Edizione diplomatico-interpretativa con facsimile digitale dell’ Edictum Rothari , St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 730

The Leges Langobardorum editorial project stems from a collaboration between Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the University of Turin, the institutions hosting the two research units involved in a Nationally Significant Research Project (PRIN 2022 PNRR), within which the editors of the edition are jointly working. The project is structured in two phases. The first phase aims to provide a diplomatic-interpretative edition of the principal manuscript witnesses of the Leges . This volume offers a diplomatic-interpretative edition of the Edictum Rothari , as transmitted by the Codex Sangallensis 730 manuscript. The second, longer-term phase involves the preparation of a fully integrated critical edition of the Edictum and all the Leges , based on the complete collation and recension of the extant manuscript tradition. The edition will be accompanied by a digital glossary of Lombard terms. Several reasons underpin the decision to develop a digital edition based on international encoding standards (XML/TEI). First, TEI encoding makes it possible to manage multiple editorial layers and present them alongside digital facsimile images of selected witnesses. This approach enhances the historical dimension of each document, which is presented to readers within its paleographic and codicological, as well as linguistic and philological, context. Second, the flexibility of a digital edition allows for the integration of the diplomatic editions with the critical edition that will be prepared once the first phase is completed. Finally —and no less importantly— publishing the edition online in open-access format ensures broader dissemination, reaching not only academic audiences but also the general public, in line with the goal of promoting and sharing knowledge of Italian Cultural Heritage, which is central to the PRIN project.