Cantus Index and Cantus Database text entry: When to classify a text as a variant of another

A suffix (.1, .2, .3, etc.) can be applied to a Cantus ID within the Cantus Index catalogue in the case of a similar text of the same genre with a significant variant.

The policy for the networked chant databases using the Cantus Index as a cataloguing reference and searchable hub remains to record the chant texts as found within the individual sources—including word order, case endings, and tenses. Small differences might exist between the source reading and that of the Cantus Index catalogue record, but the Cantus ID will connect the records in individual manuscript and printed sources regardless of minor differences.

Decisions regarding what constitutes a significant variant are made first by researchers entering new chant texts; these entries are subject to review by senior editors and website managers in order to normalize records, and to maintain consistency and integrity among the data.

Following are some guidelines for indexers:

Use the unaltered, original Cantus ID for texts that:

  • differ only in case ending or verb tense;
  • differ in only a few words (1-3), where the meaning of the text is generally the same
    • Some exceptions may occur, such as those that may assist with the tracing of manuscript traditions (for example, those identified in footnotes by R-J Hesbert like 001743a in CAO sources CMVRD and 001743a.1 in CAO sources BEHFS, or the chants of the Carthusian liturgy);
  • end with the word “Alleluia” (or repetitions of it), or have additional instances of “Alleluia” in the middle.

Create a new record with a variant suffix to demonstrate a different but related text in the same genre when:

  • there is an entirely different phrase (4+ words) added either in the middle or at the end;
  • the text begins with a few different words but continues in a similar or identical manner with no or very little difference in meaning;
  • if the text begins with "Alleluia" but is otherwise identical (this policy is owing to the legacy numbering of this decades-old project and the alphabetization of chants from their starts in printed lists);
  • if the text preserves the usage of particular liturgical tradition or significant scribal habit, such as even a small variant in a usage from a monastic order, since this is more easily traced in the database with a distinct Cantus ID.

Create a new record with a new Cantus ID if the chant text is deemed new and different in numerous aspects from any existing in the Cantus Index.

Also, note that major and minor versions of similar chant texts receive the same base Cantus ID with variant endings (.1, .2, etc.) in order to keep the connection between these chant texts while allowing the system to differentiate them with unique Cantus IDs.
For example, the antiphons:
Haec est vera fraternitas quae numquam potuit violari certamine qui effuso sanguine secuti sunt dominum contemnentes aulam regiam pervenerunt ad regna caelestia (Cantus ID 003003)
and
Haec est vera fraternitas quae numquam potuit violari certamine qui effuso sanguine secuti sunt dominum (Cantus ID 003003.1)

When considering the addition of new records for variant texts:

  • The full-text search will find the chant even if a couple of the words are different.
  • Users searching for chants in the Cantus Index hub (i.e., across multiple, networked databases) will benefit from more results being returned. Having fewer Cantus IDs in the system (i.e., fewer unique Cantus IDs) will improve search results, so if the variant is minor and does not fall under any of the abovementioned categories of exceptions, identify it with an existing Cantus ID instead of creating a new record.
  • Study the application of footnoted variants by René-Jean Hesbert in Corpus Antiphonalium Officii. Note that identical texts that had different melodies in the sources he studied were assigned different CAO numbers; such a procedure will need to be decided upon in the future in the case of Cantus Index, where, at this point, identical texts are kept under the same number regardless of melody (since not all melodies have been recorded in full in all manuscript sources).
  • This is a growing, collaborative tool for chant research and manuscript discovery. Please contact us if you have questions, concerns, or corrections to submit.

Author: Debra Lacoste (last updated 23 July 2024)