg>
                <forename>Cato</forename>
                <genName>the Younger</genName>
              </persName>
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Pliny the Elder</reg>
                <forename>Pliny</forename>
                <genName>the Elder</genName>
              </persName>
Use the <addName> element to tag any aliases, nicknames, or epithets associated with a person’s name. The <addName> tag is not used for variant spellings of a person’s name or location-based indicators (e.g., of Norwich, of Ely, of France):
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Alfred the Great</reg>
                <roleName>King</roleName>
                <forename>Alfred</forename>
                <addName>the Great</addName>
              </persName>
<persName type="hist">
                <reg>Edward I</reg>
                <forename>Edward</forename>
                <genName><num type="roman" value="1">I</num></genName>
                <roleName>King of England</roleName>
                <addName>Longshanks</addName>
                <addName>Hammer of the Scots</addName>
              </persName>
Like <roleName>, it is important to stay consistent and know where the <addName> element should appear. While there may be exceptions to the rule, usually:
  • Epithets (i.e., the Great) are encoded after <surname> and, if applicable, after <genName>.
  • Nicknames and aliases (i.e., Longshanks or Hammer of the Scots) are encoded at the end of the entry after <rolename>.
Sometimes a person will have a leading epithet (i.e., Black Will) which will require the <addName> tag to precede the other tags. In rare cases, the <addName> tag will be the only known component (other than the always-necessary <reg> tag) in a person’s name (e.g., <addName>Whipping Tom</addName>). Refer to the above examples and other examples in PERS1 for help.
In total, the <persName> tag and its nested components should provide a comprehensive record of the various names used to identify a person. The <reg> tag wraps the authority name and the other tags (<forename>, <surname>, <roleName>, <genName>, and <addName>) (1) break down the <reg> name into its parts and (2) provide extra information that may not be included in the <reg> name.

Encode Life Dates

If known, important life dates such as a person’s date of birth, date of death, and/or flourish dates can be can be encoded following the <persName> element. Three self-closing dating elements may be used:
  • Use the <birth/> element to encode information about a person’s date of birth.
  • Use the <death/> element to encode information about a person’s date of death.
  • Use the <floruit/> element to encode information about the dates a person was active (i.e., their flourish dates).
Choose which dating elements to include. You will often only have enough information to use one or two of the above dating elements. Because death records were far more common than birth records in early modern England, it is easier find information about a person’s date of death. Baptism records often serve as the only primary sources for determining a person’s date of birth. As infants were customarily baptised a few days after they were born, baptism records can provide an approximation of when someone was born. We record flourish dates only if both a person’s date of birth and date of death are unknown.
Next, add attributes with values to the dating elements. Every element must declare (1) a date or duration and (2) the calendar system being used. To declare a date or duration, follow these guidelines:
  • Use the @when-custom attribute to express a single date of birth or date of death. This attribute may not be used in combination with any other dating attributes.
  • Use the @from-custom attribute to express the start date of a duration. This attribute may only be added to the <floruit> element. It must be used in combination with either the @to-custom attribute or the @notAfter-custom attribute.
  • Use the @from-custom attribute to express the start date of a duration. This attribute may only be added to the <floruit> element. It must be used in combination with either the @to-custom attribute or the @notAfter-custom attribute.
  • Use the @notBefore-custom attribute to expresses the earliest possible date of an event. Unlike the value of the @from-custom attribute, the value of the @notBefore-custom attribute is not assumed to be a definitive start date of a duration. In fact, the @notBefore-custom attribute may express any duration that begun after the specified date or any single date that occurred after the specified date. Accordingly, it may be added to any dating element and it may be used by itself or in combination with the @notAfter-custom attribute or the @to-custom attribute.
  • Use the @notAfter-custom attribute to express the latest possible date of an event. Unlike the value of the @to-custom attribute, the value of the @notAfter-custom attribute is not assumed to be a definitive start date of a duration. The @notAfter-custom attribute may express any duration that finished before the specified date or any single date that occurred before the specified date. Accordingly, it may be added to any dating element and it may be used by itself or in combination with the @notBefore-custom attribute or the @from-custom attribute.
  • Values for the @when-custom, @from-custom, @to-custom, @notBefore-custom, and @notAfter-custom attributes must be entered in standard ISO format. Reference particular days as "YYYY-MM-DD", months as "YYYY-MM", and years as "YYYY". Use zeros to fill extra digits in years that are less than four digits (e.g., 0012 [C.E.]). Use negative values when referring to a year before the common-era (e.g., -0008 [B.C.E.]).
To declare the calendar system being used, add a @datingMethod attribute to the dating element, then choose one of the following values:
  • Enter a value of "mol:julianMar" if your source uses a Julian calendar and considers March 25th the beginning of the new year. Any dates taken based on information from Stow should have this value.
  • Enter a value of "mol:julianJan" if your source uses the Julian calendar and considers January 1st the beginning of the new year. Although March 25th traditionally marked the new year in the Julian calendar, some early modern writers (e.g., Samuel Peyps) had already begun using January 1st as the new year to replicate the new style of the Gregorian calendar, which was used by Catholic countries in mainland Europe.
  • Enter a value of "mol:julianSic" if your source uses the Julian calendar, but you are unsure whether January 1st or March 25th is considered the beginning of the new year. In most cases, you will likely use this value as many sources, including the ODNB, are not entirely clear about the calendar system they use.
  • Enter a value of "mol:gregorian" if your source uses the Gregorian calendar. Because England did not begin using the Gregorian calendar until 1752 (well after the period our project studies), you will rarely encounter a source that uses the Gregorian calendar. Nonetheless, it is possible that a source may use a proleptic Gregorian calendar, so the appropriate value is listed here.
In addition to the attributes and values outlined above, there are two optional attributes that can be added to dating elements in special cases:
  • Use the @cert attribute with a value of "low" to express when you are uncertain about the accuracy of a date. This may happen when your information is based on an unreliable resource (e.g., Wikipedia) or when two or more sources give conflicting information.
  • Use the @evidence attribute with a value of "baptism" to express when a date of birth is based on a baptism record. Accordingly, the @evidence attribute should only be added to the <birth/> element.
Here are some examples of how to encode life dates in a personography entry:
<death when-custom="1509" datingMethod="mol:julianMar"/>
<birth notAfter-custom="1560" evidence="baptism" datingMethod="mol:julianSic"/> <death when-custom="1633" datingMethod="mol:julianSic"/>
<floruit from-custom="1648" to-custom="1658" datingMethod="mol:julianSic"/>

Note Biographical Information

A <note> element should always follow the <persName> element. When known, life dates may be inserted between the <persName> and <note> elements. We use the <note> element to encode a short biographical statement and link to one or two external resources about a person.

Write a Bio Statement

Nest a <p> element immediately within the <note> element. We use this <p> element to tag a short biographical statement about the person. A biographical statement should summarize the salient facts pertaining to a person’s life, including their important roles, titles, and/or relations.
Note that references to dates, locations, and other people in the biographical statement are marked up using the appropriate TEI-XML tags. Because certain types of people will have similar biographical statements, we have developed a set of templates:
Type of Person Template Example
Member of the peerage Ordinal(s) + name of title(s) + . + Other biographical information + .
<p>First Earl of
                      Banbury. Husband of <name ref="mol:KNOL3">Constance
                    Knolles</name>.</p>
Actor Actor with + name of playing company + . + Other biographical information + .
<p>Actor with the
                        <name type="org" ref="mol:KIME1">King’s Men</name>. First editor of <name ref="mol:SHAK1">William Shakespeare</name>’s First Folio.</p>
Mayor Sheriff of London + first year as sheriff [in YYYY format] + - + last year as sheriff [in YYYY format] + . + Mayor + first year as mayor [in YYYY format] + - + last year as mayor [in YYYY format] + . Member of the + livery company to which they belonged + . + Other biographical information + .
<p>Sheriff of
                        <ref target="mol:LOND5">London</ref>
                      <date datingMethod="mol:julianSic" from-custom="1489" to-custom="1490">1489-1490</date>. Mayor <date datingMethod="mol:julianSic" from-custom="1503" to-custom="1504">1503-1504</date> and <date datingMethod="mol:julianSic" from-custom="1509" to-custom="1510">1509-1510</date>. Member of the <name type="org" ref="mol:DRAP3">Drapers’
                        Company</name>. Buried at <ref target="mol:HOLY1">Holy Trinity
                      Priory</ref>.</p>
Sheriff Sheriff of London + first year as sheriff [in YYYY format] + - + last year as sheriff [in YYYY format] + . Member of the + livery company to which they belonged + . + Other biographical information + .
<p>Sheriff of
                        <ref target="mol:LOND5">London</ref>
                      <date from-custom="1567" to-custom="1568" datingMethod="mol:julianSic">1567-1568</date>. Member of the <name type="org" ref="mol:HABE2">Haberdashers’ Company</name>. Knighted on <date when-custom="1603-07-23" datingMethod="mol:julianSic" calendar="mol:julianSic">23 July
                      1603</date>.</p>
Member of a livery company Member of the + livery company to which they belonged. + Other biographical information + .
<p>Member of the
                        <name ref="mol:GOLD3" type="org">Goldsmithsʼ Company</name>. Warden of <ref target="mol:LOND1">London Bridge</ref>. Buried at <ref target="mol:STJO6">St. John Zachary</ref>.</p>
Monarch Queen [or] King + of + dominion(s) + first year of reign [in YYYY format] - last year of reign [in YYYY format] + . + Other biographical information + .
<p>Queen of
                      England <date from-custom="1553" to-custom="1603" datingMethod="mol:julianSic" calendar="mol:julianSic">1533-1603</date>.</p>
Pope Pope + first year as pope [in YYYY format] - last year as pope [in YYYY format] + . + Other biographical information + .
<p>Pope <date datingMethod="mol:julianSic" from-custom="0314" to-custom="0335">314-335</date>.</p>
Bishop and/or Archbishop Bishop + of + dominion(s) + first year as bishop [in YYYY format] - last year as bishop [in YYYY format] + . Archbishop + of + dominion(s) + first year as archbishop [in YYYY format] - last year as archbishop [in YYYY format] + . + Other biographical information + .
<p>Bishop of <ref target="mol:LOND5">London</ref>
                      <date datingMethod="mol:julianSic" from-custom="1597" to-custom="1604">1604-1604</date>. Archbishop of Canterbury <date datingMethod="mol:julianSic" from-custom="1604" to-custom="1610">1604-1610</date>. Chief overseer of the production of the King James
                      Bible.</p>
Dramatic character Character [or more specific description of role] + in+ Author’s Name + ’s + Name of Play or Work + .
<p>Constable in
                        <name ref="mol:SHAK1">William Shakespeare</name>’s <title level="m">Much Ado
                        about Nothing</title>.</p>
Allegorical character in a mayoral show Personification of + concept the character represents + . Appears as an allegorical character in mayoral shows.
<p>Personification of purity. Appears as an allegorical character in mayoral
                      shows.</p>
In addition to the special cases outlined in this table, there are a number of universal rules that should be followed when formatting any biographical statement.
Biographic statements should be written in fragments rather than complete sentences. Separate fragments using periods (avoid using semicolons):
<note>
                <p>Wife of <name ref="mol:MELL3">Robert Mellingon</name>. Daughter of <name ref="mol:FERR2">Ferreis of Ousley</name>. Buried at <ref target="mol:CRUT2">Crossed Friars</ref>. Not to be confused with <name ref="mol:MELL2">Dame
                    Elizabeth Mellington</name>.</p>
              </note>
Spell out ordinals in titles:
<note>
                <p>First Earl of Somerset.</p>
              </note>
When describing a person’s relationship with another person, use the preposition of rather than to and separate each relation with a period:
<note>
                <p>Wife of <name ref="mol:SLAN1">Stephen Slaney</name>. Mother of <name ref="mol:SLAN3">Stephen Slaney</name>, <name ref="mol:SLAN4">Anne
                    Colepepper</name>, <name ref="mol:SLAN5">Mary Weld</name>, <name ref="mol:SLAN6">Elizabeth Lennard</name>, <name ref="mol:SLAN7">Jasper Slaney</name>, <name ref="mol:SLAN8">Thomas Slaney</name>, <name ref="mol:SLAN9">Richard
                    Slaney</name>, <name ref="mol:SLAN10">Timothy Slaney</name>, <name ref="mol:SLAN11">Alicia Slaney</name>, and <name ref="mol:SLAN12">Martha
                    Slaney</name>. Daughter of <name ref="mol:PHEA1">Jasper Pheasant</name>.</p>
              </note>
When writing about a person’s family, note that the order of their biographical statement goes spouse(s) (Wife of), offspring (Mother of), parent(s) (Daughter of), and sibiling(s) (Sister of). For consistency, it is also important that all people mentioned in a <note> element are referred to by their <reg> name. In the above example, see how Anne Colepepper, Mary Weld, and Elizabeth Lennard are referred to as their <reg> names (in this case, their forenames and surnames after marriage) and are not called Anne Slaney, Mary Slaney, and Elizabeth Slaney. The only exception to this rule is monarchs; when mentioning a monarch in a <note> element, also include King or Queen:
<note><p>Duke of York. Son of <name ref="mol:EDWA6">King Edward IV</name>. Brother of
                    <name ref="mol:EDWA15">King Edward V</name>. Mysteriously disappeared shortly
                  after <name ref="mol:RICH3">King Richard III</name> seized the throne in <date datingMethod="mol:julianMar" when-custom="1483">1483</date>.</p>
              </note>
Express date ranges that occur in the same century in YYYY-YYYY format (e.g., 1601-1602). Express date ranges that span across two centuries also in YYYY-YYYY format (e.g., 1598-1601). Note that we use a hyphen instead of a preposition in date ranges.
When noting where a person was buried, insert a separate fragment beginning with Buried at:
<note>
                <p>Esquire. Buried at <ref target="mol:STMI9">St. Mildred, Bread Street</ref>.</p>
              </note>
When noting where a person has a monument dedicated to them, insert a separate fragment beginning with Monument at:
<note>
                <p>Alderman. Monument at <ref target="mol:ALLH3">All Hallows, Bread
                  Street</ref>.</p>
              </note>
Note that when mentioning locations in <note> elements—similarly to people—their <reg> names are used for consistency.
When little information can be found about a person except that they were an early modern Londoner, the <note> element should read Denizen of London. If nothing can be found about a person, the <note> element should read:
<note>
                <p><title level="m">MoEML</title> has not yet added biographical content for this
                  person. The editors welcome research leads from qualified individuals. Please <ref target="mol:contact">contact us</ref> for further information.</p>
              </note>
When there is not enough information to accuratly discern if someone is the same person as another, add Possibly the same person as so readers know to look at both entries:
<note>
                <p>Son of <name ref="mol:SKIN4">Sir Thomas Skinner</name>. Possibly the same person
                  as <name ref="mol:SKIN7">John Skinner</name>.</p>
              </note>

Example Entries

Examples of fully encoded historical or literary <person> entries in PERS1.xml can be found by searching the file for type="hist" or type="lit", or by using XPath like this: //person[persName[@type='hist']]. When adding a new person to PERS1, it is a good idea to look at existing entries of similar figures. For example, when adding a sheriff to PERS1, look at the biographical statements of other sheriffs and try to stay as consistent as possible.

Research a Historical or Literary Person

Biographical research is often required in order to add a historical or literary (especially mythological) person to the personography. The following table outlines the resources we recommend for researching different types of people.
Monarchs
  • The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) contains full-length, scholarly biographies for every monarch of England and many monarchs of France, Spain, and other countries. Unfortunately, ODNB is behind a paywall. The University of Victoria has purchased a subscription to the ODNB, so you can access it on any campus computer or via the library’s proxy server.
  • Encylopedia Britannica contains short, scholarly biographies for every monarch of England and many monarchs of France, Spain, and other countries. Longer biographies are available to those who pay for a subscription (which UVic Libraries does not). Because the free biographies are so short, they are unlikely to contain any information that the ODNB does not.
  • Wikipedia contains an extensive collection of biographies for almost every monarch in the world. Because Wikipeda entries are written and edited by common users, we reccommend that you cross-reference any information you take from Wikipedia with a more reliable source like the ODNB or Encyclopedia Britannica.
Members of the peerage
  • The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) contains full-length, scholarly biographies for most members of the peerage.
  • If a member of the peerage served in the House of Lords, see the History of Parliament Online (HPO) for their full-length biography and family tree. Note that certain time periods (e.g.,1422-1504) are not yet available. HPO is open content, meaning anyone can access it from any internet connection.
  • Wikipedia is another useful resource for researching members of the peerage (especially lesser-known peers). Wikipedia is particularly helpful when you want to search by a person’s title (e.g., fifth earl of Oxford or earls of Oxford).
Members of the gentry
Religious figures
Lord mayors and sheriffs
Stationers
  • The British Book Trade Index (BBTI) contains records of every printer, publisher, and bookseller mentioned in the English Short Title Catologue (ESTC). Entries include the name of the stationer, their date of birth and date of death, locations where they worked, and their roles. Note that there are many duplicate or near-duplicate entries in the BBTI database. To gather all the important information about a stationer, you may need to refer to multiple entries for the same person.
  • The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) and Wikipedia contain encyclopedia articles for some well-known stationers. When available, these articles can provide valuable context for the facts listed in BBTI entries.
Common people
Mythological figures
  • Encyclopedia Mythica is a fairly comprehensive online encyclopedia of Greek, Roman, Celtic, and other ancient mythologies. Enyclopedia articles tend to be short, but reliable.
  • Many mythological figures can also be found in Oxford Reference, a searchable database of reference works published by Oxford University Press. Because the database includes titles such as A Dictionary of Britsh History, A Dictionary of English Folklore, and Encyclopedia/Dictionary of Phrase and Fables, it is a particularly good resource for researching the mythology of London and Britain.
  • Former research assistants have found Theseus and Wikipedia to be useful resources. As both are not necessarily scholarly, we advise you to cross-reference any information gleaned from these resources with a more scholarly resource.
Note that, due to early modern spelling variations, it is sometimes difficult to find the particular person you are looking for in these databases. For example, see how Henry le Waleys appears in John Stow’s Survey of London:
  • 1598 Temporal Government: Henry Waleys
  • 1598 Cheap Ward: Henry Wales
  • 1633 Dowgate Ward: Henry Wallis
  • 1633 Farringdon Within Ward: H. Wales
If you were to search for Henry Waleys in the Mayors and Sheriffs of London (MASL) database, you would not find his entry because he is listed as Henry le Waleys. To get around this problem, we recommend that you include many variant spellings of a person’s name in your search. When searching MASL, for example, it can be helpful to search small parts of names (ex. Henry or Wal) and manually click through the results.

Add Modern Contributors to the Personography

The basic structure of a personography entry for a modern contributor is the same as for a historical or literary person. Entries consist of a root element (<person>), which contains a <persName> element and a <note> element. We do not encode life dates (i.e., <birth>, <death>, or <floruit> elements) for modern contributors.

Encode the Root Element

The <person> element is the root of every personography entry. To distinguish one personography entry from another, we add an @xml:id attribute to the <person> element with a unique value composed of four letters and one number (e.g., "JENS1"). For more information about @xml:ids, see documentation about generating an @xml:id.
Unlike entries for historical or literary persons, we do not add a @sex attribute to the root element in entries for modern contributors.
Here are some examples of how to encode the root element in a personography entry for a modern contributor:
<person xml:id="HORN6000"> </person>
<person xml:id="LEBE1000"> </person>

Encode Names

Nest a <persName> tag immediately inside the <person> root element. Add a @type attribute with a value of "cont" to the <name> tag. Inside the <name> tag, nest a <reg> tag. Use the <reg> element to tag a regularized version of the contributor’s name. For a modern contributor, a regularized name should consist of the person’s forename folllowed by their middle name(s) (if applicable) and their surname. After <surname>, use the <abbr> element to tag the contributor’s initials. Please leave out any suffixes such as Dr. or M.A.
Here are some examples of how to encode the <persName> element in a personography entry for a modern contributor:
<person xml:id="JENS1000">
                <persName type="cont">
                  <reg>Janelle Jenstad</reg>
                  <forename>Janelle</forename>
                  <surname>Jenstad</surname>
                  <abbr>JJ</abbr>
                </persName>
              </person>
<person xml:id="HOLM3000">
                <persName type="cont">
                  <reg>Martin D. Holmes</reg>
                  <forename>Martin</forename>
                  <forename>D.</forename>
                  <surname>Holmes</surname>
                  <abbr>MDH</abbr>
                </persName>
              </person>

Note Biographical Information

Usually the contributors themselves write their biographical statements. In cases of less stylized entries, such as the group of students involved in a Pedagogical Partnership, a MoEML research assistant will be tasked with adding the entries. As the MoEML team grows and changes, it is important that entries are updated to reflect the current team. When a team member leaves, their biographical statement can either be changed into the past tense or can be edited to explain where the team member is now:
<note><p>Research Assistant, 2014-present. Catriona is an MA student at the University
                  of Victoria. Her primary research interests include medieval and early modern
                  Literature with a focus on book history, spatial humanities, and technology.</p>
              </note>
<note><p>Research Assistant, 2014-2016. Catriona was an MA student at the University
                  of Victoria. Her primary research interests included medieval and early modern
                  Literature with a focus on book history, spatial humanities, and technology.</p>
              </note>
Because certain types of people will have similar biographical statements, we have developed a set of templates:
Type of contributor Template Example
Research Assistant Research Assistant, + years working for MoEML [in YYYY-YYYY format] + . + One or two sentences about the contributor’s degree program and/or academic interests.
<person xml:id="DUNC3000">
                      <note><p>Research Assistant, 2018-2020. Chris Horne was a student in the
                          Department of English at the University of Victoria. His primary research
                          interests included American modernism, affect studies, cultural studies,
                          and digital humanities.</p></note>
                    </person>
Programmer or technical assistant Programmer [or more specific job title] + at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre (HCMC) [or other place of work, if applicable] + . + One to three sentences about the contributor’s career and/or contributions to MoEML.
<person xml:id="HOLM3000">
                      <note><p>Programmer at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and
                          Media Centre (HCMC). Martin ported the MOL project from its original PHP
                          incarnation to a pure eXist database implementation in the fall of 2011.
                          Since then, he has been lead programmer on the project, and led the work
                          to convert it to a purely static HTML version in 2018. He was a
                          co-applicant on MoEML’s 2012 and 2018 SSHRC Insight Grants.</p></note>
                    </person>
Pedagogical partner (instructor) Contributor’s full name + is a MoEML pedagogical partner. + Two or three sentences about the contributor’s career. + One sentence about the contributor’s contribution to MoEML.
<person xml:id="HOGA2000">
                      <note><p>Sarah Hogan is a <title level="m">MoEML</title> Pedagogical Partner.
                          She is Assistant Professor of English Literature at <ref target="http://college.wfu.edu/">Wake Forest University</ref>. Her work
                          has appeared in <title level="j">JMEMS</title>, <title level="j">JEMCS</title>, and <title level="j">Upstart</title>, and she is
                          currently at work on a book-length project, <title level="m">Island Worlds
                            and Other Englands: Utopia, Capital, Empire (1516-1660)</title>. Her
                          class on sixteenth-century British literature will be composing an entry
                          on <ref target="mol:LUDG1">Ludgate</ref>.</p></note>
                    </person>
Pedagogical partner (student) Student contributor enrolled in + calendar code for pedagogical partnership course + : + name of pedagogical partnership course [in title case] + at + name of their university + in + season [as determined by their university calendar] + year [in YYYY format] + , working under the guest editorship of + name of instructor + .
<person xml:id="GARD1000">
                      <note><p>Student contributor enrolled in <emph>ENGL 534: Historicizing
                            Shakespeare and the Blackfriars Theater</emph> at San Diego State
                          University in Spring 2014, working under the guest editorship of <name ref="mol:HERM3">Peter C. Herman</name>.</p></note>
                    </person>
Sometimes, a contributor will have had multiple roles with MoEML. If they have had multiple roles over the course of months or years, list each role chronologically (including corresponding dates) at the beginning of their biographical statement:
<note><p>Assistant Project Manager, 2019-2020. Research Assistant, 2018-2020. Kate
                  LeBere completed an honours degree in History with a minor in English at the
                  University of Victoria in 2020. While her primary research focus was sixteenth and
                  seventeenth century England, she also developed a keen interest in Old English and
                  Early Middle English translation.</p>
              </note>
<note><p>Data Manager, 2015-2016. Research Assistant, 2013-2015. Tye completed his
                  undergraduate honours degree in English at the University of Victoria in 2015.</p>
              </note>
See Kevin Quarmby’s biographical statement for another example of how to represent a contributor who has multiple roles at the same time:
<person xml:id="QUAR1000">
                <note><p><name ref="mol:QUAR1">Kevin A. Quarmby</name> is a <title level="m">MoEML</title> Pedagogical Partner and a member of <title level="m">MoEML</title>’s Editorial Board. He is Assistant Professor of English at <ref target="http://oxford.emory.edu/">Oxford College of Emory
                    University</ref>.</p></note>
              </person>

Example Entries

Examples of fully encoded <person> entries for modern contributors in PERS1.xml can be found by searching the file for type="cont", or by using XPath like this: //person[persName[@type='cont']].

Further Resources

For instructions on naming practices not addressed in this guide, see the National Council on Archives’s Rules for the Construction of Personal Names.

Notes

  1. In 2018, MoEML retired its use of gendered language such as his/her. MoEML uses the singular, gender-neutral pronouns they, their, and them in cases where gender is irrelevant or unknown. (JJ)↑

Cite this page

MLA citation

Landels-Gruenewald, Tye, Janelle Jenstad, and Kate LeBere. Encode Persons. The Map of Early Modern London, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 26 Jun. 2020, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/encode_persons.htm.

Chicago citation

Landels-Gruenewald, Tye, Janelle Jenstad, and Kate LeBere. Encode Persons. The Map of Early Modern London. Ed. Janelle Jenstad. Victoria: University of Victoria. Accessed June 26, 2020. https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/encode_persons.htm.

APA citation

Landels-Gruenewald, T., Jenstad, J., & LeBere, K. 2020. Encode Persons. In J. Jenstad (Ed), The Map of Early Modern London. Victoria: University of Victoria. Retrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/encode_persons.htm.

RIS file (for RefMan, EndNote etc.)

Provider: University of Victoria
Database: The Map of Early Modern London
Content: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

TY  - ELEC
A1  - Landels-Gruenewald, Tye
A1  - Jenstad, Janelle
A1  - LeBere, Kate
ED  - Jenstad, Janelle
T1  - Encode Persons
T2  - The Map of Early Modern London
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/06/26
CY  - Victoria
PB  - University of Victoria
LA  - English
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/encode_persons.htm
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/xml/standalone/encode_persons.xml
ER  -

RefWorks

RT Web Page
SR Electronic(1)
A1 Landels-Gruenewald, Tye
A1 Jenstad, Janelle
A1 LeBere, Kate
A6 Jenstad, Janelle
T1 Encode Persons
T2 The Map of Early Modern London
WP 2020
FD 2020/06/26
RD 2020/06/26
PP Victoria
PB University of Victoria
LA English
OL English
LK https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/encode_persons.htm

TEI citation

<bibl type="mla"><author><name ref="#LAND2"><surname>Landels-Gruenewald</surname>, <forename>Tye</forename></name></author>, <author><name ref="#JENS1"><forename>Janelle</forename> <surname>Jenstad</surname></name></author>, and <author><name ref="#LEBE1"><forename>Kate</forename> <surname>LeBere</surname></name></author>. <title level="a">Encode Persons</title>. <title level="m">The Map of Early Modern London</title>, edited by <editor><name ref="#JENS1"><forename>Janelle</forename> <surname>Jenstad</surname></name></editor>, <publisher>U of Victoria</publisher>, <date when="2020-06-26">26 Jun. 2020</date>, <ref target="https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/encode_persons.htm">mapoflondon.uvic.ca/encode_persons.htm</ref>.</bibl>

Personography