Amanuensis

Anamanuensis(/əˌmænjuˈɛnsɪs/) orscribe^[1]^[2]is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. An amanuensis may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority.^[3]

In someacademiccontexts, an amanuensis can assist aninjuredordisabledperson in taking writtenexaminations.Eric Fenbyacted as an amanuensis in assisting the blind and paralysed composerFrederick Deliusin writing down thenotesthat Delius dictated.^[4]

History

Sarcophagusreliefof Valerius Petronianus, with his slave holding writing tablets (4th century AD)

Inancient Rome,an amanuensis (Latināmanuēnsis,“secretary”, fromab-,“from” +manus,“hand”^[5]) was a slave or freedperson who provided literary and secretarial services such as taking dictation and perhaps assisting in composition.Amanuenseswere typically Greek, might be either male or female,^[6]and were among the higher-statusslaves in ancient Romewho were considered to add value^[7]to their masters' lives rather than serving as mere instruments of production.^[8]Literary slaves had certain privileges under the law and could bemanumittedat a younger age.^[9]

Amanuenses played an extensive role in medieval writing and the dissemination of texts.Visionariesin particular relied on amanuenses to translate their experiences into written form.^[10]One question in studies of the Christian mysticMargery Kempe,not known to have received a formal education, is the extent to which her amanuenses shaped her self-titled book, completed in 1438.^[11]The work of the amanuensis when the author was minimally or not literate likely involved taking dictation, reading back, getting feedback from the author for revision, and possibly shaping the text further during transcription.^[12]An amanuensis might bring literary polish to visionary experience, asAdam of Eynsham,for instance, is thought to have drawn on theunderworld bookof theAeneidto shape the "rather rambling and confused" visions of his brother Edmund.^[13]An amanuensis might act as a translator as well as transcriber. For example,Petrus of Alvastra(aka Peter Olafsson) wrote down the visions ofBridget of Swedenas she recounted them inSwedish,and then translated them into Latin.^[14]

Other uses

InFinland,anamanuenssiis an administrative employee of a university, research institution or museum. In Finnish universities, amanuenses can be involved with student guidance counseling, organising course activities, etc.^[15]

Job titles

A similar term,Handlanger,exists in German and Dutch. In current times, in both Dutch and German its negative connotation of an unscrupulous, low person acting as criminal assistant prevails whereas the original use of this term for an unskilled and possibly also illiterate person assisting, in the literal sense oflending a handat construction works has become rather rare.^[16]

In French, the term "Écrivain Public" (Public Writer) help people to write personal or professional things according to the client.^[17]

Notes

^Use of amanuenses (or scribes) during exams,University of Birmingham,retrieved2024-10-08
^Exam arrangements for disabled students,University of Glasgow,retrieved2024-10-08
^Oxford English Dictionary3rd ed. (2003)
^Eric Fenby (1936)Delius as I Knew Him,G. Bell & Sons, Ltd., London
^"amanuensis",Wiktionary,2023-03-17,retrieved2023-08-07
^Susan Treggiari,"Jobs for Women,"American Journal of Ancient History1 (1976), p. 78.
^Forbes, Clarence A. (1955)."Supplementary Paper: The Education and Training of Slaves in Antiquity".Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association.86:341.doi:10.2307/283628.JSTOR 283628.
^Stagl, Jakob Fortunat (2023-03-06), Schermaier, Martin (ed.),"Favor libertatis: Slaveholders as Freedom Fighters"(PDF),The Position of Roman Slaves,De Gruyter, p. 229,doi:10.1515/9783110987195-008,ISBN 978-3-11-098719-5,retrieved2024-08-19
^W. Martin Bloomer, “Schooling in Persona: Imagination and Subordination in Roman Education,” Classical Antiquity 16:1 (1997), p. 76, n. 44, citing K. Bradley,Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire(1984), p. 92, with reference toGaius,Institutes1.19; 39.
^Eileen Gardiner, introduction toMedieval Visions of Heaven and Hell: A Sourcebook(Garland, 1993), p. xxvi.
^Rory G. Critten,Author, Scribe, and Book in Late Medieval English Literature(D. S. Brewer, 2018), p. 77.
^William Provost, "The English Religious Enthusiast," inMedieval Women Writers(University of Georgia Press, 1984), p. 297.
^Holdsworth, C. J. (1963)."Visions and Visionaries in the Middle Ages".History.48(163): 150.doi:10.1111/j.1468-229X.1963.tb02314.x.ISSN 0018-2648.JSTOR 24406066.
^Diane Cady, "Issues of Sexuality, Gender and Ethnicity," inThe Medieval British Literature Handbook(Continuum, 2009), p. 207.
^"Amanuenssi".jyu.fi.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-12-15.Retrieved2013-12-15.
^Handlanger, derat duden.de
^"écrivain public".Collins French-English Dictionary.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-08-19.

External links

Media related toAmanuensisat Wikimedia Commons

[1] Use of amanuenses (or scribes) during exams,University of Birmingham,retrieved2024-10-08

[2] Exam arrangements for disabled students,University of Glasgow,retrieved2024-10-08

[3] Oxford English Dictionary3rd ed. (2003)

[4] Eric Fenby (1936)Delius as I Knew Him,G. Bell & Sons, Ltd., London

[5] "amanuensis",Wiktionary,2023-03-17,retrieved2023-08-07

[6] Susan Treggiari,"Jobs for Women,"American Journal of Ancient History1 (1976), p. 78.

[7] Forbes, Clarence A. (1955)."Supplementary Paper: The Education and Training of Slaves in Antiquity".Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association.86:341.doi:10.2307/283628.JSTOR 283628.

[8] Stagl, Jakob Fortunat (2023-03-06), Schermaier, Martin (ed.),"Favor libertatis: Slaveholders as Freedom Fighters"(PDF),The Position of Roman Slaves,De Gruyter, p. 229,doi:10.1515/9783110987195-008,ISBN 978-3-11-098719-5,retrieved2024-08-19

[9] W. Martin Bloomer, “Schooling in Persona: Imagination and Subordination in Roman Education,” Classical Antiquity 16:1 (1997), p. 76, n. 44, citing K. Bradley,Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire(1984), p. 92, with reference toGaius,Institutes1.19; 39.

[10] Eileen Gardiner, introduction toMedieval Visions of Heaven and Hell: A Sourcebook(Garland, 1993), p. xxvi.

[11] Rory G. Critten,Author, Scribe, and Book in Late Medieval English Literature(D. S. Brewer, 2018), p. 77.

[12] William Provost, "The English Religious Enthusiast," inMedieval Women Writers(University of Georgia Press, 1984), p. 297.

[13] Holdsworth, C. J. (1963)."Visions and Visionaries in the Middle Ages".History.48(163): 150.doi:10.1111/j.1468-229X.1963.tb02314.x.ISSN 0018-2648.JSTOR 24406066.

[14] Diane Cady, "Issues of Sexuality, Gender and Ethnicity," inThe Medieval British Literature Handbook(Continuum, 2009), p. 207.

[15] "Amanuenssi".jyu.fi.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-12-15.Retrieved2013-12-15.

[16] Handlanger, derat duden.de

[17] "écrivain public".Collins French-English Dictionary.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-08-19.

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