The Library of Latin Texts (LLT) is a subscription-based database of Latin texts, from antiquity up to the present day. Started in 1991 as the ''Cetedoc Library of Christian Latin Texts'' (CLCLT), it continues to be developed by the ''Centre ‘Traditio Litterarum Occidentalium’'' and is hosted by

Brepols Publishers Brepols is a Belgian publishing house. Once, it was one of the largest printing companies in the world and one of the main employers in Turnhout (Belgium). Besides its printing business, Brepols is also active as a publisher. Formerly well known ...

History

In 1991, development of the ''Cetedoc Library of Christian Latin Texts'' (CLCLT) started, with the aim of encompassing the entirety of Christian Latin literature. This digital database, initially released as a

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

, was produced by the Cetedoc, led by prof. Paul Tombeur at the

Université catholique de Louvain The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...

. Since 2001, the activities of Cetedoc have been continued in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

, Belgium by the ''Centre ‘Traditio Litterarum Occidentalium’'' (CTLO), still led by Paul Tombeur. In 2002, it was decided to expand the database's chronological scope beyond medieval and

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

times, its name was changed to ''Library of Latin Texts''. In 2009, a B series (LLT-B) was added to the original LLT (hence known as LLT-A). The LLT-B's scope was to accelerate the growth of the database by directly adopting the text of existing editions, without the intensive research work that is applied to the texts of the LLT-A. This work includes verifying facts related to the text and correcting errors in the printed edition.

Difference between the LLT and similar databases

Unlike similar initiatives, like ''

Corpus Corporum Corpus Córporum (Lat. "the collection of collections") or in full, ''Corpus Córporum: repositorium operum latinorum apud universitatem Turicensem'', is a digital Medieval Latin library developed by the University of Zurich, Institute for Greek a ...

'' and

The Latin Library The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...

, the LLT is not an open-access database. This allows for the adoption of copyrighted editions. In fact, while open-access initiatives have to rely on out-of-copyright, possibly outdated editions, the LLT's policy is to select texts that have "been edited according to best contemporary scholarly practice". The texts edited in Brepols' ''

Corpus Christianorum The Corpus Christianorum (CC) is a major publishing undertaking of the Belgian publisher Brepols Publishers devoted to patristic and medieval Latin texts. The principal series are the ''Series Graeca'' (CCSG), ''Series Latina'' (CCSL), and the ''Co ...

'' series form the core of the LLT, even though numerically, they are outnumbered by texts edited in other publishers' series and, if no modern edition is available, by out-of-copyright editions. Nevertheless, for scholarly purposes, the LLT should be used in conjunction with the printed editions, as the

critical apparatus A critical apparatus ( la, apparatus criticus) in textual criticism of primary source material, is an organized system of notations to represent, in a single text, the complex history of that text in a concise form useful to diligent readers and ...

is not included in the database.Crown, Ron W. (2000). Comparing the ''Patrologia Latina'' and the ''CETEDOC Library of Christian Latin Texts'' Databases from a User's Perspective. ''Journal of Religious & Theological Information, 3''(1), 85-109.

References

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External links

LLT-A

Library of Latin Texts – Series A (LLT-A)List of available titles
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LLT-B

Library of Latin Texts – Series B (LLT-B)List of available titles
Computing in classical studies Online databases Belgian digital libraries Latin-language literature

History

Difference between the LLT and similar databases

See also

References

External links

LLT-A