Research areas
Philological studies
Manuscript studies are currently regarded as an integral part of the studies of literature and literary history. They are also vital for historical linguists and philologists. Philological analysis of source texts in their natural manuscript context often involves the use of evidence and clues from other disciplines, including material analysis. The way a given text is written and represented on a manuscript folio, its mise-en-page, its background, the contents of the volume, in general, often shed light on the meaning of the text, the process of its composition, dissemination and reception. Such an integrative approach lies at the heart of new philology.
Material analysis
Analysis of manuscripts’ chemical composition and physical structure based on advanced methodology including optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and a full range of spectral and spectroscopic analyses. The examination of manuscripts’ material features, which may involve complete objects or selected components, yields detailed numerical data which specify the elemental, molecular, or isotopic composition of individual elements. The results of the material analysis can be used in comparative research and provenance studies.
Provenace studies
Tracing the history of ownership of a given manuscript from its origins until present times, based on ownership inscriptions, shelfmarks, bookplates, supralibros, the physical structure of the volume, binding, etc. Other types of evidence that can attest to the provenance of a given manuscript include external history, especially concerning archival collections and their former owners.
Krystyna Jarosławska
Fragmentology
Fragmentology has recently become an autonomous branch of manuscript studies. It focuses on parchment and paper waste, and fragments deliberately cut out from codices by and for art collectors. Fragmentology focuses on the recovered fragments, traces their origin and provenance, and studies the context from which they derive. Furthermore, it investigates the circumstances in which the original codex was dismembered and how the surviving fragments – membra disiecta – were reused.
Codicology and palaeography
The study of physical aspects and structure of manuscripts, including the material on which they are written, collation, ruling, handwriting, writing tools, binding, etc. Palaeography aims to read scripts accurately, to date and localize them. Codicology and palaeography are often referred to as ‘the archaeology of the book’ because they look into the materials and techniques used to make one. The codicological and palaeographical analysis also embraces mutual relations between written texts and illuminations.
Krystyna Jarosławska
Textual criticims and editing
Comparative analysis of different textual variants or copies (i.e. witnesses) is a prerequisite to establishing the attested renditions of a given source. It is the first step in reconstructing the history of a text and its dissemination. Comparing extant witnesses helps to draw a ‘family tree’ or stemma codicum, required to express the postulated interrelationships between the different manuscripts. Textual criticism is an essential component of textual editing.