Erika Kihlman talks about Ars Edendi

 

 

Meaning “the art of editing”, Ars Edendi is a laboratory of editorial philology that aims to produce editions of medieval Latin and Greek texts.

Funded by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation for two four-year periods, beginning January 2008, the project is based at Stockholm University’s Department of French, Italian and Classical Languages. It brings together six Latin and Greek scholars and is headed by Professor Gunilla Iversen.

“Stockholm University has a tradition of expertise in editing medieval Latin texts,” says (Assistant Director) Dr Erika Kihlman. “The Ars Edendi isn’t just about producing editions. It also involves documenting our methodology as we work with texts that pose particular challenges to traditional editorial methods such as commentaries and scholia, florilegia, encyclopedias as well as various forms of liturgical compositions. Our approach is to combine theory and praxis.”

The project, a unique initiative for Classical Studies in Sweden, has a strong interdisciplinary awareness as the scholars at Ars Edendi are working with the end user in mind. 

“We’ll be bringing in musicologists, theologians, historians, etc, as we work on editions in order to ensure that we produce texts that are of benefit to the wider academic community,” explains Kihlman. 

Ars Edendi also has a strong international flavour having appointed an advisory board that consists of eight leading scholars from prestigious institutions such as the British Library, Harvard University and the Vatican Library. The board meets annually with Ars Edendi’s Core Group and other collaborators to discuss and give advice on the group’s general organisation, progress and scholarly results.

“This is extremely exciting,” says Kihlman. “With the support of our sponsors we've been able to bring some major classical scholars to Stockholm. We've already had guest talks from Nigel Wilson (Oxford University) and Jan Ziolkowski (Harvard University).”

The Ars Edendi project is also keen to involve younger classical scholars as the project becomes a hub for innovative work within the field of Medieval Latin and Greek editorial philology. 

One such researcher who has already benefited from Ars Edendi is Dr Alessandra Bucossi, who is on a 6-month guest research post at Ars Edendi.

“I am delighted to be able to participate in the project,” says Dr Bucossi.

“After completing a PhD at Oxford and research in Washington, it was a wonderful chance to come to Stockholm. Ars Edendi has given me the opportunity to continue my research and meet other international medievalists. I’m particularly impressed by the way the centre is working to establish the Ars Edendi Network –connecting medieval scholars working on Latin and Greek texts.”

With two international conferences planned to take place during the duration of the project at Stockholm University, Ars Edendi looks set to play a leading role in maintaining the remarkable tradition of Classical Studies at the University.

The Ars Edendi Core Group

The Ars Edendi Core Group consists of: 

• Alexander Andrée
• Gunilla Iversen
• Brian Møller Jensen
• Erika Kihlman
• Eva Odelman
• Denis Searby
• Assistant: Eric Cullhed

www.arsedendi.org

Text and interview: Jon Buscall