There is not long to go until we launch our digital edition of the Estoria de Espanna, which we have been working on for the best part of four years now, and which Aengus was preparing and envisioning for many years before that. So what’s going on as we make the last few tweaks and preparations? Far from winding down, we are cranking up the pace and everyone is working really hard to get everything ready on time. The whole team is involved in checking that the transcriptions we have been working on display correctly on the edition website. At the same time, Aengus and Ricardo are making sure everything is as it should be with the collated and regularised version, and Fiona is sorting out the onomastic index to make sure that is working as it should and showing what we want it to. We are also preparing various bits of supplementary material for the edition, such as an explanation of the editorial decisions we have taken, and background information to the Estoria de Espanna so that users of the edition who are unfamiliar with the text and its history can find out what they need to know to be able to use and enjoy our edition. All this is going on while we all carry on with the day jobs of writing theses and post-docs, sorting out the exhibitions for next year and working on the impact activities with scholars from the University of Sheffield. We will definitely have earned seconds at the Christmas dinner table this year.
We will be launching the edition in the final session of our upcoming colloquium in just six weeks‘ time. The colloquium will take place at the University of Birmingham between 13th and 15th December, and the launch will take place on the Thursday after lunch. Anyone interested in all things Estoria de Espanna, Alfonso X, medieval history and historiography and digital editions is welcome to join us to hear the papers our friends and colleagues will be giving, to meet some of the key scholars in this area, and to partake in eating, drinking and making merry to celebrate the launch of the edition. All you have to do is register online here. All are welcome. If you would like to join us at the conference dinner on Wednesday 14th you will need to register by this Friday (4th November), but registration just for the papers and all important networking coffee breaks will be open right up until the start of the colloquium itself.