Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries: Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS McClean 3

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11857

Introduction: This Gospel book, probably copied in the 11th century, contains two surviving Gospels, those of Luke and John, each preceded by a chapter list and a portait miniature of the author. The miniatures, now considerably damaged, were rendered in paint only, without the use of gold. An unusual feature in that of St John is that the evangelist's symbolic creature, the eagle, is holding a rectangular object of uncertain identification in its beak. The two main texts were copied by two different hands, and it is conceivable that they belong to two different original manuscripts bound together. While the style of the miniatures appears consistent, the folio bearing that of Luke (f. 2v) could have been an insertion into its quire (a common enough feature even when miniatures formed part of the original production), so it could have been added after the two were combined. However, a bifolio (ff. 110-111) has been inserted into the text of John, whose ruling pattern differs from those found elsewhere in the manuscript but which appears to have been copied by the hand responsible for copying Luke. The text proceeds continuously, and this insertion presumably replaces an original bifolio either lost or removed due to damage or some defect in its production. This indicates that the scribe who copied Luke was working on the manuscript after the copyist of John, and since the features of the former's script would, if anything, tend to suggest an earlier date than the latter, it is unlikely that the replacement leaves were inserted a long time after the rest of the text of John was copied. It is therefore probable that the two scribes worked contemporaneously on a single project. There are nonetheless some differences in approach between the two portions. The headings, section numbers and original annotations added to the Gospel of Luke in red ink appear to have been the work of a distinct rubricator, whereas those of John seem to have been the work of the same scribe as the main text. The copyist of Luke appears to have been responsible for the chapter list to that Gospel, whereas the list of chapters for John was added by a later hand on blank folios. The presence of this blank space suggests that this content was always intended to be included, but was never actually completed during the original project. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

Gospel book

Gregory-Aland 2098; von Soden ε 1169

Filiation: The manuscript was categorised by Aland as conforming to the majority text. It is one of the manuscripts of this type used in the Aland Synopsis edition.

1.1. ff. 1r-2r

List of κεφάλαια to Luke

Defective at the beginning

Incipit: || f. 1r λγʹ Περὶ τοῦ μὴ ἐπιτρεπομένου

Explicit: f. 2r πγʹ Περὶ Κλεόπα

1.2. f. 2v

Evangelist miniature of Luke

1.3. ff. 3r-81r

Gospel of Luke

Incomplete, with lacunas

Rubric: f. 3r Εὐαγγέλιον κατα Λουκᾶν

Incipit: f. 3r Ἐπειδήπερ πολλοὶ ἐπεχείρησαν ἀνατάξασθαι διήγησιν

Explicit: f. 81r καὶ ἦσαν διαπαντὸς ἐν τῶι ἱερῶι· αἰνοῦντες καὶ εὐλογοῦντες τὸν Θεὸν ἀμήν

TLG 0031.003

1.4. f. 81r

Subscription to Luke

Incipit: f. 81r Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Λουκᾶν· ἑγράφη[sic] καὶ ἀντεβλήθη ὁμοίως· ἐν στίχοις ͵βχοζʹ· κεφάλαια τμβʹ· + Ἐξεδόθη δὲ μετὰ χρόνους ιεʹ· τῆς ἀναλήψεως τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

The full text of the subscription is given here

1.5. f. 81v

Evangelist miniature of John

1.6. ff. 82r-82v

List of κεφάλαια to John

Rubric: f. 82r Το[sic] δ κατὰ Ἰωάννην εὐαγγέλιον τὰ κεφάλαια

Incipit: f. 82r αʹ Περὶ τοῦ ἐν Κανᾶ γάμου

Explicit: f. 82v κʹ Περὶ τῆς αἰτήσεως τοῦ Κυριακοῦ σώματος

1.7. ff. 83r-157v

Gospel of John

Defective at the end: ends at Jn 21:13

Rubric: f. 83r Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην

Incipit: f. 83r Ἐν ἀρχὴ· ἦν ὁ λόγος· καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν· καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος

Explicit: f. 157v εἰδότες ὅτι ὁ Κύριός ἐστιν· ἔρχεται

TLG 0031.004

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Parchment (FHHF), of medium thickness and quality.

Extent: Codex: iii + 157 + iii leaves. 151 × 115 mm.

Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [i-iii] + 1-157 + [iv-vi], in pencil, in Arabic numerals, recto, upper right and recto, lower left.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 22 quires, of which one is a quinion, one of uncertain type and the rest are quaternia.

Quire 1^8-5+1 ff. 1-4 The original structure of this quire is uncertain, but it may have been a quaternion into which an additional folio bearing the miniature (the second folio of the present quire) was inserted, and from which the first five folios were later lost.
Quires 2-4⁸ ff. 5-28
Quire 5^8-2 ff. 29-34 The first and eighth folios have been lost, with loss of text.
Quires 6-7⁸ ff. 35-50
Quire 8^8-2 ff. 51-56 The first and eighth folios have been lost, with loss of text.
Quire 9^8-4 ff. 57-60 The first, fourth, fifth and eighth folios have been lost, with loss of text.
Quire 10^8-2 ff. 61-66 The fourth and fifth folios have been lost, with loss of text.
Quire 11^8-2 ff. 67-72 The seventh and eighth folios have been lost, with loss of text.
Quire 12¹⁰ ff. 73-82
Quires 13-15⁸ ff. 83-106
Quire 16^8-2+2 ff. 107-114 The original fourth and fifth folios have apparently been cancelled or lost and replaced by a substitute bifolio, without loss of text.
Quires 17-21⁸ ff. 115-154
Quire 22^8-5 ff. 155-157 The last five folios have been lost, with loss of text.

There are modern quire signatures in Arabic numerals at the beginning of each quire, in pencil, recto, lower right.

Condition

Much of the lower margin of f. 1 has been torn away and this damage has been repaired with a paper patch, as have smaller losses to ff. 2r and 157. A paper strip has been used to repair f. 82, in the gutter. Tears to the edges of ff. 155-156 have been repaired with Japanese paper, and there are occasional small tears to the edges of other folios There is slight pest damge to f. 151-157. There is water staining and areas of dirt. Much of the paint has been lost from the miniatures and ink has been abraded in places, particularly on ff. 1r-3r, with some overwriitng in black ink.

Layout

ff. 1r-81r, 83r-98v, 131r-157v A single column of 17 lines. 99-109 × 75 mm. Piercing sometimes survives in the lower margin, but most has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, type Leroy 32C1. Text hangs from the lines.

f. 82r-82v A single column of 16 lines. 95 × 80 mm. Piercing does not survive. Ruled in hardpoint, without text lines, only two horizontals and two verticals defining the edges of the written area.

ff. 83r-109v, 112r-157v A single column of 19 lines. 101 × 75 mm. Piercing sometimes survives in the lower margin, but most has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, type Leroy 20C1. Text hangs from the lines.

ff. 110r-111v A single column of 20 lines, ruled for 21 (f. 110r-110v) or 22 (f. 111r-111v). 103 × 75 mm. Piercing does not survive. Ruled in hardpoint, type perhaps Leroy 24C1 (the upper margin is cropped too closely for any additional horizontal lines to survive there). Text hangs from the lines.

Hand(s)

The main text of ff. 1r-81r, line 5 and 110r-111v was copied by Hand A in upright mixed minuscule Perlschrift, in brown ink, with little variation in letter size. There is occasional modest flourishing of tails into the lower margin, which are sometimes decorated with multiple cross-bars (e.g. ff. 60r, 79v).

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings almost always appear only at the end of lines, but very occasionally in mid-line (e.g. f. 3r, line 14). Breathings are angular and mute iota is adscript. Use of the double dot is functional only. Nomina sacra are rarely accentuated, and only when more than three letters long. The circumflex appears above breathings and is often expanded there. The double grave accent is in use.

Majuscule forms present include beta, gamma, epsilon, zeta, eta, kappa, lambda, pi, sigma, psi and omega. There are inclusions of letters within omicron.

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

The chapter list on ff. 1r-2r was copied by the same hand in Alexandrine majuscule script in brown ink, with numbers in red ink.

Headings and marginal section numbers and lection notes to ff. 1r-81rwere copied by Hand B in Alexandrine majuscule script, in red ink.

Breathings are angular and mute iota is adscript.

f. 81r, lines 6-9 and f. 82r-82v were copied by Hand C in upright mixed minuscule, in red ink, with little variation in letter size.

Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. There is accentuation of all nomina sacra .

The modern eta is present.

ff. 83r-109v and 112r-157v were copied by Hand D in upright mixed minuscule Perlschrift, in brown ink, withmodest variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear only at the end of lines. Breathings are both angular and round and mute iota is adscript. There is occasional decorative use of the double dot. There is accentuation of all lengths of nomina sacra . The circumflex appears above breathings and is often expanded there.

Majuscule forms of all letters except gamma and nu are present.

Punctuation used includes the lower and upper points, question mark and full stop.

Marginal section numbers and lection notes are written in Alexandrine majuscule script in brown or red ink. The main text of f. 83r, the first page of the Gospel of John, is in the same style in red ink. The heading on f. 83r is written in epigraphic display majuscule in red ink.

Decoration

There are portrait miniatures of the Evangelists on ff. 2v (Luke) and 81v (John), in paint only.

The beginning of the Gospel of Luke on f. 3r is preceded by a plaited headpiece outlined in red ink, with blue, green and yellow paint infill. The beginning of the Gospel of John on f. 83r is preceded by a more elaborate square headpiece surrounding the heading, outlined in red ink, with red, blue, green and possibly yellow paint infill.

The text of each Gospel, on ff. 3r and 83r, begins with a initial outlined in red ink, with blue and green paint infill.

The beginnings of sections are marked by minor initials in red ink.

The beginning of the chapter list on f. 82r is preceded by a horizontal plait in red ink, and the end of this text on f. 82v and that of the subscription on f. 81r are followed by simple vignettes in red ink.

Lection notes on f. 126r have decorative borders in red ink.

Additions

As part of the original production of the manuscript, the scribes have added marginal κεφάλαιον (chapter) numbers and titles (τίτλοι), and Ammonian section numbers. Hand D, the copyist of ff. 83r-157v, has also included some marginal lection notes, with ἀρχή and τέλος marks indicating the beginning and end of lections in space left for them in the text.

At various points additional lection notes have been added by various later hands (e.g. ff. 19r-28v, 100r-106r). There are occasional other annotations in Greek (e.g. f. 1r, 3r, 155v).

There are occasional modern chapter and verse references in Arabic and Roman numerals, in pencil (e.g. ff. 57r, 67r). There is a note of the number of folios on the right pastedown, apparently dated 15 August 1908 and initialed H.A.C.

Binding

19th-century binding, hollow back, sewn with cord on recessed supports, with purple velvet covering over millboards, parchment pastedowns.

168 × 129 × 40 mm.

Both endbands are partially split.

Accompanying Material

There are separate sewn parchment endleaves, belonging to the present binding. There is a bookplate indicating ownership by Frank McClean on the left pastedown. A loose slip of paper with a brief description, clipped from the Sotheby's sale catalogue, is inserted inside the left board.

History

Origin: The manuscript was probably copied during the 11th century, as indicated by the style of script. The two Gospels, copied by different main hands (Hands A and D), could have belonged to two different original manuscripts, later combined. However, the presence of ff. 110-111, inserted into the portion copied by Hand D but apparently the work of Hand A (perhaps as a result of damage to the original folios), indicates that the two parts must have been combined at a very early stage, especially as the features of Hand A would tend to suggest a date at least as early as those of Hand D. The manuscript was therefore probably the product of a single project. However, the subscription on f. 81r and the chapter list on f. 82r-82v, by Hand C, were probably added at a later date in space previously left blank, perhaps in the 12th century.

Provenance and Acquisition

Owned by the historian Henry White (1812-1880) .

Purchased by the astronomer and collector Frank McClean (1837-1904) in the auction of the White collection at Sotheby's in April 1902 (lot 842).

Bequeathed to the Fitzwilliam Museum by McClean, together with the rest of his collection, in 1904.

Additional Information

Record Sources

Availability

Visitors to the Fitzwilliam Museum who wish to consult Collection material are required to apply to the Museum in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Fitzwilliam Museum: Study Room.

Bibliography

A descriptive catalogue of the McClean collection of manuscripts in the Fitzwilliam museum, James, M.R. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1912)

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, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS McClean 3

Contents