AI, the Early Modern Archive, and the Rights of Memory

This article examines the relationship between artificial intelligence, archival authority, and collective memory in early modern literary studies. Beginning with Fortinbras’s invocation of ‘rights of memory’ in Hamlet, it develops a framework for understanding the archive as both a site of preservation and a locus of interpretive power. Drawing on Pierre Nora’s concept of lieux de mémoire, the essay considers how memory is framed, curated, and authorised within institutional structures, and how similar dynamics operate within scholarly practice. Through case studies including John Payne Collier’s forgeries, Albert Feuillerat’s edition of the Revels Office records, and recent digital humanities initiatives, the article explores the ethical limits of interpretive intervention in archival research. It then turns to generative AI as both a potential corrective to distortion and a new mechanism of memory formation. By mapping connections between print culture, theatrical production, and urban space in early modern London, the essay argues that responsibly trained AI may help reconstruct fractured historical relationships while also raising urgent questions about control, access, and the commercialisation of knowledge.