The Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) has awarded a Medium Size Infrastructure Grant (I004326N) for the development of M-PATCH: Multidisciplinary Platform for Annotating Textual Corpora and Histories — A Reusable Modular Framework for Tracing Patterns and Change in the Living Material Record of Historical Texts Through Linked Data. M-PATCH is a reusable digital infrastructure for the multidisciplinary annotation of historical texts in all their material manifestations. By combining IIIF manifests, semi-automatic transcriptions, and interlinked rich historical, linguistic, literary, and material annotations in a Linked Data environment, M-PATCH operationalises the concepts of textual fluidity and plurality at an unprecedented scale. Its modular design enables seamless collaboration across disciplines by linking annotation platforms, unlocking vast quantities of data that were previously siloed or inaccessible. Applicable to any corpus regardless of origin, it model transforms historical text research into an integrated, data-rich, and globally reusable enterprise—turning the richness of the material record into machine readable Linked Data in an user friendly environment for the Humanities.
The project is led by a UGent-based consortium consisting of Steven Vanderputten (PI), Anne Breitbarth, Julie Birkholz, Klaas Bentein, and Koen De Temmerman, in collaboration with the Ghent Center for Digital Humanities, the Henri Pirenne Institute for Medieval Studies, and Ghent University Library. It additionally receives backing from external partners at the Société des Bollandistes, KBR/Royal Library, Public Library Bruges and Université Libre de Bruxelles.