Medieval MSS

• Is there any difference between medieval and modern in respect to msDesc?

• Can use MsDesc for modern manuscripts and non-manuscript materials, but it is often difficult.

Suggestion of text-bearing object instead of manuscript, or taking the msDesc elements up a level. Or grouping them with elements introduced to cope with other subsets of text-bearing objects.

• Incunabula suggested as an area where non-ms materials have very similar concerns to manuscripts.

Yet people are sometimes unwilling to use msDesc for this.

• 'author' not allowed inside 'p' or 'head', msItem to be used instead.

Not to be used in the way used in MASTER. Stops reduplication of information.

• When describing a manuscript it should be recommended practice to supply the units (currently optional) But don't use nautical miles.

• 'support' could possibly be a phrase-level element instead *of 'watermark', and 'watermark' only allowed as a child of it.

• example of encoding of 'stamp' inside 'rubric' is silly, not really a phrase-level thing. Maybe better to be in 'provenance' or 'bindingDesc' somewhere. 'stamp' should not appear where text is being transcribed but the guidelines claim just this.

• @scheme attribute on 'locus' pointing 'foliation' is a jolly good idea.