Time-Respecting Paths in Letter Networks Reveal Opportunities for Influencing Information Transmission during the European Reformation

Information transmission shapes society by fostering innovation, as well as cultural growth. While previous studies have used aggregated networks and temporal network snapshots to study this transmission, they either overlook the timing of interactions entirely or consider it only broadly, which can distort topological network measures and bias conclusions. This study addresses this limitation by analyzing information transmission using time-respecting paths – sequences of nodes connected by time-consecutive edges within specific time bounds. By examining these paths in a letter correspondence network of 16th-century Protestant reformers, this work identifies the reformers’ potential influence on information transmission across three dimensions: information access, the establishment of resilient communication paths, and control of communication paths. Results reveal one low-potential group and two medium-potential groups – one leveraging short, redundant paths for resilience, the other occupying key intermediary positions for control. The results provide the first step towards understanding how these reformers leveraged and overcame the behavioral options provided by their network positions.