• TEI definition: lb ; EpiDoc-specific customization: lb

As each line in an EpiDoc encoded inscription begins with an lb, attributes on this element can be understood to refer to the content of that line, i.e. all text before the following lb (see also Line Breaks). At present, therefore, EpiDoc recommends the use of the following values in the style attribute on the lb immediately preceding the line of text in question:

Note that including the directionality of the text on lb is a customized usage of the element, which is an empty element in TEI. The direction of texts can also be indicated on higher-level elements, including div, if the style attribute applies to all text within that element.

In the case of most inscriptions, left-to-right aligned text does not need to be flagged, if it is the default direction of the script in question. One might need to use style in the case of boustrophedon text, for instance.

Other values of style can be created in the case of texts written vertically, in a circle or spiral, or otherwise unusually. (But these values are not currently handled by the Example Stylesheets.)

SEG: abc ←