Auf den Schultern wachsender Riesen?

Abstract

This paper presents a praxeologically oriented study that examines whether the digital edition Lyrik des deutschen Mittelalters adheres consistently to its self-imposed restraint regarding conjectures. Random samples in the form of editions of three smaller corpora of authors preserved in the Manessische Liederhandschrift demonstrate that it does. One of these editions is found in the Liederdichter , one in Minnesangs Frühling , and one in the Schweizer Minnesänger . They are compared with the respective new editions in Lyrik des deutschen Mittelalters , revealing that these contain significantly fewer conjectures than the earlier editions. Contrary to the assumption made by the author of this essay, the practice of conjecturing has not gradually converged with that of the older textual-critical editions. Rather, the data show that in Lyrik des deutschen Mittelalters , interventions in the manuscript-transmitted text are now made less frequently than at the beginning of the work.