Phylomemetics—Evolutionary Analysis beyond the Gene

Genes are propagated by error-prone copying, and the resulting variation provides the basis for phylogenetic reconstruction of evolutionary relationships. Horizontal gene transfer may be superimposed on a tree-like evolutionary pattern, with some relationships better depicted as networks. The copying of manuscripts by scribes is very similar to the replication of genes, and phylogenetic inference programs can be used directly for reconstructing the copying history of different versions of a manuscript text. Phylogenetic methods have also been used for some time to analyse the evolution of languages and the development of physical cultural artefacts. These studies can help to answer a range of anthropological questions. We propose the adoption of the term “phylomemetics” for phylogenetic analysis of reproducing non-genetic elements

Lines of succession in an English ballad tradition: the publishing history and textual descent of The Wandering Jew’s chronicle

This paper combines bibliography, book history and traditional textual criticism with phylogenetic analysis in order to infer the publishing history and textual descent of a short printed ballad history of England – The Wandering Jew’s Chronicle. Probably first published in 1634, The Wandering Jew’s Chronicle is usually known as a broadside ballad – a cheap, printed song-sheet – illustrated with woodcut portraits of kings and queens of England. It remained in print until c.1830, its text illustrations updated to the present. While in partial synchrony with English history, much of its publishing history and textual descent is uncertain. The paper demonstrates how historical evidence, taken in particular from book trade history, may be usefully combined with textual and material-bibliographic evidence and that it is at times essential for understanding the descent of the text. The textual descent of the ballad is visualised in a stemma that summarises key findings from both traditional and phylogenetic analyses.</p

Phylogenetic analysis of texts.

<p>Phylogenetic analysis of texts.</p

Extracts from the poem “His Age” by Robert Herrick.

<p><a href="http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001069#pbio-1001069-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2</a> uses this piece of text as an example of the alignment process. Top panel (Hes in <a href="http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001069#pbio-1001069-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2</a>) is a printed version from Hesperides, published in 1648 (copy owned by Professor Tom Cain). Middle panel (Ros in <a href="http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001069#pbio-1001069-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2</a>) is from the Poetical Manuscript Commonplace Book MS 239/23, Rosenbach Museum & Library, Philadelphia. The bottom panel (SJC in <a href="http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001069#pbio-1001069-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2</a>) is from a verse miscellany, MS S.23, by permission of the Master and Fellows of St John’s College, Cambridge.</p

The transmission of 'The West Saxon Royal Genealogy': a phylogenetic approach

Abstract We present a case study in the application of phylogenetic and other computational analyses to an Old English textual tradition. We chose the West Saxon royal genealogy for investigation because there are interesting problems in ascertaining the transmission of the text. We present a concise, up-to-date account of the manuscript tradition, a summary of the scholarly literature including current debates, and discuss phylogenetic and other analyses used to explore the tradition. We show how the results from phylogenetic analysis are consistent with interpretations advanced by scholars based on traditional methods of textual criticism. We also suggest a new textual grouping not mentioned before in the literature, and thus offer a new insight into this tradition. The suggested textual relationship finds support on historical and palaeographical grounds, and on that basis, we postulate the existence of a lost eleventh-century exemplar from Canterbury. The value of this article therefore lies in two main directions: first, we demonstrate the value of employing a combination of phylogenetic and other computer-based analysis methods with an Old English tradition; and second, we offer a striking new insight into the transmission and textual history of an important medieval English text.</jats:p