Appendix G: Glossary of Terms
Key religious, technical, and preservation terms used throughout this book
Note for Readers: Terms marked with an asterisk (*) indicate concepts central to major scholarly debates. Parenthetical references point to key scholars or projects for readers interested in deeper exploration.
Religious and Textual Terms
Ahruf — The seven variant forms of Qur'anic recitation mentioned in Islamic tradition, related to but distinct from the qira'at system (see Behnam Sadeghi's research on early Qur'anic transmission)
Apocrypha — Writings not included in the official canon of a religion but often valued or cited; in Christianity, refers to books like Tobit and Maccabees excluded from Protestant Bibles but included in Catholic and Orthodox traditions (see Annette Yoshiko Reed's work on early Jewish-Christian apocrypha)
Avesta — Sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, largely preserved through oral transmission after written copies were destroyed during Alexander's conquest of Persia
Beyt — Religious verses in Yazidi tradition, part of the oral literature that survived the 2014 genocide through memory and diaspora preservation efforts
Canon* — A fixed list of authoritative texts regarded as sacred within a religious tradition; the process of canonization often involved suppressing alternative texts (see Bart Ehrman's studies of early Christian canon formation)
Codex — A book format with pages bound together, as opposed to scroll format; became dominant for Christian scriptures by the 4th century CE
Colophon — A statement at the end of a manuscript providing information about its scribe, date, or place of copying; crucial for dating and authentication
Dharani — Sacred Buddhist formulas or mantras, often preserved on palm leaves or inscribed on monuments in South and Southeast Asia
Genizah — A storage space in a synagogue for worn-out sacred texts that cannot be destroyed due to containing God's name; the Cairo Genizah became an accidental archive of medieval Jewish life (see Marina Rustow's research)
Ge'ez — Classical Ethiopic language used in Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, preserving texts like the complete Book of Enoch lost elsewhere
Giti — Traditional Jain songs and stories transmitted orally alongside written scriptures; increasingly documented through community digitization efforts
Ginza Rba — "The Great Treasure," the central holy book of the Mandaeans, written in Mandaic and transmitted by hereditary priest-scribes (tarmida)
Grantha — Traditional palm-leaf manuscript format used for Sanskrit and vernacular texts in South India, threatened by humidity and climate change
Hadith — Recorded sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad, distinct from the Qur'an; transmitted through chains of narration (isnad) and central to Islamic law and tradition
Hafiz — One who has memorized the entire Qur'an, serving as a "living manuscript" when written copies are unavailable or destroyed
Hukamnama — Written orders or letters from Sikh Gurus, preserved in gurdwara archives and increasingly digitized by diaspora communities
Kangyur — Tibetan Buddhist canon containing translated words of the Buddha; preserved in exile after Chinese occupation of Tibet (see Tibetan Buddhist Digital Resource Center)
Ketuvim — "Writings," the third section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), including Psalms, Proverbs, and other books
Majuscule/Minuscule — Capital letter and lowercase letter scripts respectively; the transition from majuscule to minuscule in medieval manuscripts affects dating and readability
Masoretic Text — Authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible, standardized between 7th-10th centuries CE; variants exist in Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient sources
Mushaf — A physical copy of the Qur'an, typically written in Arabic script; early variants like the Ṣanʿāʾ palimpsest reveal textual history
Naskh — Islamic doctrine of abrogation, where later Qur'anic verses may supersede earlier ones; a traditional theological concept, not evidence of editorial revision
Oralist — A scholar or community member who specializes in preserving oral traditions; increasingly important as written traditions decline in some communities
Palimpsest* — A manuscript page from which text has been scraped or washed off for reuse; modern imaging reveals hidden layers, as in the Ṣanʿāʾ Qur'anic palimpsest (see multispectral imaging projects)
Piyyut — Hebrew liturgical poetry, often preserving ancient traditions and local customs; many collections survive only in genizah fragments
Qewl — Sacred hymns of the Yazidi tradition, transmitted orally by initiated religious leaders (qewal); genocide survivor communities are now documenting these in writing and audio
Qira'at* — Canonical variants in Qur'anic recitation, each with its own chain of transmission (isnad) and stylistic rules; seven or ten variants are widely accepted (see Devin Stewart's research)
Responsa — Questions and answers on Jewish law written by rabbinical authorities; thousands preserved in the Cairo Genizah reveal daily religious life
Ripuarian — Germanic languages used in some early Christian manuscripts; represents the multilingual nature of early European Christianity
Scriptio Continua — Ancient writing practice without spaces between words, common in early Greek and Latin manuscripts; requires expertise to read accurately
Septuagint — Ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (3rd-2nd centuries BCE), widely used in early Christianity and preserved in Byzantine manuscripts
Shastra — Hindu religious or philosophical treatises, often preserved on palm leaves in South and Southeast Asian temple libraries
Stichometry — Ancient system of counting lines in manuscripts for payment and verification; helps modern scholars identify textual completeness
Sutra — A scriptural discourse or aphoristic text, especially in Buddhism and Hinduism; many Indian originals preserved only in Chinese or Tibetan translations
Tanakh — The Hebrew Bible, comprising Torah (Law), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings); basis for Christian Old Testament but with different arrangement
Tarmida — Mandaean priest authorized to copy sacred texts; traditionally hereditary role now threatened by diaspora and small population
Tengyur — Tibetan Buddhist canon containing translated commentaries and treatises; complements the Kangyur scriptures
Tocharian — Extinct Indo-European language once used in Buddhist texts from Central Asia; manuscripts discovered in early 20th century revealed unknown Buddhist traditions
Uncial — Type of ancient script using only capital letters; common in early Christian and Byzantine manuscripts before minuscule script development
Veda — Ancient Sanskrit religious texts of Hinduism, traditionally transmitted orally with precise pronunciation rules; written preservation varies by region
Vinaya — Buddhist monastic code preserved in multiple versions across different Buddhist traditions; variations reveal early sectarian developments
Yoik — Traditional Sámi sacred songs, increasingly documented as Arctic indigenous communities work to preserve cultural heritage against climate and cultural pressures
Technical and Digital Preservation Terms
3-2-1 Rule — Best practice for digital backup: 3 copies of important data, on 2 different types of media, with 1 copy stored offsite
AI Transcription* — Use of artificial intelligence to convert handwritten or spoken content into machine-readable text; promises efficiency but raises concerns about accuracy and cultural sensitivity (see Transkribus project)
Bit Rot — Gradual decay of data stored digitally, leading to unreadable or corrupted files; a major threat to long-term digital preservation requiring active migration
Blockchain Archive — Experimental preservation method using distributed ledger technology to ensure data integrity and prevent tampering; early adopters include some Tibetan Buddhist archives
Cold Storage — Long-term digital preservation using media stored in controlled environments without regular access; includes facilities like the Arctic World Archive in Svalbard
Crowdsourced Annotation — Process by which volunteers help transcribe or categorize digitized manuscripts online; successful examples include Scribes of the Cairo Genizah and Zooniverse projects
Digital Dark Age — Predicted period when digital information becomes unreadable due to format obsolescence and technological change; motivates preservation planning
Digital Humanities* — Interdisciplinary field using computational methods to study cultural materials; increasingly important for manuscript analysis and preservation (see Caroline Schroeder's Coptic SCRIPTORIUM)
Digital Redundancy — Strategy of storing multiple copies of digital files across different systems and formats to prevent total loss
Digitization* — The process of converting physical texts, images, or sounds into digital formats; raises questions about access, ownership, and cultural sensitivity (see Michelle Caswell's work on community archives)
Distributed Storage — Preservation method that stores files across multiple servers or networks to avoid single points of failure; includes IPFS and peer-to-peer networks
Dublin Core — Standardized metadata format with 15 basic elements (title, creator, date, etc.); widely used for describing cultural heritage materials
Emulation — Preservation strategy that recreates old software environments to access obsolete file formats; alternative to format migration
Format Migration — Regular process of converting files to newer formats to maintain accessibility as technology changes; requires ongoing institutional commitment
Format Obsolescence — Risk that digital files become unreadable when software or hardware to access them becomes outdated; major challenge for long-term preservation
GIS (Geographic Information Systems) — Technology for mapping and analyzing spatial data; used for documenting sacred geographies and oral traditions tied to specific locations
IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework) — Technical standard allowing institutions to share high-resolution images and manuscripts across different platforms
Linked Data — Method of connecting related information across different databases; enables comprehensive research across manuscript collections
Metadata* — Descriptive information attached to digital files (author, language, date, cultural context); often more important than the files themselves for long-term preservation and discovery
Migration — Process of moving digital files from one format or system to another to maintain accessibility; ongoing requirement for digital preservation
Multispectral Imaging* — Technology using different wavelengths of light to reveal faded or erased writing invisible to the naked eye; revolutionizing manuscript studies (see Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Project)
OCR (Optical Character Recognition)* — Software that converts printed or scanned text into editable and searchable digital files; accuracy varies significantly with script type and manuscript condition
Open Access* — Freely available resources that can be accessed without restriction; movement toward making cultural heritage universally accessible while respecting community rights
Open Source — Software whose source code is freely available for modification and distribution; important for preservation tools that communities can control and modify
Paleography* — Study of ancient handwriting used to date and authenticate manuscripts; increasingly combined with computational analysis (see Tara Andrews' digital paleography work)
PDF/A — Archival version of PDF format designed for long-term preservation; preferred over regular PDF for important documents
Platform Dependency — Risk of losing access to materials stored on commercial platforms that may change policies or cease operations
Provenance — Documentation of an object's ownership history and authenticity; crucial for manuscripts with complex histories
Rosetta Project — Long Now Foundation effort to archive human languages using micro-etched disks designed to last thousands of years
Stemmatology — Study of relationships between different manuscript versions of the same text; increasingly aided by computational analysis
TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) — Standard for encoding digital texts with rich markup for scholarly analysis; widely used for manuscript transcription projects
UV/IR Imaging — Use of ultraviolet or infrared light to reveal hidden text layers, faded ink, or erased content; basic technique behind more advanced multispectral imaging
Virtual Unwrapping* — Digital technique to "open" fragile scrolls and read text without physical handling, using 3D scanning and computational algorithms; breakthrough technique for severely damaged materials (see En-Gedi Scroll project)
Watermarking — Digital or physical marks embedded in documents to indicate ownership, authenticity, or usage restrictions; important for protecting sacred materials from misuse
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) — Flexible format for encoding structured data; preferred for many digital humanities projects because of its long-term stability
Preservation Concepts and Strategies
Community Archive — Collections created and controlled by the communities that produce them, rather than external institutions; increasingly important model for cultural preservation
Cultural Heritage Emergency Response — Rapid preservation actions taken during conflicts or disasters; includes organizations like the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative
Digital Repatriation — Return of digitized cultural materials to originating communities; addresses colonial legacies in museum and archive collections
Intangible Heritage — Cultural practices, oral traditions, and knowledge systems protected by UNESCO; includes religious traditions that cannot be fully preserved through texts alone
Memory Institution — Libraries, archives, museums, and other organizations dedicated to preserving cultural memory; increasingly includes community-controlled institutions
Preservation Migration — Systematic process of moving collection materials to new formats or systems before old ones become obsolete
Surrogate — A copy (digital or physical) that substitutes for an original to reduce handling of fragile materials; raises questions about authenticity and experience
Historical and Archaeological Terms
Codicology — Study of manuscript books as physical objects, including materials, construction, and evidence of use; important for understanding preservation history
Diplomatic — Study of the authenticity and interpretation of historical documents; includes analysis of seals, signatures, and writing materials
Epigraphy — Study of inscriptions carved or written on stone, metal, or other durable materials; often preserves texts that survive nowhere else
Papyrology — Study of ancient texts written on papyrus; major source for early Christian and other ancient religious materials
Philology — Study of language in written historical sources; includes textual criticism and manuscript comparison to establish accurate texts
Cross-References for Major Debates
Canon Formation — See Bart Ehrman, Karen King, Annette Yoshiko Reed for early Christianity; Emanuel Tov for Hebrew Bible; Behnam Sadeghi for Qur'anic studies
Community Control vs. Access — See Michelle Caswell, Tara Andrews, Caroline Schroeder for digital humanities approaches to community rights
Digital Preservation Standards — See IIIF, Transkribus, Dublin Core for technical frameworks; Digital Preservation Coalition for best practices
Oral vs. Written Transmission — See Jan Nattier for Buddhism, Michael Sells for Islam, various scholars in Appendix F for tradition-specific studies
Textual Criticism and Authenticity — See Emanuel Tov for Jewish texts, Bart Ehrman for Christian texts, Behnam Sadeghi for Islamic texts
Note on Usage: This glossary prioritizes terms actually used in the book while acknowledging that many religious and technical vocabularies are much more extensive. Readers interested in specialized terminology for specific traditions should consult the scholars and projects listed in Appendix F for tradition-specific resources and more detailed glossaries.