970: Seminar: Palæography of Medieval and Early Modern German, 3 cr.
Calomino, T, 2:30-4:30
The goal of this seminar is to introduce students to the techniques and practice of German palæography and its traditions from the early nineteenth century to the present day. As an introduction to varying methodologies and transcription, participants in the seminar will work with reproductions and facsimiles of (primarily) German manuscripts from the ninth through the sixteenth centuries. Further, in addition to gaining familiarity with scribal practice in major geographical regions, seminar discussions will concentrate on specific problems in the transcription and edition of medieval and early modern literary records as well as charters, civic documents, etc. Topics will include the influence of Latin script, multiple transmission of individual texts, and possibilities for the dating and identification of regional dialects based on manuscript evidence. The mutual transmission of late medieval manuscripts and early printed books will also be treated. The evolution of concepts in textual editing of medieval and early modern documents, and implications for the critical reception of these materials, will be a concern throughout the semester. Participants will complete an edition of representative manuscripts as a seminar project. Materials for photocopying, including facsimile and manuscript reproductions, will be provided by the instructor. Internet and other supplementary resources, e.g. the used of digitized manuscripts from major European and American archives, will be used as well.
Required Texts
- Schneider, Karin. Paläographie und Handschriftenkunde für Germanisten. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1999. Latest edition.
- Bischoff, Bernhard. Latin Palæography. Antiquity & the Middle Ages. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993.
