Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The identification, definition and typology of manuscript lacunae

Göransson, Elisabet LU orcid (2019) p.79-96
Abstract
In the article the question of how to identify and define lacunae is discussed, both in general and exemplified in manuscripts containing collections of monastic sayings of the Desert Fathers. These sayings, organized in different ways, were probably written down in Greek during the early fifth century and were soon translated into many languages. In a relational MySQL database, the sayings as they appear in the manuscripts are given a unique identifier. The structure and the contents of each manuscript can be compared through this reference system, which builds on the unique structure of each manuscript. However, when a manuscript contains lacunae, the results when comparing the structures are not trustworthy. The article discusses how to... (More)
In the article the question of how to identify and define lacunae is discussed, both in general and exemplified in manuscripts containing collections of monastic sayings of the Desert Fathers. These sayings, organized in different ways, were probably written down in Greek during the early fifth century and were soon translated into many languages. In a relational MySQL database, the sayings as they appear in the manuscripts are given a unique identifier. The structure and the contents of each manuscript can be compared through this reference system, which builds on the unique structure of each manuscript. However, when a manuscript contains lacunae, the results when comparing the structures are not trustworthy. The article discusses how to deal with such problems. A definition of the notion lacuna in general is suggested, and also a typology for lacunae that could be used both by cataloguers of manuscripts and by scholars. Moreover, a model for how to calculate the parts of a text that are missing in smaller lacunae is presented. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
lacuna, MySQL, relational database, Apophthegmata Patrum, Sayings of the Desert Fathers
host publication
Digital and Analytical Approaches to the Written Heritage : Proceedings of the 7th international conference El'Manuscript "Heritage and Information Technologies", 2018 - Proceedings of the 7th international conference El'Manuscript "Heritage and Information Technologies", 2018
pages
15 pages
publisher
Gutenberg Publishing House
project
Formative Wisdom. The Reception of Monastic Sayings in European Culture: Scholarly Collaboration on a Digital Platform.
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d80149c5-e438-4b5a-ba2d-0425fa9469ec
date added to LUP
2019-03-05 08:58:09
date last changed
2023-06-17 02:55:56
@inbook{d80149c5-e438-4b5a-ba2d-0425fa9469ec,
  abstract     = {{In the article the question of how to identify and define lacunae is discussed, both in general and exemplified in manuscripts containing collections of monastic sayings of the Desert Fathers. These sayings, organized in different ways, were probably written down in Greek during the early fifth century and were soon translated into many languages. In a relational MySQL database, the sayings as they appear in the manuscripts are given a unique identifier. The structure and the contents of each manuscript can be compared through this reference system, which builds on the unique structure of each manuscript. However, when a manuscript contains lacunae, the results when comparing the structures are not trustworthy. The article discusses how to deal with such problems. A definition of the notion lacuna in general is suggested, and also a typology for lacunae that could be used both by cataloguers of manuscripts and by scholars. Moreover, a model for how to calculate the parts of a text that are missing in smaller lacunae is presented.}},
  author       = {{Göransson, Elisabet}},
  booktitle    = {{Digital and Analytical Approaches to the Written Heritage : Proceedings of the 7th international conference El'Manuscript "Heritage and Information Technologies", 2018}},
  keywords     = {{lacuna; MySQL; relational database; Apophthegmata Patrum; Sayings of the Desert Fathers}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  pages        = {{79--96}},
  publisher    = {{Gutenberg Publishing House}},
  title        = {{The identification, definition and typology of manuscript lacunae}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}