From exemplar to copy: the scribal appropriation of a Hadewijch manuscript computationally explored

This study is devoted to two of the oldest known manuscripts in which the oeuvre of the medieval mystical author Hadewijch has been preserved: Brussels, KBR, 2879-2880 (ms. On the basis of codicological and contextual arguments, it is assumed that the scribe who produced B used A as an exemplar. While the similarities in both layout and content between the two manuscripts are striking, the present article seeks to identify the differences. After all, regardless of the intention to produce a copy that closely follows the exemplar, subtle linguistic variation is apparent. Divergences relate to spelling conventions, but also to the way in which words are abbreviated (and the extent to which abbreviations occur). The present study investigates the spelling profiles of the scribes who produced mss. In the first part of this study, we will present both manuscripts in more detail, after which we will consider prior research carried out on scribal profiling. The current study both builds and expands on Kestemont (2015). Next, we outline the methodology used to analyse and measure the degree of scribal appropriation that took place when ms. B was copied off the exemplar ms. A. After this, we will discuss the results obtained, focusing on the scribal variation that can be found both at the level of individual words and n-grams. To this end, we use machine learning to identify the most distinctive features that separate manuscript A from B. Finally, we look at possible diachronic trends in the appropriation by B's scribe of his exemplar. We argue that scribal takeovers in the exemplar impacts the practice of the copying scribe, while transitions to a different content matter cause little to no effect. INTRODUCTION Among the Royal Library of Belgium's (KBR) extraordinarily rich collection are two fourteenth-century manuscripts that are of great importance to the field of medieval Dutch literature in general, and that of mysticism in the Low Countries in particular: KBR 2879-80 and KBR 2877-78. Both manuscripts contain the complete oeuvre - consisting of letters, visions, songs, and poems - of the mystical writer Hadewijch. Since unambiguous biographical data are lacking, the historical figure of Hadewijch is largely shrouded in mystery. Through her work, however, one can get a modest glimpse of who she was and when she lived. Researchers who undertook this quest situate Hadewijch in the religious women's movement (mulieres religiosae) of the thirteenth century [Mommaers, 2003; Fraeters & Willaert, 2009, p. 13-19; Fraeters, 2013; Willaert, 2013].