Zoltán Brys lecture on Multilayer Network Analysis

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.