Postgraduate Course: German Palaeography, Codicology and Textual Criticism (ELCG11009)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | European Languages and Cultures - German |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The texts and editions we use when studying medieval German literature today are the product not only of their authors but of generations of scribes, copyists and editors, each of them leaving their mark on the final text. The purpose of this course is to enable students to identify and assess the kind and level of impact these contributions have on the text. Palaeography is the study of earlier, more specifically ancient and medieval scripts with the aim of understanding what they say. Codicology is the study of codices and their material basis, including page preparation and layout, illustrations, bindings and provenances. The task of the textual scholar or editor is to produce critical editions of texts based on the available manuscripts and the information provided by palaeographical and codicological study.
This course will introduce students to the theoretical framework as well as the principles and practice of textual editing of Middle High German texts. Manuscripts from the 9th to 16th centuries will be examined, mostly in facsimile, to familiarize students with a variety of German medieval scripts, from Carolingian minuscule to textualis, cursive hands and bastarda, and to introduce them to the typical features of these scripts and their development during that period. Some of the difficulties that may be encountered in reading these various types of scripts will be illustrated and explained, and students will learn how to interpret and transcribe them. Aspects to be covered will include page layout and decoration as well as systems of abbreviation, punctuation and accentuation. Main developments in the theory of scholarly editing will be discussed and different types of editions will be examined and compared to the manuscripts they are based on, enabling the students to evaluate editions of medieval texts and to make use of a critical apparatus.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| Students will develop an ability to identify, decipher and transcribe scripts used in manuscripts written in Middle High German between ca. 900 AD and 1500 AD; an ability to identify different scripts and assign an approximate date to them; an appreciation of the implications of various forms of page layout and decoration and an ability to describe and analyse such layouts and decorations. They will develop an understanding of approaches to different types of textual edition and of the relationship between modern published editions and the manuscripts on which they are based. They will develop an elementary ability to produce an edition from manuscript sources. |
Assessment Information
Transcription exercise (1/3)
Exercise in editing a short passage from a Middle High German text, and translation of a designated passage into modern English (2/3)
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Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Bein, Thomas, Textkritik. Eine Einführung in Grundlagen germanistisch-mediävistischer Editionswissenschaft. Lehrbuch mit Übungsteil (Frankfurt/Main: Lang, 2011)
Bischoff, Bernhard, Paläographie des römischen Altertums und des abendländischen Mittelalters (Berlin: Schmidt, 1986)
(Available in the main library in English translation by Da"ü"¢bh"ü"¢ O"¢ Cro"¢ini"¢n and David Ganz: Bischoff, Bernhard, Latin palaeography: antiquity and the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990))
Petzet, Erich and Glauning, Otto, Deutsche Schrifttafeln des IX. bis XVI. Jahrhunderts aus Handschriften der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek München. (München/Leipzig, 1910-1930; Nachdruck: Hildesheim: Olms, 2001)
(Available in main library, Special Collections, Shelfmark Vl.13)
Schneider, Karin, Gotische Schriften in deutscher Sprache I: vom späten 12. Jahrhundert bis um 1300 (Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1987)
(Available in main library, shelfmark Folio PT191 Sch. $ú closed access; item must be requested)
Schneider, Karin, Paläographie und Handschriftenkunde für Germanisten. Eine Einführung (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1999)
(Available in main library, shelfmark Z105 Sch.)
Stackmann, Karl, "Neue Philologie?", in Joachim Heinzle (ed.) Modernes Mittelalter, Neue bilder einer populären Epoche (Frankfurt/Main: Insel, 1994), pp. 398-427
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | GPCaT |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sabine Rolle
Tel: (0131 6)50 3670
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Linda Grieve
Tel: (0131 6)50 4114
Email: |
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