Meet the Critical Apparatus (v2)

Meet the
CRITICAL APPARATUS
Remember:
Each apparatus is unique!
When using a critical edition, it's always a good idea to look for a preface, introduction, or other information which might talk about the apparatus and its format.
- Oxford English Dictionary Online
"A collection of palæographical and critical matter accompanying an edition of a text."
An apparatus may appear:

in
footnotes
;
in a
separate section
before or after the text;
or as a
separate volume
.
How
(we read one):
A critical apparatus...

lets us reconstruct the editor's decisions);

(2)
helps us evaluate the edition of the text & sources used;

(3)
shows what parts of the original text may be missing or doubtful; and

(4)
allows us to draw our own conclusions about the text.
A critical apparatus helps construct a "behind-the-scenes" picture of a particular edition and the text it represents.
In context:
Sophocles (1896). Sophocles : The plays and fragments. With critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose: Part VII: The Ajax ( R.C. Jebb, ed. and trans.). Cambridge: University Press.
(also known as the
apparatus criticus
)
Line number:
The line in the original text which is being referred to.
Lemma or Headword:
The word in the main text which is being referred to. Everything from the bracket
]
to the next
lemma
is about this word. The
lemma
usually represents the reading chosen by the editor as the best or most likely.
Variant or Rejected Reading:

A different form or spelling -- or an entirely different word--which appears in the same place in other sources. These have usually been rejected by the editor in favor of another reading (the
lemma
).
The format and contents of an apparatus may be very different depending on the
age
,
language
and
type
of the original work....
...but may include
commentary
, explanations for
editorial decisions
and
emendations,
and
variant readings
-- among other things.
Text
Apparatus & Notes
Sources:

The names of manuscripts, editions or other sources which read this part of the text differently. Here, the abbreviation
MSS
refers to the whole manuscript tradition for this work.
Editorial comment:
Depending on context, these shorthand comments may elaborate on this editor's decision or on decisions presented in other editions/manuscripts. Most of the time, these abbreviations are pretty standardized. Here,
most edd.
is short for "most editors."
Where:
What:
Apparatus are found in scholarly editions of primary texts where multiple textual sources or other editorial issues are involved.
Line number
Lemma & Variants:

In this apparatus, the
lemma
is not separated by brackets, but is the first reading in the list of variants. This apparatus also provides sources for the
lemma
with those for other readings.
Sigla (singular: siglum):
These letters are conventional signs for specific source documents.
Sigla
generally represent manuscripts. Here, OQ refers to 2 (agreeing) manuscript sources, Manuscripts O and Q.
Text
Apparatus
Lucretius Carus, T. (1950). Lucreti De rerum natura libri sex. Edited with prolegomena, critical apparatus, translation and commentary by Cyrial Bailey. ( C. Bailey, ed. and trans.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.