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The Arts of Editing Medieval Greek and Latin : a Casebook

Göransson, Elisabet LU orcid ; Iversen, Gunilla ; Crostini, Barbara ; Jensen, Brian M. ; Kihlman, Erika ; Odelman, Eva and Searby, Denis (2016) In Studies and Texts 203.
Abstract
With the triumph of the codex, medieval literature became more deeply hermeneutic in character. A vast range of texts, in various languages and genres, were not only copied with the commentaries and glosses of ancient tradition, but also underwent continuous reworking and transformation. Indeed, the very act of transcribing texts into a manuscript was often an incentive to rewrite them. This practice resulted in a bewildering number of textual versions that lived alongside their originals, and sometimes displaced them, but were nevertheless fundamental to their transmission and interpretation, often resulting in complex textual layers.

All of them, from commentaries on biblical books, hymns, or sequences to texts for liturgical... (More)
With the triumph of the codex, medieval literature became more deeply hermeneutic in character. A vast range of texts, in various languages and genres, were not only copied with the commentaries and glosses of ancient tradition, but also underwent continuous reworking and transformation. Indeed, the very act of transcribing texts into a manuscript was often an incentive to rewrite them. This practice resulted in a bewildering number of textual versions that lived alongside their originals, and sometimes displaced them, but were nevertheless fundamental to their transmission and interpretation, often resulting in complex textual layers.

All of them, from commentaries on biblical books, hymns, or sequences to texts for liturgical use with many local versions, from model sermon collections to florilegia and encyclopaedic works, came to encompass multiple paratextual and intermedial forms, be it in the guise of other texts or images or music, all with their own histories of transmission.

Despite the importance in the development of medieval thought and culture their widespread dissemination evinces, these works have remained largely unedited, or unavailable in reliable modern editions. One reason for this has surely been that they were seen as merely functional texts and regarded as less important than the canonical texts. Yet the sheer number of different versions also makes them resistant to traditional and well-established editorial protocols.

Issuing from Stockholm University's Ars edendi research programme (2008–2015), The Arts of Editing Medieval Greek and Latin draws together eighteen case studies covering typical medieval genres such as commentaries and glosses, liturgical texts, model sermons, and anthologies. Exploiting examples not typically discussed in manuals of textual criticism, these essays describe the challenges and opportunities in producing single-manuscript editions or editions involving large numbers of witnesses, editing different versions of the same author's text or anthologies containing the works of multiple authors, as well as in capturing stages of textual genesis and textual variability, relating text to image, and harnessing digital tools. A closing chapter seeks to trace common threads as well as differences, offering reflections on broader questions of editorial theory and practice.
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editor
LU orcid ; Iversen, Gunilla ; Crostini, Barbara ; Jensen, Brian M. ; Kihlman, Erika ; Odelman, Eva and Searby, Denis
organization
publishing date
type
Book/Report
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Latin philology, Greek philology, textual criticism, critical editions, editorial methods, editorial theory, editing in theory and practice, Medieval literature, fluent text traditions, online editions
in
Studies and Texts
volume
203
pages
452 pages
publisher
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
ISSN
0082-5328
ISBN
978-0-88844-203-1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
71c551d5-bf93-43fc-9628-d804e30597fd
date added to LUP
2016-06-20 13:37:49
date last changed
2023-06-17 02:55:55
@book{71c551d5-bf93-43fc-9628-d804e30597fd,
  abstract     = {{With the triumph of the codex, medieval literature became more deeply hermeneutic in character. A vast range of texts, in various languages and genres, were not only copied with the commentaries and glosses of ancient tradition, but also underwent continuous reworking and transformation. Indeed, the very act of transcribing texts into a manuscript was often an incentive to rewrite them. This practice resulted in a bewildering number of textual versions that lived alongside their originals, and sometimes displaced them, but were nevertheless fundamental to their transmission and interpretation, often resulting in complex textual layers.<br/><br/>All of them, from commentaries on biblical books, hymns, or sequences to texts for liturgical use with many local versions, from model sermon collections to florilegia and encyclopaedic works, came to encompass multiple paratextual and intermedial forms, be it in the guise of other texts or images or music, all with their own histories of transmission.<br/><br/>Despite the importance in the development of medieval thought and culture their widespread dissemination evinces, these works have remained largely unedited, or unavailable in reliable modern editions. One reason for this has surely been that they were seen as merely functional texts and regarded as less important than the canonical texts. Yet the sheer number of different versions also makes them resistant to traditional and well-established editorial protocols.<br/><br/>Issuing from Stockholm University's Ars edendi research programme (2008–2015), The Arts of Editing Medieval Greek and Latin draws together eighteen case studies covering typical medieval genres such as commentaries and glosses, liturgical texts, model sermons, and anthologies. Exploiting examples not typically discussed in manuals of textual criticism, these essays describe the challenges and opportunities in producing single-manuscript editions or editions involving large numbers of witnesses, editing different versions of the same author's text or anthologies containing the works of multiple authors, as well as in capturing stages of textual genesis and textual variability, relating text to image, and harnessing digital tools. A closing chapter seeks to trace common threads as well as differences, offering reflections on broader questions of editorial theory and practice.<br/>}},
  editor       = {{Göransson, Elisabet and Iversen, Gunilla and Crostini, Barbara and Jensen, Brian M. and Kihlman, Erika and Odelman, Eva and Searby, Denis}},
  isbn         = {{978-0-88844-203-1}},
  issn         = {{0082-5328}},
  keywords     = {{Latin philology; Greek philology; textual criticism; critical editions; editorial methods; editorial theory; editing in theory and practice; Medieval literature; fluent text traditions; online editions}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  note         = {{Book Editor}},
  publisher    = {{Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies}},
  series       = {{Studies and Texts}},
  title        = {{The Arts of Editing Medieval Greek and Latin : a Casebook}},
  volume       = {{203}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}