Master Project

The MASTER Document Type Definition: reference manual

2.5 Intellectual Content

Up: 2 The Manuscript Description Element Previous: 2.4 The Manuscript Heading Next: 2.6 Physical Description

Contents

The <msContents> element is used to describe the intellectual content of a manuscript or manuscript part. It comprises either a series of informal prose paragraphs or a series of more structured <msItem> elements, each of which provides a more detailed description of a single item contained within the manuscript.

<mscontents> describes the intellectual content of a manuscript or manuscript part either as a series of paragraphs or as a series of structured manuscript items.
<msItem> describes an individual work or item within the intellectual content of a manuscript or manuscript part.
Attributes include One or more codes, each of which is used as the identifier for a text classification element supplied in the TEI Header <textClass> element. Yes, No, or Unknown
class identifies the text types or classifications applicable to this item
Datatype: IDREFS
Default: #IMPLIED
defective indicates whether the item being described is defective, i.e. incomplete.
Datatype: (yes|no|unk)
Default: no

In the simplest case, only a brief description may be provided, as in the following example: 

<msContents>
<p>A collection of Lollard sermons</p>
</msContents>

This description may of course be expanded to include any of the TEI elements generally available within a <p> element, such as <bibl> to mark bibliographic descriptions, or <list> for a list. More usually however, each individual work within a manuscript will be given its own description, using the <msItem> element described in the next section, as in the following example: 

<msContents>
<msItem n="1"><locus>fols. 5r -7v</locus>
<title>An ABC</title> 
<bibl><title>IMEV</title> <biblScope>239</biblScope></bibl></msItem>
<msItem n="2"><locus>fols. 7v -8v</locus>
<title lang="FRA">Lenvoy de Chaucer a Scogan</title>
<bibl><title>IMEV</title>
<biblScope>3747</biblScope></bibl></msItem>
<msItem n="3"><locus>fol. 8v</locus><title>Truth</title> 
<bibl><title>IMEV</title> <biblScope>809</biblScope></bibl></msItem>
<msItem n="4"><locus>fols. 8v-10v</locus>
<title>Birds Praise of Love</title>
<bibl><title>IMEV</title> <biblScope>1506</biblScope></bibl></msItem>
<msItem n="5"><locus>fols. 10v -11v</locus>
<title lang="LAT">De amico ad amicam</title>
<title lang="LAT">Responcio</title> 
<bibl><title>IMEV</title> <biblScope>16 & 19</biblScope></bibl></msItem>
<msItem n="6"><locus>fols. 14r-126v</locus>
<title>Troilus and Criseyde</title> 
<note>Bk. 1:71-Bk. 5:1701, with additional losses due to
mutilation throughout</note>
</msItem>
</msContents>

Where the cataloguer wishes to describe only some of the manuscript items in detail, the sequence of <msItem> elements should be prefixed by an <overview> element (see section 2.6 Physical Description below) , giving a brief description of the whole content, as in the following example: 

<!-- to be supplied -->

2.5.1 ThemsItemelement

Any combination of the elements described in this section may be used to record information about individual items within the intellectual content of a manuscript or manuscript part. Each discrete item should be encoded within a distinct <msItem> element, and may be classified using the class attribute.

The <msItem> element may not contain any untagged running text. Instead, it may contain any number of any of the following elements, given in any order:

<author> identifies the primary author of the work or works contained in a manuscript.
Attributes include
attested indicates whether the attribution is explicitly attested in the manuscript.
Datatype: yes|no|unk
Sample values include:
yes the attribution is made on the basis of a claim in the ms.
added the attribution is made on the basis of a claim added by a subsequent hand in the ms.
no the attribution is made on the basis of other evidence.
unk the attribution may or may not be attested in the ms.
Default: unk
accepted indicates whether or not the authorship attribution is generally accepted.
Datatype: a|y|n|u
Sample values include:
a the attribution is generally accepted as an attribution.
y the attribution is generally accepted to be true.
n the attribution is generally accepted to be false.
u no claim is made concerning truth of the attribution.
Default: a
<bibl> contains a conventional bibliographic description, for example of a modern edition of the item (standard TEI element)
<colophon> contains the text of any colophon attached to a particular manuscript item: that is, an inscription, usually found at a break point such as the end of a text or codex, usually containing information about the production of the manuscript, such as the name of the scribe, the date and place of the copying, the person who commissioned the copying, etc.
<decoNote> contains a note describing either a decorative component of a manuscript, or a fairly homogenous class of such components.; see further 2.6.3 Decoration and binding
<explicit> contains the text of any explicit attached to a particular manuscript item, that is, the closing words of a text or a section of a text, sometimes used as a kind of title, possibly followed by one or more rubrics or colophons.
Attributes include A typology has yet to be defined Yes, No, or Unknown
type specifies the type of explicit, e.g. whether it is a formal closing for the work.
Datatype: CDATA
Default: #IMPLIED
defective indicates whether the explicit as given is defective, i.e. incomplete.
Datatype: (yes|no|unk)
Default: no
<incipit> contains the text of any incipit attached to a particular manuscript item, that is the opening words of a text, frequently used as a form of identifier for it; it may be preceded by one or more rubrics, and may be defective.
Attributes include A typology has yet to be defined Yes, No, or Unknown
type specifies the type of incipit, e.g. whether it introduces a work, is biblical, legal, etc.
Datatype: CDATA
Default: #IMPLIED
defective indicates whether the incipit as given is defective, i.e. incomplete.
Datatype: (yes|no|unk)
Default: no
<listBibl> contains a list of related bibliographic descriptions (standard TEI element)
<msitem> describes an individual work or item within the intellectual content of a manuscript or manuscript part.
Attributes include One or more codes, each of which is used as the identifier for a text classification element supplied in the TEI Header <textClass> element. Yes, No, or Unknown
class identifies the text types or classifications applicable to this item
Datatype: IDREFS
Default: #IMPLIED
defective indicates whether the item being described is defective, i.e. incomplete.
Datatype: (yes|no|unk)
Default: no
<note> contains a note or other comment relating to the item (standard TEI element)
<q> contains any text quoted from the item (standard TEI element)
<respStmt> supplies a name and description for anyone other than an author credited with intellectual responsibility for some aspect of the item (e.g. an illustrator) (standard TEI element)
<rubric> contains the text of any rubric or heading attached to a particular manuscript item, that is, a string of words whereby a manuscript signals a text division (e.g. beginning, book, chapter, end) which is in some way set off from the text itself, usually in red ink,or by use of different size or type of script, lining, or other such visual device. .
Attributes include A typology has yet to be defined
type specifies the type of rubric, e.g. whether it is at the start or end of the item.
Datatype: CDATA
Default: #IMPLIED
<summary> contains a brief summary of the contents of an item provided by the cataloguer
<textLang> describes the languages and writing systems used by a manuscript (as opposed to its description, which is described in the langUsage element)
<title> supplies a title of some kind used for the item (standard TEI element)

The <title> element should be used to supply a regularized form of the item's title, quite distinct from any rubric or incipit quoted from the manuscript. If the item concerned has a standardized or `uniform' title, then this should always be the form preferred as content of the <title> element. If no uniform title exists, or none has been yet identified, then the type attribute on the <title> should be given the value supplied. It is conventional to enclose such supplied titles within square braces, but this will normally be done by a stylesheet. Abbreviated `titles' such as `IMEV 3747' may be tagged using the standard TEI <ref> element, optionally including a pointer to a fuller bibliographic description in a bibliography elsewhere, as further discussed in section 2.8.1.1 Record History.

If supplied, the <author> element should generally contain the normalised form of an author's name, irrespective of how (or whether) this form of the name is cited in the manuscript. If it is desired to retain the form of the author's name as given in the manuscript, this may be tagged as a distinct <name> element, nested within the <author> element with the normalized form of the name on its reg attribute. Alternatively, the normalized form of the name may be supplied as the value of a reg attribute on the <author> element. If value is supplied for either reg or key attributes, then the content of the <author> element is assumed to be a standardized form of name.

Note that the key attribute should be used, as on names in general, to specify the identifier of a <person> element carrying full details of the person concerned (see further 2.2.4 Names of persons, places, and organizations).

Each element within <msItem> has the same substructure, containing any mixture of phrase-level elements and plain text. If a <locus> element is included, in order to specify the location of the component, then it should be given at the start of that element, as in the following example: 

<msContents>
<msItem><locus>f. 1-223</locus>
<author>Radulphus Flaviacensis</author>
<title>Expositio super Leviticum </title>
<note>cf. <bibl>Stegm&uuml;ller, RB 7093</bibl></note>
<incipit><locus>f. 1</locus>
Forte Hervei monachi</incipit>
<explicit><locus>f. 223v</locus>
Benedictio salis et aquae</explicit>
</msItem>
</msContents>

In the following example, standard TEI editorial elements have been used to mark the transcription of abbreviations etc. present in the original: 

<msItem>
<locus>ff. 1r-24v</locus>
<title>Agrip af Noregs konunga s&ouml;gum</title>
<incipit>regi oc h<expan>ann</expan> setiho
<gap reason="illegible" extent="7"/>sc 
heim se<expan>m</expan> &thorn;io</incipit>
<explicit>h<expan>on</expan> hev<expan>er</expan> 
<expan>oc</expan>&thorn;a buit hesta .ij. aNan vi&thorn; 
f&eacute; enh<expan>on</expan>o<expan>m</expan> aNan til
rei&thorn;<expan>ar</expan></explicit>
<textLang  langKey="ONI">Old Norse/Icelandic</textLang>

As indicated above, a manuscript item may itself contain further nested items, for example where a title or description is supplied for a group of works each of which also has its own rubric, as in the following example: 

<msItem>
<locus>ff. 17v, 21v, 34</locus>
<title>Charms numbered 1-3, consisting of
variously formed crosses with inscribed circles</title>

<msItem><locus>f. 17v</locus>
<rubric>Contra inimicos, 1</rubric>
<q>Si quis hoc signum super se portat nequid capi ab
inimico;<./q>
</msItem>

<msItem><locus>f. 21v</locus>
<rubric>Contra mortem subitam, 2</rubric>
<q>Qui hoc signum super se portat sine confessione non
morietur;</q></msItem>

<msItem><locus>f. 34</locus>
<rubric>Pro victoria, 3</rubric>
<q>Hoc signum misit deus Regi Tedeon; qui cum isto pugnat 
victoriam habebit;</q></msItem>

</msItem>

One or more text classification or text-type codes may be specified, either for the whole of a <msContents> element, or for one or more of its constituent <msItem> elements, using the class attribute as specified above. This attribute should specify the identifier used for the appropriate classification within the standard <classCode> element in the TEI Header, as in the following example: 

<!-- to be supplied -->

2.5.2 Formal definition

The <msContents> element and its constituents are formally defined as follows:

Up: 2 The Manuscript Description Element Previous: 2.4 The Manuscript Heading Next: 2.6 Physical Description

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(revised 21 Jun 01)   Edited by Lou Burnard for the MASTER Work Group.
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