Reading and picking up texts. The excerption signs and their form, uses and purposes (6th-12th centuries)
Lire et choisir. Formes, usages et finalités des signes d’excerption (VIe-XIIe siècles)
Published on Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Abstract
By bringing together historians, philologists, paleographers and codicologists, this conference aims to reflect on a category of annotations visible in texts preserved in medieval Latin manuscripts through case studies: excerption marks or extraction marks. Isolating portions of texts for later re-use, these marks, composed of an initial and a final sign and written by readers, are indicative of the preparation of intellectual undertakings. The aim is to provide an initial overview of excerption practices (typology, uses, distribution, etc.) over several centuries (6th-12th c.).
Announcement
Argument
As well as they preserve texts of all kinds of sorts, manuscripts have signs that show they have been handled and used by readers over the centuries. Recently, in the fields of codicology, paleography and philology, a new interest in “secondary” writings has arisen: those marks, notes and signs which, in the vacant areas of the page (margins, interlinear spaces) show that the texts have been read (Teeuwen & van Renswoude 2017, Steinová 2019). Among these various annotations, the category of excerption signs or extraction signs deserves particular attention, because it demonstrates some reading activities but also projects and undertakings. With these signs, made up of an initial mark and a final one, the person annotating the book isolates entire, very precise passages from the text they are reading. The contexts in which these signs are used – teaching, doctrinal controversies, etc. – are as diverse as their purposes – selection for the preparation of florilegia, homilies, treatises, documents for conciliar use, etc. For reasons relating to its political and religious context, as well as its role in the transmission of texts, the Carolingian period is a privileged observatory of these extraction practices. However, the case studies could also cover earlier periods and be regarding up as the 12th century.
In order to draw up an initial overview of extraction practices, the following themes and questions (the list is not exclusive) may guide the reflections, and the case studies presented may be based either on a single manuscript or on a group of manuscripts:
- Typology of these notes: what signs are used repeatedly? Are there any signs that can be considered personal or original?
- The way they are used: are there different "fashions" for different periods? Do readers proceed by imitation?
- Development of the extraction method: are there variations in the use of a chosen type of note? Are certain selections re-used, corrected and/or added to? Is there a significant correlation between the choice of signs and the content of the passages selected?
- Geographical distribution: are there recurring practices in certain intellectual centers or areas?
- The extraction result: has the extraction product been preserved? If so, what observations can be made between the preparation and the result? If not, based on the signs of excerption, can we make any assumptions about the project behind them?
By spanning several centuries, the various case studies will also help to identify the ways in which these signs are used, both in terms of permanence and mutation.
Organization
- Camille Gerzaguet, Université Paul-Valéry, CRISES (EA 4424), camille.gerzaguet@univ-montp3.fr
- Thomas Granier, Université Paul-Valéry, CEMM (EA 4583), thomas.granier@univ-montp3.fr
- Jean Meyers, Université Paul-Valéry, CRISES (EA 4424), jean.meyers@univ-montp3.fr
Submission guidelines
Paper proposals, containing a provisional title and a short abstract (300 words max.), should be sent by mail to the organizers (see above)
by 31 January 2024.
The authors of the selected proposals will be informed at the beginning of March.
Format : 30 minutes paper + 10 minutes discussion. Papers can be in French, English, Italian, German.
Accommodation and travel
Accommodation will be booked and covered by the organizers. Travel costs have to be supported by the speakers. If travel costs cannot be reimbursed by the home institution (PhD students without funding e.g.), we may find a solution.
Venue and date
University Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, location Saint-Charles.
2-4 October 2024.
Subjects
- Middle Ages (Main category)
Places
- Université Paul-Valéry, Site Saint Charles, 11 rue du Professeur Henri Serre
Montpellier, France (34000)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Keywords
- manuscrit, paléographie, philologie, histoire des textes, histoire intellectuelle
Contact(s)
- Camille Gerzaguet
courriel : camille [dot] gerzaguet [at] univ-montp3 [dot] fr
Information source
- Camille Gerzaguet
courriel : camille [dot] gerzaguet [at] univ-montp3 [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Reading and picking up texts. The excerption signs and their form, uses and purposes (6th-12th centuries) », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1cd8
