Vol. 16 No. 2 (2025)
Articles

From Manuscript to Metadata: experiments on Handwritten Text Recognition, Tagging and Importation for the Memoriali series (1265-1452)

Edward Loss
University of Genoa
Fabiana Guernaccini
Regesta.exe
Manuel Carassai
Regesta.exe

Published 2025-05-15

Keywords

  • HTR,
  • Transkribus,
  • Memoriali,
  • xDams,
  • Bologna.

How to Cite

Loss, Edward, Fabiana Guernaccini, and Manuel Carassai. 2025. “From Manuscript to Metadata: Experiments on Handwritten Text Recognition, Tagging and Importation for the Memoriali Series (1265-1452)”. JLIS.It 16 (2):59-85. https://doi.org/10.36253/jlis.it-641.

Abstract

The paper describes the experiment of creating a tailored tagging system for the Memoriali – a series of notarial records produced in Bologna almost uninterruptedly between the second half of the 13th and first half of the 15th century – using the Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) software Transkribus. Product of the conjoint effort of the MemoBo project and Regesta.exe, the aim of this system is to facilitate the export of a specific set of information from these documents directly to a customised database on xDams. This tagging system explores a secondary feature of Transkribus, highlighting its potential and its limits for establishing a coherent workflow, which initiates with the application of ad hoc models for creating semi-automatic transcriptions of these late medieval notarial records and concludes with the exportation and proper placement of their data inside our xDams database.

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