CATALOGUING MEDIAEVAL MANUSCRIPTS IN THE BNF AND FRENCH LIBRARIES

Charlotte Denoël and Amandine Postec Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des manuscrits

Journée d’étude Ménestrel: « Les Manuscrits en réseau(x) : elaborer des outils au profit des hommes », Varsovie, 26 septembre 2014

I – History of cataloguing practices in the BnF and French libraries

II – The online catalogues and the cataloguing standards

III – Opportunities and challenges

I – History of cataloguing practices in the BnF and French libraries

Inventories and catalogues of manuscripts from the Royal Library: 16th c.

catalogues of the Royal Library of Blois, 1518 and 1544

= BnF français 5660

Catalogue drawn up between 1569 and 1574, when the royal library was transferred from Fontainebleau to Paris (copy: BnF français 5585)

Inventories and catalogues of manuscripts from the Royal Library: 17th c. Several catalogues: • Nicolas Rigault in 1622: Rigault I (BnF latin 9352) and Rigault II (BnF français 5665) • Pierre et Jacques Dupuy in 1645: Dupuy I (BnF latin 9352) et Dupuy II (BnF latin 10367) • Nicolas Clément in 1682: « Regius » (BnF NAF 5402)

• Other inventaries of collections acquired by the Royal Library:

mss. from Hurault family in 1622; mss. from Béthune in 1663; mss. from Mazarin in 1668

Cf. Henri Omont, Anciens inventaires et catalogues de la Bibliothèque nationale, 5 tomes, Paris, 1908. http://archive.org/details/anciensinventai00dupugoog

BnF latin 9352: catalogue Rigault I (1622)

BnF latin 10367: catalogue Dupuy II (1645)

BnF NAF 5402: catalogue Regius by Nicolas Clément

Inventories and catalogues of manuscripts from the Royal Library: 18th c.

• 1730: Regius enriched with all entries since 1682

• Several inventaries of new collections: Le Tellier, Antoine Faure, Bigot, Gaignières, Baluze, Philibert de La Mare, Saint-Martial de Limoges, Châtre du Cangé, Colbert (6000 mss.), etc.

• 1744: first printed catalogue by Abbot Bignon: Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Regiae parisiensis, 4 volumes oriental, greek and latin manuscripts

First printed catalogue of manuscripts in 1744

Inventories and catalogues of manuscripts: 19th c.

1860: reorganisation of the manuscripts’ collections by their language

• Summary inventories by Léopold Delisle (latin ms.) and Henri Omont (French ms.)

• Nouvelles acquisitions latines and françaises: descriptions published in the journal Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des Chartes

Léopold Delisle (1826-1910) Deputy Head of the BN, 1874-1905

Henri Omont (1857-1940) Curator in the Manuscripts Department Inspector general of French libraries

Inventories and catalogues of manuscripts: 20th c.

• New descriptions for the manuscripts described in the 1744 catalogue: Catalogue général des manuscrits latins (7 volumes, 1939-1991)

• New descriptions for the manuscripts catalogued by Delisle in his inventory of the latin ms. 8823-18613:

-1997 publication of the Catalogue général des mss. latins 8823-8921

-Data enrichment of the descriptions of latin ms. coming from ecclesiastical collections: Notre-Dame, Compiègne, Saint-Martin-des-Champs, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés…

Catalogue général des manuscrits latins, numéros 8823-8921, Edited by Jacqueline Sclafer and Marie-Pierre Laffitte, Paris : Bibliothèque nationale de France, 1997.

Inventories and catalogues of manuscripts: 20th c.

• Catalogues of ancient and modern languages: french, italian, spanish, english, etc.

• Catalogues of greek manuscripts:

Ancient greek collection: catalogue: 1740

Supplément grec: all manuscripts since 1740

Inventaire sommaire des manuscrits grecs de la Bibliothèque nationale by Henri Omont + a recent catalogue

Coislin: catalogue published in 1715, before the transfer of the manuscripts in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Catalogues of manuscripts in France: theCatalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France (CGM)

• 22 novembre 1833: François Guizot’s circular to the librarians to receive a « catalogue des manuscrits de tout genre confiés à leur garde »

• 1841: report of Guizot’s successor, Villemain

• 3 août 1841: order of Louis-Philippe to establish a commission of five members to supervise the publication of the Catalogue général des manuscrits

• 1849-1885: publication of the 7 first volumes in-quarto

• 1885-1933: publication of two series, one for the departments libraries, the other for the libraries in Paris: 82 volumes

• 1951-1993: continued publication edited by the libraries’ direction, then by the direction of the book and reading (Ministry of Culture): 18 volumes

21st c.: Digitization of the paper catalogues in France:

• 2002: adoption of the XML-EAD format in France (1st version) for cataloguing archives and manuscripts

• 2002-2008: digitization of the Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France

• 2007: Calames, catalogue of the manuscrits of university libraries

• 2007: BnF archives et manuscrits: catalogue of the manuscripts’ collections housed in the BnF, in three divisions:

Manuscrits

Arts du spectacle

Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal

II – The online catalogues and cataloguing standards

Three French major catalogues in XML-EAD: 1. CGM

2. Calames

2007: Calames online

3. BnF archives et manuscrits

4. Catalogue collectif de France Base patrimoine: common query interface of all online French manuscripts catalogues (CGM, Calames, BAM and PALME)

EAD selected for the descriptions of manuscripts’ collections in the French libraries

Encoded archival description: encoding data system: <author>, <title>. This standard XML-EAD allows to: - outline the internal components of a manuscript or the place of a

manuscript inside a collection - prioritize the informations - Specify data with tags - link the data to other resources

http://www.lcweb.loc.gov/ead/

Tools for EAD in France: • Tag library: version 2002 EAD, translated in French in 2004

http://www.archivesdefrance.culture.gouv.fr/static/1066

• The « guide des bonnes pratiques de l’EAD in French libraries »:

http://bonnespratiques-ead.net/

• Society of American Archivists: new version of EAD in preparation for 2015

http://www2.archivists.org/groups/technical-subcommittee-on-encoded-archival-description-ead/ead-revision

The description of the manuscrits, 1/2

Standards for the manuscripts’ description in the BnF: 1884: Léopold Delisle: Notes sur la rédaction des catalogues de manuscrits, Paris,

1884, in 8°, 20 p. (for the Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France)

1939: refinement of the Delisle’s method in the 1st volume of the Catalogue

général des manuscrits latins: Philippe Lauer, « Règles suivies pour la rédaction des notices du catalogue du fonds latin », Catalogue général des manuscrits latins…, tome 1, Paris, 1939, p. V-VIII. 1962 then 1978: revision and increase of the previous rules: « Règles à suivre

pour l’élaboration du catalogue des manuscrits latins » (unpublished) 2012: adaptation of the 1978 rules within the « guide des bonnes pratiques de

l’EAD en bibliothèque » http://bonnespratiques-ead.net/ressources http://guideducatalogueur.bnf.fr/ABN/GPC.nsf/5BBE42CB5B73612FC1257C6200486D2E/$FILE/EXTBIB_IR_Mss_medievaux.htm?OpenElement

The description of the manuscrits, 2/2

Layout of a record of a mediaeval manuscript:

Shelfmarks (ancient and modern) Authors / Titles Date Physical description:

Script Illumination Marginalia Codicology Material Folios ’ number Dimensions Ruling Binding

History Content Bibliography Alternate format material Varia: restrictions for the communication, authors of the description…

Shelfmarks

Title, Author

L’écriture doit être, autant que possible, caractérisée : écriture italienne, anglo-normande, minuscule caroline, écriture cursive, etc… On donne toutes les informations connues sur l’exécution de l’ouvrage : autographe, scribe ou atelier connu, plusieurs copistes. On transcrit le colophon et on renvoie aux études qui ont permis une attribution.

Script

Illumination

Marginalia

Codicological description

Material Folios number dimensions ruling

Binding

History

Textual content

Cataloguing with XML-EAD <archdesc level="item"><did><unitid type="cote">Latin 14260</unitid><unitid type="ancienne cote">E 5 (cote C.

Grandrue)</unitid><unitid type="ancienne cote">Ab 25 (cote E. de Blémur)</unitid><unitid type="ancienne cote">975 (cote A. Vyon

d'Hérouval)</unitid><unitid type="ancienne cote">552 (cote soulignée)</unitid><unitid type="ancienne cote">Saint-Victor 373

(ancienne cote BN)</unitid><unittitle><title>Postille super Cantica, Ecclesiasten, Sapientiam, Lamentationes Jeremie</title>. --

<title>Introitus super epistolas Pauli et Sententias</title></unittitle><unitdate calendar="gregorian" era="ce"

normal="1201/1290">XIII<emph render="super">e</emph> siècle (avant 1289)</unitdate><physdesc><physfacet

type="écriture">Ecritures livresques sur deux colonnes. Plusieurs mains</physfacet>. <lb/><physfacet

type="support">Parchemin</physfacet>. <extent>246 feuillets précédés de deux gardes papier et deux gardes parchemin (A-B) et

suivis de deux gardes papier</extent>. <dimensions>360 x 250 mm</dimensions>.<lb/><physfacet type="reliure">Demi-reliure de

maroquin rouge datée de <date normal="1874">1874</date> et signée <persname role="4140">Weber</persname>. Titre au dos :

"POSTILLAE SUPER CANTICA &.". Traces de chaînes sur les anciennes gardes parchemin (f. A)</physfacet>. <physfacet

type="sceau">Aux f. 1 et 244v, estampille de la Bibliothèque nationale (1792-1802), identique au modèle Josserand-Bruno, type

17</physfacet>.</physdesc><langmaterial>Manuscrit en <language

langcode="lat">latin</language></langmaterial><repository><corpname source="RCR" authfilenumber="751021006">Bibliothèque

nationale de France. Département des manuscrits</corpname></repository></did><custodhist>

<p>Ce manuscrit a appartenu à <persname role="4010" normal="Adenulphus de Anania (12..-1289)" source="OPP"

authfilenumber="ark:/12148/cb16613567m">Adénulphe d'Anagni</persname> qui fit don de l'ensemble de ses manuscrits à la

bibliothèque de l' <corpname role="4010" normal="Abbaye Saint-Victor (Paris)" source="OPP"

authfilenumber="ark:/12148/cb12222306k">Abbaye de Saint-Victor de Paris</corpname> en 1289 lors de son entrée dans l'Ordre. Un

ex-libris sur le verso de la garde parchemin mentionne cet ancien possesseur. A l'encre noire au f. 1 : "Iste liber est Sancti Victoris

Parisiensis. Quicumque eum furatus fuerit vel celaverit vel titulum istum deleverit, anathema sit." , et à l'encre rouge : "Jhesus, Maria,

sanctus Victor, sanctus Augustinus" accompagné du blason de l'abbaye. Suit une mention d'ancienne cote "I".<lb/>Le manuscrit est

entré dans les collections de la Bibliothèque nationale après les saisies révolutionnaires en 1796.</p>

</custodhist><scopecontent>

<p>F. 1, <title>Postilla super Cantica</title>. -- F. 59, <title>Postilla super Ecclesiasten</title>. -- F. 133, <title>Postilla super

Sapientiam</title>. -- F. 205, <title>Postilla super Lamentationes Jeremie</title>. -- F. 235, <title>Introitus super epistolas Pauli</title>. -

- F. 239, <title>Introitus super Sententias</title>.</p>

</scopecontent></archdesc>

Pixml, software to edit texts in XML, with adapted user interface, enables an encoding of the descriptions by the cataloguers

Public interface for the catalogue: Pléade

Main lines for cataloguing mediaeval manuscripts online in relation to the research

and digitization programs

Carolingian manuscripts

Charles V and his family’s manuscripts

Aragonese Kings of Naples’ manuscripts

2010-2012:

Other directions:

Roman de la Rose

Mediaeval maps

German manuscripts

Most precious manuscripts

François Ist manuscripts

…

Research program BnF Portulans

2010-2013

Research program BnF German Illuminated

Manuscripts 2013-2015

Digitization of the most precious

manuscripts

BnF exhibition on the François Ist’s library,

Castle of Blois, 2015

III – Opportunities and challenges

New features implemented with EAD:

1. A refined research thanks to the data encoding

Recherche par rôles

Recherche par filtre : manuscrits numérisés

2. The authority files

Standardization of the most important records (names of persons,

corporate names, titles, etc.) with links to the authority files managed

by the BnF:

http://catalogue.bnf.fr/jsp/recherche_autorites_bnf.jsp?host=catalogue

Such standardization allows to:

Enrich the information resources

Contextualize the information provided by the data

Link together the descriptions of various documents

Feed data.bnf.fr

Link the major name authority files to national (ID-Ref, ABES) and

international (VIAF) databases

http://www.idref.fr/autorites/autorites.html

http://viaf.org/viaf/162031740/#Chre%CC%81tien_de_Troyes_113.-1185?

Authority files

http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb119419201

Data.bnf.fr:

3. Links to other resources

To images of documents hosted in other digital libraries

Between documents in the same catalogue

To other online resources:

Current challenges: Heterogeneity of the data obtained from the digitization of various

catalogues Standardization of the records in the online catalogues (in relation to

the current reflections on the authority files as part of the Biblissima project)

Development of a national tool for EAD cataloguing Development of the EAD catalogues in the French libraries Updating of the CGM records Interoperability between all the online resources: catalogues, digital

libraries (BVMM, Gallica), databases (Mandragore, Initiale, In Principio), websites, electronic editions, etc.

Towards an interoperability of the online databases: Biblissima