One possibility to comparatively map data is the categorised or rule-based visualisation of geometries.
The map shown here displays biographically relevant places for each cathedral provost in a different colour. While some clerics were comparatively mobile and studied far from Mainz, went on the grand tour or took on diplomatic missions, others' lives centred on the Electorate of Mainz or even the city of Mainz.
One example of a more mobile cleric in the analysed data set is Dietich Kaspar von Fürstenberg who spent time in Florence, Rome and Bohemia as well as serveral places in present-day Belgium and France.
The individual maps created for each cathedral provost visualise the places and the number of ecclesiastical offices and dignities that the clerics held in the course of their lives. A larger place dot means that several functions were performed in one place. Functions in unknown places are indicated a placeholder point labelled "unknown" in the centre of Germany. The hash sign # was used to highlight unknown functions. Although only one person's career is visualised per map, the frequent spatial clustering of functions presented a challenge for the positioning of the labels. The students who created the maps had no previous QGIS experience, so the focus was placed on the content of the maps rather than design quality. As a base map, the students mainly used the OSM standard map with modern place names and infrastructures as it allows today's users intuitive spatial orientation. Where many labels were required, an ESRI satellite map was used. All maps can be downloaded in PDF format.
| Karte (PDF) | Name | Karte (PDF) | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Adolf Hund von Saulheim (1652-1668) |  |
Johann von Heppenheim genannt von Saal (1668-1672) |
 |
Lothar Friedrich von Metternich-Burscheid (1672-1673) |  |
Dietrich Kaspar von Fürstenberg (1673-1675) |
 |
Markwart Schenk von Castell (1675-1685) |  |
Johann Wilhelm Wolff-Metternich von der Gracht (1685-1694) |
 |
Christoph Rudolf von Stadion (1695-1700) |  |
Heinrich Ferdinand von der Leyen (1700-1714) |
 |
Johann Philipp Franz Graf von Schönborn (1714-1724) |  |
Hugo Wolfgang von Kesselstadt (1724-1738) |
 |
Karl Emmerich von Breitbach-Bürresheim (1738-1743) |  |
Hugo Franz Karl von Eltz (1743-1779) |
 |
Heinrich Wilhelm Harff von Dreyborn (1779-1781) |  |
Damian Friedrich Graf von der Leyen (1781-1817, auch: von der Leyen-Hohengeroldseck) |
A visually more appealing solution is to add legends and scales to the maps, based on a QGIS "print layout". One such map was exemplarily created for Marquard Schenk von Kastell. It is, however, very time-consuming to create these maps and could therefore only be demonstrated for one person.
