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{{Other uses|Lacuna (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work}}
{{short description|Gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work}}
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{{Other uses|Lacuna (disambiguation)}}
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[[File:G(012).JPG|thumb|First page of the [[Codex Boernerianus]] with lacuna in [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 1:1-4]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

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[[File:G(012).JPG|thumb|First page of the [[Codex Boernerianus]] with lacuna in [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 1:1–4]]


A '''lacuna'''{{refn|group=Note|From [[Latin]] ''lacūna'' ("ditch, gap"), literally "little ''lacus''" ("lake, basin").<ref>{{OEtymD|lacuna}}</ref><ref>{{L&S|lacuna}}, {{L&S|lacus|ref}}</ref>}} ({{abbr|pl.|plural}}&nbsp;'''lacunae''' or '''lacunas''') is a gap in a [[manuscript]], [[inscription]], text, painting, or musical work. A manuscript, text, or section suffering from gaps is said to be "lacunose" or "lacunulose".
A '''lacuna'''{{refn|group=Note|From [[Latin]] ''lacūna'' ("ditch, gap"), literally "little ''lacus''" ("lake, basin").<ref>{{OEtymD|lacuna}}</ref><ref>{{L&S|lacuna}}, {{L&S|lacus|ref}}</ref>}} ({{abbr|pl.|plural}}&nbsp;'''lacunae''' or '''lacunas''') is a gap in a [[manuscript]], [[inscription]], text, painting, or musical work. A manuscript, text, or section suffering from gaps is said to be "lacunose" or "lacunulose".


Weathering, decay, and other damage to old manuscripts or inscriptions are often responsible for lacunae&mdash;words, sentences, or whole passages that are missing or illegible. [[Palimpsests]] are particularly vulnerable. To reconstruct the original text, the context must be considered. In [[papyrology]] and [[textual criticism]] this may lead to competing reconstructions and interpretations. Published texts that contain lacunae often mark the section where text is missing with a bracketed ellipsis. For example, {{quote|"This sentence contains 20 words, and [...] nouns," or, "Finally, the army arrived at [...] and made camp."}}
Weathering, decay, and other damage to old manuscripts or inscriptions are often responsible for lacunae - words, sentences, or whole passages that are missing or illegible. [[Palimpsests]] are particularly vulnerable. To reconstruct the original text, the context must be considered. In [[papyrology]] and [[textual criticism]], this may lead to competing reconstructions and interpretations. Published texts that contain lacunae often mark the section where text is missing with a bracketed ellipsis. For example, "This sentence contains 20 words, and [...] nouns," or, "Finally, the army arrived at [...] and made camp."


==Notable examples==
==Notable examples==
Line 14: Line 16:
{{quote|hyrde ich thæt [... ...On]elan cwen.|Fitt 1, line 62}}
{{quote|hyrde ich thæt [... ...On]elan cwen.|Fitt 1, line 62}}


This particular lacuna is always reproduced in editions of the text, but many people have attempted to fill it, notably editors Wyatt-Chambers and Dobbie, among others, who accept the verb "waes" (''was''). Malone (1929) proposed the name [[Yrse]] for the unnamed queen, as that would alliterate with [[Onela]]. This, however, is still hotly debated amongst editors.<ref>G. Jack, "Beowulf: A Student Edition", [[Oxford University Press]], Oxford: 1994. Pp.31-32, footnote 62.</ref>
This particular lacuna is always reproduced in editions of the text, but many people have attempted to fill it, notably editors Wyatt-Chambers and Dobbie, among others, who accept the verb "waes" (''was''). Malone (1929) proposed the name [[Yrse]] for the unnamed queen, as that would alliterate with [[Onela]]. This, however, is still hotly debated amongst editors.<ref>G. Jack, "Beowulf: A Student Edition", [[Oxford University Press]], Oxford: 1994. Pp.31–32, footnote 62.</ref>


| The eight-leaves-long [[Great Lacuna]] in the ''[[Codex Regius]]'', the most prominent source for [[Norse mythology]] and early Germanic heroic legends. Parts of it survived in independent manuscripts and in prose form in the ''[[Völsunga saga]]''.
| The eight-leaves-long [[Great Lacuna]] in the ''[[Codex Regius]]'', the most prominent source for [[Norse mythology]] and early Germanic heroic legends. Parts of it survived in independent manuscripts and in prose form in the ''[[Völsunga saga]]''.


| In [[Minuscule 69|Codex Leicester]], the text skips from [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 10:45 to 14:17 without a break; possibly a scribe rewrote it from a defective manuscript.
| In [[Minuscule 69|Codex Leicester]], the text skips from [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 10:45 to 14:17 without a break; possibly because a scribe rewrote it from a defective manuscript that was missing those sections.


| Most of Tablet V of the [[Enûma Eliš]], the [[Babylonian mythology|Babylonian]] [[creation myth]], has never been recovered.
| Most of Tablet V of the [[Enūma Eliš]], the [[Babylonian mythology|Babylonian]] [[creation myth]], has never been recovered.


|The didactic Latin poem [[Astronomica (Manilius)|''Astronomica'']] ([[Marcus Manilius]], c. AD 30–40) contains a lacuna in its fifth book; some believe that only a small portion is missing, while others that whole books are lost.
|The didactic Latin poem [[Astronomica (Manilius)|''Astronomica'']] ([[Marcus Manilius]], c. AD 30–40) contains a lacuna in its fifth book; some believe that only a small portion is missing, while others believe that whole books are lost.


|''[[Cantar de mio Cid]]'' contains several lacunae.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDEVlulrkpYC&q=+lacuna&pg=PA231|title=The Making of the Poema de Mio Cid|first1=Colin|last1=Smith|first2=Colin J.|last2=Smith|date=24 March 1983|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521249928|via=Google Books}}</ref>
|''[[Cantar de mio Cid]]'' contains several lacunae.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDEVlulrkpYC&q=+lacuna&pg=PA231|title=The Making of the Poema de Mio Cid|first1=Colin|last1=Smith|first2=Colin J.|last2=Smith|date=24 March 1983|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521249928|via=Google Books}}</ref>
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[[Category:Manuscripts]]
[[Category:Manuscripts]]
[[Category:Book terminology]]
[[Category:Book terminology]]
[[Category:Lost literature| ]]
[[Category:Lost literature|+]]


{{manuscript-stub}}
{{manuscript-stub}}

Latest revision as of 16:11, 26 February 2024

For other uses, see Lacuna (disambiguation).

First page of the Codex Boernerianus with lacuna in Romans 1:1–4

A lacuna[Note 1] (pl. lacunae or lacunas) is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work. A manuscript, text, or section suffering from gaps is said to be "lacunose" or "lacunulose".

Weathering, decay, and other damage to old manuscripts or inscriptions are often responsible for lacunae - words, sentences, or whole passages that are missing or illegible. Palimpsests are particularly vulnerable. To reconstruct the original text, the context must be considered. In papyrology and textual criticism, this may lead to competing reconstructions and interpretations. Published texts that contain lacunae often mark the section where text is missing with a bracketed ellipsis. For example, "This sentence contains 20 words, and [...] nouns," or, "Finally, the army arrived at [...] and made camp."

Notable examples

[edit]
  • In the British Library manuscript Cotton Vitellius A. xv, the Old English poem Beowulf contains the following lacuna:

    hyrde ich thæt [... ...On]elan cwen.

    — Fitt 1, line 62
    This particular lacuna is always reproduced in editions of the text, but many people have attempted to fill it, notably editors Wyatt-Chambers and Dobbie, among others, who accept the verb "waes" (was). Malone (1929) proposed the name Yrse for the unnamed queen, as that would alliterate with Onela. This, however, is still hotly debated amongst editors.[3]
  • The eight-leaves-long Great Lacuna in the Codex Regius, the most prominent source for Norse mythology and early Germanic heroic legends. Parts of it survived in independent manuscripts and in prose form in the Völsunga saga.
  • In Codex Leicester, the text skips from Acts 10:45 to 14:17 without a break; possibly because a scribe rewrote it from a defective manuscript that was missing those sections.
  • Most of Tablet V of the Enūma Eliš, the Babylonian creation myth, has never been recovered.
  • The didactic Latin poem Astronomica (Marcus Manilius, c. AD 30–40) contains a lacuna in its fifth book; some believe that only a small portion is missing, while others believe that whole books are lost.
  • Cantar de mio Cid contains several lacunae.[4]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ From Latin lacūna ("ditch, gap"), literally "little lacus" ("lake, basin").[1][2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Harper, Douglas. "lacuna". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ lacuna, lacus. Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short. A Latin Dictionary on Perseus Project.
  3. ^ G. Jack, "Beowulf: A Student Edition", Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1994. Pp.31–32, footnote 62.
  4. ^ Smith, Colin; Smith, Colin J. (24 March 1983). The Making of the Poema de Mio Cid. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521249928 – via Google Books.
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