Interpolation (manuscripts)
Encyclopedia
An interpolation, in relation to literature
and especially ancient manuscript
s, is an entry or passage in a text that was not written by the original author. As there are often several generations of copies between an extant copy of an ancient text and the original, each handwritten by different scribes, there is a natural tendency for extraneous material to be inserted into such documents over time.
Interpolations may be inserted as an authentic explanatory note (for example), but may also be included for fraudulent purposes. The forged passages and works attributed to the Pseudo-Isidore
are an example of the latter. Similarly, the letters of Ignatius of Antioch
were interpolated by Apollinarian heretics, three centuries after the originals were written. Charters and legal texts are also subject to forgery
of this kind. In the 13th Century, a medieval romance, the Prose Tristan
, inserted another prose romance the Vulgate
Queste del Saint Graal in its entirety in order to reinterpret the Quest for the Holy Grail
through the optics of the Tristan story.
However, most interpolations result from the errors and inaccuracies which tend to arise during handcopying, especially over long periods of time. For example, if a scribe
made an error when copying a text and omitted some lines, he would have tended to include the omitted material in the margin. However, margin notes made by readers are present in almost all manuscripts. Therefore a different scribe seeking to produce a copy of the manuscript perhaps many years later could find it very difficult to determine whether a margin note was an omission made by the previous scribe (which should be included in the text), or simply a note made by a reader (which should be ignored or kept in the margin).
Conscientious scribes tended to copy everything which appeared in a manuscript, but in all cases scribes needed to exercise personal judgement. Explanatory notes would tend to find their way into the body of a text as a natural result of this subjective process.
Modern scholars have developed techniques for recognising interpolation, which are often apparent to modern observers, but would have been less so for medieval copyists.
The Comma Johanneum
is commonly regarded as interpolation.
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and especially ancient manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s, is an entry or passage in a text that was not written by the original author. As there are often several generations of copies between an extant copy of an ancient text and the original, each handwritten by different scribes, there is a natural tendency for extraneous material to be inserted into such documents over time.
Interpolations may be inserted as an authentic explanatory note (for example), but may also be included for fraudulent purposes. The forged passages and works attributed to the Pseudo-Isidore
Pseudo-Isidore
Pseudo-Isidore is the pseudonym given to the scholar or group of scholars responsible for the Pseudo-Isidorean Decretals, the most extensive and influential set of forgeries found in medieval Canon law. The authors were a group of Frankish clerics writing in the second quarter of the ninth century...
are an example of the latter. Similarly, the letters of Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop of Antioch, and was a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology...
were interpolated by Apollinarian heretics, three centuries after the originals were written. Charters and legal texts are also subject to forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
of this kind. In the 13th Century, a medieval romance, the Prose Tristan
Prose Tristan
The Prose Tristan is an adaptation of the Tristan and Iseult story into a long prose romance, and the first to tie the subject entirely into the arc of the Arthurian legend...
, inserted another prose romance the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
Queste del Saint Graal in its entirety in order to reinterpret the Quest for the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
through the optics of the Tristan story.
However, most interpolations result from the errors and inaccuracies which tend to arise during handcopying, especially over long periods of time. For example, if a scribe
Scribe
A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
made an error when copying a text and omitted some lines, he would have tended to include the omitted material in the margin. However, margin notes made by readers are present in almost all manuscripts. Therefore a different scribe seeking to produce a copy of the manuscript perhaps many years later could find it very difficult to determine whether a margin note was an omission made by the previous scribe (which should be included in the text), or simply a note made by a reader (which should be ignored or kept in the margin).
Conscientious scribes tended to copy everything which appeared in a manuscript, but in all cases scribes needed to exercise personal judgement. Explanatory notes would tend to find their way into the body of a text as a natural result of this subjective process.
Modern scholars have developed techniques for recognising interpolation, which are often apparent to modern observers, but would have been less so for medieval copyists.
The Comma Johanneum
Comma Johanneum
The Comma Johanneum is a comma in the First Epistle of John according to the Latin Vulgate text as transmitted since the Early Middle Ages, based on Vetus Latina minority readings dating to the 7th century...
is commonly regarded as interpolation.