The sun makes a feeble attempt to penetrate the overcast sky hanging above Edgbaston; the clouds threaten to douse the land yet again with wintry rains; students and researchers float into and out of campus, in and out of the cold, doing their best to focus and get back into the swing of academia.
In a smart building on the edge of campus, seven hispanists (one on a computer screen from Canada) gather in a warm room overlooking the bare, shivering trees outside. They talk of the discursive games embedded within the manuscripts of the Wise Alfonso; abbreviations, macrons, barred-consontants – how to expand, how not to expand, those are their questions. Enter the newbie. “Much to learn, mapping the medieval with the most modern methods!” In the corner the newbie listens with growing intrigue…