Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries: Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 348/541

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11867

Introduction: This manuscript is a Greek Psalter, probably copied in the second half of the 15th century. The Psalms are followed by the Odes, the sequence of hymns excerpted from various Biblical books, also known as canticles, which in the Orthodox tradition constitute a separate book of the Bible. The first nine of these are the basis for the canons which are a central component of Orthodox hymnography. This manuscript contains this basic set and two of the remaining six hymns. The manuscript has been identified from its distinctive script as the work of a copyist named Manuel, originally from Constantinople, who produced a number of other manuscripts and whose identity is known from his colophon on a New Testament manuscript (Leicester, The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, MS 6 D 32/1), addressed to George Neville, Archbishop of York (c. 1433-1476) and dated 1468. The likelihood that Manuel had settled in England is reinforced by evidence from other manuscripts that he collaborated with another known Constantinopolitan scribe, Ioannes Serbopoulos, who lived and worked in Reading, producing dated manuscripts between 1484 and 1500. Although he was able to find work as a copyist, it seems likely that Manuel had not been professionally trained as a scribe. His hand is not very elegant and somewhat unconventional, and his accentuation is erroneous, using acute accents wherever a grave accent should appear. He was perhaps a refugee from the Ottoman conquest who adopted a new trade after settling in the West, taking advantage of the potential market value of a basic level of Greek literacy in England, where such skills were rare. It is notable in this regard that the quires in this manuscript are marked with leaf signatures in Greek, apparently in the scribe's own hand, a feature also found in other examples of Manuel's work. While the use of quire signatures was a normal feature of Greek manuscripts, leaf signatures were not usual in the Byzantine tradition. Manuel's adoption of this practice may be a further reflection of his residence in western Europe, and perhaps of his lack of formal scribal training, leaving him to learn aspects of his trade in the West rather than retaining habits acquired in Constantinople. This manuscript also features quire signatures in Arabic numerals in a medieval style, which may also be in Manuel's hand, presumably added for the benefit of an English binder. A structural peculiarity of the manuscript is that the bifolios of the early quires are arranged with the less attractive hair side outermost, a departure from normal practice, and which is reversed in the latter part of the manuscript. The practice followed in the early quires could be another sign of Manuel's uncertain professional standards, an error identified and redressed in the course of copying the manuscript. Another Psalter copied by Manuel, now Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.3.14, is similar in many respects, including the scribe's use of leaf signatures, but differs in that a new line is begun at the start of each verse, whereas in this manuscript the text is written continuously. This difference could reflect differing requirements from patrons, or a refinement of Manuel's technique, if the Trinity manuscript was copied later. In the late 15th or early 16th century, the Psalter was annotated by Richard Brinkley, a Franciscan friar based in Cambridge, who served as Provincial Master of the Order in England in the 1520s. This is close enough to the likely date of production that it may give some indication of the context in which the manuscript was originally commissioned. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

1. pp. 1-240, line 10

Psalms

Rubric: p. 1 Ἄρχεται τό ψαλτήριον τοῦ Δαβίδ

Incipit: p. 1 Μακάριος ἀνήρ ὅς οὐκ ἐπορεύθην ἐν βουλῆ ἀσεβῶν

Explicit: p. 240 καί ἦρα ὄνειδος ἐξ υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ

TLG 0527.027

2. p. 240, line 11-p. 263

Odes

Contains Odes 1-9, 11-12 in that order

Incipit: p. 240 Ασωμεν τῶ Κυρίω ἐνδόξως γάρ δεδόξασται

Explicit: p. 263 καί σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ δόξα εἰς τούς αἰῶνας ἀμήν

TLG 0527.028

pp. 264-266 are blank

The text of Ode 7 continues beyond its usual end (Daniel 3:45) to include Daniel 3:46-56 (p. 255, line 21-p. 257, line 5), of which verses 52-56 usually constitute the early part of Ode 8; this instead begins at Daniel 3:57 and omits the repeated refrain that forms the second half of each verse (p. 257, line 6-p. 258, line 10)

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Parchment (pp. 1-160 HFFH; pp. 161-26 FHHF), of medium thickness and quality.

Extent: Codex: ii + 2 + 133 + ii leaves. 247 × 185 mm.

Foliation: The manuscript is marked with the numbers [i-ii] + 1-2 + 1-266 + [iii-iv] in Arabic numerals, in pencil, recto, upper right. The two original left-hand endleaves are foliated with the numbers 1-2, while the main body of the manuscript is paginated with the numbers 1-266.

Collation

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

Quires 1-16⁸ pp. 1-256
Quire 17^6-1 pp. 257-266 The fifth folio has been cancelled, without loss of text.

There are early leaf signatures in Greek numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of each bifolio, recto, lower right, original to the production of the manuscript and in the hand of the copyist. On the first leaf of each quire only the quire number appears, on the rest both quire and leaf numbers. Some have been wholly or partially lost to cropping or damage. They survive with at least one legible quire number on Quires 1-9, 11-12, 14-15 (αʹ-θʹ, ιαʹ-ιβʹ, ιδʹ-ιεʹ). There are also quire signatures in Arabic numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower centre, probably original to the production of the manuscript and possibly in the hand of the copyist. Quire 8 has the erroneous number 9, and from this point all numbers are too large by one. They survive on all quires except the first (2-8, 9-18). There are catchwords on the last folio of each quire, verso, lower centre, by the original copyist. Most have been wholly or partially lost to cropping or damage; in many cases the ink has printed across to the opposite folio.

Condition

There is damage to the foot many of the folios, which has often been repaired with paper patches. There is very extensive and severe water staining in the lower part of the early folios (ff. 1r-2v, pp. 1-33), which has caused some fading of text and printing across of text, particularly in red ink, to the opposite folio. Significant abrasion to text in to the lower part of the folio continues through pp. 34-63, and less extensively elsewhere. Paper from the college bookplate on f. 2v has been transferred to p. 1. A scrap of paper with notes on variant readings, in the same hand as the paper attached to f. [iii] recto, has become adhered to p. 78, concealing some of the original text.

Layout

A single column of 20-21 lines. 187-205 × 130-140 mm.

Hand(s)

The main text was copied by Manuel of Constantinople (Hand A) (RGK I 115, II 147) in mixed minuscule script, slanting to the right, in brown ink, with modest variation in letter size. There are deletions by expunctuation.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear throughout the line. Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. There is decorative use of the double dot, and accentuation of all lengths of nomina sacra . Accents are sometimes joined to breathings and nomina sacra strokes. Grave accents do not appear, acute accents being used instead. Circumflexes take the form of a horizontal stroke, sometimes with a diagonal upturn at the right-hand end, except when joined to nomina sacra strokes.

The sigma telikon is present. Beta sometimes takes a highly unusual form, like a long-bowed majuscule beta without its upper loop, resembling a curved Latin lower-case letter b.

Punctuation used includes the middle and upper points, lower comma, question mark and full stop. The question mark appears in an unusual form, the dot being roughly level with the top of the curved mark and to its left, rather than directly above it (e.g. p. 129, lines 1, 3-4).

Headings have been written in the same style in red ink.

Decoration

Verses begin with normal letters in red ink. On pp. 1-128 these are in bright red ink, while on pp. 129-263 the ink is paler.

Space has been left for initial letters to each Psalm or Ode, but these have not been added. Guide letters, usually in red ink, are written in the margin to indicate the appropriate letter to the artist.

Additions

A note of donation to Gonville and Caius College, in the hand of John Caius (1510-1573 appears on f. 2v: ‘Collegio de Goneville et Caius, Gulielmus Mowse Legum Doctor dono dedit 1571’.

Richard Brinkley has written his surname on p. 97: ‘bryngkelei’; and added a note on p. 113 regarding the erroneous numbering of Quire 8 by the signature in Arabic numerals: ‘Here xwld be no qweyr of the numbyr of 8 for her ys all q Fr. Ric. Brinkeley’.

There are occasional brief marginal annnotations in Greek (e.g. pp. 5, 7, 34).

On pp. 3-4 and 190, lines 1-5 an interlinear transliteration of the text into Latin script has been added, following the modern Greek pronunciation. On p. 190, line 16-p. 191 interlinear transcriptions of some words or parts of words have been added, possibly by the same hand.

Latin translations of a few words, marked in the text with paraph symbols, have been added in the margins on pp. 208-210.

Psalm numbers in Arabic numerals have occasionally been added at the beginning of the Psalm (e.g. pp. 159, 165-166). The beginning of some of the Odes have been marked with their customary Latin names (pp. 240, 242) or with book and chapter references to the original source of the text (pp. 257-258).

Binding

20th-century quarter-leather binding by Douglas Cockerell and Son, hollow back, with marbled paper covering over millboards and plain pastedowns. The classmarks 348 and 541 are marked on patches of different date on the spine.

258 × 202 × 47 mm.

Accompanying Material

There are two early parchment left endleaves, probably original to the production of the manuscript, with marks around their edges from the turn-ins of a previous binding. There are two modern paper endleaves at each end, pertaining to the present binding.

Pasted to f. [iii] recto is a folded slip of paper with notes on variant readings, in Latin and Greek, in an early modern hand.

Attached to the right pastedown is a folded sheet of parchment with monastic financial accounts in Latin, including an item dated 1366. This was pasted to the board cover of a previous binding. (Rendell Harris, Leicester Codex, pp. 23-30, with transcription)

A loose sheet of paper with typewritten notes on the manuscript's origins and provenance is inserted inside the left board.

History

Origin: The copyist has been identified from the script as Manuel of Constantinople (RGK I 115, II 147; PLP 6030), who was active in the second half of the 15th century, producing a dated manuscript in 1468. It was probably copied in ; England, in the light of evidence from other manuscripts copied by Manuel for an English patron and in collaboration with a scribe known to have worked in England, his use here of leaf signatures and the presence of probably original quire signatures in Arabic numerals.

Provenance and Acquisition

Owned by the Franciscans in Cambridge and used by the Franciscan theologian Richard Brinkley in the late 15th or early 16th century.

Given to Gonville and Caius College by the lawyer and former Master of Trinity Hall William Mowse (d. 1588) in 1571, as indicated by the note on f. 2v.

Additional Information

Record Sources

Availability

Visitors to Gonville and Caius College who wish to consult Lower Library material are required to apply to the Library in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Gonville and Caius College: Library Information.

Bibliography

The origin of the Leicester Codex of the New Testament, Harris, J. Rendel (London, C. J. Clay, 1887)

A descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts in the library of Gonville and Caius College, James, M. R. (Cambridge, 1, University Press, 1907)

The wanderings and homes of manuscripts Helps for Students of History, James, M. R. (London; New York, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; Macmillan, 1919)

Bindings in Cambridge libraries: seventy-two plates, with notes by G. D. Hobson, based on researches by N. F. Barwell, H. M. Davies and the late Charles E. Sayle., Hobson, G. D. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1929)

The Grey Friars in Cambridge, 1225-1538, Moorman, John Richard Humpidge (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1952)

Medieval libraries of Great Britain: a list of surviving books Medieval libraries of Great Britain Royal Historical Society guides and handbooks, Ker, N.R. (London, Offices of the Royal Historical Society, 1964)

Repertorium der griechischen Kopisten, 800-1600 Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Byzantinistik, Gamillscheg, ErnstHarlfinger, Dieter (Wien, I. Grossbritannien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1981)

A history of the University of Cambridge, Leader, Damian Riehl (Cambridge, 1: the University to 1546, Cambridge University Press, 1988)

A thirteenth-century preacher's handbook: studies in MS Laud Misc. 511, O'Carroll, Mary E. (Toronto, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1997)

Manuscripts in the Library of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Index of Middle English prose, Rand Schmidt, Kari Anne (Woodbridge, D. S. Brewer, 2001)

Verzeichnis der griechischen Handschriften des Alten Testaments, Rahlfs, Alfred (Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2004)

La Famille 13 dans l'évangile de Marc, Lafleur, Didier (Leiden, Brill, 2013)

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, Gonville and Caius College, MS 348/541

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