New Issue of 'manuscript cultures'Reassessing Tables Of Content

25 October 2022

Photo: CSMC

Volume 18 of the journal 'manuscript cultures' is out now. Edited by Bruno Reudenbach, the new edition contains the proceedings of the conference 'Indices – Tables of Contents – Registers', held at CSMC in February 2017. Like all previous editions, it is available as open access.

‘A manuscript is more than just a two-dimensional writing surface’, editor Bruno Reudenbach writes in the preface of the latest volume in the series manuscript cultures. ‘It is a three-dimensional space with its own particular structure and differentiated topography. It has a beginning and an end, a top and a bottom, and it has reverse and obverse sides, regardless of whether it is a codex, scroll or palm-leaf manuscript. This space can be conceived of as the “architecture” of the manuscript.’

For our orientation within this architecture, a certain type of paratext is of particular importance: tables of contents. Using various means of visual organisation, for example different fonts, colours or sizes, columns, dividing lines, paragraphs and so on, they establish relations and hierarchies between the different elements of content of a given manuscript. Their purpose seems to be clearly defined. Looking more closely at tables of contents in different manuscript cultures, however, one will soon discover that tables of contents cover a remarkably broad range of forms: ‘tables of contents mostly give readers an overview of the contents of a manuscript, but rather surprisingly, they are not directly usable for navigating within the manuscript’s architecture; there is often no connection between the table and the text that follows it, for example’, says Bruno Reudenbach. ‘As an overview and navigation aid, tables of contents do not seem to be sufficiently defined as yet.’

The new edition of manuscript cultures takes a step towards a more thorough exploration of tables of contents. Through various case studies, they shed light on cultural differences, for example between Arabic and Buddhist manuscripts, as well as particularities of certain types of manuscripts, for example codices and musical notations.

The volume contains the proceedings of the conference ‘Indices – Tables of Contents – Registers’, held at CSMC on 6 and 7 February 2017. It was developed by the Research Groups ‘Visual Organisation’ and ‘Paratexts’ at the Sonderforschungsbereich 950, funded by the DFG.

Like all previous editions, the volume is available as open access and can be downloaded from our website.