Patrologia Latina Database
Patrologia Latina Database
The Patrologia Latina (Series Latina) covers the writings of the Latin Fathers from Tertullian in A.D. 200 through Pope Innocent III (d. 1216). The electronic database currently contains 157 of the 221 volumes in the printed Patrologia Latina. The full text will be available at the end of 1996.
The Patrologiae offers, in a single source, over a thousand years of the most influential works of late ancient and early medieval theology, philosophy, history, and literature. To this day, Migne's collection is the standard reference for the majority of its works. Having the entire collection, including texts and notes, in machine-readable form permits greater comprehension, more detailed analysis, and an increased understanding of the interrelation of patristic texts.
When complete the Patrologia Latina Database (PLD) will be a full machine-readable version of the Patrologia Latina. Texts, as well as notes and other glosses, will be accessible via the database. Greek and Hebrew characters will be specially encoded, permitting display when used with appropriate graphics capabilities. Migne's column numbers, a standard reference for scholars, will also be included for ease of access.
Equally important is the encoding of the data with SGML tagging, based upon the emerging norms of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI).
A fundamental component of research for patristic and medieval studies is the contextual analysis of words or phrases as they appear in the corpus of a particular author, or throughout the works of several authors.
With the PLD, searches by individual word, Boolean searches, and searches by phrase and proximity are all possible. The researcher will be able to examine the entire corpus of an author or all authors across the length of the database. The most detailed analysis of this vast compilation of texts is now possible.Each section contains approximately one-quarter of the database, covering materials from distinct chronological periods. These chronological subsections are unique databases unto themselves and will serve the more restricted research needs of smaller or highly specialized institutions.
The original printed indices (in four volumes) is also included as part of the Patrologia Latina Database.
An important feature of the Patrologia Latina Database is the use of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) for the coding of these texts. This internationally recognized coding language, specified in ISO 8879, enhances significantly the value of the database.
SGML coding breaks down the full text into its structural elements so that each can be searched or manipulated separately. This provides a standard method of text capture and descriptions which, in turn, allows the encoded data to be interchanged or combined with other SGML-coded texts.
And equally important, the encoded data can be used with any SGML-compatible retrieval or display software.
The SGML encoding scheme used for the Patrologia Latina Database is modeled closely on that being developed by the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), the international project sponsored by the Association for Computers in the Humanities, the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing, NEH, and other national and international organizations.