Transcriptions
The manuscript page that I transcribed talked a lot about zodiac signs Virgo and Libra. For the first question my post doesn’t actually contain a recipe but instead it talks about the best activities to do and not do when the moon is in certain zodiac signs. The section called “Virgo coold and drye” explains exactly how it is read that virgo is cold and dry. It talks about when the moon is in Virgo, it is a good time to get married, send letters, plant seeds and plow fields. Then it goes on to explain what should be avoided when the moon is in Virgo. It says you shouldn’t lend money, take baths, launch ships into water, go into battle, and put medicine into the body. The next section on the page is Libra hoot and moist,” says Libra is hot and moist. It also says it’s a good time to let go of all moving things, make a woman steadfast, and marry a woman. This page of my manuscript that I transcribed all seems like instructions or things to do during this time unlike a traditional receipt that gives you step by step instructions. This is really just telling you the best times to do certain things.
I honestly really enjoyed this process of learning to transcribe middle English. At first I was very intimidated and stared at it and didn’t know how to start but once I got the hang of the hard letters I got on a roll and had fun doing it. I had never had to do something like this in any of my classes so I found it really interesting. The handwriting was definitely difficult to get the hang of because the writing is so different from our writing today. They also use a ton of weird things like a capital letter in the middle of the sentence for no reason which would throw me off at times. This definitely took me some time to get through and looking over it multiple times to make sure I didn’t miss big things but it made me appreciate this writing and the attention it takes to read old manuscripts.
After transcribing it I started to wonder who wrote this? And for whom to read? Also how did people know this was credible and believed it? It seems maybe like something people could use to know what to do when the moon is in these certain zodiac signs. Since I only transcribed this page I bet the other pages also talk about the positions of the moon. So maybe it was written as a book to guide you through the seasons of life.
For the next question, using XML markup to transform its utility helps us turn the text into a digital map of the manuscript. This makes it a lot easier for us to zoom in, see it and find important things to compare with another manuscript. This basically makes life a lot easier when searching through a lot of manuscripts.
As the next question asked, Pamela Smith says that writing is basically translating things you already know and writing them clearly on paper. Using the XML tags is a similar concept because it basically translates the manuscript into a digital framework. It puts it into a format that the computer reads by just tagging small things the encoder makes implicit relationships in the manuscript visible. Turning this clear handwritten paper into new ways to view this information and study it. Overall I really enjoyed this assignment more than I expected and had a fun time doing it.
<head>Virgo coold and drye.</head>
Whan that the mone is in the signe of
virgo that is of a mayden, that signe is co-
monn colde, and drie of kynde and malencolie
of kynde of that erthe a good tyme to Wedden
a Wyf, not a maide, but so bytwene oon & other
and forto sende lettres & charters and messangers
and forto sowe & to erye. and forto go by dyverse
londes In that signe it is good to esehewe forto
leene. forto bathen, & forto putte shippes in to
the water either forto go to batel ne no medicyn
forto make forto be used for the inwardes of thy
body.
<head>Libra hoot and moist.</head>
Whan the mone is in libra that is a
balannce that signe is movable, hoot & moist.
Sangweynn of kynde of that eyre, good tyme
it is than to begynne alle thynges movynge,
and forto make a womman stedfast, & also forto
wedde a womman, & forto be leten blood, & forto