Colophons, Titles and Supplications

These three concepts and their encoding in manuscript and work records are treated together here as they tend to overlap in discussion. In this page, we will try to clarify our understanding and the way in which we encode each case.

The elements used are <title> and <div> with @subtype, <colophon>, <incipit>, <explicit>, <seg> with @type. In <title> and <div> the attribute @type is used for a more general typology. Each of these elements can take as much text as available and needed, from nothing to many thousands of words.

Since some of these elements can also be used for additions, it is possible to encode, for example, a supplication or an extended title added after the copying of the main text with the same set of tags and attributes .

Whether used for the encoding of the main content or later additions, the list of values which can be used for the attributes @type or @subtype is the same. More than one value can be used, up to six.

  1. expanded"contains the title, tafaṣṣama / malʾa and further information
  2. inscription is used for a title occurring at the beginning of a work
  3. subscription for a title occurring at the end of a work
  4. embedded for a title copied together with the text
  5. supplication for a supplication
  6. translation to signal that the title is only of a translation

When used in <div> or <seg> other two values can be used:

  1. title contains the title as well as tafaṣṣama / malʾa or similar expressions
  2. desinit to qualify expressions as tafaṣṣama / malʾa .

Types/subtypes should be combined to describe the exact situation as it presents itself in each work, as in the following example from LIT5673AkkonuColl:


  <div type="textpart" subtype="title inscriptio" xml:id="Title">
    <label>Title</label>
  </div>

Example 1

Why are there so many ways to do this? Because of the way information is entered. There are cases in which we only know of the presence of a colophon, but do not know its content. Sometimes we are working on a manuscript record and we do not know the textual unit well enough, so we need to register as much as possible, but not overstate. Fortunately, all this different information can be collected together, and the use of the same set of attributes can help. An additional reason for this is that this information can be joined to one another: there might be, for example, a colophon which contains a title. A generic incipit or explicit might contain, with other things also a title, but is generically the beginning of a text part, which needs not to be a title or anything else, although it might be. It is up to the encoder to make decisions, for example, if a long title before a text is all there is in a <incipit> given by a cataloguer, the encoder might decide to have an <incipit> with a @type inscription, or to copy the text in the <title> element of the <msItem>.

A special note needs to be made for <seg> which can be used within <colophon>, <incipit>, <explicit>, <div>.

Colophons

For a definition of the colophons of a manuscript, see the page on colophons.

Titles (sometimes referred to as "colophon of the work") transmitted in all manuscripts will be encoded in the work record and titles particular to one manuscript in the manuscript record. Cases like the ones discussed for Coptic Biblical Titles Buzi 2017, 5–6 would need encoding in each manuscript. The next section details several types of titles which can be encoded in a work, with examples of how to encode them.

There is no need to add a @type to every <colophon>, but the attribute and values should be used cautiously, so that a search for a colophon with a certain type will match only this case.

Titles (colophon of the work)

This can be encoded in the work record, but also in the manuscript description or transcription.

While the best option is to encode them in the manuscript transcription, using an appropriate <div> with @subtype using a combination of the values above, it is often the case that there is no transcription, and the encoder is left to decide if to put this within the <msItem> or directly in the work record.

If adding a fixed text only in the work record, <div> with @subtype or <seg> with @type using a combination of the values above.

This is an example in the transcription of a manuscript BNFet152.


          <div type="textpart" subtype="title" xml:lang="gez" corresp="#ms_i1">
            <ab> ዝንቱ፡ መጽሐፈ፡ ትምህርት፡ ዘልሳነ፡ ግዕዝ፡ ዛይሳመይ፡ ከሌዳዊ፡ <gap reason="omitted" extent="unknown" resp="PRS10747Zotenbe"></gap>
            </ab>
          </div>
        

Example 2

This is an example in the edition of a work, where also title is used from LIT1968Mashaf.


          <div type="textpart" subtype="title inscription expanded">
            <div type="textpart" subtype="paragraph" n="1">
              <ab> ዝንቱ፡ መጽሐፈ፡ ሥርዓት፡ ዘወፅአ፡ እመንበረ፡ ማርቆስ፡ ሐዋርያ፡ እመካነ፡ መዓልቃ፡ ዘምስር፡ </ab>
            </div> ... </div>
        

Example 3

Title of the (entire) work

See, for example, in the manuscripts with the Revelation of John, the wording like ዝየ᎓ ተፈጸመ᎓ ራእየ᎓ ዮሐንስ᎓ አቡቀለምሲስ᎓ ዘውእቱ᎓ በሕይወቱ᎓ ራእይ᎓ ብሂል᎓ e.g. Saint Petersburg, Institut Vostočnyh Rukopisej Rossijskoj Akademii Nauk, IV Suhtelen 252, content item 1.2


            <msItem xml:id="ms_i1.2">
              <locus from="66ra" to="99vb"></locus>
              <title type="complete" ref="LIT3179Revela" xml:lang="gez"></title>
              <incipit xml:lang="gez">
                <hi rend="rubric">ዘዮሐንስ᎓ እጲስ᎓</hi> ቆጶስ᎓ ዘቍስጥንጥያ᎓ ምጥረ᎓ ጶሊስ᎓ አመ᎓ ሀለዎ᎓ ይሰደድ᎓ ራእዮ᎓
                ለዮሐንስ᎓ ዘከመ᎓ ርእዮ᎓ ለኢየሱስ᎓ ክርስቶስ᎓ ዘወሀቦ᎓ እግዚኣብሔር᎓ ከመ᎓ ያርእዩሙ᎓ ለአግብርቲሁ᎓ ዘሀሎ᎓ ይኩን᎓ ፍጡነ ። </incipit>
              <explicit xml:lang="gez"> ዝየ᎓ ተፈጸመ᎓ ራእየ᎓ ዮሐንስ᎓ አቡቀለምሲስ᎓ ዘውእቱ᎓ ብሂል᎓ ዘርእየ᎓ በሕይወቱ᎓ ራእየ፨
                ወእመቦ᎓ ዘገደፍኩ᎓ ወዘወሰኩ᎓ በኢያእምሮ᎓ ስረዩ᎓ ወባረኩ᎓ ላዕሌየ᎓ ወኢትርስዑኒ᎓ በሞትየ᎓ ወበሕይወትየ᎓ ሶበ᎓ አንበብክምዋ።
              </explicit>
            </msItem>
          

Example 4

This could have been added in a div in the transcription as well. Note that in this case the encode has added no @type in <incipit> or <explicit>. <seg> or <title> may be used inside these elements to markup the exact portion of the incipit of explicit which is an inscription or subscription, for example, either here or in the transcription as in the example above.

Other examples of short colophons can be found at the end of some of the Old Testament books (esp. Octateuch). Cp. AQG-008, Octateuch: ተፈጸመ᎓ ኦሪት᎓ ዘፀአት; ኦሪት᎓ ዘሌዋዊያን᎓ ተፈጸመ᎓ , etc. or at the end of Aksumite collection (UM-039), Bausi 2016, 240. Cp. DD-042, Zena Ayhud, f. 158r-v ተፈጸመ፡ መጽሐፈ፡ ዮሴፍ፡ ወልደ፡ ከርዮን፡ ካህን፡ ዘያየድዕ፡ ዜና፡ አይሁድ፡ ውስተ፡ ቤት፡ ዳግማዊ። ወዝክረ፡ ነገሥቶሙ፡ ወነገር፡ ዘኮነ፡ በመዋዕሊሆሙ፡ እም፡ አመ፡ ሕንጸተ፡ ቤት፡ ዳግማዊ፡ ወግአቶሙ፡ ኀቤሁ፡ እስከ፡ ተነሥተ፡ ወተፄወው፡ እምኔሁ። ስብሐት፡ ወአኰቴት። ዝማሬ፡ ወዕበይ፡ ስጊድ፡ ወክብር። ግናይ፡ ወውዳሴ፡ ክብር: ለእግዚአብሔር፡ ክቡር፡ ወልዑል። እስከ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም። ወለትውልደ፡ ትውልድ፡ ዘኢየሐልቅ፡ አሜን። ወአሜን፡ለይኩን፡ ለይኩ

Fig. g1. DD-042, Zena Ayhud, f. 158r
Fig. g2. DD-042, Zena Ayhud, f. 158v

This could be reproduced in the manuscript transcription using a <div> with <subtype> having the values title, embedded and subscription, but would need to be in the manuscript transcription, not in the work because the fact it is embedded hints at the fact that it is not a constant of the tradition of this text.

In a few cases the colophon of the work is extensive, e.g., in the Vita of Takla Hāymānot.

Title of a work which is part of a collection

The identification of this type of title depends on how the structure of the work in question is understood. However this level of interpretation will be encoded as well, so that the position of the information will be enough to provide the information about the fact that a title regards only a part: it will be nested into it, either as a <div> or a <msItem>.

An example of this can be UM-018, f. 18vb, followed by a supplication; f. 37rb; possibly with a date, f. 56rb; 77vb, followed by a subscription; possibly f. 88va; f. 123va; possibly f. 241b; f. 252vb. In MGM-013, the Vita of Gabra Manfas Qeddus and the Miracles each has a colophon, f. 52va ተፈጸመ፡ በዝየ፡ ገድለ፡ አቡነ፡ …; f. 68va, ተፈጸመ፡ በዝየ፡ ተአምረ፡ አቡነ፡ ገብረ፡ …. Bausi 2016, 253–54, for the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Peter (The last two lines ለዛቲ᎓ መጽሐፍ᎓ ዘአጽሐፋ᎓ … can be considered also as a separate unit, a commissioner note or supplication for the commissioner).

Title of a part of the work

The identification of this type of title depends on how the structure of the work in question is understood. However this level of interpretation will be encoded as well, so that the position of the information will be enough to provide the information about the fact that a title regards only a part: it will be nested into a <div>.

AM-002, Sinodos, f. 40vb ተፈጸመ᎓ ተፈሥሑ᎓ ቀዳሜ᎓ ብሔር᎓; f. 68rb: ተፈጸመ᎓ ኃምስ᎓ ብሔር᎓ etc. Aksumite collection (UM-039), e.g., f. 117/46rb ተፈጸመ᎓ ሥርዓተ᎓ ጥምቀት᎓; f. 61/134 ተፈጸመት᎓ እንተ᎓ በከልቂዶን᎓ etc. Nearly all copies of the Synaxarion have these colophons, always at the end of the part for each month. Cp. SDM-008.

Title of the translation of the entire work

The identification of this type of title depends on how the structure of the work in question is understood.

Nearly all copies of Maṣḥafa krǝstǝnnā (sometimes it is preceded by the colophon of the work), see, e.g., DZ-011, f. 47rb; MR-039, f. 36rb. Nearly all copies of Aragāwi manfasāwi (sometimes followed by the colophon of the manuscript), cp. MAKM-012, GKM-001. DD-015, Maṣḥafa ḥāwi, f. 12r, refers to the beginning and the end of the translation. Bausi 2016, 249–50: the colophon of the Kebra nagast. DD-012, Commentaries on the Epistle of John, f. 315vb: ተፈጸመ፡ በረድኤተ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ልዑል፡ ወሀብተ፡ ጸገሁ፡ ወስብሀቲሁ፡ ትርጓሜ፡ አቡነ፡ ዓቢይ፡ በውስተ፡ ቅዱሳን፡ ዮሐንስ፡ አፈ፡ ወርቅ፡ መልእክተ፡ ጳውሎስ፡ ሐዋርያ፡ ኀበ፡ ሰብአ፡ ዕብራውያን፡ ጸሎቶሙ፡ ወበረከቶሙ፡ ወሀብተ፡ ረድኤቶሙ፡ የሀሉ፡ ምስለ፡ ገብሮሙ፡ ዝክረ፡ ማርያም። ተተርጐመት፡ እምልሳነ፡ ዓረብ፡ ለግዕዝ፡ በአፈ፡ ዕንባቆም፡ ወሚካኤል፡ በ፸፻፲ወ፭ዓመተ፡ ምሕረት። ወእምልደተ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ እግዚእነ፡ ወመድኃኒነ፡ በ፲፻ወ፭፻ዓመት። ወእምዓመተ፡ ሰማዕታትኒ፡ በ፲፻ወ፪፻፴ወ፱ዓመት፡ ወፍፃሜኒ፡ ኮነ፡ በዕለተ፡ ሰኑይ፡ በወርኃ፡ ነሐሴ፡ አሜን።

Title of the translation of a work which is part of a collection

Examples of titles of the translation of a part

  1. UM-018, f. 115rb ወአዕለውነ᎓ ዘንተ᎓ ገድለ᎓ በመዋዕለ᎓ መፍቀሬ᎓ እግዚአብሔር᎓ ንጉሥ᎓ ገብረ᎓ መስቀል᎓ ወዘተረጐሞ᎓ ቀሲስ᎓ ግብጻዊ᎓ ወስሙ᎓ ሚካኤል᎓ ወመካኑ᎓ ብሔረ᎓ ግብጽ᎓ ደብረ᎓ አባ᎓ ሲኖዳ ; f. 132r, etc.
  2. Bausi 2016, 243, colophon for the Vita of Bsoy (BritLib Orient 692, EMML 7602 Gadla samāʿtāt).
  3. Bausi 2016, 243–244, Vat. Et. 264, for the Vita of Nob.
  4. Bausi 2016, 244, colophon with the date 678 in the Mashafa Sirak (BN éth. 6).
  5. Bausi 2016, 246, colophon of the Acts of Kaleb from the Gadla samāʿtāt of Zway ( may be considered as composed of two units: colophon of the work, colophon of the translation).

Supplications

It is important to mark up supplications (or eulogy, or final blessing formula) wherever in a manuscript they can occur (beginning, end, within the text)

In individual cases, it might be difficult to distinguish the colophon from other material surrounding it, such as supplications. Supplications, which are often not part of colophons or titles, are usually encoded as <explicit type="supplication"> or <incipit type="supplication"> as in this example from BDLpoc6.


          <incipit type="supplication" xml:lang="gez">
            ጸሎቱ፡ ወበረከቱ፡ የሀሉ፡ ምስለ፡
            <persName ref="PRS11601EdaM">እደ፡ ማርያም።</persName>
          </incipit>
        

Example 5

or this case from Parm3852


        <explicit xml:lang="gez" type="supplication">
          <locus from="138rb" to="138va"></locus>
          ወለነኒ፡ ይጸግወነ፡ በረከቶ፡ ወይክፍለነ፡ ርስቶ፡ ወመክፈልቶ። ወምስለ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ ...
        </explicit>
        

Example 6

However, a supplication can be immediately followed or preceded by a colophon or be seamlessly contained in it. In such cases it might be desirable to encode the supplication as part of the colophon, using <seg> inside it.

The same can value for @subtype can be used for a <div> in the manuscript transcription or edition of a work as in the following example from LIT5061TaammeraA.


          <div type="textpart" subtype="supplication" xml:id="SupplicationTM" xml:lang="gez">
            <label>Supplication</label>
            <ab>
              ጸሎቱ፡ ትኵኖ፡ ወበረከተ፡ አምላኩ፡ ወትንብናሃ፡ ለእግዝእትነ፡ ማርያም፡ ጸሎታ፡ ወበረከታ፡ የሃሉ።
            </ab>
          </div>
        

Example 7

Supplications in a transcribed text that are integrated into the text and cannot logically be encoded in <incipit> or <explicit> must be encoded in either the manuscript transcription or the edition of the text, or both, using a <div subtype="supplication"> or <seg type="supplication"> with

Where the supplication is present only in one manuscript, separated from the other textparts, it can be marked there, using either <incipit>, <explicit>, <colophon> or <seg> as in the previous example, only in the manuscript where it occurs.

Where the supplication is present only in one manuscript but seamlessly integrated into a <title>, <seg> can be used or a portion of transcription be encoded with a <div> with the correct subtype.

Where the supplication can be said to be part of the work as it is transmitted in all manuscripts in the same place, but with varying names, the encoder may consider the option to use a narrative unit, and assign a narrative unit id to its supplication, and then using it in the edition, as a value for @corresp on the dedicated <div>. However, if the names are changing, then ideally it would be even nicer to have this encoded in each manuscript.

Redundancy

Given these many options it is possible to be redundant. Consider the following example.


          <msItem xml:id="ms_i1.8">
            <locus from="108va" to="110ra"></locus>
            <title type="complete" ref="LITREFERENCE"></title>
            <title type="complete" subtype="inscription" ref="LITREFERENCE">
              <locus target="#108va"></locus>
            </title>
            <incipit>
              <locus target="#108va"></locus>
              text
            </incipit>
            <explicit xml:lang="gez">
              <locus from="109va" to="109vb"></locus>
             text
            </explicit>
          </msItem>
        

Example 8

In here the encoder is declaring the relation between the <msItem> and a textual unit twice, once declaring an incipit, once not, and then also adding the incipit, which may contain the title again. There is no need to do all this, it is enough to either

  1. add the type inscription to the <title>
  2. add the type inscription to the <incipit>
  3. add the type inscription to a <seg> inside the text copied either inside <title> or <incipit>
  4. if this is fixed and is encoded in the work record, nothing needs to be done here unless deviating from what is in the work record.

Examples or queries to this information

Only bare titles of a work given in its text or in manuscript descriptions

In the files of the work and of related manuscripts and parts or container of that work, with the manuscripts where those are contained, look for <titles>, <explicit>, <incipit>, <colophon>, <div> and <seg> which do NOT have the value extended for @type or @subtype.

All types of colophons/titles referring to a work

In the files of the work and of manuscripts where it is contained look for any of the element discussed with at least one of the values discussed, (eventually could be expanded to include all).

All translation colophons/titles

Take any of the above elements with @type or @subtype with value 'translation'

All translation colophons/titles in a subscription

Take any of the above elements with @type or @subtype with value 'translation' and value 'subscription'.

In the case of <explicit> take it also if it does not have @subtype equal to subscription.

This page is referred to in the following pages

Revisions of this page

  • Pietro Maria Liuzzo on 2019-06-28: first version from https://github.com/BetaMasaheft/Documentation/issues/946 and related issues, examples from document provided by Denis Nosnitsin and Dorothea Reule.