medieval worlds • no. 15 special issue • 2022
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Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400 https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: verlag@oeaw.ac.at |
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DATUM, UNTERSCHRIFT / DATE, SIGNATURE
BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT, WIEN (IBAN AT04 1100 0006 2280 0100, BIC BKAUATWW), DEUTSCHE BANK MÜNCHEN (IBAN DE16 7007 0024 0238 8270 00, BIC DEUTDEDBMUC)
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medieval worlds • no. 15 special issue • 2022, pp. 12-22, 2022/06/08
This chapter compares the various arrangements and techniques used by medieval compilers across different regions and religions to mould individual texts into a cohesive whole and imbue biographical collections with unified messages. It examines the structure and ordering of the particular biographical collections under consideration in this volume in the wider context of their respective genres. The chapter discusses the different principles compilers used to arrange the individual texts and looks at the devices, such as prologues and titles, they employed to tie the component parts of the collections together. Due to the multiplicity of biographical tracts, the special potential of such compilations to deliver messages of a specific type to their readers is considered, most notably in regard to the authority, legitimacy and historical continuity of particular institutions. The comparison of compilations from different regions and religions highlights the many options available to the compiler and the creativity involved in crafting collections of old or new biographical texts in the medieval period.
Keywords: compilation, collection, biography, titles, prologues, comparison