Welcome new user

Welcome to the Clavis Wiki!

If you are a nre registered user and uncertain how to contribute, here are some suggestions.

Improve the description of your favourite collection (or any other)

• Do you have a favourite canon law collection? Find it here and start improving the text.
  • Choose "edit" (upper right hand corner of any entry) and start writing. Don't forget to save your changes.
    • If you want to add secondary literature, please choose "edit source" rather than "edit" and use this bibliography (simply copy&paste the suggested citation in brackets and ignore it looks ugly; "{{Author|Ann Other}}, Publication" will become "Ann Other, Publication". If the title you want to add is not found here, please provide full bibliographical detail (but don't worry too much about the style).
    • Categories can be used to mark all copies of a given collection.
      • There are categories for the date and place of origin, and other information. See the Categories page. There are two ways to place a page into a category:
        • Either choose "edit" on the page you want to improve, and click on the list icon (between the question mark and the pen), and pick the "category" option, which will lead you to a menu from which you can pick and choose categories.
        • Or use copy&paste to add the category, for example [[Category:Collection saec XI]] for any eleventh-century collection from the category page or any other article; on the page you want to edit, choose "edit source" and type "[[Category:..." or copy&and paste the relevant tag from the Categories pages (or the description of another page).
    • Manuscripts of individual collections have their own categories (see below); you can link to this category by inserting [[Category:Manuscript of XY]] (where 'XY' is the Clavis key for the relevant collection). For example, in the article on the Anselmo dedicata (key: DE), [[Category:Manuscript of DE]] becomes Category:Manuscript of DE.
    • Adding links is generally useful. For example, articles on collections should include links to important manuscripts. Use the search bar or the relevant Category:Manuscript to see which manuscripts already have an article. To link to this article, simple mark a relevant passage in the description of the collection (preferably the signature) and insert an internal link. If you need help, go to this Help page. Along the same lines, articles on collections profit from links to articles on other collections. Again, you can use the search bar or the relevant Category:Collection to find existing articles, especially if you are uncertain under which name a given collection may be found. The Description of the collections page is also helpful.
    • Of course, external links are also often useful.
• Feel free to have a look at articles that already have been improved, for example that on the Collectio Anselmo dedicata. In general - if you see something you want to imitate, it is always best to choose "edit source", simply to see how the relevant code looks like. Do not be afraid - if you deal with medieval canon law, you are used to way more complex texts. Just have look, really.
• Above all: improve the content! Don't be too shy. Linda wanted Clavis to go on. If you are uncertain - leave a note on the discussion page (every page has a discussion page) but never be afraid. All changes can be undone, and Linda's original version can always be restored by any user who wishes so.
• Many articles already contain links to digital resources including digitized books. Specifically, if you see blue page numbers, they should lead you to the relevant pages (best to open in a new window or tab). For Linda's handbook and Kéry's book on the manuscripts, such links should exist in almost all articles; for more links to digitized secondary literature and editions, have a look at the Bibliography.

Improve the description of a manuscript

• Do you have a favourite manuscript? Find it in the List of manuscripts or the Category:Manuscript.
  • Blue entries already exist - just click on any and start improving articles.
  • Red entries have no page yet. Click on the red link nonetheless, this will create a new page once you enter something and don't forget to click "Save page".
  • If you cannot find the manuscript in any list, nor by using the search bar, you can of course create a page nonetheless. The best way to do so is first to mention the manuscript in a relevant article (e.g. that of the collection of which it is a copy); if possible, follow the "house style" of "place name (in local language), archive/library name, shelf mark". Do not worry to much about this, however; go ahead in any case. In a second step, add a link to the article to the whole phrase (place, lilbrary, shelf mark). Once you save your change, you will have created a red link which you can click to create the page for the manuscript description. The sequence does not really matter, but this way you make sure the new page is linked to from the list of MSS. (If you are uncertain how to designate a specific manuscript, have a look at an existing article on a manuscript from the same library; but do not worry too much - just write what you have to write!)
  • If you are uncertain what information should go into an article and what the article should look like, read some existing articles to get an idea. This short article is already helpful: Admont, Stiftsbibliothek, 43. Here's an example of a rather long article: Berlin, SBPK, Phill. 1743.

• Simply start writing/improving the article! What has been said above about collections holds for manuscripts, too. Many articles on manuscripts can be improved with the help of standard literature (see the Bibliography for links to digitized books) and online resources, e.g. websites of the holding institution.
  • All information is welcome, esp. dates, provenance, and links to digital images.
  • Categories are also very useful. See above on how they work, and the Categories page for more details.
  • For manuscript pages, it is particularly useful if you use categories to indicate which collections they contain. To do so, use the Edit source-mode and insert [[Category:Manuscript of XY]] where 'XY' is the Clavis key for the collection in question. See here for the list of keys.

Improve articles with known issues

• Descriptions with known issues are found in Category:Article with known issues. The subcategories contain hints how to improve the relevant pages.
  • Some issues can be resolved simply be reading the article and adding the appropriate categories. This is often the case with missing categories for date and place of origin; even basic information like "saec. XII" is very useful. Simply choose "edit source" and copy&paste from the Categories page.
  • Sometimes, the relevant information is not found in the article, so one has to do some research, improve the article, and then add the missing category. Some articles are stubs: they only contain very little information at all, so whatever you can add is particularly welcome.
  • You can improve descriptions of individual collections and manuscripts by standardising the page titles. This requires some experience with Wiki functions, but if you are familiar with the MOVE function, the REDIRECT, and how wiki links work, you can easily do this using a list of standardised page titles ready for copy&paste; see here. Move the page, leave a redirect, done. (If you are sure nothing links to the redirect page, you can delete it too.)
• Not quite sure about your changes and/or keen to discuss difficult issues with other contributors to this wiki? Use the discussion page; to start a discussion, click "+new topic". Please do sign your contributions by clicking on the signature icon or typing "--~~~~". Please do not change discussion pages, they are meant to document discussion.

Looking for specific tasks?

In the context of our editathons, we have created to-do-lists with specific tasks (often very minor) and precise instructions. Have a look at the relevant discussion page (as it is a discussion page, you can easily leave a reply).

Typos, new features, other issues

• Unhappy with Clavis, or any ideas what new features we should introduce? Write it down: Wishlist
• Found a typo in the Clavis database? Please let us know: Typos
• Do you see problems with an article but cannot fix it yourself? Put it in the category Category:Article with known issues by inserting [[Category:Article with known issues]] and leave a comment on the discussion page and/or the edit summary.