Computer-assisted stemmatology in studying Paulus Juusten's 16th-century chronicleCatalogus et ordinaria successio Episcoporum Finlandensium

Abstract

Medieval chronicles offer valuable source material for historians studying the Middle Ages. Like all medieval books, also chronicles were written and copied by hand, causing both unintentional errors and intentional alterations to the text. Stemmatologists are trying to recreate the family tree of the different copies. In recent years, many computer-assisted methods have emerged which several editors have already used. Computer-assisted stemmatology can offer valuable tools not only for editors but also for historians. They can also help to test traditional methods of textual criticism, point out errors in earlier historiography and create possibilities for studying cultural links and the history of books. In this article it is demonstrated how the use of different computer-assisted stemmatological methods can reveal new information concerning the manuscript tradition of a Finnish 16th-century chronicle, Paulus Juusten’s Catalogus et ordinaria successio Episcoporum Finlandensium . With the help of these methods, it can also be shown that the stemma put forward in the latest edition of the chronicle should be reconsidered. Using PAUP, RHM, and SplitsTree, it is pointed out that these methods create similar results as traditional textual criticism. These results can be obtained considerably more quickly than with traditional methods and without the subjective decision by a stemmatologist between ‘original readings and errors’.