The Historical Network Research (HNR) community is pleased to invite you to the first seminar in the Spring 2026 Series.
9 March 2026 | 13:00 CET (online)
Zoltan Brys
Dissident Networks Project
Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University
Multilayer Network Analysis of Gender-Stratified Inquisitorial Testimonies
In this seminar, Zoltan Brys will present a study examining whether male and female testimonies in the Bologna inquisition register (1291–1310) represent structurally distinct representations of the Apostolic movement’s social network. From 55 deponents’ testimonies, a two-layer multiplex network is reconstructed using edge triplets (informant, actor, actor), where layers are defined by deponent gender. Descriptive measures, centralities, a multilayer ERGM, and a permutation-based sensitivity analysis consistently reveal systematic differences: male-reported ties concentrate around ministers, while female-reported ties show no ministerial effect and are more likely to involve female actors. The discussion will address how these asymmetries may reflect inquisitorial questioning, and/or gendered recall, and/or underlying dissident network.
Zoltan Brys is a computational social researcher currently finishing his PhD in Sociology. Before joining the DISSINET at Masaryk University, he regularly taught computational data analysis and social psychology. In DISSINET, he focuses on social network analysis of medieval inquisition records.
Zoom details
https://bates.zoom.us/j/
Passcode: 663227
The HNR Online Seminar Series is a relaxed, community-oriented forum designed to foster sustained discussion around ongoing research in historical network analysis. Each session features an extended presentation followed by ample time for discussion. We warmly welcome all interested participants.
With the speaker’s consent, the session will be recorded and made available via the HNR YouTube channel.
