Encoding Guidelines
- John Walsh
- Isabella Magni
- Allie McCormack (Unlicensed)
Below encoders can find explanations of the TEI codes and elements used for the project. There is a brief explanation of each item followed by the codes related to them.
* Abbreviations * Additions over erasures * Double hemistich * Encoding the 31-line canvas * Initials and small caps * Orig and reg * Page breaks * Poem numbers and IDs * Sonnets * Triple hemistich * Sestet marker * Marginal annotations *
Double verse
Most of the poems in Petrarch's Rvf are presented as double verse, with two verse lines appearing horizontally on one manuscript line. To identify these double verses, we will use the <lg> element and the @type attribute with the abbreviation dblvrs. Note below how line one and line two are noted separately while still being part of the same double verse grouping.
Triple verse
A few of the poems in Petrarch's Rvf are presented as triple verse, with three verse lines appearing horizontally on one manuscript line. To identify these them, we will use the <lg> element and the @type attribute with the abbreviation trplvrs.
Encoding the 31-line canvas
In Petrarch's personal copy of the RVF, he consistently uses a ruled 31-line “canvas” for the layout of the poems. There are few exceptions, where an extra line is added to the underlying canvas. Elements that occupy a ruled manuscript line are tagged with the attribute @corresp="#canvasline", where #canvasline references a category in a taxonomy of "graphic features" in the <teiHeader>. Work can be checked by searching for //@corresp[. = '#canvasline'] in the XPath 2.0 search box, in the upper-right-hand corner of the Oxygen XML Editor interface. The results of the search will appear below the document, and you should get "31 items" in your search results.
Initials and small caps at the beginnings of poems/stanzas
The beginnings of poems and stanzas often use characters that are different from the rest of the text. They are a combination of capital letters (or pilcrows) and small caps, and they generally rotate between the colors red and blue. Usually, the first letter of a stanza is a capital, while the following letter is a small capital. Care should be taken when encoding so that a small capital letter is not accidentally marked as a regular capital.
Additions over erasures
Sometimes text in the Rvf has been erased, or is otherwise illegible, and there is a correction or clarification written above it. To encode this, use the <subst>, <del>, and <add> tags. The <subst> tag indicates that some text has been substituted for the original wording, while <del> and <add> show what has been deleted and added. The <del> tag has the type "erasure" to clarify what kind of deletion it is. The <gap reason /> tag shows that what has been erased is now illegible. If the deleted text was intact, the <gap reason /> tag would be absent and that text would be part of the <del> encoding.
Poem numbers and IDs
Each poem in the Rvf has a number and an ID. The number has been established by Petrarch scholars, while the ID is used only within this project. This tag should be placed directly before the beginning of each new poem. For the first poem on a page, it should be placed under the link to the facsimile image.
Page breaks
A page break, marked by the tag <pb />, denotes the start of a new page. The tag should be placed before the encoding of the text of a charta. Occasionally, a poem will span multiple chartae but will be encoded in a single document. In this case, the tag will be placed in the middle of the text to approximate the top of the new charta. For this project, the tag will include the page number and a link to an image of the facsimile.
Orig and reg
The diplomatic and edited versions of Rvf chartae are encoded in a single TEI document. When text varies between the two, the tags <orig>, denoting the diplomatic text, and <reg>, for the edited text, should be used. They must be put within a <choice> tag. If more complex changes must be made, such as encoding abbreviations as well as spelling changes, the <abbr> and <expan> tags can be used to show scribal abbreviations in the diplomatic version. If the changes are minor, such as adding or subtracting punctuation, only one tag may be needed. In this case the <supplied> tag can be used on its own, but the <orig> tag must be within the <choice> tags followed by an empty <reg/> tag or when the supplied element is inside a word.
Abbreviations
There are many scribal abbreviations used in the Rvf. To show abbreviations and expansions in the diplomatic text, use an <abbr> tag for the first and an <expan> tag for the latter. They must be within <choice> tags to allow users to see either option when desired.
Sonnets
One of the more common types of poems in the Rvf is the sonnet. Petrarchan sonnets have 14 lines, generally consisting of an octave (8 lines) and a sestet (6 lines). Within the normal <lg> groupings, the octave and sestet should be separated. They have their own @type element tags, as seen below.
Sestet marker
There are some instances in which sonnet's sestets are maked on the right margin (usually by a ~ or a -). To encode them in their right position, we use the <hi> element and @rendition attribute as follows:
Marginal additions
For marginal (often later) additions we use the element <add> and attribute place=""margin right". At times, these marginal additions are also deleted: in this case we add the element <del> inside the <add> element. Here are two examples: