Filling the silence: shared content in four related manuscripts of Ælfric’s catholic homilies

Lowe, K. A. (2015) Filling the silence: shared content in four related manuscripts of Ælfric’s catholic homilies. Digital Philology: A Journal of Medieval Cultures, 4(2), pp. 190-224. (doi: 10.1353/dph.2015.0011)

Abstract

In this article I analyze the contents and transmission of a group of related manuscripts containing copies of Ælfrician and anonymous homilies in order to demonstrate the linguistic potential of variant copies of texts. I consider them from a comparative textual and linguistic perspective in a way that privileges the scribe and scribal activity over traditional philology or editorial practice. The manuscripts are Oxford, Bodleian Library MSS Bodley 340 and 342, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MSS 162, 198, and 303. They date from Ælfric’s lifetime (c. 950–c. 1010) to the midtwelfth century. I focus on three Ælfrician homilies that appear in sequence uniquely in this cluster alongside four anonymous texts that, similarly, are not found together elsewhere. This research, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon foundation, was conducted as part of a collaborative project that sought to refine digital technologies to aid consequential research in book and language history.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lowe, Dr Kathryn
• Authors: Lowe, K. A.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics; P Language and Literature > PF West Germanic; Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z004 Books. Writing. Paleography; Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources > ZA4050 Electronic information resources
• College/School: College of Arts > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Journal Name: Digital Philology: A Journal of Medieval Cultures
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• ISSN: 2162-9544
• ISSN (Online): 2162-9552
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 Johns Hopkins University Press
• First Published: First published in Digital Philology: A Journal of Medieval Cultures 4(2):190-224
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher