An eighteenth-century manuscript: control of the scribal hand in "Clement's letter to Theodore"
This article discusses Morton Smith’s role as a self-professed manuscript hunter in uncovering the only known copy of Clement’s Letter to Theodore, and critically assesses the existing studies on its handwriting. We argue that Stephen C. Carlson’s analysis is flawed due to its dependence on distorte...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brepols
[2015]
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| In: |
Apocrypha
Year: 2015, Volume: 26, Pages: 261-297 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Clemens, Alexandrinus ca. 150-215
/ Epistle
/ Handwriting
/ Smith, Morton 1915-1991
/ Discovery
/ Authenticity
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history |
| Further subjects: | B
Smith, Morton (1915-1991)
B Clemens Alexandrinus B Forgery B Epistolary literature |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | This article discusses Morton Smith’s role as a self-professed manuscript hunter in uncovering the only known copy of Clement’s Letter to Theodore, and critically assesses the existing studies on its handwriting. We argue that Stephen C. Carlson’s analysis is flawed due to its dependence on distorted images, that Agamemnon Tselikas’s study has a number of problems due to the unsuitability of applying standard palaeographic practices to a case of suspected deception, and that Venetia Anastasopoulou has made a sustainable case by arguing that Smith could not have imitated the difficult eighteenth-century script - a qualitative verdict strengthened by our quantitative study of the lack of signs of control. We conclude that the handwriting is indistinguishable from authentic eighteenth-century handwriting. |
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| ISSN: | 1155-3316 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Apocrypha
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1484/J.APOCRA.5.109952 |