Script and Text in Time and Space

The project Script and Text in Time and Space will create a new foundation for working with medieval Danish texts by creating and deepening fundamental knowledge about the development of medieval script in Denmark as well as the dating and localization of relevant text bearing objects (manuscripts and other document types). The project is placed in the field of Digital Humanities, meaning that digital tools and general guidelines for editing and analysing primary sources play a central role. Script – the written manifestation of language – is key to most analyses of medieval language and literature as well as history and culture in general. In fact, it is usually because of script and the language it preserves that a primary source can be placed in time and space. In recent years there has been an increased interest in the transmission and reception of historical texts and documents, which renews the need for and underlines the importance of detailed studies in the history and origin of these sources. Despite dating and localization of a written text based on the language and script being central to philological studies, there are surprisingly few tools and fundamental reference points available when it comes to Danish script. Particularly compared to the substantial work on West Norse, little systematic analysis has been conducted on Danish medieval texts, including the circumstances of their production and the development of the script. The project addresses this issue by conducting both qualitative and quantitative studies of the relevant features in medieval Danish charters (official documents) from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. Unlike almost all other written