Redigaatio

Redigaatio is a term found in textual studies that refers to the act of editing, revising, or redacting a text, particularly in the process of preparing a manuscript for publication or creating a critical edition. The word is derived from Latin redigatio, from redigere "to bring back, reduce, or write again." In scholarly usage, redigatio describes the work of a compiler or redactor who reorganizes source material, harmonizes conflicting passages, and adds commentary or annotations to produce a coherent whole. The form redigatio is more common in Latin and philological writing, while redigaatio appears as a Latinized variant in some texts.

In textual criticism, redigatio is associated with redaction criticism, a method that analyzes how a redactor shaped older sources to fit an intended message, literary structure, or theological aim. Examples include studies of how later editors in ancient literary and religious traditions revised or reinterpreted source materials.

In modern contexts, the term intersects with the everyday notion of editing for publication, and with the legal sense of redaction, where material is removed or concealed; however, that usage is usually distinguished from historical textual redaction.

Redigatio as a concept highlights the performative aspect of text production: texts are often not fixed documents but products of ongoing editing, selection, and revision by authors, editors, and copyists. See also redaction, textual criticism, editing, and redaction in law.