What can medieval accounts tell us – and how do we actually work with them?

Late medieval accounts offer fascinating insights into the economy and the social and material worlds of medieval institutions. At the same time, working with them raises very practical questions: How do we approach large bodies of handwritten material? How do we turn entries on a page into data and historical knowledge? Which methods and digital tools are useful – and how can highly local sources be connected to broader debates in medieval studies?

Making Accounts Count is a two-day workshop bringing together PhD researchers working with accounts, accounting practices and related sources from the late Middle Ages. A particular focus lies on churches, monasteries and other ecclesiastical institutions, but contributions from neighbouring fields and institutional contexts are warmly welcome. A dedicated peer work session will offer the opportunity to take a closer look at sources, tools, datasets and methodological challenges together in small groups.

– The project: What are you researching, and what are your sources and questions?
– The process: How do you work with your material? Which methods and tools do you use, and what challenges do you encounter?
– The bigger picture: Where does your project sit within existing scholarship, and where do you see possibilities for comparison?

Work in progress is explicitly welcome, and we invite PhD researchers at all stages – from first encounters with the sources to nearly completed projects. Contributions from different disciplines and geographical areas are warmly welcome, including history, art history, archaeology, historical linguistics, codicology and digital humanities.

Bring your sources. Bring your methods, Bring your questions.

Presentations of approximately 15 minutes, held in English will be followed by extended discussions with fellow PhD researchers and invited senior scholars. Rather than simply presenting research, the workshop is intended as a space to exchange ideas, methods and experiences, discuss problems, and discover connections between projects, disciplines and regional research traditions.

Participation is free of charge. The organisers will provide financial support towards travel and accommodation costs for invited participants.

To apply, please send an abstract of approximately 300 words, together with a short biography, briefly outlining your doctoral project, sources and methods, as well as questions or challenges you would like to bring to the workshop to ckropp@roots.uni-kiel.de by Sunday 22nd November 2026.

Source : H-Soz-Kult