Philological Research Methods and Sequences

Arranged by:

Septia Aisyah Rusda (1704026139)

Lathifatul Asna (1704026174)

Al-Qur’an and Tafseer Sacience

Theology and Humanity Faculty

Walisongo State Islamic University of Semarang

Abstract

There is a lot of confusion about how philology works. Questions about how philology
develops, its urgency, and also how philologists research is always there. therefore, there is a
method and flow of philological research, namely a chapter that discusses how the sequence and
procedures for studying a manuscript. There are several lines of philological research; text
determination, text inventory, text description, text and text comparison, text editing, text
translation, and content analysis. while several philological research methods; Single Script
Edition method, method of Multiple-Text Editions (plural), and the division for each part.

Keyword: philology, method, research, sequences.

A. Introduction
Each field of science requires primary sources, one of which will be obtained from
the discovery of texts or texts relating to the science. This is what makes philology an
important branch of science because it supports other sciences, although philology itself
also requires other disciplines, such as history. Over time, many researchers are interested
in this science and a number of questions arise about how this science works, what texts
can be studied, what methods can be used, what disciplines are supported.
So, in this paper the authors will discuss about two focuses; 1) philological method
research and 2) philological research sequences.
 B. Philological Method Research
Definition of “method” according to KBBI: a systematic way of working to
facilitate the implementation of an activity in order to achieve the specified goals.1 So, the
method of philology is knowledge of the techniques, or instruments carried out in
philological research.
Regarding methods and approaches, it is important to know that in a philological
study, there are at least two main tasks: first, making text edits; and second, analyzing
and contextualizing texts.
In addition to the standard text editing method, prospective reviewers must also
have an imagination about the scientific approach and what perspective it will be used in
analyzing the text, from what point of view he will read it, and in what way he will
interpret the text.2
Based from the large number of manuscripts used as research objects, the
philological method can be divided into two categories:
1) Single Script Edition Method
If the researcher only finds one manuscript (Codex Uniqus), then it is not possible
to compare with other manuscripts. Therefore, to edit a manuscript can be pursued in
two ways:3:
a. Diplomatic Edition
The diplomatic edition is a model of text edits produced through a faithful
transcription effort of a text to match the original. The word "original" in this
sense does not refer to the original manuscript version written by the author
(autograph), but rather to the text being faced by the reviewer, with the aim of
presenting the text "as is".4
b. Standard Edition
This edition is also called the regular edition. In this method the editor is
very concerned with all aspects of editing activities, such as providing

1
https://kbbi.web.id/metode
2
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, (Jakarta: PT.Kharisma Putra Utama, 2017),
hal. 73.
3
I Ketut Nuarca, “Metode Filologi: Sebuah Pengantar”, (Program Studi Sastra Jawa Kuno Fakultas Ilmu
Budaya, Universitas Udayana, 2017) Hal. 12.
4
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode , hal. 89.
 transliteration, correcting errors or adjusting spelling. All changes made in the
edition using this method are noted in a special place to facilitate re-examination
or comparing with the reading in the text.5
c. Facsimile Edition
Facsimile Edition is a model of text edits that is produced through
recreation or duplication of a text, either through conventional methods (printing
from microfilm, photo copy) or cutting-edge methods (printing from the transfer
of digital media through a scanner or digital camera).
The advantages of the facsimile edition, because the text displayed to the
reader is truly "authentic", is as it is without the editors' intervention at all.
However, the disadvantage is that readers do not get help when they encounter
difficulty reading and understanding texts in texts written in scripts or languages
that are not commonly used.6
d. Critical Edition
Critical Edition is a model of text edits produced by editors who want the
formation of a text with the best reading quality (best readings). Editors usually
intervene, whether in the form of repairs, subtractions, additions, or replacements
of words as far as can be accounted for.
This is done especially if there are parts of the text that are believed by
editors to be unstable, inappropriate, or deviate from the rules of language that
are absolutely believed to be true.7
There are some steps in editing process:8
a. Deviding the paragraph based on the idea, and adding the extortion symbols
for easier understanding.
b. Intervension, an addition, subtraction, deleting, or reduction of words deemed
unnecessary or deviate.
c. Adding certain symbols to mark, such as
 (...) : page.
5
I Ketut Nuarca, “Metode Filologi: Sebuah Pengantar”, (Program Studi Sastra Jawa Kuno Fakultas Ilmu
Budaya, Universitas Udayana, 2017) Hal. 13.
6
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 89.
7
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode , hal. 91.
8
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode , hal. 93-95.
  {...} : verse of Qur’an
 [...] : hadits
 /.../ : changed text based on trusted source.
 \...\ : changed text based on untrusted source.
 <...> : added text based on trusted source.
d. In religion manuscripts, then the information about the origin of the sources
of hadith and surahs must be added and placed in the apparatus of criticism.
e. Differentiate, e. g. Bold or writting in red.
2) Method of Multiple-Text Editions (plural)
If in a study faced with the availability of a number of texts (more than one), for
editing purposes, there are several alternative methods that can be used:
a) Intuitive Method
This method is also known as the subjective method and is classified as
the oldest method of textual criticism, where the way it works is based on
subjectivity (intuition). For the purposes of the text edition, one manuscript is
considered the oldest among the manuscripts. Parts of the text that are
considered unclear from the text on which the basis of the edition is then
corrected are based on other manuscript texts using logic (scientifically).9
b) Stema Method (Objective Method)
The Stema Method is the most well-known method of textual criticism in
the classical philological tradition. This method was first introduced as a
systematic approach to editing text by Karl Lachmann, a German scholar.10
The application of the stema method starts from Recensio, which is to find
the original form of the text based on a copy of the manuscript found. After
recensio, the next step is Examinatio, which is the testing phase whether the text
which is believed to be an initial form based on the formed genealogical tree is
already "steady" or still contains many errors. If the second stage occurs, then
the final stage is Emendatio, which is correcting various errors in the text by

9
I Ketut Nuarca, Makalah: “Metode Filologi: Sebuah Pengantar”, (Program Studi Sastra Jawa Kuno
Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Udayana, 2017) Hal. 14.
10
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 98.
 utilizing a number of witness texts that can be accounted for. If corrections from
witnesses' texts are not found, then the error can be isolated from the entire text.
Thus, through this method, an editor may display an edition of the text that
is not intended to be 'original text' by the author, but the text that is considered
'most appropriate' is displayed, the most recent, most complete, and most
suitable for editing purposes.11
c) Mixed Method (Eclectic Edition)
Mixed Edition (combined) is a text editing model that is produced by
combining the reading of more than one version of the manuscript. Through a
mixed edition the editor aims to produce new texts which according to his
subjective judgment are important to be presented to the reader.
The advantage of mixed editions is the possibility of more complete
contents, but the drawback is that the resulting editions turn out to be new text
and may be far from the original version first written by the author.12
d) Platform Method
This method is also referred to as the Legger method. This method is
applied if according to the interpretation of the values of all texts are different
and there is one text that is better and more prominent, both in terms of
completeness of the text and in terms of reading and the number of errors
contained in the text is less than other texts. The use of this method will produce
a text edition which in textual terms is almost entirely similar to the text in the
basic text.13
C. Philological Research Sequences
Chronologically, philological research sequences consist of; 1) text determination,
2) script inventory, 3) script description, 4) text and script comparison, 5) text editing, 6)
translation, 7) content analysis.
1. Text Determination
The first step in philological research sequence is determining which text to be
studied. In this case, researcher would have different preference. The scientific
11
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 101.
12
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 90.
13
I Ketut Nuarca, “Metode Filologi: Sebuah Pengantar”, (Program Studi Sastra Jawa Kuno Fakultas Ilmu
Budaya, Universitas Udayana, 2017) Hal. 16.
 background influeces in assuming which text is interesting. Eventhough some researchers
interest in studying out of their scientific field. It helps them to see the case in another
perspective. Then the following step is choosing the language written on the text to be
studied. The researchers should know it well, or they have to study the language detail
before doing a research.14
For determining the text, there are 3 aspects to be verified;
1) Corpus Potentional
A philologist must have an instinct for the text to be studied. The text to be
studied has the potential as a corpus, namely a collection of texts as sources of
language and literary research.15
2) method and approach
The philologist must have an imagination about the approach will be applied to
read the text and the method will be used in the research.16
3) context will be analyzed
The philologist must examine the context in which the text appears, when, what
conditions, etc. this is certainly related to other disciplines.17

For example, Oman Fathurrahman took the manuscript tanbih al-mashi to be

researched. The copied manuscript is put on the end of this paper. He chose this
manuscript because he is able to understand the language well, he also the topics is
dinamics and discussable. And his research prooved giving the contribution in history
recontruction of social intelectual in Aceh.18

2. Script Inventory
The second step is the inventory of manuscripts, which is as careful and
maximum effort as possible to trace the existence of manuscripts containing copies of the
manuscripts to be studied. Several ways that can be done, namely; manuscript catalog in

14
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 69-70.
15
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 71-72.
16
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 73.
17
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 73.
18
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 71.
 the library, books that discuss related manuscripts, articles or journals, written works, and
can be from private collections.19
The world of research is always developing, and it is natural that after publication,
it turns out that research results are not perfect. As long as the researcher has made every
effort to gather primary sources and according to the targeted deadline, then he has the
right to say "done" on the results of his research.20
In this digital age, manuscript searching can be done online, such as the
Thesaurus of Indonesian Islamic Manuscripts. The advantage of online databases over
manuals is that databases can provide more complete and up-to-date information,
including anyone who has done research.21

[Example of inventory manuscript, text Tanbihal-mashi]

... Based on the data that has been inventoried, there are four copies of the
Tanbih al-mashi manuscript, two of which are in the Jakarta National Library, while the
other two are in the Leiden University library.

The first manuscript is listed in the van Ronkel catalog, with serial number 289
(Ronkel, 1913: 172). This manuscript is in 19th place out of 24 texts in the bundle of
manuscript A 655.22

3. Manuscript Description
The third stage is the description of the manuscript, namely identification of the
physical condition of the manuscript, the contents of the text, authorship identity and
copying with the aim of producing a complete description of the manuscript and text.
Researchers are expected to describe carefully, because in a bundle of
manuscripts there can be several chapters or sub-chapters. This aims to facilitate
researchers. Things that need to be examined include; publication of manuscripts, code
and number of manuscripts, manuscript titles, authors, copyists, year of copying, place of
deposit of manuscripts, origin of manuscripts, etc.

19
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 73.
20
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 74.
21
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 75-76.
22
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 76.
 [Example of description of manuscript, text Tanbihal-mashi]23

The Tanbih al-masyi text in A A 655 is found in 19th place out of 24 different
texts. The title given by van Ronkel for this manuscript is not Tanbih al-masyi, but al-
tariqah al-syattariyah. While the title Tanbih al-masyi al-mansub ila tariq al-Qusyasyi
itself is contained in the text's colophon. In this catalog, van Ronkel does not provide
information on the existence of copies of text elsewhere.

The author's name-as mentioned in colophones-is' Abdurrauf b. Ali al-Jawi.

While the copyist, Abu al-Fath was allegedly b. al-Shaykh Sa'id al-Hajari al-Humadi al-
Makki, because even though the colophon is not mentioned, the name is found as a copy
of several texts with the same type of writing included in the text bundle A 655, as on
page 11v , 65r, 63r, 79v, 82v, 92r and 97r. The word al-Makki behind the copyer's name
gave a clue as to the possibility of this manuscript being copied in Mecca.

The text in manuscript A 655 was copied on Saturday night, 10 Muharam 1158
H / 12 February 1745 AD from the original text written on 5 Rabi'ul Awwal 1081 H / 23
July 1670 AD Now, manuscript A 655 is stored in the National Library of the Republic of
Indonesia,  Jakarta.  Whereas in Leiden there are in forms of microfilm is coded.  Or.A. 
34 (see Voorhoeve 1980: 364) The text of the text used by A 655 is European paper
which looks physically rather rotten, yellowish in color, even in some pages there are
holes which somewhat disturb the continuity of the reading of the text.  Therefore,
besides the cover pages made of thick paper, the overall paper used has been laminated
to avoid more severe damage.  Paper stamps were found on several folio pages in the
form of three crescent-shaped pictures showing that the paper had been produced in Italy
in the first half of the sixteenth century. 
According to Jones, the crescent symbol is an illustration of the hard work of
paper makers in Italy to market their paper production to Turkey specifically, and to the
Islamic world in general (Jones, 1998: 109; compare Nurhakim, 1986: 333).  In each
page of text A 655 there are seven thick lines in a horizontal position, the distance
between lines is 3 cm. 

23
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 80-81.
 The distance between the first and sixth thick lines is 15.8 cm, while the thin lines
found in the opposite position are eight lines in every one centimeter.  In this manuscript
there is no written guide line, either in the form of a pressed line or a line with ink or
pencil.
The Tanbih al-masyi text in text A 655 is found in the 17th and 18th of the 25
existing kuras.  The 17th class consists of five folio pages, which means 10 recto and
verso pages (understanding these two terms, see glossary), while the 18th sheet consists
of six folio pages, which means 12 recto and verso pages.  The text of Tanbih al-masyi in
A 655 starts on the third page of the 17th floor verso page, and ends on the sixth page of
the 18th recto page.  The Tanbih al-masyi text in A 655 is 17 x 10 cm, while the text itself
is 20 x 16 cm.
We can see how detail the description is. It helps the philologist to know when the
text was written, or in what era.
4. Text And Script Comparison
The next step is the comparison of text and text. Both need to be compared, both
physical and written text; each base manuscript examined, maybe both using European
paper, but one of them is older. This needs to be done if the research corpus consists of
one copy of the manuscript.
Especially for the text, things that need to be compared namely; text structure,
spelling, reading variations, storyline, and copying period that are considered to support
research analysis. The older text will be the benchmark in the editing process.24
5. Text Editing
In this step, the phililogist have to make an editted text then display the
understandable version of text until people can read it and understand. This edition is the
output of this step, this text already verified and passed some steps of philological
research, title, and also the valid author.25

6. Translation
24
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 87.
25
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 88.
 The following step is translation. This step only used when the text written in
foreign language or local language. In the practice, the translator may put the translation
beside the original text. So, the reader could control the process.26
7. Content Analysis
The last step is content analysis, doing examine the text and its context in
accordance with the approach used. This is the most crusial step, because the researchers
are required to explain the meaning and relate it in bigger issue, another scientific field,
or historical structure. Or they should be able to answer the question “what thing would
be prooved? Till this text being analyzed”.27
D. Conclution

There are several lines of philological research; text determination, text inventory,
text description, text and text comparison, text editing, text translation, and content
analysis. while several philological research methods; Single Script Edition method,
method of Multiple-Text Editions (plural), and the division for each part. By those all
elements, the researchers are hoped to develop this science.

BIBILIOGRAPHY

Fathurrahman, Oman. 2017. Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode. Jakarta: PT. Kharisma Putra
Utama.
Nuarca, I Ketut. 2017. Makalah: “Metode Filologi: Sebuah Pengantar”. Program Studi Sastra
Jawa Kuno Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Udayana.

https://kbbi.web.id/metode accesed 23rd of October 2019.

https://naskahkuno.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/an-edition-of-tanbih-al-mashi/ accesed on 25th of

October 2019.

26
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 95-96.
27
Oman Fathurrahman, Filologi Indonesia: Teori dan Metode, hal. 96-97.
 Copied Tanbih al-mashi manuscipts.