This part of the website contains its core: the texts of the Old and New Customaries in Latin and in English translation.

Exploring the contents

Each of the four manuscript versions of the Sarum Customary included in the website has its own ordering and contents. These are discussed in detail here.

W.H. Frere, The Use of Sarum, I (Cambridge, 1898) presented texts of the Old Customary (Consuetudinary) and New Customary (Customary) in parallel columns. The sections of the original manuscript sources are clearly headed, but are not numbered. Frer brought order to the texts by allocating section numbers to them. These section numbers have been adopted throughout this website.

Frere conflated all the different from all the sources to give the most comprehensive reading of the Old and New Customary. His numbering, contents and order corresponds to none of the original sources. They do, however, provide an established basis for reference.

In this part of the website it is possible to review the individual contents of each source (including Frere’s versions) either individually or comparatively.

  • The individual contents of any one source can be viewed in the order in which they appear in the source.
  • The master contents list enables you to view all the sources in comparison to one another, and to order those contents in relation to any one of the six versions of the Customary included in the website.

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Exploring the texts

There are five ways in which you can explore the texts.

  • On-screen exploration
  1. Fixed comparison
  2. Free comparison
  3. Word search
  4. Index search
  • Full text exploration (on the screen or in hard copy)
  1. Complete PDF text of each source in Latin, with English translation below each section or subsection

Each of these explorations can be conducted in Latin or in English

  • On-screen exploration

The fixed and free comparisons allow you to compare any two versions of the sources in Latin or in English.

  • In the fixed comparison, the first text you select (the left-hand column) acts as the controlling text. Once you have selected a section or subsection of the first text, the right-hand column will display the equivalent text from the other source.

The fixed comparison can also be used to compare the Latin text of a source with its English translation.

  • The free comparison allows you to compare any section of two sources (or even two different sections of the same source in the two columns).
  • The word search allows you to search any source by word.
  • The index search allows you to search through the keywords used to identify the main contents of each source.

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Caveat

The texts and translations in the on-screen exploration include the minimum of editorial apparatus. They are therefore intended to be good working texts and translation, rather than critical texts and translations.

The word search is not in its final state. The English search makes use of existing resources, but the Latin search has been developed for this site and is far from complete or fully developed at this stage. Constructive suggestions on its improvement will be welcomed.

It is intended in due course to prepare a full index of contents. At this stage the index is limited to 10 principal key terms and 20 subsidiary key terms (which are used in combination, and therefore allow more sophisticated searching than might at first be suggested).

  • Full-text exploration

Some will prefer to have access to the whole text of each version of the Customary with its translation. All six are provided as PDF files. They can be viewed on the screen, or printed out as hard copy. Your attention is drawn to the copyright of these texts and translations. They do not, of course, allow for easy comparison of texts.

The PDF format allows for greater editorial apparatus and annotation. However, none of these texts is in its final edited state. Refining the texts and translations will be an ongoing process, in part through further work to be undertaken during 2013 by the editors and translator, and in part dependent on feedback, advice and suggestions from users.

Editorial principles and approaches to translation can be consulted here.

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