Maths Meets Myths: Quantitative Approaches to Ancient Narratives

Editors: Ralph Kenna, Máirín MacCarron, Pádraig MacCarron



First monograph on this emerging subject matter

Edited and authored by leading researchers in the field

Develops novel quantitiative methods for the humanities and social sciences

With an emphasis on exploring measurable aspects of ancient narratives, Maths Meets Myths sets out to investigate age-old material with new techniques. This book collects, for the first time, novel quantitative approaches to studying sources from the past, such as chronicles, epics, folktales, and myths. It contributes significantly to recent efforts in bringing together natural scientists and humanities scholars in investigations aimed at achieving greater understanding of our cultural inheritance.
Accordingly, each contribution reports on a modern quantitative approach applicable to narrative sources from the past, or describes those which would be amenable to such treatment and why they are important.

This volume is a unique state-of-the-art compendium on an emerging research field which also addresses anyone with interests in quantitative approaches to humanities.

Table of contents

Front Matter

Introduction

Cognitive and Network Constraints in Real Life and Literature

A Networks Approach to Mythological Epics

Medieval Historical, Hagiographical and Biographical Networks

Peopling of the New World from Data on Distributions of Folklore Motifs

Phylogenetics Meets Folklore: Bioinformatics Approaches to the Study of International Folktales

Analyses of a Virtual World

GhostScope: Conceptual Mapping of Supernatural Phenomena in a Large Folklore Corpus

Complex Networks of Words in Fables

Analysing and Restoring the Chronology of the Irish Annals

Mapping Literate Networks in Early Medieval Ireland

How Quantitative Methods Can Shed Light on a Problem of Comparative Mythology: The Myth of the Struggle for Supremacy Between Two Groups of Deities Reconsidered