Concept in Definition ABC

Ancient texts have reached the present day after a process of transformation. Thus, an original work is written in one way but the copies made, the errors in the transcription, translations into other languages ​​and different editions over time have formed a text different. Echdotics, also known as textual criticism, is the discipline philological study that studies literary creation according to its original reality.

The archeology of words

Just as an archaeologist reconstructs historical events from remains, the ecdotic philologist tries to approximate the original meaning of a written text. This discipline is especially relevant when there are only fragments of a work, in relation to sacred texts or in pre-press editions of books.

The publication of a book with the ecdotic criteria is oriented to the understanding from the original text created by his Author. In this sense, the philologist specialized in this area seeks to get as close as possible to the creative will of the author.

Ecdotics plays a decisive role in the edition of classical texts, especially if these were originally handwritten by a scribe, as each copy of a book was different from the others in some way. appearance. It must be taken into account that in the task of copying the scribe could make mistakes and these ended up being reproduced, thus generating a difference between the original manuscript and the different copies. On the other hand, textual criticism allows the exegesis of a literary work, that is, the interpretation and examining a text within its historical context.

Other disciplines related to ecdotics

This branch of philology is directly related to others. Paleography focuses on the study of the norms of transcription (abbreviation systems, typefaces, spelling signs, grammatical norms over time ...).

Codicology studies the characteristics of original documents, especially handwritten codices. In this area of ​​philology, various issues are analyzed: the physical support used (for example, parchment or paper), possible inscriptions or ornaments, dating of the manuscripts, etc.

The diplomat also studies historical documents, both their external and internal information. This area of ​​philology is oriented towards the analysis of the historical context related to the original documents. Like paleography, diplomatic is considered an autonomous discipline.

Ecdotics, paleography, codicology and diplomatics are in turn auxiliary disciplines at the service of other areas of knowledge, such as right, history or archival.

Photos: Fotolia - Liubomirt / Juan Aunión