On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 11:51 AM, Schwendner, Gregg
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> The online version of the Codex Sinaiticus (
> http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/) is a model of H.C. Youtie’s dictum that
> an edition should contain everything the reader will need to make sense of
> it. The online edition of the Vindolanda Tablets (
> http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/) is another example of this. DB’s and
> online editions created in an earlier generation like the TLG, and the
> DDbDP, require access to specialized research libraries and excellent Greek
> sight reading skills to be useful. I was involved in a discussion recently
> on the interpretation of critical signs in a NT codex, and was able to
> supply good exempla from online sources, which. however, required being able
> to read 10th AD Greek minuscule scripts and to find and translate
> scholiastic Greek on the TLG unaided. Thanks to the ruthlessness of my
> graduate teachers, I can do that, but few if any of the NT colleagues to
> whom I was writing could (perhaps I underestimate them). Lots of information
> is out there, but access is limited.
>
> The integration of APIS, the Duke Db, and the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis
> will go a long way to this end, as Hugh says. Nothing similar is in the
> works for literary papyri. The Center for Hellenic Studies’ Homer and the
> Papyri Db (based on Sutton’s original work) needs to be completely
> rethought; a good starting point might an online edition of the Venetus A à
> la the online Sinaiticus, even if the staring point is Comparetti’s
> photographic ed.
>
> There are several reasons why Db’s such as TLG etc. are not discussed and
> critiqued more openly has to do with funding. We depend on these tools, and
> don’t want to do anything that might hurt its availability. There is also
> politics involved: these projects are administered by influential people who
> do not always welcome criticism, so one engages in it at one’s peril. There
> is also the hierarchy of position, that takes precedence over the free
> exchange of ideas: a salutary critique by someone at Princeton or Oxford
> would no doubt do a lot of good. No one who matters in the APA will pay
> attention to the same critique coming from a place like Wichita.
>
> Gregg
>
Hi Gregg,
I don't know if you've seen it, but the CHS does provide a manuscript
browser for the Venetus A (including Comparetti, high-res images, and
a few other Homeric MSS): http://chs75.chs.harvard.edu/manuscripts/
There are not image-linked transcriptions available at the moment, but
I believe one of the goals of the Homer Multitext Project is creating
a transcription that links both among witnesses and to the witness
images. More importantly, all the images are licensed CC-BY-NC-SA and
available for download, meaning other projects are free to build on
them in practically whatever way they wish (more information and a
link to the directory listing of images is at
http://chs.harvard.edu/wa/pageR?tn=ArticleWrapper&bdc=12&mn=1560).
Best,
-Ryan
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