Abstract

Abstract:

Proceeding from Walter Benjamin's ideas on technical reproduction, this essay examines the phenomenon of medieval manuscript culture being reduced and preserved through the medium of digital editing. This effect is demonstrated with reference to the Bern Parzival Project, which captures Wolfram von Eschenbach's romance (ca. 1200) in its rich manuscript transmission. Various components of the electronic edition, including a synopsis of different textual versions, single manuscript transcriptions, and unrooted phylograms borrowed from microbiology for the purpose of documenting witness relationships are discussed here in the context of theoretical issues situated on the boundaries between the sciences and the humanities.

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