Working with Manuscripts

A Guide for Textual Scholars

Liv Ingeborg Lied, Brent Nongbri

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Paperback

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English

Yale University Press
15 July 2025

Encyclopaedias & reference works; Antiques & collectables: books, manuscripts, ephemera & printed matter

A first-of-its-kind handbook outlining best practices and common pitfalls for students and textual scholars interested in beginning to work with manuscripts

While manuscripts are rare in most of the world today, they were once ubiquitous. Before the printing press, literature was preserved and transmitted through handwritten copies containing variant readings, mistakes, corrections, and other unique features. Those who study premodern texts, however, often use as their primary sources not these diverse artifacts but critical editions that present a single convenient hybrid text.

Brent Nongbri and Liv Ingeborg Lied argue that knowledge of manuscripts is important for all interpreters of ancient texts, even if learning how to study them can be confusing and intimidating. In this book they draw on their decades of experience with Jewish and Christian manuscripts to demystify manuscript work. Combining their interests in manuscripts as material artifacts with the ethical issues surrounding the study of manuscripts, Lied and Nongbri guide students through the main phases of research, from considerations of provenance and access to the practicalities of on-site research, analysis, and publication. The book includes aids for locating manuscripts, helpful case studies, tips for organizing data, a glossary, suggestions for further reading, and more.

Written in an engaging style with students in mind, this handbook provides an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to study a manuscript for the first time.

By: Liv Ingeborg Lied, Brent Nongbri
Imprint: Yale University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780300264425
ISBN 10: 0300264429
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 15 July 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Liv Ingeborg Lied is professor of the study of religion at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society. She is the author of Invisible Manuscripts: Textual Scholarship and the Survival of 2 Baruch. Brent Nongbri is professor of history of religions at the MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society. He is the author of God’s Library: The Archaeology of the Earliest Christian Manuscripts.

Reviews for Working with Manuscripts: A Guide for Textual Scholars

“In this must-read for any student of ancient texts, Lied and Nongbri make the intimidating world of manuscripts accessible to everyone. This is, truly, one of the most useful books to be produced in ancient studies in decades.”—Candida Moss, author of God’s Ghostwriters “An unprecedented, ‘gatebreaking’ resource for scholars at every career stage, and an especially useful guide for those just beginning, with detailed advice on aspects of the craft that would otherwise be learned on the job. The authors bring their vast expertise on ancient Mediterranean manuscript work to readers, as well as thoughtful consideration of thorny ethical and legal issues that shape any engagement with material objects and cultural heritage.”—Jacqueline Vayntrub, Yale University “This engaging book will be an indispensable guide for students who have never encountered an ancient manuscript and will still be a valuable reference for scholars who have been so lucky already. In fact, reading this book will make you eager to visit a library and study a manuscript up close.”—AnneMarie Luijendijk, author of Greetings in the Lord “Working with Manuscripts offers an accessible and up-to-date guide to manuscript research in all its complexities and possible pitfalls, from visiting libraries to contacting experts to deciphering obscurities and acknowledging gaps in provenance history. This unique, clear, and practical handbook belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in engaging with the material history of texts.”—Jennifer Knust, Duke University