This study is devoted to two of the oldest known manuscripts in which the oeuvre of the medieval mystical author Hadewijch has been preserved: Brussels, KBR, 2879-2880 (ms. A) and Brussels, KBR, 2877-2878 (ms. B). On the basis of codicological and contextual arguments, it is assumed that the scribe who produced B used A as an exemplar. While the similarities in both layout and content between the two manuscripts are striking, the present article seeks to identify the differences. After all, regardless of the intention to produce a copy that closely follows the exemplar, subtle linguistic variation is apparent. Divergences relate to spelling conventions, but also to the way in which words are abbreviated (and the extent to which abbreviations occur). The present study investigates the spelling profiles of the scribes who produced mss. A and B in a computational way. In the first part of this study, we will present both manuscripts in more detail, after which we will consider prior research carried out on scribal profiling. The current study both builds and expands on Kestemont (2015). Next, we outline the methodology used to analyse and measure the degree of scribal appropriation that took place when ms. B was copied off the exemplar ms. A. After this, we will discuss the results obtained, focusing on the scribal variation that can be found both at the level of individual words and n-grams. To this end, we use machine learning to identify the most distinctive features that separate manuscript A from B. Finally, we look at possible diachronic trends in the appropriation by B's scribe of his exemplar. We argue that scribal takeovers in the exemplar impacts the practice of the copying scribe, while transitions to a different content matter cause little to no effect.

翻译：本研究聚焦于保存中世纪神秘主义作家哈德薇希作品的两份最古老手稿：布鲁塞尔KBR 2879-2880号手稿（简称ms. A）与布鲁塞尔KBR 2877-2878号手稿（简称ms. B）。基于手稿学与语境论据，学界推测制作B的抄写者曾以A为范本。尽管两份手稿在版式与内容上的相似性令人瞩目，本文旨在识别其差异。毕竟，无论抄写者意图如何贴近范本，微妙的语言变异依然存在。差异既涉及拼写惯例，也涉及单词的缩写方式（及缩写发生的程度）。本研究以计算方式探究ms. A与B抄写者的拼写特征。研究第一部分将详细呈现两份手稿，随后梳理先前关于抄写者特征分析的研究。本研究既继承也扩展了Kestemont（2015）的工作。接着，我们概述用于分析及测量ms. B自范本A抄写过程中抄写者占用程度的方法论。此后，我们将讨论所得结果，重点关注可在单个词汇与n-元组层面观察到的抄写变异。为此，我们运用机器学习识别区分手稿A与B的最具区别性特征。最后，考察B抄写者占用其范本可能存在的历时性趋势。我们提出：范本中的抄写者更替会影响复制抄写者的实践行为，而内容主题的转换则几乎不产生作用。