Down to the present day, annotating texts has been a very common praxis, and the practices (i.e. underlining, highlighting, glossing, etc.) have not changed since the early medieval period. In manuscripts such annotations are called “glosses”. They are defined as anything on a page which is not the main or base text. Glosses can appear between the lines of the base text or in the margins of a page. Their length ranges from single words to longer commentaries. Gloss-ViBe concentrated on glosses found in four manuscripts from the ninth century transmitting the Venerable Bede’s “De Temporum Ratione”:
1. Its main manuscript the “Vienna Bede”: Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Codex 15298 (Olim Suppl. 2698 = BVi.)
2. Angers, Bibliothèque municipal 477
3. The Karlsruhe Bede: Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek, Augiensis pergamentum 167 (olim Codex Augiensis CLXVII)
4. St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, MS 251
“De Temporum Ratione” was written in the early eighth century and is about measuring time an constructing a calendar. Building on parallel glosses on this text found in the four manuscripts, Gloss-ViBe used an interdisciplinary approach to answer the project’s main research question: are vernacular glosses original compositions or translations from original Latin glosses? Addressing this question contributes to an enhanced grasp of how people saw themselves culturally and how intellectual history evolved in the early medieval era, marked by continuous exchanges and diverse interactions among cultures. This investigation into multilingualism during this time not only benefits academic discussions but also holds relevance for contemporary Europe. The insights derived from studying the diverse cultural interactions and migrations of the first millennium AD can significantly aid in comprehending and managing current trends in migration. Throughout the project, three primary objectives were achieved:
- The transcription and collection of (parallel) glosses from the Vienna Bede and the other three manuscripts.
- The creation of a digital edition of the Vienna Bede, encompassing both the base text and its complete paratext.
- The development of a framework to identify and analyse parallel glosses.
This research not only contributes to a deeper understanding of historical cultural and linguistic interactions but also has implications for contemporary Europe by providing insights into multilingualism and migration trends.
