From exemplar to copy: the scribal appropriation of a Hadewijch manuscript computationally explored

Résumé 0

This study is devoted to two of the oldest known manuscripts in which theoeuvre of the medieval mystical author Hadewijch has been preserved: Brussels,KBR, 2879-2880 (ms. A) and Brussels, KBR, 2877-2878 (ms. B). On the basis ofcodicological and contextual arguments, it is assumed that the scribe whoproduced B used A as an exemplar. While the similarities in both layout andcontent between the two manuscripts are striking, the present article seeks toidentify the differences. After all, regardless of the intention to produce acopy that closely follows the exemplar, subtle linguistic variation isapparent. Divergences relate to spelling conventions, but also to the way inwhich words are abbreviated (and the extent to which abbreviations occur). Thepresent study investigates the spelling profiles of the scribes who producedmss. A and B in a computational way. In the first part of this study, we willpresent both manuscripts in more detail, after which we will consider priorresearch carried out on scribal profiling. The current study both builds andexpands on Kestemont (2015). Next, we outline the methodology used to analyseand measure the degree of scribal appropriation that took place when ms. B wascopied off the exemplar ms. A. After this, we will discuss the resultsobtained, focusing on the scribal variation that can be found both at the levelof individual words and n-grams. To this end, we use machine learning toidentify the most distinctive features that separate manuscript A from B.Finally, we look at possible diachronic trends in the appropriation by B'sscribe of his exemplar. We argue that scribal takeovers in the exemplar impactsthe practice of the copying scribe, while transitions to a different contentmatter cause little to no effect.