Dr. Katharine Rehyansky wants anyone, anywhere to be able to read and study “Piers Plowman,” a 14th century poem written in Northwest Midlands Middle English. She continues to transcribe this work to make it accessible on CD-ROM. Rehyansky said when it’s done correctly, the computer-accessible version of the poem on CDROM is actually easier and better to work with than the manuscript itself in the library.
“The biggest advantage is that students can work on the manuscripts anywhere they can take a computer; they don’t have to spend precious money and time traveling to foreign libraries. These electronic editing projects are the wave of the future, and there are dozens of them now all over the world,” said Rehyansky, professor of English.
