The Beegees' Project

The manuscript Cambridge University Library Kk.3.21 contains Boethius' De consolatione philosophiae. It is an 11th century book probably created in the abbey of Abingdon, England. The manuscript contains extensive contemporary glosses (interlinear and marginal almost in Latin, few of them in Old English) and also some subsequent additions (12th century and later).

The majority of glosses are written by a single hand, except for rare later addictions; They are divided in three types:

1. interlinear glosses, used to to clarify the classical Latin;
2. marginal glosses, used to explain the main text, i.e. meaning of single words, sentences and events mentioned in; they are anchored to the main text by a set of marks (mostly Greek alphabet).
3. additional glosses written in red capital letters, wich refers to the rethorical aspects.

The BGS'Project aims:

1. to give a direct access to the text based on interpretative transcription (i. e. restitution of capital letters, distinction between u / v, modern words' segmentation) in a easy way, also for the readers not used to the Latin paleography
2. to offer the possibility to compare the original layout and the modern transcription;
3. to give the text transcription of all type of glosses and to show easily and directly their purpose;
4. to explain the correct order of the marginal glosses;
5. to offer lexical concordances of the entire text and a direct link to a dictionary i. e. Logeion.

HOW TO NAVIGATE:

1. on the left side of the page you will find the zoomable image of manuscript; on the centre the interpretative transcription of the main text;
2. if you want to read the interlinear glosses: move your mouse on the underlined words, they will appear as a pop-up above the text;
3. if you want to read the marginal and additional glosses move your mouse on the the highlighted words, they are in the right side of the page;
4. if you want to search a single word in the text: write it in the "search box"; you can select the criteria of research "main text", "interlinear glosses", "marginal glosses" (in wich are included the additional ones) or combining them. The concordances will appear in a second page surrounded by context, references to the passages and direct link to the text that they belong.