Maths Meets Myths: Quantitative Approaches to Ancient Narratives

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Introduction

   • Ralph Kenna, Máirín MacCarron, Pádraig MacCarron

   Pages 1-6

3. Cognitive and Network Constraints in Real Life and Literature

   • Robin Dunbar

   Pages 7-19

4. A Networks Approach to Mythological Epics

   • Ralph Kenna, Pádraig MacCarron

   Pages 21-43

5. Medieval Historical, Hagiographical and Biographical Networks

   • Robert Gramsch, Máirín MacCarron, Pádraig MacCarron, Joseph Yose

   Pages 45-69

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

   • Yuri E. Berezkin

   Pages 71-89

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

   • Jamshid J. Tehrani, Julien d’Huy

   Pages 91-114

8. Analyses of a Virtual World

   • Yurij Holovatch, Olesya Mryglod, Michael Szell, Stefan Thurner

   Pages 115-130

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

   • Peter M. Broadwell, Timothy R. Tangherlini

   Pages 131-157

10. Complex Networks of Words in Fables

    • Yurij Holovatch, Vasyl Palchykov

    Pages 159-175

11. Analysing and Restoring the Chronology of the Irish Annals

    • Daniel Mc Carthy

    Pages 177-194

12. Mapping Literate Networks in Early Medieval Ireland

    • Elva Johnston

    Pages 195-211

13. 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

    • David Weiß

    Pages 213-228

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.

• Comparative and Quantitative Mythology
• Complex Systems in the Humanities
• Dynamics of Power in the Íslendingasögur
• Folktale Phylogenetics
• Language Networks
• Medieval Texts as Sources for Data Mining
• Political Networks in Medieval Texts
• Quantitative Analysis of Medieval Texts
• Social Networks in Icelandic Family Sagas
• Social Networks in Past Cultures

“For the folklore scholar interested in the digital humanities, this collection offers a window into the realm of statistical physics, and demonstrates new techniques that can enhance folkloristic understanding of culture at scale. While written towards the mathematically inclined, Maths Meets Myths remains accessible because the chapters are not overwhelmingly bogged down by mathematics or statistics.” (David Chartash, Folklore, Vol. 130 (3), 2019)

• Applied Mathematics Research Centre, Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom

  Ralph Kenna

• Department of History, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

  Máirín MacCarron

• Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

  Pádraig MacCarron

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