1. Content

a. Only genuine, textually significant, readings will be included, i.e. not orthographical variants nor of/um variation unless necessary to interpretation. There will be no category of ‘minor variants’. Manifest scribal errors or alterations should not be included, though if in doubt, we should err on the side of inclusiveness (and see point c).

The following should be included as ‘significant variants’:

þá : þar, ok : en, es/er : sem, es/er : at, sonr : son.

The following need not be included:

mun : man, esa : esat

General editors may need to add or remove variants in order to obtain consistency.

Where only one ms. is available for a given verse, there will be no variant readings as such, but any emendations should be signalled here, e.g. ‘svá: sá Flat’. In such a case the heading is ‘Ms. readings’ rather than ‘Variant readings’.

b. It is implicit that, unless otherwise specified, the main ms. and other mss have the reading of the Text. It is therefore not necessary to list sigla where this is the case, hence, e.g. (where the Text reads mǫgr):

‘[7] mǫgr: mǫg W, U’, not:
‘[7] mǫgr R, T^x, A, C: mǫg W, U’.

c. Once some variants on a particular lemma are given, all variants must be included, even if obviously nonsensical, since otherwise it would be implied that all mss not listed share the reading of the main ms.

d. In all cases where a reading is chosen for the Text from a ms. other than the main ms., this must be signalled in the Variant readings, in the format ‘kendi: so F, 39, hendi K^x’, where K^x is the main ms. ‡ Where mss are numerous the format ‘kendi: so all others, hendi K^x’ can be used.

All emendations must be signalled in the Variant readings. Where an emendation in the Text goes against the agreement of all mss, this is indicated by ‘[2] skildir: skjaldar all’.

e. Readings will be included when, in the main ms. or any other ms.,

i. text is missing or illegible;
ii. readings are uncertain or there are two possible readings;
iii. whole lines are abbreviated;
iv. words are abbreviated and their expansion is uncertain;
v. words or lines are repeated.

The format for readings is outlined in >> k. below.

f. The variant readings section should only include readings. Any comments on the correctness of readings, their grammatical form etc., should be included not here but in the Notes, including cases where individual variant readings connect to produce a whole phrase or line which differs from the main text.

References