stemmatology
(stɛməˈtɒlədʒɪ)
[f. L. stemma(t-) stemma: see -ology.]
The study which attempts to reconstruct the tradition of the transmission of a text or texts (esp. in manuscript form) on the basis of the relationships between the readings of the various surviving witnesses; this sphere of scholarship.
| 1942 Essays & Studies XXVII. 43 In what may be called stemmatology, the veterans..have done brilliant work. 1981 N. & Q. Feb. 1/2 Mr. Hamer..attempts a ‘provisional’ stemma. The darkness of conflicting and ‘contaminated’ evidence might have made a less brave man shrink from stemmatology. |