Alan Taylor Farnes, “Scribal Habits in Selected New Testament Manuscripts, Including those with Surviving Exemplars,” (PhD dissertation; University of Birmingham, 2017).Although this thesis involves New Testament manuscript, its results are potentially applicable to the textual criticism of other kinds of texts. Notably:
With respect to the scribes in this study, therefore, we can reject the older canon lectio brevior potior "the shorter reading is preferred"]. We are unable, however, to confirm Royse’s new canon of lectio longior potior ["the longer reading is preferred"]. Instead,I argue that length should not be used in any way to determine which reading is more original.
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