Research

After a thorough grounding in historical linguistics under the supervision of the late Professor Anne Pennington, I extended my research into Cyrillic manuscript studies, and subsequently into early-printed books.  I was one of the pioneers in applying digital technology to these subjects, though in recent years the field has devoloped so rapidly that it has rather left me behind.  I have also been engaged in textual criticism, principally of the Slavonic text of the Apostolos.  A further topic of research is the history of early contacts between England and Russia.

Publications

“Rus’”: chapter in The Cambridge Guide to Global Medieval Travel Writing, ed. by Sebastian Sobecki, Cambridge: CUP, 2025, 480–499, ISBN 9781108493680

“Silk in the Slavonic Scriptures”, Studi Slavistici, 19 (2022), 255–267

“Чрътꙑ и рѣзꙑ”, Palaeobulgarica, vol. 46 (2022), 4, 221–225

“Incunabula at the Manchester Grammar School”, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Vol. 98, (2022), 2, 111–116

“The Place Where Nobody Went: Where (and What) was Serica?”, Magic, Texts and Travel: Homage to a Scholar, Will Ryan, ed. by Janet M. Hartley and Denis J. B. Shaw, London: SGECR, 2021, 135–158, ISBN 978-0-9503314-8-5

“Quotations from the Psalter in the Apostolos”, Кирило-Методиевски студии, кн. 31 (2021), 47–60

“Преписи на Словата на преподобния Доротей от Газа в Зографския манастир и в Бодлеянската библиотека”, Зографски съборник. Зографският архив и библиотека: изследвания и перспективи, съст. Димитър Пеев [и др.], Света гора, 2019, 628–635, ISBN 978-954-770-452-7

“Euthaliana in MS Bodl. 942”, Palaeobulgarica, vol. 42 (2018), 1, 52–59

“Is a Critical Edition of the Slavonic Apostolos Possible?”, Editing Mediaeval Texts from a Different Angle: Slavonic and Multilingual Traditions. Together with Francis J. Thomson’s Bibliography and Checklist of Slavonic Translations, ed. by L. Sels, J. Fuchsbauer, V. Tomelleri & I. De Vos, Leuven, &c.: Peeters, 2018, 309–322, ISBN 978-90-429-3531-0

“Text or Paratext? The Synopsis Apostolorum of Dorotheus of Tyre”, Scripta & e-Scripta, vol.18 (2018), 65–74, ISSN 1312-238X

“Еще раз о букварях”, История книжной культуры XV–XX веков, отв. ред. и сост. Д.Н. Рамазанова, Москва: Пашков дом, 2018, vol. 1, 117–135, ISBN 978-5-7510-0752-2

“Ivan Fedorov’s Text of the Apostolos”, Canadian-American Slavic Studies, vol.51 (2017), 185–198, ISSN 0090-8290

“Арiевъ ледъ”, Scripta & e-Scripta, vol.16–17 (2017), 39–57, ISSN 1312-238X

“Encoding Text and Encoding Texts: Some Reflections on Theory and Practice”, Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin, vol.1, №2 (2016), 77–84, ISSN 2410-0951 

«Издания Ивана Федорова на Британских островах», 450 лет Апостолу Ивана Федорова: История раннего книгопечатания в России (памятники, источники, традиции изучения), Москва: Пашков дом, 2016, pp.196–205. ISBN 978-5-7510-0634-1

“Open Recensions, Textus Recepti, and the Problems of Edition”, Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin, vol.2 (2016), 29 –37, ISSN 2410-0951

“Richard James: Priest, Poet, Political Prisoner, Librarian and Lexicographer”, Vis et Sapientia: Studia in Honorem Anisavae Miltenova: Нови Извори, Интерпретации и Подходи в Медиевистиката (Съст. и ред. Аделина Ангушева [и др.]), София: Боян Пенев, 2016, 698–740, ISBN 978-619-7372-00-7

“Re-Reading the Vita Constantini: the Philosopher in Constantinople”, Scripta & e-Scripta, vol.14–15 (2015), 89–94, ISSN 1312-238X

Chapters on “Slavonic Codicology” and “Slavonic Palaeography” in: Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies: An Introduction, ed. by Alessandro Bausi [et al.], Hamburg, 2015, xxii + 677 pp., ISBN 978-3-7323-1768-4

“Mikepher Alphrey and Richard James: a Russian in England and an Englishman in Russia in the Seventeenth Century”, Emerging Empires: England and Muscovy in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, ed. by Emma Volodarskaya and Jane Roberts with Tessa Murdoch, Moscow – London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2014, pp.51–56. ISBN 978-5-88966-096-5

“Количественный метод в текстологии (на материале Соборных посланий)”, Славянский Апостол: сборник статей, hrsg. von Marina Bobrik. München – Berlin: Verlag Otto Sagner, 2014, pp.31–61 (= Studies on Language and Culture in Central and Eastern Europe, hrsg. von Christian Voß, Bd 21) ISBN 978-3-86688-393-2

“Two Slavonic manuscripts at Pannonhalma”, Studia Slavica, vol.58 (2013), 289–295, ISSN 0039-3363

“The Codex Suprasliensis and the Principles of Digital Editing”, Преоткриване: Супрасълски сборник, старобългарски паметник от X век, ред. Анисава Милтенова, София: Изток-Запад/Институт за литература на БАН, pp.329-342, ISBN 978-619-152-016-9

“Margin as Text”, Маргиналното в/на литературата, съст. Рая Кунчева, София: Боян Пенчев, pp.626-641, ISBN 978-954-8712-76-7 

(with Georgi Parpulov) “Румънци и славяни на Света гора през 1416 г.: Из историята на Селинския скит”, Palaeobulgarica, vol.35 (2011), 59-64

Victor Baranov, David J. Birnbaum, Ralph Cleminson, Heinz Miklas, Achim Rabus, “Proposal for a Unified Encoding of Early Cyrillic Glyphs in the Unicode Private Use Area”, Scripta & e-Scripta, vol.8-9 (2010), 9-25, ISSN 1312-238X

“A Slavonic Translation of the Loci Selecti of St John Damascene”, Scripta & e-Scripta, vol.7 (2009), 49-84, ISSN 1312-238X

Sebastian Kempgen, David J. Birnbaum, Ralph Cleminson, Kiril Ribarov, “Unicode U+2E2F, Cyrillic Yerik (Vertical Tilde)”, Scripta & e-Scripta, vol.7 (2009), 9-12, ISSN 1312-238X

“Constantinople and the Slavs”, Metamorphosis and Place, ed. by J. Parker, L. Tunkrová, M. Bakari, Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009, pp.71-85, ISBN 1 4438 11041

“Unicode for Slavists”, Стандардизација старословенског ћириличког писма и његова регистрација у Уникоду, Београд, 2009, pp.95-105 (Српска Академија Наука и Уметности: Научни скупови, Књ.CXXV; Одељење Језика и Књижевности, Књ.20)

“Undescribed Cyrillic Manuscripts in Britain”, Slavonic and East European Review, vol.86 (2008), 685-703.

“XSLT and the Analysis of Critical Variants”, Слово: към изграждане на дигитална библиотека на южнославянски ръкописи, ed. by H. Miklas and A. Miltenova, Sofia: Boyan Penev, 2008, pp.227-233, ISBN 978-954-8712-47-7

David J. Birnbaum, Ralph Cleminson, Sebastian Kempgen, Kiril Ribarov, “Character Set Standardization for Early Cyrillic Writing after Unicode 5.1”, Scripta & e-Scripta, vol.6 (2008), 161-193, ISSN 1312-238X

Catalogue of the Slavonic Cyrillic Manuscripts of the National Széchényi Library, edited by Ralph Cleminson, Elissaveta Moussakova, Nina Voutova, with a historical essay by Orsolya Karsay, Budapest: Central European University Press & National Széchényi Library, 2006, xl+288 p., ISBN 978 963 7326 97 4 (CEU Medievalia, 9)

“Cyrilometodská misia a byzantská diplomacia”, Cyril a Metod, Slovensko a Európa: Zborník z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie, Trnava 25. -29. mája 2005,Trnava: Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda, 2007, ISBN 978-80-89220-87-8

“Fragments of a Serbian Apostolos in Budapest and their Significance for Textual Criticism”, Palæobulgarica, vol.30 (2006), 4, 3-34.

“Creating Electronic Critical Editions”, Pregled Nacionalnog centra za digitalizaciju, vol.8 (2006), 5-10 [with accompanying electronic files]

“John Joseph De Camillis and his Italian Book”, Solanus, n.s.19, 61-66.

“Editing Manuscript Fragments”, Scripta & e-Scripta, vol.2 (2004), 11-29.

“A Good Servant but a Bad MASTER: Uses and Abuses of Standards in Manuscript Description”, in Computational Approaches to the Study of Early and Modern Slavic Languages and Texts, Sofia: Bojan Penev, 2003, pp.105-112

Ralph Cleminson, Elissaveta Moussakova, Nina Voutova, “Description of the Slavonic Cyrillic Codices of the National Széchényi Library”, Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU, 9 (2003), 339-348

The Budapest Glagolitic Fragments. Electronic publication, URI: http://www.obshtezhitie.net/texts/bgf/introd.html 

The Serbian Manuscript Heritage in the British Isles, Inaugural Lecture, University of Portsmouth, 2000, 13 p.

R.M.Cleminson, D.Radoslavova, C.G.Thomas, A.V.Voznesenskij, Cyrillic Books Printed Before 1701 in British and Irish Collections: A Union Catalogue, London: The British Library, 2000, xlvii+171 p., ISBN 0 7123 4709 7

“Computer applications and the study of early printed books”, Palaeobulgarica, vol.22 (1998), 104-115

“Брашовская грамота царя Ивана Срацимира”, Arheografski prilozi, vol.20, 369-378

“Knihy niektorých slovenských zbierok v cirkevnej slovančine”, Slavica Slovaca, vol.33 (1998), 44-48

“The Early Printed Book as a Textual Variant”, in M.Dobreva (ed.), Text Variety in the Witnesses of Medieval Texts, Sofia, 1998, pp.50-60

“Some 16th and early 17th century printings in the NBKM”, Palaeobulgarica, vol.21 (1997), 71-79

Cyrillic Manuscripts in Slovakia: a Union Catalogue, Martin: Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej, 1996, 138 p., ISBN 80-7090-369-4

“The Cyrillic Manuscript Codices of Budapest University Library”, Polata K"nigopis'naja, vol.27 (1995), 4-11

Russian Language Learning: Past, Present and Future: Papers from a Conference held at the University of Portsmouth, 11th-13th April 1994, edited by R.M.Cleminson, Portsmouth: Portsmouth University, 1995, viii + 140 p., ISBN 1 898 108 45 5

“The History of Russian Language Learning in England” (chapter in the above, pp.1-12)

“Two Early-Printed Primers at Olomouc”, Solanus n.s.8 (1994), 75-79

“Cyrillic Printing in Trnava, c.1680-1727”, Oxford Slavonic Papers, vol.26 (1993), 40-54

“The miracle De juvene qui Christum negaverat in the pseudo-Amphilochian Vita Basilii and its Slavonic adaptations”, Parergon n.s.8 (1992), 1-15

A Union Catalogue of Cyrillic Manuscripts in British and Irish Collections, London: SSEES, 1988, xii + 352 p., ISBN 0 903425 14 9

“East Slavonic Primers to 1700”, Australian Slavonic and East European Studies, vol.2 (1988), no.1, 1-27

“Boris Godunov and the Rector of Woolley”, Slavonic and East European Review, vol.65 (1987), 399-403

“The Ashmole Russian Manuscripts and the Summary Catalogue”, Bodleian Library Record, vol.12 (1986), 247-249