Data in online version of the ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS)
The DMLBS is distinctive not only for the breadth of its coverage but also for the fact that it is wholly based on original research, i.e. on a fresh reading of medieval Latin texts for this specific purpose, where possible in the best available source, whether that be original manuscripts or modern...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Dataset |
| Language: | Latin |
| Published: |
University of Oxford
2016
|
| Subjects: |
| _version_ | 1797091014727434240 |
|---|---|
| author | Ashdowne, R |
| author2 | Ashdowne, R |
| author_facet | Ashdowne, R Ashdowne, R |
| author_sort | Ashdowne, R |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The DMLBS is distinctive not only for the breadth of its coverage but also for the fact that it is wholly based on original research, i.e. on a fresh reading of medieval Latin texts for this specific purpose, where possible in the best available source, whether that be original manuscripts or modern critical editions. (The method is that used by other major dictionaries, such as the monumental Oxford English Dictionary and, for Latin, the Oxford Latin Dictionary, the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae.) In the nearly 50 years of drafting the Dictionary, different editorial practices and conventions have inevitably created a text that varies significantly from the earliest fascicules to the final ones while remaining recognizably the same underlying work. Many of these variations have been the result of conscious decisions, other simply the result of the Dictionary being the work of many people over many years.
Work on digitizing the Dictionary began in earnest in 2009, with a move from a traditional print-based workflow to an electronic XML-based workflow, first for material already drafted on paper slips but not yet keyed as electronic data, and then subsequently with the introduction of full ab initio electronic drafting.
However, even then the majority of the dictionary's content still existed only in print — in the thirteen fascicules (more than 2,500 three-column pages containing nearly 65,000 entries) published since 1965. Once the new workflow for the remaining material to be published was fully established within the project, work began on digitizing earlier fascicules; this work was undertaken by a specialist outside contractor, which captured these printed pages and tagged the material in accordance with the Dictionary schema. The captured material was then evaluated and corrected within the project. Plans for the project itself developing and hosting an online platform for the full dataset were discontinued in 2014 due to lack of technical support and funding, but partnerships have been established to ensure that online publication is achieved.
Technical Overview:
The DMLBS is held in XML according to customized XSD schemas. All data is held in unicode encoding.
Data structure: At the heart of the DMLBS XML workflow sit the data schemas which describe and are used to constrain the structure of the data. The DMLBS uses XSD schemas. The Dictionary data is represented essentially in the form in which it has been published in print. In addition to the schema for the Dictionary text, there is a further schema for the Dictionary's complex bibliography, which is also held in XML form. The schemas in use were custom-built for the DMLBS in order to match the project’s very specific needs, ensuring that the drafted or captured text always complies with the long-standing structures and conventions of the printed dictionary by requiring, allowing or prohibiting as necessary. (Although the use of TEI encoding was seriously considered, it was clear from initial exploration that the level of customization and optimization required to bring the TEI in line with the practical production needs of the dictionary was too great to be feasible.)
Data encoding and entry: The encoding chosen for all DMLBS data is Unicode. In addition to the Roman alphabet, with the full range of diacritics (including the macron and breve to mark vowel length), the Dictionary regularly uses Anglo-Saxon letters (such as thorn, wynn, and yogh) and polytonic Greek, along with assorted other letters and symbols. The ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS) was prepared by a project team of specialist researchers as a research project of the British Academy, overseen by a committee appointed by the Academy to direct its work. Initially based in London at the Public Record Office, the editorial team moved to Oxford in the early 1980s and since the late 1990s has formed part of the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University. The main aim of the DMLBS project has been to create a successor to the previous standard dictionary of medieval Latin, the Glossarium ... mediae et infimae Latinitatis, first compiled in the seventeenth century by the French scholar, Du Cange (Charles du Fresne), and a history of the project is available at http://www.dmlbs.ox.ac.uk/about-us/history-of-the-project and in Richard Ashdowne ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’, British Academy Review 24 (2014), 46–53. The project has been supported financially by major research grants from the Arts & Humanities Research Council, the Packard Humanities Institute, and the OUP John Fell Research Fund, and by a small annual grant from the British Academy. It also received institutional support from the British Academy and the University of Oxford. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:26:58Z |
| format | Dataset |
| id | oxford-uuid:b9608816-7ede-4f52-a2a4-e7bc8abd7788 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | Latin |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:26:58Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | University of Oxford |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:b9608816-7ede-4f52-a2a4-e7bc8abd77882022-03-27T05:02:27ZData in online version of the ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS)Datasethttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_ddb1uuid:b9608816-7ede-4f52-a2a4-e7bc8abd7788DictionariesLatin language, Medieval and modernLatinORA DepositUniversity of Oxford2016Ashdowne, RAshdowne, RThe DMLBS is distinctive not only for the breadth of its coverage but also for the fact that it is wholly based on original research, i.e. on a fresh reading of medieval Latin texts for this specific purpose, where possible in the best available source, whether that be original manuscripts or modern critical editions. (The method is that used by other major dictionaries, such as the monumental Oxford English Dictionary and, for Latin, the Oxford Latin Dictionary, the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae.) In the nearly 50 years of drafting the Dictionary, different editorial practices and conventions have inevitably created a text that varies significantly from the earliest fascicules to the final ones while remaining recognizably the same underlying work. Many of these variations have been the result of conscious decisions, other simply the result of the Dictionary being the work of many people over many years. Work on digitizing the Dictionary began in earnest in 2009, with a move from a traditional print-based workflow to an electronic XML-based workflow, first for material already drafted on paper slips but not yet keyed as electronic data, and then subsequently with the introduction of full ab initio electronic drafting. However, even then the majority of the dictionary's content still existed only in print — in the thirteen fascicules (more than 2,500 three-column pages containing nearly 65,000 entries) published since 1965. Once the new workflow for the remaining material to be published was fully established within the project, work began on digitizing earlier fascicules; this work was undertaken by a specialist outside contractor, which captured these printed pages and tagged the material in accordance with the Dictionary schema. The captured material was then evaluated and corrected within the project. Plans for the project itself developing and hosting an online platform for the full dataset were discontinued in 2014 due to lack of technical support and funding, but partnerships have been established to ensure that online publication is achieved. Technical Overview: The DMLBS is held in XML according to customized XSD schemas. All data is held in unicode encoding. Data structure: At the heart of the DMLBS XML workflow sit the data schemas which describe and are used to constrain the structure of the data. The DMLBS uses XSD schemas. The Dictionary data is represented essentially in the form in which it has been published in print. In addition to the schema for the Dictionary text, there is a further schema for the Dictionary's complex bibliography, which is also held in XML form. The schemas in use were custom-built for the DMLBS in order to match the project’s very specific needs, ensuring that the drafted or captured text always complies with the long-standing structures and conventions of the printed dictionary by requiring, allowing or prohibiting as necessary. (Although the use of TEI encoding was seriously considered, it was clear from initial exploration that the level of customization and optimization required to bring the TEI in line with the practical production needs of the dictionary was too great to be feasible.) Data encoding and entry: The encoding chosen for all DMLBS data is Unicode. In addition to the Roman alphabet, with the full range of diacritics (including the macron and breve to mark vowel length), the Dictionary regularly uses Anglo-Saxon letters (such as thorn, wynn, and yogh) and polytonic Greek, along with assorted other letters and symbols. The ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS) was prepared by a project team of specialist researchers as a research project of the British Academy, overseen by a committee appointed by the Academy to direct its work. Initially based in London at the Public Record Office, the editorial team moved to Oxford in the early 1980s and since the late 1990s has formed part of the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University. The main aim of the DMLBS project has been to create a successor to the previous standard dictionary of medieval Latin, the Glossarium ... mediae et infimae Latinitatis, first compiled in the seventeenth century by the French scholar, Du Cange (Charles du Fresne), and a history of the project is available at http://www.dmlbs.ox.ac.uk/about-us/history-of-the-project and in Richard Ashdowne ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’, British Academy Review 24 (2014), 46–53. The project has been supported financially by major research grants from the Arts & Humanities Research Council, the Packard Humanities Institute, and the OUP John Fell Research Fund, and by a small annual grant from the British Academy. It also received institutional support from the British Academy and the University of Oxford. |
| spellingShingle | Dictionaries Latin language, Medieval and modern Ashdowne, R Data in online version of the ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS) |
| title | Data in online version of the ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS) |
| title_full | Data in online version of the ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS) |
| title_fullStr | Data in online version of the ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Data in online version of the ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS) |
| title_short | Data in online version of the ‘Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources’ (DMLBS) |
| title_sort | data in online version of the dictionary of medieval latin from british sources dmlbs |
| topic | Dictionaries Latin language, Medieval and modern |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ashdowner datainonlineversionofthedictionaryofmedievallatinfrombritishsourcesdmlbs |