Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries: Cambridge, Clare College, MS 24

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11820

Introduction: This manuscript, probably produced in the first half of the 15th century, contains two Byzantine lexicographical texts by two grammarians and classical scholars, contemporaries in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, who were both students of the great scholar Maximos Planoudes. One is the Epimerismi of Georgios Lakapenos or Lekapenos, whose studies in Constantinople were followed by eventual settlement in Thessaly. These are passages of lexical commentary on words appearing in Lakapenos's collected letters, a compilation containing 24 of his own letters and another eight written to him by his friend Andronikos Zaridas, here gathered together in a single sequence without the letters themselves. The sequence of the words discussed therefore follows the order in which they appear in the letters which these comments originally annotated. Lakapenos is best known for his letters and their commentary. The other text is the lexicon of Attic Greek words compiled by the more prominent scholar and teacher Manuel Moschopoulos, who was also the author of the most influential Greek grammar of the Byzantine era. The entries are arranged alphabetically by the first two letters of each word, but not sorted into order beyond that. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

1. ff. 1r-58v

Georgios Lakapenos, Epimerismi Ἐπισμερισμοί

Filiation: This manuscript was omitted from those considered in the preparation of Lindstam's edition.

Defective at the end: ends during the entry for ἄγομαι

Rubric: f. 1r Ἐπιμερισίαι Γεωργίου τοῦ Λεκαπηνοῦ ἐκ πολλῶν καὶ διαφόρων συγγραμμάτων σοφῶν· γράφω

Incipit: f. 1r Γράφειν ἐνεργητικὸν σημαίνει πέντε· γράφειν τὸν συγγράφειν λόγον ἢ ἄλλην τινα ἱστορίαν

Explicit: f. 58v κατάγω εἰς λιμένα τὴν ναῦν||

Partially ed. Sigfrid Lindstam, Georgii Lacapeni Epistulae X priores cum Epimerismis editae (Uppsala 1910), pp. 25-86

Lindstam's edition includes only the scholia to the first ten of the 32 letters in Lakapenos's collection, ending at f. 33v, line 1 in the manuscript

2. ff. 59r-146v

Manuel Moschopoulos, Vocum Atticarum collectio Τῶν ὀνόματων Ἀττικῶν συλλογή

Defective at the beginning: begins during the entry for ἁμαρτάνω

Incipit: || f. 59r καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα. ἁμαρτία καὶ δ⟨ια⟩μαρτί⟨α καὶ⟩ ἐξαμαρτία

Explicit: f. 146v οἷον ὡς ὄφελόν γε καὶ σὲ τῆ κακοδοξία νενεκρωμένον

Final rubric: f. 146v Τέλος τῆς γραμματικῆς τοῦ κυρίου Μανουῆλ

Ed. Thomae Magistri dictionum Atticarum collectio. Phrynichi Atticorum verborum et nominum collectio. Manuelis Moscopuli vocum Atticarum collectio e libro de arte imaginum Philostrati et scriptis poetarum. Omnia ex alphabeti ordine electa. Ex scriptis Aeliani libellus de antiqua ratione instruendarum acierum et ductorum militarium appellationibus. Orbicius de ordinibus exercitus (Paris 1532)

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: ff. 48-55 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Scissors ( c. 55 × 32 mm. ) in the gutter, similar to Briquet 3661. This example is dated to 1438.

Extent: Codex: ii + 1 + 146 + ii leaves. 209 × 140 mm.

Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [i-ii] + [iii] + 1-146 + [iv-v] in Arabic numerals, in black ink, recto, upper right. This foliation was added later than the loss suffered to the corners of some folios, as numbers in this sequence still appear on folios where they would have been lost if in their usual position (e.g. f. 59r).

Foliation: ff. 1r-24 are paginated with the numbers 1-47 in Arabic numerals, in black ink, recto and verso, upper centre.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 17 quires, of which one is a ternion and the rest are quaternia.

Quires 1-7⁸ ff. 1-56
Quire 8^8-6 ff. 57-58 All but two folios of this quire have been lost; it is unclear which positions these originally occupied
Quires 9-19⁸ ff. 59-146

There are quire signatures in Arabic numerals, in pencil, on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower right. They survive on all quires (1-19).

Condition

There is occasional pest damage and areas of dirt. There is water staining, usually mild but occasionally extensive. That to ff. 58-60 and 146 is severe and has caused softening of the paper and loss of text. There are minor losses to the edges of ff. 59 and 146, and some wear and tear to edges elsewhere.

Layout

A single column of 28-35 lines. 169-177 × 130-140 mm.

Hand(s)

The text was copied in an inelegant mixed minuscule script, with variable slant, in black ink, with modest variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear only at the end of lines. Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. Use of the double dot is usually functional but occasionally decorative. Accents are sometimes joined to letters.

The modern eta and modern nu are present.

Punctuation used includes the lower, middle and upper points, lower comma and full stop.

Instances of the word under discussion in a given section have been underlined.

Headings were written in the same style in red ink.

Decoration

Sections begin with normal letters in red ink.

Additions

As part of the original production of the manuscript, words being defined or discussed are written in the margins in red ink.

On f. [iii] recto is a note of ownership of John Heaver: ‘Διαλεκτον John Heaver Clariensis DD’.

Also on f. [iii] recto is a note regarding the donation of the manuscript by Heaver to Clare College: ‘Ἐπιμερισίαι Lecapeni ex Dono Johannis Heaver S.T.P. olim Clariensis socii’.

The former classmark G.3.6 appears on the left pastedown, and the former classmark Kk.4.11 appears on ff. [i] recto and 1r.

Binding

19th-century full leather binding with plain pastedowns. There is decorative blind tooling on both boards and their edges, and decorative gold tooling on the spine. The title is tooled in gold on the spine and the former classmark G.3.6 appears on the spine on a patch.

219 × 153 × 33 mm.

History

Origin: The manuscript was probably copied in the first half of the 15th century, as suggested by the watermark. This is consistent with the style of script.

Provenance and Acquisition

Owned by the clergyman and Fellow of Clare College John Heaver (d. 1670) , as indicated by a note on f. [iii] recto.

Given to Clare College by John Heaver , as indicated by a note on f. [iii] recto.

Additional Information

Record Sources

Availability

Visitors to Clare College who wish to consult Special Collections material are required to apply to the Library in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Clare College Archives.

Bibliography

A descriptive catalogue of the Western manuscripts in the library of Clare College Cambridge, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1905)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

Cambridge, Clare College, MS 24

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