Exploring Knowledge Graphs for Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts with SPARQL

Abstract

This article reports on research into the use of SPARQL for querying knowledge graphs, in the form of Linked Open Data triple stores, which relate to the history and provenance of medieval manuscripts. It looks at several recent initiatives and projects which rely on RDF and SPARQL, including Mapping Manuscript Migrations and the Wikibase implementation of Digital Scriptorium. As well as comparing and evaluating different ways of using SPARQL with manuscript data, the article looks at possible future directions in this field, notably the development of visual interfaces for SPARQL queries and the potential use of AI chatbots to formulate SPARQL queries.