Glossary of critical edition terms

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This glossary defines the principal terms used in the ConTeXt Garden guides devoted to critical apparatuses, textual criticism, and scholarly editing.

The terminology of textual criticism varies among languages, periods, and editorial traditions. The definitions below describe the general meaning of each term and, where relevant, the way in which it is represented in the accompanying ConTeXt examples.

The glossary includes both scholarly concepts and terms used to describe their technical implementation. Entries such as witness, reading, and conjecture concern editorial practice. Entries such as note series, apparatus layer, and structured editorial data also describe the architecture adopted in the guides.

For an overview of the complete collection, see Building a critical apparatus with ConTeXt.

What is a critical apparatus?

The English expression critical apparatus corresponds to French apparat critique and German kritischer Apparat. These expressions belong to closely related scholarly traditions in which classical philology, textual criticism, and the editing of transmitted texts have been developed extensively.

The noun apparatus comes from Latin apparatus, a word associated with preparation, equipment, provision, or an organized body of resources. In scholarly usage, it came to designate the material assembled around a text in order to document its sources, transmission, interpretation, or editorial establishment.

In French, the technical expression is:

apparat critique

In German, it is:

kritischer Apparat

The unqualified forms apparat in French and Apparat in German may also be used when the critical function is already clear from the context.

A critical apparatus is an organized record of the evidence and decisions involved in establishing an edited text. It commonly reports:

alternative readings;
omissions and additions;
transpositions;
corrections and conjectures;
the witnesses supporting each reading;
the editor or scholar responsible for an intervention.

It is therefore not simply an accumulation of comments. Its entries follow an editorial structure and normally relate a passage in the edited text to documentary evidence or editorial judgement.

For example:

Reason] Judgment B D; om. E

can be analysed as follows:

Element	Function	Meaning
`Reason`	Apparatus lemma	The form printed in the edited text
`Judgment`	Alternative reading	A different textual form found at the same location
`B D`	Witness list	Witnesses B and D support the alternative reading
`om. E`	Textual operation and witness	Witness E omits the lemma

Why “apparatus”? The term refers to an organized scholarly system, not merely to the physical presence of notes below the text. The apparatus brings together the evidence required to understand how an edited text has been established.

Why “critical apparatus” rather than “footnotes”?

A footnote and a critical apparatus are not defined in the same way.

A footnote is primarily a typographical and navigational mechanism. A marker in the main text directs the reader to information placed at the bottom of the page. The contents may concern almost anything:

explanation;
historical context;
interpretation;
bibliography;
translation;
textual variation;
personal or editorial commentary.

A critical apparatus is defined principally by its scholarly function. It records textual evidence and editorial decisions concerning the establishment of the text.

Its entries usually contain a recognizable combination of elements such as:

lemma
reading
witnesses
editorial operation
responsibility

The distinction can be summarized as follows:

Term	Defined principally by	Typical contents
Footnote	Placement and reference mechanism	Explanation, commentary, citation, or any other note
Critical apparatus	Editorial function and internal structure	Lemmas, readings, witnesses, omissions, additions, and conjectures

A critical apparatus may indeed be printed at the bottom of a page. It may therefore use a mechanism similar to footnotes. But it may also appear:

beneath numbered lines;
in the margin;
at the end of a section or volume;
in a separate apparatus block;
in several independent layers;
as a report generated from structured editorial data.

Its physical location does not determine its scholarly identity.

Essential distinction. A footnote answers the question “where and how is this note displayed?” A critical apparatus answers the question “what textual evidence or editorial decision does this entry record?”

Critical apparatus and ConTeXt note series

ConTeXt does not contain a single predefined command representing every form of critical apparatus. Instead, its note and notation mechanisms can be configured to implement one.

In the guides, a named ConTeXt note series may provide:

an insertion command;
a marker system;
page-level or other placement;
entry typography;
numbering and spacing.

The note series is therefore the technical mechanism. The critical apparatus is the editorial structure expressed through that mechanism.

This distinction becomes especially important when an edition uses several layers:

Editorial layer	Possible ConTeXt implementation
Textual apparatus	One named note series
Source apparatus	A second named note series
Translation notes	A third named note series
Lexical or bibliographical annotations	Additional note, line-note, or structured-data mechanisms

Editorial concept and technical mechanism. An apparatus layer names a class of scholarly information. A note series is one ConTeXt mechanism that can be used to display that information.

Languages and terminological traditions

The principal expressions used in this glossary include:

English	French	German	General meaning
critical apparatus	apparat critique	kritischer Apparat	Organized record of textual evidence and editorial decisions
reading	leçon	Lesart	Textual form attested or considered at a given location
witness	témoin	Textzeuge or Zeuge	Source preserving or reporting a form of the text
textual criticism	critique textuelle	Textkritik	Study and evaluation of textual transmission and variation
critical edition	édition critique	kritische Ausgabe	Edition presenting an established text and the evidence for it

These equivalents are useful orientations, but they are not always exact in every scholarly tradition. Individual editorial schools may use narrower or broader definitions.

For example, English reading, French leçon, Latin lectio, and German Lesart are related technical terms. They designate a textual form, not the act of reading or a general interpretation of a passage.

Terminological caution. Equivalent terms in English, French, German, and Latin may have acquired different nuances in particular editorial traditions. The definitions in this glossary describe the usage adopted in the guide collection.

How to use this glossary

Terms are arranged alphabetically.

Each entry may contain:

a concise definition;
a distinction from related terms;
a short example;
a cross-reference;
a note concerning its use in the ConTeXt guides.

The glossary distinguishes three kinds of vocabulary:

Kind of term	Examples
Textual criticism	reading, witness, conjecture, collation
Scholarly edition structure	apparatus layer, parallel text, location reference
ConTeXt or data implementation	note series, minimal working example, structured editorial data

The definitions describe the terminology used throughout this collection. They do not attempt to impose one notation system, one philological school, or one universal model of scholarly editing.

1 What is a critical apparatus?
- 1.1 Why “critical apparatus” rather than “footnotes”?
- 1.2 Critical apparatus and ConTeXt note series
2 Languages and terminological traditions
3 How to use this glossary
4 1. A
5 2. B
6 3. C
7 4. E
8 5. F
9 6. K
10 7. L
11 8. M
12 9. N
13 10. O
14 11. P
15 12. R
16 13. S
17 14. T
18 15. V
19 16. W
20 17. How the terms are used across the guides
21 18. Principal distinctions
22 19. Terminology and editorial conventions
23 20. Guide sequence
24 Related pages

Vocabulary index

Adopted reading — Addition — Annotation layer — Apparat critique — Apparatus — Apparatus entry — Apparatus layer — Apparatus lemma — Apparatus marker — Attested reading — Base text — Collation — Conjecture — Controlled vocabulary — Critical apparatus — Critical edition — Critical record — Edited text — Editorial data — Editorial intervention — Editorial line — Editorial operation — Editorial principles — Editorial record — Editorial report — Endnote — Explanatory note — Footnote — Kritischer Apparat — Leçon — Lectio — Lemma — Lemma level — Lesart — Lexical lemma — Lexical record — Line note — Location reference — Marginal note — Minimal working example — Normalization — Note — Note series — Notation — Omission — Operation — Parallel text — Parallel unit — Physical line — Proof mode — Reading — Reading group — Registration — Registry — Rendering — Renderer — Responsibility — Scholarly edition — Scholarly judgement — Siglum — Source note — Stable identifier — Structured editorial data — Supplied text — Synchronization unit — Target — Testing — Textual evidence — Textual operation — Textual unit — Textual variant — Transposition — Validation — Variant — Variant reading — Witness — Witness declaration — Witness group — Witness identifier — Witness list

1. A

Adopted reading: The reading selected by the editor and printed in the edited text.; It may be supported by one or more witnesses or result from an editorial intervention. The adopted reading is not necessarily identical with the reading of a single base witness.; See also edited text , reading , apparatus lemma , and conjecture .

Addition: Text present in one or more witnesses but absent from the reading adopted by the editor.; The term may also describe material inserted by a scribe, author, corrector, translator, or later editor. The identity of the agent should be stated when it is known and editorially relevant.; In a compact apparatus, an addition may be introduced by an abbreviation such as add. .; See also omission , supplied text , and textual operation .

Annotation layer: A distinct class of annotations associated with a text, such as textual variants, translation notes, lexical analysis, sources, or bibliography.; An annotation layer is an editorial concept. In ConTeXt, it may be implemented by a separate note series, line-note series, or another structured mechanism.; Annotation layer is the broader term; an apparatus layer normally refers to annotations organized as part of an apparatus.; See also apparatus layer and note series .

Apparat critique: The French term corresponding to English critical apparatus and German kritischer Apparat .; It designates the organized record of textual evidence, variants, witness support, conjectures, and editorial decisions accompanying an edited text.; See critical apparatus .

Apparatus: An organized body of scholarly information assembled to document an edited text, its transmission, or its editorial establishment.; English apparatus corresponds to French apparat and German Apparat . In these guides, the unqualified word normally refers to a critical apparatus .; The term describes an editorial system rather than merely the physical placement of notes.

Apparatus entry: One individual record presented in a critical apparatus.; A typical entry identifies an apparatus lemma and associates it with a reading, witness list, textual operation, source, or editorial responsibility.; For example:

Reason] Judgment B D; om. E

See also apparatus lemma , reading , and critical record .

Apparatus layer: One editorially distinct apparatus used alongside other apparatuses or annotation systems in the same edition.; Separate layers may record textual variants, sources, translation decisions, lexical observations, or bibliographical references.; In ConTeXt, one apparatus layer may be implemented as one independently configured note series.; The layer is the editorial category; the note series is the technical mechanism.; See also annotation layer and note series .

Apparatus lemma: The word, phrase, punctuation mark, line, or passage in the edited text to which an apparatus entry refers.; It normally reproduces enough of the adopted text to identify the location and scope of the entry.; An apparatus lemma must not be confused with a lexical lemma , which is the dictionary form of a word.; See also lemma , lexical lemma , reading , and target .

Apparatus marker: A visible number, letter, symbol, or other reference connecting a passage in the edited text with an apparatus entry.; A critical apparatus does not always require a superscript marker. In a line-based apparatus, the numbered line itself may provide the visible reference.; In the ConTeXt examples, markers may be generated by note series or notation mechanisms.; See also location reference and note series .

Attested reading: A reading preserved or explicitly reported by at least one witness.; An attested reading differs from a conjecture, which is introduced by an editor without direct support from the surviving witnesses.; See also reading , variant reading , and conjecture .

2. B

Base text: The text used as the initial point of reference for an edition, collation, or comparison.; It may derive from one witness, a previous edition, or a provisional editorial reconstruction.; A base text is a working foundation and is not necessarily accepted without alteration.; See also edited text , adopted reading , and witness .

3. C

Collation: The systematic comparison of witnesses in order to identify agreements, differences, omissions, additions, transpositions, and other forms of textual variation.; Collation produces much of the evidence later represented in a critical apparatus.; It may be performed manually, digitally, or through a combination of both methods.; See also textual evidence , textual variant , and witness .

Conjecture: A reading proposed by an editor when the surviving witnesses do not preserve a satisfactory text.; A conjecture is an editorial intervention rather than an attested witness reading. A responsible editor or scholar should normally be identified when the attribution matters.; In a compact apparatus, it may be introduced by an abbreviation such as conj. .; See also attested reading , editorial intervention , and responsibility .

Controlled vocabulary: A declared set of permitted values used for a particular field, category, or classification.; Examples include the permitted apparatus layers, editorial operations, languages, note types, and lemma levels in a structured project.; Controlled vocabularies prevent accidental spelling variants from creating separate categories that appear equivalent to the editor.; See also validation , editorial operation , and structured editorial data .

Critical apparatus: An organized system for recording textual variation, witness evidence, and editorial decisions involved in establishing an edited text.; It normally relates an apparatus lemma to one or more readings, omissions, additions, transpositions, conjectures, witnesses, or responsible editors.; A critical apparatus may be printed at the bottom of a page, beneath numbered lines, in the margin, at the end of a volume, or generated from structured data. Its scholarly function, rather than its physical position, defines it.; English critical apparatus corresponds to French apparat critique and German kritischer Apparat .; See also apparatus , apparatus entry , and footnote .

Critical edition: An edition that presents an edited text together with evidence concerning its transmission and an account of significant editorial decisions.; A critical edition does not merely reproduce one witness. It evaluates available evidence according to explicitly stated editorial principles.; Its apparatus may be selective or extensive according to the work, the documentary tradition, the intended readership, and the editorial method.; See also edited text , critical apparatus , scholarly edition , and witness .

Critical record: A structured record describing evidence or an editorial decision directly related to the establishment of the text.; Typical fields include a stable identifier, textual unit, position, layer, operation, apparatus lemma, reading, witnesses, and responsibility.; A critical record is one kind of editorial record . Translation, lexical, source, and bibliographical records may belong to the broader editorial category without being critical records in the strict sense.; See also editorial record and structured editorial data .

4. E

Edited text: The text presented by the editor as the principal text of the edition.; Its readings may be taken from one or more witnesses, normalized according to stated principles, or established through editorial judgement.; The edited text should not be confused with the base text , which is only the initial point of reference used during preparation.; See also adopted reading , base text , critical edition , and witness .

Editorial data: Information used to prepare, control, and publish an edition.; It may include lemmas, readings, witness identifiers, textual operations, source references, lexical analyses, translation decisions, and validation information.; Editorial data may be entered directly through ConTeXt commands or stored as structured records.; See also editorial record and structured editorial data .

Editorial intervention: A change, addition, reconstruction, normalization, or decision introduced by an editor rather than transmitted directly by a witness.; Conjectures, supplied text, some punctuation changes, and some normalizations are editorial interventions.; The intervention should be identified or documented when it affects the reader’s understanding of the constituted text.; See also conjecture , normalization , responsibility , and supplied text .

Editorial operation: A classified action or relation recorded by an editor, such as reading, omission, addition, transposition, conjecture, normalization, or source identification.; In structured data, an editorial operation may be stored in a field such as kind .; The operation describes what kind of record is being made; it does not by itself contain the reading, witnesses, or final punctuation.; See also textual operation , critical record , and structured editorial data .

Editorial record: A structured record containing one identifiable item of editorial information.; An editorial record may concern textual criticism, translation, lexical analysis, bibliography, sources, or another scholarly layer.; A critical record is a narrower kind of editorial record concerned directly with the establishment of the edited text.; See also critical record , editorial data , and structured editorial data .

Editorial line: A line defined by the editor as a stable textual and reference unit.; Its identity and number belong to the source structure and remain stable even when changes in font, type size, column width, or page layout alter the physical line breaks.; One editorial line may occupy more than one physical line after typesetting.; See also physical line , line note , location reference , and textual unit .

Editorial principles: The stated rules and methods according to which an edition selects, normalizes, corrects, annotates, and presents its text and evidence.; They should explain the treatment of witnesses, spelling, punctuation, conjectures, supplied text, apparatus selection, and other significant editorial decisions.; See also critical edition , normalization , and editorial intervention .

Editorial report: An output designed primarily for editorial inspection rather than for final publication.; It may list records by witness, layer, operation, language, lemma level, validation status, or another selection criterion.; An editorial report may be generated from the same structured data used to produce the reader-facing apparatus.; See also renderer , validation , proof mode , and structured editorial data .

Endnote: A note collected at the end of a section, chapter, part, volume, or complete document rather than at the bottom of the page.; The term describes placement, not scholarly function. An endnote may be explanatory, bibliographical, critical, translational, or editorial.; See also note , footnote , marginal note , and line note .

Explanatory note: A note that discusses meaning, context, interpretation, historical background, translation, or another matter not primarily concerned with textual variation.; An explanatory note may appear at the bottom of the page, in the margin, or elsewhere.; It should not be confused with a critical apparatus entry, even when both use similar note-placement mechanisms.; See also footnote , critical apparatus , and source note .

5. F

Footnote: A note placed at the bottom of a page and connected to the main text by a marker or another reference mechanism.; The term describes chiefly a typographical position and navigation method, not a particular scholarly function.; A footnote may contain explanation, interpretation, bibliography, translation, or textual criticism.; A critical apparatus may be implemented with footnote-like mechanisms, but it is defined by its editorial function and internal structure rather than by its position.; See also note , marginal note , endnote , explanatory note , critical apparatus , and note series .

6. K

Kritischer Apparat: The German term corresponding to English critical apparatus and French apparat critique .; It designates the organized scholarly record of textual variants, witness evidence, conjectures, and editorial decisions accompanying an edited text.; The shorter form Apparat may be used when the critical context is already clear.; See critical apparatus .

7. L

Terminological note. In textual criticism, English reading, French leçon, Latin lectio, and German Lesart designate a textual form attested or considered at a particular location. They do not refer to the act of reading or to a general interpretation of the text.

Leçon: The French technical term corresponding to English reading , Latin lectio , and German Lesart .; It designates a textual form attested by a witness, adopted by an editor, conjectured, or compared with another form at the same textual location.; See also reading , lectio , Lesart , and variant reading .

Lectio: The traditional Latin term corresponding to English reading , French leçon , and German Lesart .; In textual criticism, it designates a textual form transmitted, reconstructed, or compared at a particular location.; It should not be confused with a general interpretation of a text.; See also reading and leçon .

Lemma: A term whose meaning depends on context.; In a critical apparatus, it normally means the passage in the edited text to which an entry refers: the apparatus lemma .; In lexical or morphological analysis, it means the dictionary form of a word: the lexical lemma .; The two meanings should be distinguished explicitly in structured data and technical documentation.; See also apparatus lemma and lexical lemma .

Lemma level: A classification describing the extent of the text targeted by an editorial record.; Typical controlled values include word , phrase , and passage .; The lemma level is useful in structured editorial data because it allows records to be filtered according to the scale of the annotated unit.; See also apparatus lemma , target , and textual unit .

Lesart: The German technical term corresponding to English reading , French leçon , and Latin lectio .; It designates a particular textual form attested, adopted, or considered at a given location.; See also reading , leçon , and lectio .

Lexical lemma: The dictionary or citation form under which an inflected word is analysed.; For example, Greek λεγόμενα may have λέγω as its lexical lemma.; A lexical lemma belongs to linguistic or morphological analysis and should not be confused with the apparatus lemma identifying the passage cited in a critical apparatus.; See also lemma , apparatus lemma , and lexical record .

Lexical record: An editorial record containing lexical, grammatical, or morphological information about a word or phrase.; Typical fields may include the form in the text, lexical lemma, part of speech, morphology, language, and target identifier.; A lexical record is an editorial record but not normally a critical record unless it directly contributes to the establishment of the text.; See also editorial record , lexical lemma , and structured editorial data .

Line note: A note associated with a numbered editorial or typographical line rather than primarily with a superscript marker beside one word.; The line number normally supplies the visible reference connecting the text and the note.; Line notes are commonly used in editions of poetry, drama, ancient texts, and other lineated works.; In ConTeXt, a line-note series is technically distinct from an ordinary note series and should be tested with the actual line-numbering and page-layout mechanism.; See also editorial line , physical line , apparatus marker , note , and note series .

Location reference: A reference identifying the position of a passage, record, or apparatus entry within an edited work.; It may use page, line, paragraph, chapter, section, verse, column, folio, or another editorial system.; A stable location reference should remain usable even when pagination or physical line breaks change.; See also apparatus marker , textual unit , and target .

8. M

Marginal note: A note placed in the outer or inner margin of a page rather than at the bottom of the page.; A marginal note may contain a short reference, explanation, source indication, textual comment, or navigation aid.; The term describes the position of the note, not its scholarly function. A marginal note may therefore be explanatory, bibliographical, critical, or editorial.; See also note , footnote , endnote , and line note .

ConTeXt practice. A minimal working example should preserve the conditions required to demonstrate a mechanism or reproduce a problem while removing unrelated text, settings, and commands.

Minimal working example (MWE): A complete and self-contained document that demonstrates one mechanism, reproduces a problem, or shows an intended result with as little unrelated material as possible.; A useful MWE should normally compile as supplied. When the problem is itself a compilation failure, it should contain enough information to reproduce that failure.; The guides use MWEs so that each mechanism can be tested, understood, and adapted independently.; See also validation and testing .

9. N

Normalization: The regularization of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation, word division, or another textual feature according to stated editorial principles.; A normalized form may differ from the form preserved in a witness without being intended as a conjectural correction.; The scope and limits of normalization should be explained in the editorial introduction.; See also edited text , editorial intervention , and witness .

Note: A unit of supplementary information associated with a passage, word, line, page, section, or document.; A note may explain, cite, translate, comment, identify a source, record textual evidence, or perform another editorial function.; The general term note does not specify either scholarly purpose or physical placement.; According to its position or reference mechanism, a note may be a footnote , marginal note , endnote , or line note .; According to its content, it may be explanatory, bibliographical, textual, lexical, translational, or documentary.; A note should not automatically be identified with a critical apparatus entry: the latter has a more specific editorial function and internal structure.; See also footnote , marginal note , endnote , line note , explanatory note , source note , and critical apparatus .

Note series: A named and independently configurable sequence of notes in ConTeXt.; A note series can have its own insertion command, marker or numbering system, typography, placement, spacing, and continuation behaviour.; Several note series may coexist in one document to implement distinct annotation or apparatus layers.; An ordinary note series should be distinguished from a line-note series , whose entries are associated with numbered lines and may use the line number as their visible reference.; The note series is a technical mechanism; the apparatus or annotation layer is the editorial category it represents.; See also annotation layer , apparatus layer , line note , and notation .

Notation: In the ConTeXt guides, the configurable presentation associated with a note or annotation series, including marker conversion, entry style, number style, spacing, and related settings.; The term should not be confused with editorial notation in the broader philological sense, where it may refer to conventional symbols and abbreviations used in an apparatus.; See also apparatus marker , note series , and siglum .

10. O

Omission: The absence from one or more witnesses of text found in the edited text or in other witnesses.; An omission may concern a letter, word, phrase, line, or larger passage.; In a compact apparatus, it is often represented by an abbreviation such as om. .; The statement that one witness omits a passage does not by itself explain why the omission occurred.; See also addition , textual operation , and variant reading .

Operation: A general term for an action or relation classified in the editorial data.; In the guides, it normally refers to an editorial operation or, more specifically, a textual operation .; See editorial operation and textual operation .

11. P

Parallel text: Two or more related texts presented in a coordinated layout.; Typical examples include an original text beside its translation, two versions of a work, or corresponding Greek and Latin texts.; A visually parallel layout does not by itself guarantee editorial correspondence. The source should identify the units that are intended to remain aligned.; See also parallel unit , textual unit , and synchronization unit .

Parallel unit: One editorially defined unit that links corresponding passages in two or more parallel texts.; The unit may be a paragraph, sentence, segment, verse, or numbered line.; A parallel unit should remain identifiable independently of page number and physical line breaks.; See also parallel text , stable identifier , and textual unit .

Physical line: A line produced by the current typographical layout.; Its position and extent may change when the font, type size, column width, or page design changes.; A physical line should not be confused with a stable editorial line defined in the source.; See also editorial line , line note , and location reference .

Proof mode: An output configuration intended for editorial verification rather than final publication.; A proof mode may display stable identifiers, synchronization labels, layer names, validation reports, diagnostic messages, or a stacked parallel-text layout.; In ConTeXt, modes can switch between proof, reader, witness, validation, or other project-specific outputs without changing the underlying editorial records.; See also validation , editorial report , testing , and rendering .

12. R

Terminological note. English reading, French leçon, Latin lectio, and German Lesart designate a textual form attested, adopted, or considered at a particular location. They do not refer here to the act of reading or to a general interpretation.

Reading: A particular textual form preserved by a witness, adopted by an editor, or proposed as a conjecture.; A reading may consist of a letter, spelling, punctuation mark, word, phrase, word order, line, or larger passage.; In French textual criticism, it is normally called a leçon ; the corresponding traditional Latin term is lectio , and the German term is Lesart .; See also adopted reading , attested reading , variant reading , and conjecture .

Reading group: A set of witnesses that share the same reading at a particular textual location.; Grouping witnesses by reading makes an apparatus more compact and may reveal patterns of textual agreement.; A reading group is local to a particular variation unless the project explicitly defines a more permanent witness group.; See also witness group , reading , and witness list .

Registration: The process of adding an editorial record to a structured collection or registry.; Registration stores the record and its fields but does not necessarily produce visible output.; In the Lua guide, \registercriticalentry registers a record, while separate placement commands select and render it.; See also registry , rendering , critical record , and structured editorial data .

Registry: A structured collection of editorial records maintained during the processing of an edition.; A registry may be used to sort, filter, validate, and generate several views from the same data.; In the Lua examples, the registry is stored in a project namespace such as userdata.critical .; See also registration , critical record , and structured editorial data .

Rendering: The process of converting editorial data into visible textual or typographical output.; Rendering may add punctuation, abbreviations, witness sigla, marker styles, headings, or explanatory wording that are not stored directly in the record.; Registration and rendering should remain conceptually separate: one stores the facts, while the other determines how they are presented.; See also registration , renderer , and structured editorial data .

Renderer: A function, command, or set of rules that transforms structured records into a particular output.; Different renderers may produce a compact apparatus, a full-sentence report, a witness list, or a validation view from the same data.; See also rendering , critical record , and editorial report .

Responsibility: The attribution of an editorial intervention, conjecture, decision, transcription, translation, or other scholarly action to a named person or authority.; In structured data, responsibility may be stored separately from the content of the record.; It is particularly important when a conjecture or supplied reading is not transmitted by a witness.; See also conjecture , editorial intervention , and critical record .

13. S

Scholarly edition: An edition prepared according to explicit editorial principles and accompanied by information that allows readers to understand its sources, methods, and decisions.; A scholarly edition may include a critical apparatus, explanatory commentary, translations, introductions, documentary material, indexes, and bibliographical information.; Not every scholarly edition is necessarily a critical edition in the strict sense, but a critical edition is normally a form of scholarly edition.; See also critical edition , editorial principles , and critical apparatus .

Scholarly judgement: The expert evaluation by which an editor interprets evidence, chooses readings, proposes conjectures, assesses sources, or determines the significance of a variant.; It cannot be replaced by formal validation, sorting, filtering, or automated processing.; See also validation , adopted reading , conjecture , and editorial intervention .

Siglum: A short visible label used to identify a witness, editor, source, or group in an apparatus.; Common sigla include capital letters such as A , B , and C , but a project may use more complex forms when necessary.; A siglum is intended for display. It should be distinguished from the stable internal identifier used in structured data or ConTeXt commands.; See also witness identifier , witness declaration , and witness list .

Source note: A note identifying the source, parallel, quotation, allusion, or intellectual context of a passage.; A source note does not normally record textual variation. It may therefore belong to a separate annotation or apparatus layer.; Source notes may contain direct references, bibliographical keys, locators, or explanatory comments.; See also apparatus layer , bibliographical record , and explanatory note .

Stable identifier: An internal name intended to remain unchanged even when visible labels, pagination, numbering, or layout are revised.; Stable identifiers may be assigned to witnesses, records, textual units, parallel units, targets, or bibliographical entries.; They make it possible to preserve references across different outputs and stages of the project.; A stable identifier should normally be concise, unique, and independent of typographical presentation.; See also witness identifier , textual unit , target , and location reference .

Structured editorial data: Editorial information represented as separate, identifiable fields rather than as one preformatted string.; Typical fields include a record identifier, textual unit, target, position, layer, operation, apparatus lemma, reading, witnesses, responsibility, language, and bibliographical reference.; Structured data can be sorted, filtered, validated, and rendered in several forms.; For example, the formatted entry:

Reason] Judgment B D

may derive from separate fields for lemma, reading, and witnesses.

See also critical record , editorial record , registration , and rendering .

Supplied text: Text introduced by an editor to represent material believed to be missing, damaged, abbreviated, illegible, or otherwise absent from the surviving source.; Supplied text is an editorial intervention and should normally be marked according to the conventions of the edition.; It should not be confused with an addition transmitted by a witness.; See also addition , conjecture , editorial intervention , and omission .

Synchronization unit: A unit used to coordinate two or more related textual streams.; It may be a paragraph, sentence, segment, verse, line, or another editorial block.; In a parallel edition, the synchronization unit determines which original and translated passages should begin together or remain associated.; The term emphasizes the coordination function; parallel unit emphasizes the corresponding textual pair itself.; See also parallel unit , parallel text , and textual unit .

14. T

Target: The exact word, phrase, line, passage, or other textual range to which an editorial record applies.; The target is normally identified by a stable internal identifier.; It should be distinguished from the larger textual unit that contains it.; For example, one paragraph may be the textual unit, while one word inside that paragraph is the target of a lexical or critical record.; See also textual unit , apparatus lemma , lemma level , and stable identifier .

Testing: The systematic verification of code, data, and page design under representative conditions.; Testing may include compilation of MWEs, inspection of the PDF and log, page-boundary tests, empty views, long notes, missing layers, and invalid records.; Successful compilation alone does not prove that the editorial data or typographical result are correct.; See also minimal working example , validation , and proof mode .

Textual evidence: Information supplied by manuscripts, printed editions, corrections, translations, quotations, transcriptions, or other sources relevant to the establishment and history of a text.; Textual evidence may support an adopted reading, reveal a variant, or motivate an editorial intervention.; The evidence recorded in an apparatus is normally selective rather than an exhaustive reproduction of every feature of every witness.; See also witness , collation , reading , and critical apparatus .

Textual operation: A classified relationship or intervention affecting the wording, presence, absence, or order of text.; Common textual operations include reading, omission, addition, substitution, transposition, normalization, correction, and conjecture.; A textual operation is a specific kind of editorial operation concerned directly with the form or transmission of the text.; See also editorial operation , textual variant , and critical record .

Textual unit: A stable editorial division used to organize, identify, sort, or synchronize parts of a text.; A textual unit may correspond to a paragraph, sentence, verse, line group, section, or another meaningful division.; It is not necessarily identical with a physical page or line produced by typesetting.; In structured data, a textual unit may contain several separate targets and records.; See also target , parallel unit , stable identifier , and physical line .

Textual variant: A difference between two or more witnesses, versions, or editorial forms of a text.; Variants may affect wording, spelling, punctuation, order, division, or the presence or absence of material.; A textual variant is the phenomenon being recorded; a variant reading is one of the particular forms involved.; See also reading , variant reading , omission , and transposition .

Transposition: A difference in the order of letters, words, phrases, lines, or larger passages between witnesses or versions.; A transposition may be recorded as a textual operation when the same material occurs in a different position.; The apparatus should make clear both the displaced material and the witnesses associated with the alternative order.; See also textual operation and textual variant .

15. V

Validation: The process of checking editorial records against formal rules defined by the project.; Validation may detect unknown identifiers, missing fields, duplicate records, invalid controlled values, or inconsistent combinations of data.; It may produce information, warnings, errors, or fatal errors according to the project’s policy.; Validation checks formal consistency; it cannot determine whether a reading, conjecture, translation, or interpretation is philologically correct.; See also controlled vocabulary , testing , critical record , and scholarly judgement .

Variant: A general term for a textual difference or for one form involved in such a difference.; In precise usage, textual variant names the difference, while variant reading names one particular textual form.; See textual variant and variant reading .

Variant reading: A reading that differs from the adopted text or from another reading compared at the same textual location.; A variant reading may be supported by one or more witnesses or introduced conjecturally by an editor.; It should normally be associated with its witnesses or responsibility when these are known.; See also reading , adopted reading , attested reading , and textual variant .

16. W

Witness: A source that preserves, transmits, quotes, translates, describes, or otherwise reports a form of the text.; A witness may be a manuscript, printed edition, authorial document, correction layer, translation, quotation, transcription, or another historically relevant source.; Whether a particular source is treated as a witness depends on the aims and principles of the edition.; See also textual evidence , witness identifier , siglum , and collation .

Witness declaration: A reusable record associating a stable witness identifier with metadata such as a siglum, type, description, date, provenance, or group membership.; A declaration allows the same witness information to be reused consistently throughout the edition.; In ConTeXt, witness declarations may be implemented with variables or another structured mechanism.; See also witness , witness identifier , siglum , and witness group .

Witness group: A reusable set of witnesses associated by provenance, textual affiliation, editorial classification, or another stated criterion.; A witness group should be distinguished from a reading group, which is formed locally by witnesses sharing one reading at one location.; Group membership may be stable across the edition or may depend on the analytical model adopted by the editor.; See also reading group , witness list , and witness declaration .

Witness identifier: A stable internal name used to refer to a witness in editorial data, ConTeXt commands, or Lua records.; An identifier may resemble the visible siglum, but keeping the two separate allows the siglum to change without rewriting the data.; For example:

identifier: ms-b
siglum:     B

See also stable identifier , siglum , and witness declaration .

Witness list: The set of witnesses associated with a reading, textual operation, or apparatus entry.; In printed output, the list normally appears as a sequence of sigla.; In structured data, it may instead be stored as stable identifiers and converted into sigla only during rendering.; See also siglum , witness identifier , reading group , and structured editorial data .

17. How the terms are used across the guides

The six guides introduce the vocabulary progressively. A term may first appear in a simple typographical example and later receive a more structured meaning.

Guide	Principal concepts introduced or developed
Guide 1	critical apparatus, apparatus entry, apparatus lemma, reading, omission, addition
Guide 2	apparatus marker, notation, note series, entry style, compact presentation
Guide 3	witness, witness identifier, siglum, witness declaration, witness list, witness group, textual operation
Guide 4	apparatus layer, annotation layer, source note, translation note, independent note series
Guide 5	parallel text, parallel unit, synchronization unit, editorial line, physical line, note, line note, target
Guide 6	critical record, editorial record, registry, registration, rendering, controlled vocabulary, validation

Progressive vocabulary. The same editorial object may be described at several levels. A variant may first be entered through a direct ConTeXt command, then represented as a structured record, validated in Lua, and finally rendered as an apparatus entry.

18. Principal distinctions

The following distinctions summarize the conceptual architecture used throughout the guide collection.

Do not confuse	With	Distinction
Note	Critical apparatus entry	A note is any supplementary unit; an apparatus entry specifically records textual evidence or an editorial decision
Footnote	Endnote or marginal note	These terms distinguish the physical placement of notes
Footnote	Critical apparatus	A footnote is chiefly a placement mechanism; a critical apparatus is an editorial system
Ordinary note series	Line-note series	The first normally uses note markers; the second associates entries with numbered lines
Apparatus layer	Note series	The layer is an editorial category; the note series is a ConTeXt mechanism
Apparatus lemma	Lexical lemma	The first identifies text cited in an apparatus; the second is a dictionary form
Reading	Textual operation	A reading is a textual form; an operation describes its relation to another form
Witness identifier	Siglum	The identifier is internal and stable; the siglum is the visible label
Textual unit	Target	The unit is a larger editorial division; the target is the exact annotated range
Editorial line	Physical line	The editorial line is stable in the source; the physical line depends on layout
Registration	Rendering	Registration stores a record; rendering produces visible output
Validation	Scholarly judgement	Validation checks formal consistency; scholarly judgement evaluates the evidence
Critical record	Editorial record	A critical record concerns establishment of the text; an editorial record may serve a broader function

Reading strategy. When two terms appear close in meaning, first ask whether they belong to the scholarly model, the source structure, the data model, or the typographical implementation.

19. Terminology and editorial conventions

No critical apparatus notation is universal.

Different editions may use different:

abbreviations;
sigla;
punctuation;
lemma separators;
witness-group conventions;
symbols for omissions, additions, conjectures, and uncertain readings;
orders of presentation;
rules for selecting significant variants.

The conventions adopted by an edition should therefore be explained in its editorial introduction.