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| It is clear that for creating a typology of this kind we need a fairly large number of sources from one and the same liturgical centre, a requirement that can only be satisfied by manuscripts from the late Middle Ages. One may raise the objection that even if we could define the characteristics of a tradition for the l4th or l5th century, we would have no right to extend our observations backwards in time or to regard them as characteristic of the whole local tradition. These reservations are, of course, quite understandable. Nevertheless I am convinced that we have to start our work with a period - be it late or early - where we can safely draw up the outlines of a tradition from more than one source. It is only then that we may begin our journey back into history and ask whether this typology can throw light on other centuries too. Maybe no early sources will be found to corroborate the first analyses, and the validity of the type can be demonstrated for a limited period only. In other cases the early sources differ from the later ones in matters of crucial importance. The individual features of some late sources lead us to believe that the early sources may also preserve some specific patterns; consequently, in such instances one is justified in raising the question which of the sources is to be considered right: the individual early source or the group of later ones. Sometimes we doubt that our interpretation of the provenance of the early source was correct: are we really dealing with early and late sources of the same tradition? At any rate, it is more honest to confess our ignorance than to call into question the reliability of the convergent late sources. |
| More often than not we shall find, however, that in spite of differences over some minor details the early source supports the evidence of the group of later sources in most essential matters. The differences may be due to various reasons, such as the type of book in question, local divergences within the same tradition and, of course, the passage of time which brought about additions, reorganizations and new redactions in the subsequent centuries. A thorough investigation often reveals that we have come upon pseudo-divergences only, and that we have been misled by the different types of redaction. |
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