'This cloud had been written upon': Investigating digital editing methods for Anne Bathurst's visionary writing

Trowsdale, E

Thesis

'This cloud had been written upon': Investigating digital editing methods for Anne Bathurst's visionary writing

Abstract:: This dissertation will feature a digital asset, a complete digital edition of Anne Bathurst’s ‘Rhapsodical Mediations’, in addition to an essay detailing the theories behind the digital methods employed in creating this edition as well as an assessment of their results.

This will hone in on the specifics of Anne Bathurst’s manuscript – a historically-significant religious diary which has thus far not been digitised in full – as well as zooming out to the wider implications of what it means to digitise a manuscript which not only contains interesting material features, but, also intensely spiritual content.

The questions at the heart of this dissertation are whether the physical or the mystical can be captured by any pre-existing digital methodology, whether creating a bespoke methodology is worthwhile to this field and whether mystical objects should be digitised at all. After all, how can an interoperable, standardised digital edition be imbued with the mystical essence of visionary writing? – and, how can it meaningfully present the physicality of a manuscript? The mission statement for this project is that an object’s physical existence and digital existence should be intimately interlinked in a creative way, and that this interlinking is a valuable scholarly exercise.

The digital tools involved in this discussion are TEI, IIIF, html, and some AI. In the main, this study will focus on evaluating TEI and other elements which can be interoperable with this widely adopted language. This will be integrated with more traditional humanities scholarship surrounding the physical volume, providence research, the transmission of ‘female knowledge’ in this source material and an exploration of its religious language. This study anticipates that the aforementioned digital methods will further investigations in these areas of study.

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APA Style

Trowsdale, E. (2023). 'This cloud had been written upon': Investigating digital editing methods for Anne Bathurst's visionary writing [Master's thesis]. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

Trowsdale, E. 'This Cloud Had Been Written upon': Investigating Digital Editing Methods for Anne Bathurst's Visionary Writing. University of Oxford, 2023.

Chicago Style

Trowsdale, E. 2023. “'This Cloud Had Been Written upon': Investigating Digital Editing Methods for Anne Bathurst's Visionary Writing.” Master's thesis, University of Oxford.
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