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Advanced Search Instructions
- It is recommended that users carry out some basic searches first to familiarise themselves with the scope of the database before carrying out advanced searches.
- Search one or more fields by entering text into the free-text boxes and selecting either records which 'contain' that text or are an exact match ('is equal to').
- Searches are not case-sensitive.
Notes on Searching
Manuscripts can be searched either by Ref (the abbreviated form used in the Repertorium) OR by Manuscript Name. Not all Middle English sermons manuscripts are included - only those which contain quotations.
Sermon Occasion allows searching for quotations associated with sermons for a particular liturgical occasion. Where the occasion is specified and none can be determined, sermons are listed under Unidentified. An advanced search can be carried out for occasions which contain words such as Lent or Easter to identify quotations associated with a particular liturgical season.
The Quotation Text field allows searching by word(s) or a part of a word. The text entered is considered as single string so if more than one word is entered, they must be consecutive. It must be remembered that the texts are given as they appear in the manuscripts without any standardisation of spelling for either Latin or Middle English quotations. Better results may be achieved by omitting endings or trying variant spellings. Thorns can be entered in the search box using the relevant ASCI codes (ALT + 0254 for lower-case and ALT + 0222 for upper-case); lower-case yogh is rendered by the number 3 and upper-case by 3.
Author generally gives the author of the quotation as identified in the sermon. Occasionally a sermon author specifies that a quotation is taken from an intermediate source and this is given as 'Augustine [via Gratian]'. An advanced search for entries in the Author field that contain Augustine will return all these entries as well as simply Augustine. Many quotations remain anonymous but, where appropriate, a certain number of anonymous entries have been entered under the author headings Legal, Liturgical, and Proverbial. Quotations attributed to 'a grete clerk' or 'a grete doctor' have all been indexed under 'a great clerk/doctor'.
In many cases sermon authors identify the Cited Work from which a quotation is taken. Where possible, this has been given in a standard form; on some occasions this is an easily identifiable work like De civitate dei, on others it is the less easily identifiable Sermones. As the drop-down options in the basic Search show, some titles have not been standardised. An advanced search for entries containing 'sermones' will also return 'sermones de sanctis' and 'sermones in Cantica Canticorum' et cetera.
The Language of each quotation is recorded. The options available are Latin, English, or Both. In the search results for quotations recorded as both, often only the Latin has been recorded since it was decided that this would be easier to identify.