Research goals The main goal will be a detailed analysis of the communication between Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg and Nuremberg based on diplomatic materials. It will provide a diplomatic analysis of Sigismund‘s charters for Nuremberg combined with the question of how Nuremberg used its contacts to the emperor's court to win the ruler's favor. Combining the approaches from political communication and diplomatics with digital humanities, the project aims to discuss “new uses for an old science” (Duranti). Diplomatic analysis Includes the classic approach of studying the analytic dimension of charters (style, forms, chancery notes, etc.) and the genetic dimension, focusing on the phases of creation of the charters and persons involved. Digital Humanities Application of computer-based methods (primarily HTC and NLP) on an enhanced source corpus (including charters for burghers, Jews, burggrave of Nuremberg, etc.) for a comparison of the diplomatic material About this project Previous research verified close diplomatic and financial ties between Nuremberg and emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg. However, a study on political communication between both remains a desideratum. The many privileges issued by Sigismund for promise a valuable insight into the relationship between the emperor and one of his closest allies. They form the main subject of the following research- project, for which we applied to the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) for three-year funding. The Communication between Sigismund of Luxembourg and the imperial city of Nuremberg Project Schedule 2025 Joint-organizing of a section at the Summer School Scriptorium Brunense in Brno focusing on Digital Humanities (summer) and an international Workshop on royal and imperial diplomatics concerning medieval towns (autumn/winter) 2026 Publication of two case studies 2027 Completion of a monograph by Stanislav Bárta and Tobias Heil Project details Project leader: Stanislav Bárta, PhD. (Brno) Co-researcher: Tobias Heil (Brno) Collaberative Partners: Regesta Imperii Branch Office Brno / Vienna States archive Nürnberg Dr. Daniel Luger (Graz, DiDip) as consultant Duration: 2025 – 2028 Funding (planned): Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) Contact: Tobias.Heil@mail.muni.cz Political communication Involves the reconstruction of the council’s network of contacts at the royal court and chancery with the help of accounting books and correspondence. This sheds light on the council’s active role during negotiations of privileges. Picture credits: Hidden Cat, miniature from Conrad of Megenberg, ‘Das Buch der Natur’, Germany ca. 1434. Strasbourg, Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire, Ms.2.264, fol. 85r (https://www.openculture.com/2022/10/cats-in- medieval-manuscripts-paintings.html); Sigismund of Luxembourg, miniature from Eberhard Windeck: Das Buch von Kaiser Sigismund, folio 212r (commons.wikimedia.org); Emperor Sigismunds charter for the city of Nuremberg (1433, May 31), StA Nürnberg, LosungA, Kaiserprivilegien, Nr. 337 (Digitalisat, Staatsarchiv Nürnberg); Nürnberg: miniature from Braun, Georg; Hogenberg, Franz; Novellanus, Simon: Beschreibung vnd Contrafactur der vornembster Stät der Welt, 1572, Köln 1582 (Digitalisat der Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg) Tobias Heil, MA Institut of Auxilary Historical Science, and Archival Studies, Masaryk University, Brno Poster-presentation at the Summer School “Computational Language Technologies for Medievalists” Graz 8th – 12th of July 2024)