Textual Criticism

Aim of instruction

a) Knowledge

Students will learn the theoretical foundations and practical methodology of textual criticism, with special attention to the problems of critical edition of Sanskrit and other Indian language manuscripts. They will gain comprehensive knowledge of the process of manuscript tradition, the principles of stemmatology , and the approaches of different schools of textual criticism (Lachmann method, New Philology , etc.). They will learn about the specifics of Indian manuscript culture, copying practices and types of errors, and the possibilities of digital textual criticism.

b) Ability

Students will be able to prepare a critical apparatus for Sanskrit and other Indian language texts, collate manuscripts and identify textual corruptions. They will master the method of establishing stemma and the appropriate application of conjectures. They will acquire practical skills in comparing several manuscripts, evaluating variants and reconstructing the textual tradition. They will be able to produce critical editions according to international standards.

c) Attitude

Students are trained for committed, precise and patient philological work. They develop respect for texts and a demand for scientific accuracy. They develop a critical attitude towards textual editions, while understanding the complexity of textual critical decisions and the responsibility of philological work. They become open to interdisciplinary approaches and international professional cooperation.

d) Autonomy and responsibility

Students will be able to independently plan and implement textual criticism projects. They will make responsible decisions in textual criticism dilemmas, and will see the consequences of their decisions for textual tradition and interpretation. They will be able to establish the textual criticism foundations of their own research projects and to independently and well-foundedly represent their professional opinions.

Topics 

1. Basic concepts and goals of textual criticism (the definitions of textual criticism, its place in philological sciences, editio princeps , edition criticism , diplomatic edition, etc.)

2. The process of manuscript transmission (mechanical and organic variants, types of copying errors [haplography, dittography, metathesis, etc.], characteristics of Sanskrit writing systems and their impact on copying errors)

3. The Lachmann method and its afterlife (Karl Lachmann's principles of textual criticism, setting up the stemma codicum, errores coniunctivi et separativi, criticism and further developments of the method)

4. Peculiarities of Sanskrit textual criticism (the Indian commentary tradition and its role in textual criticism, the relationship between oral and written tradition, contaminatio, the metrical criterion of Sanskrit verse texts, the different problems of Vedic and classical Sanskrit texts, etc.)

5. Collation of manuscripts (collation techniques and notation systems, the structure of the critical apparatus [positive and negative apparatus])

6. Textual Critical Decisions (lectio difficilior potior and other rules of textual criticism, emendatio ope ingenii, crux philolorum, etc.)

7. Digital textual criticism (TEI standards, digital critical editions, philological databases and corpora)

8. Case studies (history of the textual critical edition of the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, critical editions of other important Sanskrit texts, analysis of problematic passages)

System of evaluation

Written/oral exam

Literature

Basic works and methodological literature

West, Martin L. (1973). Textual Criticism and Editorial Technique Applicable to Greek and Latin Texts. Stuttgart: Teubner.

Maas, Paul (1958). Textual Criticism. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Greetham, David C. (1994). Textual Scholarship: An Introduction. New York: Garland Publishing.

Indological textual criticism

Witzel, Michael (2014). “Textual Criticism in Indology and in European Philology. Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies 21(3): 9-90.

Sukthankar, Vishnu S. (1933). “Prolegomena”. In: The Mahābhārata: For the First Time Critically Edited, Vol. 1. Pune: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

Pollock, Sheldon (2014). “Philology in Three Dimensions”. Postmedieval: A Journal of Medieval Cultural Studies 5(4): 398-413.

Manuscript culture and paleograph

Bühler, Georg (1896). Indische Palaeographie: Von circa 350 a. Chr.–circa 1300 p. Chr. (Grundriss der Indo-Arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde; I. Band, 2. Heft). Strassburg: K. J. Trübner.

Salomon, Richard (1998). Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gérard Colas et Gerdi Gerschheimer (ed.) (2009). Écrire et transmettre en Inde classique. Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient.

Digital textual criticis

Apollon, Daniel – Bélisle, Claire – Régnier, Philippe (eds.) (2017). Digital Critical Editions. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.