Editing and Translating Texts: research and discussion day

26 January, 2009
Lecture Theatre C Avenue campus 10-6pm.

Editing texts is among the most important and characteristic activities within ancient and medieval studies; it is, moreover, one in which Southampton scholars of all relevant disciplines have considerable expertise, whether as sole scholars, contributors to collaborative editorial project, or as users and critics of editions of all kinds. This colloquium, it is hoped, will allow colleagues and visitors to appreciate the range of editorial activity in progress, and make connections between areas of particular interest; but it is also hoped that it might provide a means for considering broader questions about the nature of editing and its place in medieval studies. Topics for debate might include the relationship between editing and other intensive methods of source criticism, such as diplomatic; the extent to which notions of genre and discourse determine editors’ work; conventions of editorial presentation; how close or how distant are editorial techniques in different disciplines; how editing affects understanding of the oral performance underlying many texts; and how the selection of texts for editing might better serve the scholarly community.

Guest speakers
Dr Elisabeth van Houts (Emmanuel College Cambridge), ‘Editing historical narratives; from the Gesta Normannorum ducum to the Warenne Chronicle’
Dr Brian Kemp (University of Reading) ‘The Salisbury Episcopal Acta’

Members of the centre participating
Dr Peter Clarke, Dr Nick Karn, Prof. Bella Millet, Dr Lena Wahlgren-Smith, Dr Louise Revell, Prof. Chris Woolgar 

Schedule:

10.00  Welcome
10.05  Louise Revell  (Archaeology, University of Southampton): Writing rituals: editing texts and the reconstruction of religion
10.35  Lena Wahlgren-Smith (Modern Languages, University of Southampton): A banquet of delights - Editing medieval letter collections
11.05  Coffee
11.25  Nicholas Karn (History, University of Southampton): Editing texts and editing systems in the records of Peterborough Abbey
11.45  Brian Kemp (History, University of Reading): The Salisbury episcopal acta
12.35 Lunch: Sandwiches and other foods are available from the Avenue Campus cafeteria, close to the venue for the research day
1.45  Elisabeth van Houts (Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge): Editing historical narratives: from the Gesta Normannorum Ducum to the Warenne Chronicle
2.45  Bella Millett (English, University of Southampton): "Change and decay in all around I see." Is textual change always for the worse?
3.15  Peter Clarke (History, University of Southampton): Petitions from England and Wales to the Papal Penitentiary: Editorial approaches and problems
3.45  Tea  
4.00  Chris Woolgar (Hartley Library, University of Southampton): Editing medieval texts and documents: an archival perspective
4.30  Round table