tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5624408295159900224.post3801837091643834225..comments2024-03-25T10:00:45.370-07:00Comments on Blog on the Barrow Downs: To the letter: Philology as a core component of Old Norse studiesRichard Rohlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826393850870180727noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5624408295159900224.post-59551106865528894072018-02-18T06:20:05.556-08:002018-02-18T06:20:05.556-08:00Tom, I'm just now seeing this comment or I sho...Tom, I'm just now seeing this comment or I should have responded sooner!<br /><br />First, if that were all Svanhildur were saying, it would indeed be optimistic. Alas, this is the peril of cherry-picking a few great quotes and putting them on my blog. I'd heartily encourage you to read the original article (ping me if you like and I'll send you a copy); what Svanhildur is arguing for is not that we should pluck random people off the street and give them manuscripts to edit. She is, in fact, acknowledging the basic problem that Drout mentioned (and she goes into great detail on the history of the problem) and then suggesting a solution, which is to teach people not to just be Old Norsists, or Anglo-Saxonists, but philologists.<br /><br />Drout was right: we don't have the knowledge of the great philologists of old. But one of the main reasons for that is that, given the fact that they've done all of the work that they did, very few people are willing to go back and retrace their steps. Most of their knowledge is not anything that can be found in any textbook - it's things that can only be learned by spending a lot of time with the texts themselves. That, I think, is ultimately what Svanhildur is challenging us to do. The advent of new technology which will enable digital editions is a great opportunity to do just that.Richard Rohlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17826393850870180727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5624408295159900224.post-28150807172350693702017-12-02T06:03:16.869-08:002017-12-02T06:03:16.869-08:00Interesting, but saying that anyone can edit a man...Interesting, but saying that anyone can edit a manuscript seems a bit optimistic. And I am reminded of what Drout (at Mythmoot maybe?) said about the diminishing knowledge of each generation of philologists. The author also seems to be playing with the narrower and wider definitions of philology. But I will gladly learn better. Certainly the new technologies open ways previously shut.Thomas Hillmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11645380693097266173noreply@blogger.com