The Digital Critical Edition (EC), published by Renan Source and edited by Domenico Paone, presents the genetic transcription of two posthumous novels by Ernest Renan, Ernest et Béatrix and Patrice.
Both works were first published in the volume Fragments intimes et romanesques (Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 1914) and subsequently republished in Volume IX of Ernest Renan’s Œuvres Complètes (Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 1960). In these editions, the text of Ernest et Béatrix was considerably shortened, sometimes summarised and, in some cases, censored. The text of Patrice is closer to the manuscript, but it contains omissions, reading errors and layout mistakes. Ernest et Béatrix was presented as the ‘second version of Patrice’, when in fact the opposite is true.
Our digital edition publishes both manuscripts in their entirety. We have restored all the omissions and censorship from Ernest et Béatrix, adding 140 preparatory fragments that Renan had begun to number and which were filed at the end of the manuscript. The 1914 edition made a fairly limited selection from these fragments, inserting them arbitrarily into the body of the text. As for Patrice’, we have corrected reading errors, restored the sequence of some chapters and added 13 previously unpublished preparatory notes, which were also included at the end of the manuscript.
The critical edition reproduces the latest chronological version of the text, with some editorial interventions: obvious errors have been corrected, abbreviations expanded (St for Saint, etc.). Neologisms specific to the style of the young Renan (détension, charpentations, etc.) have been retained. Unfinished sentences have been indicated by footnotes. Sometimes, when unable to find a word while writing, Renan drew a kind of zigzag line, a sort of placeholder waiting to be replaced in a second draft. This placeholder, found mainly at the end of a sentence and more rarely in the middle, has been rendered as an em dash (—). Words underlined by Renan have been rendered in italics. Renan’s notes have been indicated by the abbreviation N.d.A.
For each chapter, readers can access the genetic transcription, which reproduces one or more diplomatic transcriptions of the manuscript. These transcriptions are arranged in vertically superimposed windows (layers), allowing us to display the genetic process, i.e. additions or modifications to the text in successive writing campaigns.
The interface allows readers to consult, cite, and copy the text; to search the entire corpus and to generate lists of search results with or without the surrounding text. All texts and search results can be printed. XML-TEI encoding ensure interoperability with other text archives. The edition uses a classification system that provides each work, chapter, or fragment a unique and stable internet address. Thanks to these features, our digital edition is a reliable and citable source for academic research.