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...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Paananen, Timo S. (Author) ; Viklund, Roger 1957- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brepols 2015
In: Apocrypha
Year: 2015, Volume: 26, Pages: 261-297
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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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.
Contains:Enthalten in: Apocrypha
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1484/J.APOCRA.5.109952