OpenRiC Role-Type Vocabulary

Scheme IRI: https://openric.org/vocab/role-type/ Status: Active (spec v0.53.0) · Issued: 2026-10-19 · Licence: CC-BY 4.0 Machine-readable: role-type.ttl (Turtle)

A SKOS ConceptScheme of the roles an agent plays in a relation: the bride at a wedding, the witness at a hearing, the donor of a deposit. Each concept is also a rico:RoleType. RiC-O 1.1 qualifies a role only on a creation relation, with rico:creationWithRole, and defines the rico:RoleType class without a vocabulary; OpenRiC’s openricx:relationHasAgentRole carries a role on any relation. The values of both come from here.

Concepts

IRI	prefLabel	Broader	Definition
`spouse`	Spouse	-	A party to a marriage or civil union, in the event that creates it.
`bride`	Bride	`spouse`	A woman party to a marriage, as the record names her.
`groom`	Groom	`spouse`	A man party to a marriage, as the record names him.
`witness`	Witness	-	An agent who attests to an event or to the making of a record, such as a marriage, a signature or a court hearing.
`donor`	Donor	-	An agent who gave records or other material to the holding institution.
`editor`	Editor	-	An agent who prepared a record or a publication for issue, compiling or revising the work of others.
`translator`	Translator	-	An agent who rendered a record, or a performance, into another language.
`performer`	Performer	-	An agent who took part in a performance, such as a recital, a play or a recorded broadcast.
`conductor`	Conductor	`performer`	An agent who directed a musical performance.
`resident`	Resident	-	A person living in an institution or place of care during an episode of care.
`carer`	Carer	-	An agent who provided care to a person during an episode of care.

Each concept page gives its scope note: which relation the role belongs on.

Use

{
  "@type": "rico:EventRelation",
  "rico:relationHasSource": { "@id": "https://archives.example.org/activity/wedding-1886" },
  "rico:relationHasTarget": { "@id": "https://archives.example.org/agent/smith-mary" },
  "openricx:relationHasAgentRole": { "@id": "https://openric.org/vocab/role-type/bride" }
}

A role is a property of the relation, not of the agent: the same person can be a witness at one event and a spouse at another. Labels are English only for now; labels in other languages are welcome through the openric/spec discussions, as are new roles under the vocabulary policy.