Modelling is a central activity in digital humanities, theoretically as well as practically. Meta-modelling is a well understood activity in computer science, but has been less explored in the humanities. In the proposed paper, some of the possible functions of meta-modelling will be pointed out, with a specific focus on how a meta-models can contextualise and extend the meaning of a model.

Meta-models are models of models. In the paper, we will show how meta-models can be an integrated part of the information being negotiated and conveyed by a model, complementing, clarifying, and contextualising it.

Using CIDOC CRM and TEI as examples, the proposed paper will discuss the role of meta-modelling in the establishment of meaning and context in modelling processes; in the use of models as well as in the creation of them. The cyclical aspects of this process will be highlighted, emphasising how the creation and use of meta-models always have both top-down and bottom-up aspects, but that the importance of both and how they are implemented in specific use cases can vary significantly.