The Compilation of an Authority List of Medieval Latin Authors: Objectives, Methodological Issues, and Results

A census of the authors of the Middle Ages and the creation of an authority list for them pose various methodological problems. In developing such a program, it is necessary to consider–in addition to the diverse needs of its users–the specific type of proper names in question, the peculiarities of Medieval Latin philology, the relative lack of such specialized programs, and the historic literary tradition. The project BISLAM, which studies onomastic sciences for SISMEL, has developed a program entitled Authors in “Medioevo latino,” available both in print and on CD-ROM, which is comprised of an authority list of nearly 5,300 entries for about 12,500 nominal forms. The research criteria and the development of this program are the results of a collaboration between the Bibliographic and Onomastic divisions of the Società Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino and the Biblioteca di Cultura Medievale, which serves the Società and theFondazione Franceschini. The purpose of such a joint project is to offer a program useful both to scholars of medieval Latin literature and to specialists in bibliographic catalogs and repertories. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: © 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]