Handbook for translators of Spanish historical ... - University Library

CHAPTER Y
IRAN SCR I PTI 0)1
Occasionally the difficulties encountered in reading a
document necessitate its transcription before an attempt
can "be made to translate it. Moreover, in order to prolong
the life of fragile docioments or those that are in great
demand, it is often necessary to make transcriptions. Whatever
the purpose of the transcription may "be, any copy of
a document should "be so faithful and reliable that the
reader will not "be compelled to refer to the original in
order to verify its content. Consequently, the transcri"ber
should bear in mind the fact that transcription of a document
does not imply the right to edit it.^
It must be borne in mind that the forms employed in recording
Spanish historical documents were not an innovation
created by the author overnight or introduced on the spur
of the moment. They were the product of gradiial but constant
experimentation by writers throughout the centuries.
Because of the scarcity of suitable writing materials,
records had to be concise; since they served as the final
authority in legal matters, they had to be accurate; at the
same time, they had to be conveniently arranged for easy
reference. The results of such experience were gathered
and taught in a few places of learning to a limited number
of scribes, who went out to record the vast quantities of
doc^uments which are now resting in archives and awaiting
the searcher or translator of today. It is evident that
each form was employed by the scribe to answer a definite
purpose. If he used abbreviations, they quite frequently
occured at the end of a line where the space was too lim-
The discussion of the various pro'blems of transcription
and the rules set down at the end of this chapter are the
result of the study of certain rules for transcription
set forth in various typed and printed manuals. Special
attention was given to rules discussed in: (l) Copying
Manuscripts, (pamphlet) Minnesota Historical Society,
1935; H.G.T. Christopher, Paleography and Archives
Chapter III: "Transcription of Manuscripts," Grafton &
Co., London, 1938; and several sets of typed rules used
in the Archives Collections, The University of Texas.
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