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Manuscripts
Manuscripts are physical books, scrolls, leaves and fragments made and read within particular traditions. Study their materials, transmission and editorial layers alongside the digital images that now make many witnesses accessible.
Manuscripts
Object, text and witness
A manuscript is a text-bearing object written or drawn by hand. It may be a book, a single document, a roll, a loose leaf or a fragment. A work is the composition that a manuscript may transmit; a witness is one surviving object that carries it. One codex can contain several works, and one work can survive in many witnesses. A digital photograph is a representation of a witness, while a transcription and an edition add reading and editorial decisions.
Continue reading →A reading check
Worked question
A digital catalogue has a record for a manuscript but only three sample images. Can you say that the manuscript has been fully digitised?
Show the analysis
No. Cite the catalogue record and state that only sample images were available. Check the repository’s item record and rights statement before treating an image as a complete facsimile.