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;The truth gets its shoes on – the Black Death on Wikipedia
;Vote for the Picture of the Year on Wikimedia Commons


[[File:Leprosy victims taught by bishop.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Clerics with leprosy receiving instruction from a bishop. Royal 6 E. VI; Page Folio Number: f. 301rb.]]
[[File:Glühwendel_brennt_durch.jpg|thumb|right|140px|The Picture of the Year 2013 by Stefan Krause from Germany. Click to see in full.]]


''This post was written by Richard Nevell''
''This post was written by Wikimedia UK volunteer Livia Morarasu''


Mark Twain said “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
It’s that time of the year! The voting for the annual [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Picture_of_the_Year/2014/Introduction Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year Contest] is now open and there is plenty to marvel at.


The same applies to honest mistakes. The ease with which information spreads across the Internet means the stakes are higher when it comes to getting things right. But with a bit of help, it’s possible to get the genie back in the bottle. Mostly at least.
Last year a [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Picture_of_the_Year/2014/R1/Gallery total of 981 pictures] were promoted to 'featured picture' status in categories ranging from plants and fungi, cities and bridges, panoramic views, interiors and details or vehicles and crafts. All Wikimedians with more than 75 live edits before January 1, 2015 are welcomed to select their favourite shots and, thus, recognize the most remarkable contribution made on Commons in 2014.


For several years, many sources – including a wide range of academic websites – described the image on the right as depicting people suffering from the Black Death, the pandemic of plague that swept through most of Eurasia in the mid-fourteenth century. The illustration itself dates from 1360-75 and is from an illuminated manuscript, Omne Bonum by James le Palmer.1 In fact, the image shows clerics with leprosy being instructed by a bishop. It’s easy to see how the mistake happened: the Black Death affected a huge number of people across Europe, caused visible physical symptoms, and coincided roughly with when the illustration was produced. But the text itself is about leprosy, and that disease was commonly depicted in the medieval period with red spots like those shown in the image.
We know that selecting just one great snap is a difficult task, and so users may vote for as many images as they like in the first round, ending on January 31, 2015, at 23:59 [UTC]. Only the top 30 pictures will be included in the second round, starting on February 14, 2015. Don't forget that [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:UploadWizard anyone can become a part of the Commons community by uploading their work] and maybe see their name in the Picture of the Year 2015 competition.


<span class="plainlinks">The misinterpretation had become so prevalent the issue became the topic of an article in a new academic journal: [http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=11&article=1000&context=medieval_globe&type=additional ‘Diagnosis of a “Plague” Image: A Digital Cautionary Tale’] in ''[http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/medieval_globe/1/ The Medieval Globe]''. Published just a couple of months ago, it didn’t take long before the paper started to have an effect. This is due in no small part to the fact that the article is freely available – in fact the entire volume of The Medieval Globe is [[:en:open access|open access]]. The authors approached the British Library to update its ''[http://imagesonline.bl.uk/en/asset/show_zoom_window_popup.html?asset=12942&location=grid&asset_list=5516,80721,12942,16974&basket_item_id=undefined Images Online]'' website and its [http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=32116 Illuminated MSS Online Catalogue].</span>
Congratulations to the photographers who shared their work as freely licensed content and good luck to all!


<span class="plainlinks">[https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2015/01/the-truth-gets-its-shoes-on-the-black-death-on-wikipedia/<nowiki>[</nowiki>Continues...<nowiki>]</nowiki>]</span>
<span class="plainlinks">[https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2015/01/vote-for-the-picture-of-the-year-on-wikimedia-commons/<nowiki>[</nowiki>...<nowiki>]</nowiki>]</span>


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Revision as of 17:37, 22 January 2015

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