18-06-2025, 09:52 AM
(This post was last modified: 18-06-2025, 10:00 AM by Jorge_Stolfi.
Edit Reason: markup
)
Before merging the two dubious "titles" of the Starred Parags section (SPS) into the adjacent parags, the situation could be described by the following diagram:
If we were to remove just the first dubious title, <f105r.9a>, we would have 69 parags between start of the SPS and the first title <f105r.36>, and 51 parags between the last title <f114r.34> and the end of the SPS.
And 69 + 51 = 120. :puzzled:
Between the two definite titles there are 106 parags, which is neither 120 nor 125 but not very far off. Assuming the average of ~14 parags per page, the 4 missing pages should have ~56 parags; in that case, between the second definite title and the last (dubious) title there would be 106 + 56 = 152 parags. Also neither 120 nor 125, but also not very far off.
Let's suppose for a moment that indeed the SPS is the old (pre-1400) version of the SBJ (in some language, with the pronunciation of 1400), and the latter indeed had three sections of 120, 120, 125 entries, with a title at the top of each entry, and these titles got transcribed by the Author as <f105r.36>, <f108v.52>, and either <f114r.34> or a lost title in the missing bifolio.
Then we would need an explanation for how the titles of the SPS ended up in their current positions among the list of paragraphs. Two possibilities are that the bifolios of the quire got scrambled before the folios were numbered (something which we know happened in the Biology section), and/or the pages of the Author's draft got scrambled before the Scribe copied them to the vellum.
I won't try to propose a detailed scrambling scheme yet...
All the best, --jorge
Code:
------ start of the SPS
|
| 61 parags
|
...... dubious title <f105r.9a> sairy.ore.daiindy.ytam
| 8 parags
...... tile <f105r.36> otoiis.chedaiin.otair.otaly
|
| 104 parags
|
...... title <f108v.52> olchar.olchedy.lshy.otedy
****** missing 4 pages f109r-f110v
|
| 106 parags
|
...... dubious title <f114r.34> ytain.olkaiin.ykar.chdar.alkam
|
| 51 parags
|
------ end of the SPSAnd 69 + 51 = 120. :puzzled:
Between the two definite titles there are 106 parags, which is neither 120 nor 125 but not very far off. Assuming the average of ~14 parags per page, the 4 missing pages should have ~56 parags; in that case, between the second definite title and the last (dubious) title there would be 106 + 56 = 152 parags. Also neither 120 nor 125, but also not very far off.
Let's suppose for a moment that indeed the SPS is the old (pre-1400) version of the SBJ (in some language, with the pronunciation of 1400), and the latter indeed had three sections of 120, 120, 125 entries, with a title at the top of each entry, and these titles got transcribed by the Author as <f105r.36>, <f108v.52>, and either <f114r.34> or a lost title in the missing bifolio.
Then we would need an explanation for how the titles of the SPS ended up in their current positions among the list of paragraphs. Two possibilities are that the bifolios of the quire got scrambled before the folios were numbered (something which we know happened in the Biology section), and/or the pages of the Author's draft got scrambled before the Scribe copied them to the vellum.
I won't try to propose a detailed scrambling scheme yet...
All the best, --jorge