Master Project
	The MASTER Document Type Definition: reference manual 2.7 History

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Up: 2 The Manuscript Description Element Previous: 2.6 Physical Description Next: 2.8 Additional information

The following elements are used to record information about the history of a manuscript:

<history>	groups elements describing the full history of a manuscript or manuscript part.
<origin>	contains any descriptive or other information concerning the origin of a manuscript or manuscript part.
<provenance>	contains any descriptive or other information concerning a single identifiable episode during the history of a manuscript or manuscript part, after its creation but before its acquisition.
<acquisition>	contains any descriptive or other information concerning the process by which a ms or ms part entered the holding institution.

The three components of the <history> element all have the same substructure, consisting of one or more paragraphs marked as <p> elements. Each of these three elements is also a member of the datable attribute class, and thus also carries the following optional attributes:

Normalised dates should be specified in whatever standardised form is defined by the TEI Header Normalised dates should be specified in whatever standardised form is defined by the TEI Header

notBefore	specifies the earliest possible date for the information in the associated element.
	Datatype: CDATA
	Default: #IMPLIED
notAfter	specifies the latest possible date for the information in the associated element
	Datatype: CDATA
	Default: #IMPLIED
evidence	specifies the kind of evidence for the dating supplied by the other attributes.
	Datatype: CDATA
	Sample values include: internal the dating is based on evidence internal to the ms (e.g. an inscription). external the dating is based on evidence external to the ms (e.g. a reference to the ms in some other datable context). conjecture the dating is based on conjecture, which may be further discussed within the associated element.
	Default: #IMPLIED

The history of a manuscript should normally be presented in the order implied by the above description. Information about the origins of the element (including any discussion of its sources) should be given as one or more paragraphs contained by a single <origin> element; any available information or discussion of distinct stages in the history of the manuscript before its arrival in its current location should be included as paragraphs within one or more <provenance> elements following this. Finally, any information specific to the means by which the manuscript was acquired by its present owners should be given as paragraphs within the <acquisition> element.

Here is a simple example of the use of this element:

<history>
<origin><p>Written in Durham during the mid twelfth
century.</p></origin> 
<provenance><p>Recorded in two medieval
catalogues of the books belonging to Durham Priory, made in 1391 and
1405.</p>
<p>Given to W. Olleyf by William Ebchester, Prior (1446-56)
and later belonged to Henry Dalton, Prior of Holy Island (Lindisfarne)
according to inscriptions on ff. 4v and 5.</p>
</provenance>
<acquisition><p>Presented to Trinity College in 1738 by
Thomas Gale and his son Roger.</p></acquisition>
</history>

Here is a more realistic example:

<history>
<origin notBefore="1025" notAfter="1075" certainty="medium"
evidence="internal"><p>Written in Spain in the middle of the 11th
century (1042 according to the marginal note on f. 97v.)</p></origin>
<provenance><p>The Spanish scholar <name type="owner">Benito Arias
Montano</name> (1527-1598) has written his name on f. 97r, and may be
presumed to have owned the manuscript.  It came somehow into the
possession of <foreign lang="DAN">etatsr&amp;aring;d</foreign> <name type="owner">Holger
Parsberg</name> (1636-1692), who has written his name twice, once on
the front pastedown and once on f. 1r, the former dated
<date>1680</date> and the latter <date>1682</date>.  Following
Parsberg's death the manuscript was bought by <foreign>etatsr&amp;aring;d</foreign>
<name type="owner">Jens Rosenkrantz</name> (1640-1695) when Parsberg's
library was auctioned off (23.10.1693).</p></provenance>
<acquisition><p>The manuscript was acquired by &amp;Aacute;rni
Magn&amp;uacute;sson from the estate of Jens Rosenkrantz, presumably at
auction (the auction lot number 468 is written in red chalk on the
flyleaf), either in 1696 or 97.</p></acquisition> </history>

The <history> element and its immediate component elements are formally defined as follows:

Up: 2 The Manuscript Description Element Previous: 2.6 Physical Description Next: 2.8 Additional information

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(revised 21 Jun 01)   Edited by Lou Burnard for the MASTER Work Group.
Copyright TEI Consortium 2001