Monarchy on the move:
Ferdinand III of Castile and León (1217-1252)

This project on medieval history and Digital Humanities focusing on royal itineraries was designed and developed by the Humanities Laboratory at the University of San Sebastián (Chile), under the direction of Professor Dr. José Manuel Cerda Costabal, in collaboration with the Foundation for the Promotion of the Values and Identity of Castile and León (hereinafter, Fundación Valores CyL). It is a contribution to the eighth centenary of the definitive unification of the kingdoms of Castile and León, which will be commemorated in 2030, and offers open, universal, and free access to an interactive website that allows users to visualize the travels of Ferdinand III, during whose reign the union of both territories took place.

The mission of Fundación Valores CyL is to promote the values and identity of the region. This project is specifically aimed at disseminating its historical and institutional identity, contributing to the understanding, promotion, and appreciation of its cultural heritage and the values that define its character.

One of the areas of study and research at the Humanities Laboratory of the University of San Sebastián (Chile) is technology, and within that field, a particular area of interest is the Digital Humanities, which involve the computational analysis of data related to phenomena within the Humanities.

Royal itinerancy is precisely one such phenomenon, as in times past the monarchs of various European kingdoms traveled with their courts throughout their territories to assert their authority and perform a variety of functions. Since kings issued documents during these constant travels, we can trace their routes and analyze certain spatial patterns that allow for a better understanding of the nature of the monarchy, its relationship with the territory and its inhabitants, as well as the political and cultural circumstances that explain this itinerancy.

The project involved integrating historical research, source consolidation, computer programming, statistical processing of big data, and the design of a website organized into three sections. First, a brief preliminary study explaining the sources, methodology, and details of the research; a second section featuring a timeline that contains a database of dates and places with search fields; and finally, a dynamic map with cartographic visualizations, routes, and georeferenced statistics generated based on user interaction.