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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Blockbuster Epic Resource for Paleographers and Historians

  Medieval Latin can be a cantankerous beast. Now the ultimate resource is available to tame it, especially for those who are scholars of texts from England. The Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources (DMLBS) is a British Academy research project at the University of Oxford, and it is now published, having been one hundred years in the gestation. So you see, good things develop slowly.
  For many of us humble little medieval workers on the periphery of the world, this is a glimmer of hope at this stage. It's an expensive great beast, as you might imagine, and in this world that is tending to regard studies in the humanities as luxuries rather than essentials, you may find it hard to persuade your local library to fork out for one. 
  There are plans for a digital future, although it seems the exact nature of this has not been worked out. It is all part of the increase in accessibility of even the most esoteric resources which will be available when the world works out that not everyone wants or needs to be an IT worker or a manufacturer of better widgets.
  Rock on medieval resources!

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