## The Parsed Corpus of Early English Correspondence

### The associated information file (AIF)

In addition to being included in the corpus files (in the form of metadata), information for each letter is provided in the 'associated information file' (AIF). This is an excel file, `aif.xls`, located in the corpus directory. The AIF also includes 'additional personal information' (API) not included in the corpus files.

The AIF contains the following fields.

> Field | Contents | Example
> --- | --- | ---
> A | Letter reference | ARUNDEL_O15
> B | Author name | THOMAS_HOWARD_III
> C | Author API | 2ND_EARL_OF_ARUNDEL_AND_SURREY/POLITICIAN(DNB)
> D | Author gender | MALE
> E | Author date of birth | 1585
> F | Relationship to recipient | SON
> G | Recipient name | ANNE_HOWARD[N.DACRE]
> H | Recipient API | COUNTESS_OF_ARUNDEL
> I | Recipient gender | FEMALE
> J | Recipient date of birth | 1553?
> K | Relationship to author | MOTHER

### Additional personal information (API)

The API includes titles (e.g. COUNTESS_OF_ARUNDEL, 5TH_EARL_OF_NORTHUMBERLAND, SIR, BARON, BISHOP, etc.), as well as any other available information about the person including professional roles and indications of status (e.g., LORD_KEEPER, LOCAL_POLITICIAN, ROYAL_MINISTER, LAWYER, GENTLEMAN, YEOMAN, SERVANT, RENT_COLLECTOR, etc.). The title, if any, is always given first, followed by any other information separated by a slash. (e.g., 1ST_LORD_BURGHLEY/ROYAL_MINISTER(DNB) Information followed by (DNB) indicates that the API is taken from the on-line Dictionary of National Biography. Information not from the DNB was either provided by the CEEC team or sourced from the editions, or the letters themselves.

| The API is provided as an aid to users, but it is known to be incomplete, and although we have made considerable efforts to standardize it, inconsistencies remain. Users interested in roles or status should take the API as a starting point for their own further research.