Corrections and functional signs

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Functional Marks

Historical documents often contain additional signs indicating textual organization or the status of certain passages. These signs MUST be transcribed as faithfully as possible. However, due to the extensive variety of such signs, certain standardization principles MUST be applied to ensure consistency and reproducibility.

Section marks

Medieval and Modern Documents

Section division symbols MUST be transcribed using the appropriate character.

• Pilcrows and similar symbols (reverse pilcrow, ornamental variants, etc.) MUST be transcribed as <¶> [U+00B6], regardless of orientation. In modern documents, other signs MUST be transcribed as as faithfully as possible. In most of the cases, the standardized sign <§> [U+00A7] SHOULD be used to indicate sections or paragraphs.

Reference Marks

Medieval Documents

• Insertion signs MUST be transcribed with the caret sign <‸> [U+2038].
• Reference marks (such as <> [U+002A] or <※> [U+203B]) MUST be normalized to <> [U+002A].
• Manicules MUST be transcribed as <☞> [U+261E].

If there is an interlinear addition, it MUST be considered a separate text line and transcribed accordingly using the SegmOnto vocabulary.

Modern and Contemporary Documents

Reference marks MUST be reproduced as they appear in the source. When in doubt, medieval norms SHOULD be applied.

Correction marks

For in-line corrections, the combination <⟦> [U+27E6] and <⟧>s [U+27E7] MUST be used to encapsulate a word marked as crossed out. If the word is not decipherable, as many dots as the number of missing letters MAY be added.

If the word is not decipherable (due to a stain, strokes, or any other reason), the combination <[> [U+005B] and <]> [U+005D] MUST be used empty, optionally adding as many dots as the presumed number of missing letters.

Unreadable text

If the text is unreadable due to damage to the support (and not because of a correction), the combination <[> [U+005B] and <]> [U+005D] MUST be used to encapsulate the unreadable portion, optionally adding as many dots as the number of missing letters.