The Transcription Challenge Framework (TCF)

From May 2020 until January 2021, scholars Benjamin Albritton and Laura Morreale organized four Transcription Challenges, a series of digital competitions to brought together teams of scholars to collaboratively transcribe different manuscript-bound versions of one text over a two-week period. The success of these events has encouraged the organizers to formalize the transcription challenge framework (TCF), to support similar events within the community of scholars interested in Medieval Studies and any other field which relies upon manuscript-based materials. This paper sets out the history, rationale, and work-flows necessary within the TCF, thereby promoting engagement with hand-written materials by scholars across disciplines, locales, and subspecialities