Critical and Editorial Apparatus

A set of notations for the meta-textual phenomena that constitute the philological analysis of the inscribed text. Includes assessments of epistemicity and interpretative plausibility, discursive critical apparatus notes, linguistic annotations, and bibliography.

The Concept of Lectio

The term lectio (pl. lectiones) refers to the specific outcome of the interpretative choice made by the editor in the fields of epigraphy, philology or linguistics. It represents the critical assertion arising from the analysis of the data: not only the reading of a textual sequence, but also the identification of a scribal hand or the morphological attribution of a form (e.g. the choice between the genitive or dative case).

The preference for the term lectio — whilst acknowledging its traditional meaning in textual philology (linked to variants between manuscripts, cf. lectio difficilior) — responds to a specific methodological requirement of IbiScript.

This term was chosen because:

• “Phenomenon” is excessively vague, overlapping with the description of the physical evidence on the medium (the material data);
• “Interpretation” appears too generic, risking confusion between the hermeneutic act and its concrete result.

Lectio, on the other hand, precisely identifies the specific editorial assertion, isolating the smallest unit of critical choice applied to the text.