TEI P5: Guidelines for Electronic Text Encoding and Interchange

P5 Version 4.12.0. Last updated on 28th July 2026, revision 113e933e2

Front Matter

• i. Releases of the TEI Guidelines
• ii. Dedication
• iii. Preface and Acknowledgments
• iv. About These Guidelines
  • iv.1. Structure and Notational Conventions of this Document
  • iv.2. Historical Background
  • iv.3. Future Developments and Version Numbers
• v. A Gentle Introduction to XML
  • v.1. What's Special about XML?
  • v.2. Textual Structures
  • v.3. XML Structures
  • v.4. Validating a Document's Structure
  • v.5. Complicating the Issue
  • v.6. Attributes
  • v.7. Other Components of an XML Document
  • v.8. Putting It All Together
• vi. Languages and Character Sets
  • vi.1. Language Identification
  • vi.2. Characters and Character Sets

Text Body

• 1 The TEI Infrastructure
  • 1.1 TEI Modules
  • 1.2 Defining a TEI Schema
  • 1.3 The TEI Class System
  • 1.4 Macros
  • 1.5 The TEI Infrastructure Module
• 2 The TEI Header
  • 2.1 Organization of the TEI Header
  • 2.2 The File Description
  • 2.3 The Encoding Description
  • 2.4 The Profile Description
  • 2.5 Non-TEI Metadata
  • 2.6 The Revision Description
  • 2.7 Minimal and Recommended Headers
  • 2.8 Note for Library Cataloguers
  • 2.9 The TEI Header Module
• 3 Elements Available in All TEI Documents
  • 3.1 Paragraphs
  • 3.2 Treatment of Punctuation
  • 3.3 Highlighting and Quotation
  • 3.4 Terms and Glosses, Ruby Annotations, and Equivalents and Descriptions
  • 3.5 Simple Editorial Changes
  • 3.6 Names, Numbers, Dates, Abbreviations, and Addresses
  • 3.7 Simple Links and Cross-References
  • 3.8 Lists
  • 3.9 Notes, Annotation, and Indexing
  • 3.10 Graphics and Other Non-textual Components
  • 3.11 Reference Systems
  • 3.12 Bibliographic Citations and References
  • 3.13 Passages of Verse or Drama
  • 3.14 Overview of the Core Module
• 4 Default Text Structure
  • 4.1 Divisions of the Body
  • 4.2 Elements Common to All Divisions
  • 4.3 Grouped and Floating Texts
  • 4.4 Virtual Divisions
  • 4.5 Front Matter
  • 4.6 Title Pages
  • 4.7 Back Matter
  • 4.8 Module for Default Text Structure
• 5 Characters, Glyphs, and Writing Modes
  • 5.1 Is Your Journey Really Necessary?
  • 5.2 Markup Constructs for Representation of Characters and Glyphs
  • 5.3 Annotating Characters
  • 5.4 Adding New Characters
  • 5.5 How to Use Code Points from the Private Use Area
  • 5.6 Writing Modes
  • 5.7 Examples of Different Writing Modes
  • 5.8 Text Rotation
  • 5.9 Caveat
  • 5.10 Formal Definition
• 6 Verse
  • 6.1 Structural Divisions of Verse Texts
  • 6.2 Components of the Verse Line
  • 6.3 Encoding Textual Structures Across Verses
  • 6.4 Rhyme and Metrical Analysis
  • 6.5 Rhyme
  • 6.6 Metrical Notation Declaration
  • 6.7 Encoding Procedures for Other Verse Features
  • 6.8 Module for Verse
• 7 Performance Texts
  • 7.1 Front and Back Matter
  • 7.2 The Body of a Performance Text
  • 7.3 Other Types of Performance Text
  • 7.4 Module for Performance Texts
• 8 Transcriptions of Speech
  • 8.1 General Considerations and Overview
  • 8.2 Documenting the Source of Transcribed Speech
  • 8.3 Elements Unique to Spoken Texts
  • 8.4 Elements Defined Elsewhere
  • 8.5 Module for Transcribed Speech
• 9 Computer-mediated Communication
  • 9.1 General Considerations
  • 9.2 Basic Units of CMC
  • 9.3 Encoding Unique to CMC
  • 9.4 CMC Macrostructure
  • 9.5 Documenting CMC (and providing general metadata)
  • 9.6 Recommendations for Encoding CMC Microstructure
  • 9.7 The TEI CMC Module
• 10 Dictionaries
  • 10.1 Dictionary Body and Overall Structure
  • 10.2 The Structure of Dictionary Entries
  • 10.3 Top-level Constituents of Entries
  • 10.4 Headword and Pronunciation References
  • 10.5 Typographic and Lexical Information in Dictionary Data
  • 10.6 Unstructured Entries
  • 10.7 The Dictionary Module
• 11 Manuscript Description
  • 11.1 Overview
  • 11.2 The Manuscript Description Element
  • 11.3 Phrase-level Elements
  • 11.4 The Manuscript Identifier
  • 11.5 The Manuscript Heading
  • 11.6 Intellectual Content
  • 11.7 Physical Description
  • 11.8 History
  • 11.9 Additional Information
  • 11.10 Manuscript Parts
  • 11.11 Manuscript Fragments
  • 11.12 Module for Manuscript Description
• 12 Representation of Primary Sources
  • 12.1 Digital Facsimiles
  • 12.2 Combining Transcription with Facsimile
  • 12.3 Scope of Transcriptions
  • 12.4 Aspects of Layout
  • 12.5 Transcription and Ruby
  • 12.6 Headers, Footers, and Similar Matter
  • 12.7 Identifying Changes and Revisions
  • 12.8 Other Primary Source Features not Covered in these Guidelines
  • 12.9 Module for Transcription of Primary Sources
• 13 Critical Apparatus
  • 13.1 The Apparatus Entry, Readings, and Witnesses
  • 13.2 Linking the Apparatus to the Text
  • 13.3 Using Apparatus Elements in Transcriptions
  • 13.4 Strategies for Encoding Variation
  • 13.5 Module for Critical Apparatus
• 14 Names, Dates, People, and Places
  • 14.1 Attribute Classes Defined by This Module
  • 14.2 Names
  • 14.3 Biographical and Prosopographical Data
  • 14.4 Dates
  • 14.5 Module for Names and Dates
• 15 Tables, Formulæ, Graphics, and Notated Music
  • 15.1 Tables
  • 15.2 Formulæ and Mathematical Expressions
  • 15.3 Notated Music in Written Text
  • 15.4 Specific Elements for Graphic Images
  • 15.5 Overview of Basic Graphics Concepts
  • 15.6 Graphic Image Formats
  • 15.7 Module for Tables, Formulæ, Notated Music, and Graphics
• 16 Language Corpora
  • 16.1 Varieties of Composite Text
  • 16.2 Contextual Information
  • 16.3 Associating Contextual Information with a Text
  • 16.4 Linguistic Annotation of Corpora
  • 16.5 Recommendations for the Encoding of Large Corpora
  • 16.6 Module for Language Corpora
• 17 Linking, Segmentation, and Alignment
  • 17.1 Links
  • 17.2 Pointing Mechanisms
  • 17.3 Blocks, Segments, and Anchors
  • 17.4 Synchronization
  • 17.5 Correspondence and Alignment
  • 17.6 Identical Elements and Virtual Copies
  • 17.7 Aggregation
  • 17.8 Alternation
  • 17.9 Stand-off Markup
  • 17.10 The standOff Container
  • 17.11 Annotations
  • 17.12 Connecting Analytic and Textual Markup
  • 17.13 Module for Linking, Segmentation, and Alignment
• 18 Simple Analytic Mechanisms
  • 18.1 Linguistic Segment Categories
  • 18.2 Global Attributes for Simple Analyses
  • 18.3 Spans and Interpretations
  • 18.4 Linguistic Annotation
  • 18.5 Module for Analysis and Interpretation
• 19 Feature Structures
  • 19.1 Organization of this Chapter
  • 19.2 Elementary Feature Structures and the Binary Feature Value
  • 19.3 Other Atomic Feature Values
  • 19.4 Feature Libraries and Feature-Value Libraries
  • 19.5 Feature Structures as Complex Feature Values
  • 19.6 Re-entrant Feature Structures
  • 19.7 Collections as Complex Feature Values
  • 19.8 Feature Value Expressions
  • 19.9 Default Values
  • 19.10 Linking Text and Analysis
  • 19.11 Feature System Declaration
  • 19.12 Formal Definition and Implementation
• 20 Graphs, Networks, and Trees
  • 20.1 Graphs and Digraphs
  • 20.2 Trees
  • 20.3 Another Tree Notation
  • 20.4 Representing Textual Transmission
  • 20.5 Module for Graphs, Networks, and Trees
• 21 Non-hierarchical Structures
  • 21.1 Multiple Encodings of the Same Information
  • 21.2 Boundary Marking with Empty Elements
  • 21.3 Fragmentation and Reconstitution of Virtual Elements
  • 21.4 Stand-off Markup
  • 21.5 Non-XML-based Approaches
• 22 Certainty, Precision, and Responsibility
  • 22.1 Levels of Certainty
  • 22.2 Indications of Precision
  • 22.3 Attribution of Responsibility
  • 22.4 The Certainty Module
• 23 Documentation Elements
  • 23.1 Phrase Level Documentary Elements
  • 23.2 Modules and Schemas
  • 23.3 Specification Elements
  • 23.4 Common Elements
  • 23.5 Element Specifications
  • 23.6 Class Specifications
  • 23.7 Macro Specifications
  • 23.8 Building a TEI Schema
  • 23.9 Module for Documentation Elements
• 24 Using the TEI
  • 24.1 Serving TEI files with the TEI Media Type
  • 24.2 Obtaining the TEI
  • 24.3 Customization
  • 24.4 Conformance
  • 24.5 Implementation of an ODD System

Back Matter

• Appendix A Elements
• Appendix B Model classes
• Appendix C Attribute classes
• Appendix D Macros and datatypes
• Appendix E Attributes
• Appendix F Bibliography
  • Appendix F.1 Works Cited in Examples in these Guidelines
  • Appendix F.2 Works Cited Elsewhere in the Text of these Guidelines
  • Appendix F.3 Reading List
• Appendix G Deprecations
  • Appendix G.1 Items Scheduled to be Removed
  • Appendix G.2 Item Scheduled to become Required
• Appendix H Prefatory Notes
  • Appendix H.1 Prefatory Note (November 2007)
  • Appendix H.2 Prefatory Note (March 2002)
  • Appendix H.3 Introductory Note (November 2001)
  • Appendix H.4 Introductory Note (June 2001)
  • Appendix H.5 Introductory Note (May 1999)
  • Appendix H.6 Preface (April 1994)
  • Appendix H.7 Acknowledgments
• Appendix I Colophon

Reference

• Elements 588
• Model classes 127
• Attribute classes 86
• Attributes 275
• Macros and datatypes 43