The source of the Napier fragment of Alfred’s Boethius

Analytical tools created as part of a comprehensive “edition production technology” (EPT) for image-based electronic editions can help editors reconstruct folios from lost or damaged manuscripts. A case in point is the Napier fragment of the Alfredian Boethius, the bottom portion of a MS leaf found and lost by A. S. Napier in 1886. Assembling and displaying Napier’s detailed descriptions, digital tools can not only recreate a plausible reconstruction of the lost leaf, but also throw legitimate doubt on its authenticity.