Related Work and News

The start-up phase for Finding the Celtic has been made possible by a Digital Humanities Initiative grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities See announcement >>

Finding the Celtic is built on top of COLLEX, a digital humanities collaboratory being developed by the Applied Research in Patacriticism Lab at the University of Virginia See ARP Lab website >>

Finding the Celtic is hosted by iBiblio See iBiblio website >>

Finding the Celtic Metadata Schema

The FtC website hosted by iBiblio stores RDF metadata, which can point to data on many different servers (including the iBiblio servers). If you are contributing metadata to FtC, it is very important that you understand the RDF elements and values well.

All RDF files should have the suffix .rdf and be encoded as UTF-8 text files.

The table below is a summary of the elements defined by the FtC schema. A detailed explanation of each of the elements follow the table.

Element Summary Table

The table belowcontains:

  1. The title of the element, as referred to in FtC documentation
  2. An indication if the element is required
  3. An indication if the element is limited to a single value or if it can have multiple values
  4. The formal name of the element as it appears in RDF file
  5. A short explanation of the element

Important Formatting Caveats

  1. The RDF indexer is case-sensitive, so you must follow the upper- and lower-case conventions shown here!
  2. The character '&' cannot appear in the values (such as Title, Archive, etc). Instead, spell out as "and" or something similar.
  3. Element values should not have leading or trailing whitespaces. For example, <dc:date>1875</dc:date> is correct but <dc:date> 1875 </dc:date> is not.
TitleReq'dMultiNameMeaning
Identifier YesNo<namespace rdf:about="value">Unique identifier for the object
Archive YesNo<ftc:archive>A shorthand reference to the contributing project
Title YesNo<dc:title>The human-readable title for data item
AlternativeTitle NoYes<dcterms:alternative>Alternative names for object
ItemType YesNo <ftc:itemtype>Type of object this is
Role NoYes<role:entry>Person who created/edited/etc the object
Date YesNo<dc:date>Year(s) when object created/used
Period YesNo<ftc:period>Era when object created
Country YesNo<ftc:country> Country where object found (or associated)
FoundLoc NoNo <ftc:foundloc>Long/Lat coordinate where object found
Language NoYes<ftc:language>Language(s) appearing in text
Material YesYes<ftc:material>Materials from which object made
Text NoNo<ftc:text>Text transcription of/about object
SourceCode NoNo<ftc:source rdf:resource="URL" />Pointer to source code for object (usually XML)
SeeAlso No Np<rdfs:seeAlso rdf:resource="URL" /> Pointer to webpage of object
Thumbnail NoNo<ftc:thumbnail rdf:resource="URL" />Pointer to mini picture of object
Image NoNo<ftc:image rdf:resource="URL" />Pointer to full image of object
SourceWork NoYes<dc:source>Name of source work(s)
Parent NoNo<dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="URI" />Pointer to object containing this one
Children NoYes<dcterms:hasPart rdf:resource="URI" />List of objects contained by this one
Relations NoYes<dc:relation rdf:resource="URI" />Pointer to related objects

 

Full Tag Definitions

Below are the full explanation of the tags and allowed values.

Identifier

Required: Yes Allow multiples? No

The URI (Unique Resource Identifier) for the object (i.e., no other object in FtC can have this name). The namespace element is one of a number of namespaces defined by the FtC system administrator.

Example:
<mnd rdf:about = "http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/meigle1">

mnd is a custom namespace defined in FtC for the data archives of Michael Newton; this particular object is identified by the unique string http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/meigle1. (No other item can have the same identifier.)

Archive

Required: Yes Allow multiples? No

The name of the project or website from which the data for the object was obtained, and to which the SeeAlso link points. Special archives will have internal codes assigned to them; otherwise, a readable name should be given.

Example:
<ftc:archive>cci</ftc:archive>

(See the Samples page for some examples of objects tied to online sites.)

Title

Required: Yes Allow multiples? No

The human-readable title for the object.

Example:
<dc:title>Táin Bó Cúailgne</dc:title>

AlternativeTitle

Required: No Allow multiples? Yes

One or more alternative titles for the object (for example, in translation).

Example:
<dcterms:alternative>The Cattle Raid of Cooley</dcterms:alternative>

ItemType

Required: Yes Allow multiples? No

What kind of object this is. Allowable values are:

Example:
<ftc:itemtype>Text</ftc:itemtype>

Role

Required: No Allow multiples? Yes

A list of individuals involved in the creation of various forms of the object. All personal names must be in the order Surname, Forename. The role types are as follows:

Example:
<role:AUT>Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill</role:AUT>
<role:TRL>William J. Watson</role:TRL>

Date

Required: Yes Allow multiples? No

The year (in the Common Era calendar) when the object was created, in the case of an artifact, text, etc; the date of occupation for a site; the date referred to by an event or definition. Negative numbers refer to the year BCE. In the case of dates ranges, the Date element can contain both a human-readable label (with the <ftc:date> element) and a numeric entry (with the <rdf:value>, which can specify a set or range of years which is necessary when the year is uncertain, such as archeological artifacts).

A date range is in the form of Y1xY2, where Y1 is less than Y2. Alternatively you can also use "u" as a wildcard to construct year ranges. (You can't use both "x" and "u".) For example -1uu refers to the second century BCE; 87u refers to the range of years 870-879 Common Era.

Example 1 (The simplest case: a single date):
<dc:date>549</dc:date>

Example 2 (Date range 110BCE to 122 AD):
<dc:date>-110x122</dc:date>

Example 3 (Alternative form of date range):
<dc:date>
  <ftc:date>
    <rdfs:label>1540s (circa)</rdfs:label>
    <rdf:value>154u</rdf:value>
  </ftc:date>
</dc:date>

Period

Required: Yes Allow multiples? No

The period when the object was created, in the case of an Artifact, Manuscript, etc; the date of occupation for a Site; the date referred to by an Event or Definition. The periods are broadly chronological, but are stylistic in definition as well.

The allowable values are as follows:

  1. Hallstatt: 1200 BCE - 500 BCE
  2. La Tene: 500 BCE - 100 BCE
  3. Romano-Celtic: 100 BCE - 400 CE
  4. Early Medieval: 400 - 950
  5. High Medieval: 950 - 1250
  6. Late Medieval: 1250 - 1500
  7. Modern: 1500 - present

Example:
<ftc:period>Early Medieval</ftc:period>

(NOTE: Due to problems with UTF-8 characters across computer environments and programming languages, "La Tene" must be spelt without the diacritical mark on the vowel.)

Country

Required: Yes Allow multiples? No

The two-letter country code for the country (defined by modern boundaries of nation-states in 2007 Country Code List). If no single country is appropriate, use code ZZ.

  1. which is the subject of the object (for ItemTypes Text, Audio, Map, Event or Definition), or
  2. in which an object was found/created (for other ItemTypes).

The exceptions for these country codes are the Celtic areas of the modern period; in these cases, the following codes should be used:

Example:
<ftc:country>IE</ftc:country>

FoundLoc

Required: No Allow multiples? No

The geopgraphical location (as latitude,longitude coordinate) at which an object was found (see Google Maps API for info about coordinates). Online resources for finding geo-coords include Google Earth, GeoNames webservice, the Nearby webservice and MultiMap

Example:
<ftc:foundloc>56.6009,-4.0524</ftc:foundloc>

Language

Required: No Allow multiples? Yes

The languages that appear in any textual materials in the object.

Allowable values are: Proto-Celtic, Gaulish, Lepontic, Hispano-Celtic, Old Brithonic, Cumbric, Pictish, Breton, Cornish, Middle Welsh, Modern Welsh, Old Gaelic, Classical Gaelic, Middle Gaelic, Manx, Modern Irish, Modern Scottish, Latin, Greek, French, German, English, Lowland Scots, Spanish, Other.

Example:
<ftc:language>Old Gaelic</ftc:language>

Material

Required: Yes Allow multiples? Yes

The material(s) of which an object is comprised. If the object exists only in digital form (when ItemType is Event, Definition, or Site), the value is Digital.

Allowable values are: Digital, Paper, Vellum, Leather, Wood, Stone, Gem, Bronze, Copper, Lead, Pewter, Brass, Iron, Silver, Gold, Bone, Textile, Botanical, Glass, Ceramic, Human Remains

Example:
<ftc:material>Silver</ftc:material>
<ftc:material>Glass</ftc:material>

Text

Required: No Allow multiples? No

Contains either (1) a short, plain text value, or (2) a URL to a web-accessible, plain text file containing the text for the object. Note that in both of these cases, the text cannot contain special markup (like XML or other embedded codes). The text is used by the COLLEX search engine for the purposes of indexing.

It is recommended that you supply a text element containing a summary of the item if it is not available online. The summary text can then be indexed by the search engine and located in phrase searches even if the item is not otherwise in digital form.

Examples:
<ftc:text>An edition of Scottish Gaelic poetry from the isle of Arran c. 1600 - 1850.</ftc:text>
<ftc:text rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/text/harlaw.txt"/>

SourceCode

Required: No Allow multiples? No

A URL to the web-accessible source code for the object's data (usually in XML).

Example:
<ftc:source rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/xml/obj121v2definition.xml"/>

SeeAlso

Required: No Allow multiples? No

The URL to a webpage that will render the object.

Example:
<rdfs:seeAlso rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/html/taintext.html"/>

Thumbnail

Required: No Allow multiples? No

A URL to the web-accessible miniature image of the object (no larger than 100 pixels in height or width). If no thumbnail is supplied, the default FtC thumbnail will appear.

Example:
<ftc:thumbnail rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/thumbs/obj121v2.jpg"/>

Image

Required: No Allow multiples? No

A URL to the web-accessible full-size image of the object.

Example:
<ftc:image rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/images/obj121v2.jpg"/>

SourceWork

Required: No Allow multiples? Yes

The title of the larger object of which this object is a part (for example, a journel series, an anthology, a manuscript containing many texts, an archeological site).

Example:
<dc:source>Scottish Gaelic Studies</dc:source>

Parent

Required: No Allow multiples? No

Points to the parent object, if any, that "contains" this object (see the Relationships Between Objects section of the Contributor Guidelines page). The value for the element is the Identifier element of the parent object.

Example:
<dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/meigle"/>

Children

Required: No Allow multiples? Yes

Points to any objects "contained" by this object (see the Relationships Between Objects section of the Contributor Guidelines page). The value for the element is the Identifier element of the parent object.

Example:
<dcterms:hasPart rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/meigle2"/>

Relations

Required: No Allow multiples? Yes

Points to any resources related to the object, but that have not been addressed by the other elements in the RDF (i.e., the formal Parent-Children relationship). This could be used, for example, for differing versions of an item (like different recensions of a tale), or for a book to point to illuminations that might have their own objects, even if they are included in the book. The value for the element is the Identifier element of the related object.

Example:
<dcterms:relation rdf:resource="http://www.ibiblio.org/celtic/mnd/primary/pict12"/>

Powered by iBiblio Supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.