Manuscript in the centre: making, reading, collecting, analyzing, and editing

elective courses

This course is an introduction to manuscript studies. It offers an overview of the basic aspects of manuscript production, copying, and use based on examples from different cultures and times. It is intended to introduce students to basic skills and tools required for reading and examining the source texts in their natural manuscript context and the light of selected editions.

This course is an introduction to manuscript studies. It offers an overview of the basic aspects of manuscript production, copying, and use based on examples from different cultures and times. During the course, students will learn about different writing supports (e.g. paper, stone, palm leaves, papyrus, parchment, birch bark, metal plates, wax tablets, wooden slips, silk, cloth) in the context of their usage, manufacture, physical characteristics, preservation, geographical location, and history. They will also learn about the appropriate use of various papers and other materials and forms to mediate the second level of meaning transcending the ‘meaning’ of a given text through the choice of material.

This course is also intended to introduce students to basic skills and tools required for reading and examining the source texts in their natural manuscript context and the light of selected editions. Students will be introduced to the foundational concepts underlying critical analysis of texts, transcribing and editing manuscript witnesses, and fragmented manuscript data. They will learn about narratology through the example of illustrated books from Asia and the relation between text and image. They will also learn how to describe and catalogue manuscripts based on their physical features, contents, and paratexts. They will be presented with the application of TEI/XML standards in manuscript cataloguing.

Classes will be divided into modules taught by specialists in manuscript studies from various domains and disciplines. The meetings will include workshops at the Special Collections in BUW (University of Warsaw Library). Students will be acquainted with the practical aspects of research in selected areas of manuscript studies, including traditional codicological methods and contemporary analytical techniques, such as computational linguistics and multispectral analysis. Classes will involve extensive practice in the use of spoken and written English for academic purposes.

Topics

1. An overview of writing supports, paper, and parchment: focus on Tibet

2. From codices to (digital) editions: digging into medieval English manuscripts

3. Critical analysis of the source texts: textual criticism based on selected examples from Mongolia

4. Text and image – illustrated books in Asia on the selected examples

5. Analysing manuscripts with the aid of computational linguistics

6. Manuscript fragments and perspectives of fragmentology

7. Catalogues and cataloguing

8. Codicology and cataloguing in practice – working with medieval and early modern Latin

manuscripts (Special Collections, BUW – workshop)

9. Material analysis of European historical documents

Andrist, P., Canart, P. and Maniaci, M. 2013. La syntaxe du codex. Essai de codicologie

structurale. Turnhout.

Bak, J. M. 2017. Introduction to Working with Manuscripts for Medievalists. Gorgias and

Press.

Buzi P. and Witakowski, W. (eds.). 2015. Cataloging, in: A. Bausi (general ed.), Comparative

Oriental Manuscript Studies. An Introduction. Hamburg. pp. 467-530.

Clemens, R. and T. Graham. 2007. Introduction to Manuscript Studies. Cornell University

Press.

Helman-Ważny, A., 2014, The Archeology of Tibetan Books, Brill.

Kara, G. 2016, Books of Mongolian Nomads, Indiana University Press.

Mass, P. 1958. Textual Criticism. Oxford University Press, New York.

De Hamel, Ch. 2016. Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts. Allen Lane.

Richards, M. P. 1994. Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts. Basic Readings. Routledge.

Tarrant, R. 2016. Texts, Editors, and Readers. Methods and Problems in Latin Textual

Criticism. Cambridge University Press.

Van Lit, L. W. C., O.P. 2020. Among Digitized Manuscripts. Philology, Codicology,

Paleography in a Digital World. Brill.

Learning outcomes

Upon finishing the course, students will have gained the knowledge and skills listed below.

As regards knowledge, the participants will:

know the state of the art, general criteria of research and selected methods of investigating manuscripts to a degree enabling them a critical revision of the existing paradigms [P8S_WG.1 / K_W01]

know the major research trends in the field of manuscript studies [P8S_WG.2 / K_W02]

know the methodology used in the analysis of manuscripts [P8S_WG.3 / K_W03]

As regards skills, the participants will:

be able to talk about topics related to manuscripts and manuscript studies, and participate actively in international scholarly events focused on research in the field of manuscript studies [P8S_UK.1 / K_U06]

be able to engage in scholarly debates in a foreign language (level B2 - European System of Learning Description) on topics related to manuscripts and manuscript studies, and be an active member of the relevant international academic community [P8S_UK.5 / K_U07]

As regards social competences, the participants will be ready to:

- maintain and develop the ethos of research in an academic community, especially by

▪ conducting independent research

▪ respecting the principles of public ownership of the results of scholarly activities by recognizing the principles of intellectual property protection [P8S_KR.1 / K_K07]

powerpoint presentation (ppt) on methodologies introduced during the course, their implementation and the problem of interdisciplinary research

Blended learning