Reimagining the Facsimile: Project Report on The Digital Fauvel

The Digital Fauvel is an interactive facsimile edition of the Roman de Fauvel as preserved in the manuscript Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Ms. fr.146. It enables a variety of user interactions with the manuscript using a large multitouch tabletop computer, including viewing and navigating high-resolution scans, viewing superimposed translations of the text, searching manuscript text and metadata, viewing modern editions of musical items, and listening to musical audio. These modes of interaction synthesize information traditionally available in different places (editions, facsimiles, translations, editorial commentary) to create new modes of interaction with digital manuscripts for students, scholars and the general public. The project has been developed using standard design practices from human–computer interaction, mindful of the implications of adapting such practices for a digital humanities domain. Engaging students in the design and implementation of these new tools has also created unique educational opportunities by raising fundamental questions about encoding practices and manuscript culture alike. Work currently in progress involves the creation of an ‘application programming interface’ for Fauvel and other digital manuscripts, which will enable other scholars and programmers to build new and different types of interactions on top of our existing project infrastructure.