Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries: Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 500/382

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11872

Introduction: This manuscript, copied in the late 15th or early 16th century, contains the first four of the eight books of the commentary on Aristotle's Physics by Simplicius of Cilicia. The author, active in the 6th century, was a Neoplatonist philosopher and one of the most important ancient commentators on Aristotle, who sought to harmonise the author's work with that of Plato. This copy has been identified from its script as the work of the scribe Paulos, who worked as a bookbinder as well as a copyist in the university town of Padua. A substantial number of manuscripts copied by this scribe have been identified, most of them classical texts. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

Simplicius, In Aristotelis physicorum libros octo commentaria

Books 1-4

Rubric: f. 1r Σιμπλικίου μεγάλου φιλοσόφου ἐξ[.....] ]εἰς τὸν πρῶτον τῆς Ἀριστοτέλους φυσικῆς ἀκροάσεως

Incipit: f. 1r Τὸν σκοπὸν τῆς Ἀριστοτέλους φυσικῆς ἀκροάσεως μαθεῖν ἔστι ῥαδίος

Explicit: f. [490]v τοῦ τε χρόνου καὶ τῆς κινήσεως διδάσκει καλλὰ[sic] θεωρήματα

TLG 4013.004

1.1. ff. 1r-[147]v

Book 1

1.2. ff. 148r-[230b] recto

Book 2

ff. [230b] verso-231r are blank

1.3. ff. 232r-[298]v

Book 3

ff. [299]r-[300]v are blank

1.4. ff. 301r-[490]v

Book 4

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: ff. 1-[30], [33-34], [38-43], [45-155], 232-[300] Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Hat ( 58 × 38 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, comparable but not identical to Briquet 3443. This example is dated to 1487-1496. ff. [37], [44], [156-188], [193-195] Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Scales ( 55 × 55 mm. ) in the centre of the folio. ff. [189], [192] Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Scales ( 60 × 31 mm. ) in the centre of the folio. ff. 31-[32], [35-36], [190]-191, [196]-231 Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Scales ( 64 × 32 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, similar to Likhachev 3031. This example is dated to 1495. ff. 301-[490] Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Hat ( 57 × 50 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, similar to Briquet 3404. This example is dated to 1481-1519.

Extent: Codex: ii + 493 + 1 + ii leaves. 304 × 205 mm.

Foliation: The manuscript is foliated on the first folio of each quire and occasional other folios with the numbers [i-ii] + 1, [2], 3, [4-8], 9, [10], 11, [12-20], 21, [22-27], 28, [29-30], 31, [32-40], 41, [42-45], 46, [47-50], 51, [52-60], 61, [62-70], 71, [72-80], 81, [82-90], 91, [92-100], 101, [102-110], 111, [112-120], 121, [122-130], 131, [132-140], 141, [142-147], 148, [149-150], 151, [152-160], 161, [162-170], 171, [172-180], 181, [182-190], 191, [192-200], [200a], 201, [203-210], 211, [212-220], 221, [222-230], [230a-230b], 231-232, [233-240], 241, [242-250], 251, [252-260], [260a], 261, [262-270], 271, [272-276], 277-278, [279-280], 281, [282-290], 291, [292-300], 301, [302-310], 311, [312-320], 321, [322-330], 331, [332-340], 341, [342-350], 351, [352-360], 361, [362-370], 371, [372-380], 381, [382-390], 391, [392-400], 401, [402-410], 411, [412-420], 421, [422-430], 431, [432-440], 441, [442-450], 451, [452-460], 461, [462-470], 471, [472-480], 481, [482-490] + [iii-v] in Arabic numerals, in pencil, recto, upper right. The number 201 has been written one folio too late, but the following number 211 is correctly placed. The number 231 is two folios too late, and subsequent numbers are also too small by two. The number 261 is a further one folio too late, and subsequent numbers are therefore too small by three.

Collation

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

Quires 1-3¹⁰ ff. 1-[30]
Quire 4⁶ ff. 31-[36]
Quire 5^8-1 ff. [37-43] The last folio has been cancelled, without loss of text.
Quire 6^6-4 ff. [44-45] The first, second, fifth and sixth folios have been cancelled, without loss of text
Quires 7-24¹⁰ ff. 46-[225]
Quire 25⁸ ff. [226]-231
Quires 26-51¹⁰ ff. 232-[490]

There are quire signatures in Greek numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of each Quire, recto, upper right. Most have been lost to cropping. The number 13 survives on Quire 17 (ιγʹ), and there are traces on Quires 10, 18, 26, 31 and 32. There is a single quire signature in Greek numerals, in black ink, on the first folio of Quire 4, recto, lower right (δʹ). Catchwords appear on the first folio of Quires 34-41, recto, in the upper margin, and on the last folio of Quires 42-50, verso, vertically in the lower margin.

Condition

There is slight water staining, occasional areas of dirt and some creasing.

Layout

A single column of 30 lines. 200 × 120 mm.

Hand(s)

The manuscript was copied by Paulos (Hand A) (RGK I 342, II 460, III 539) in mixed minuscule script, slanting to the right, in brown ink, with moderate variation in letter size. Some tails are flourished into the lower margin, usually on the abbreviation of καί. There are deletions by strikethrough and 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. Accents are sometimes joined to letters, breathings and abbreviations. The double grave accent and marginal quotation marks are present.

The modern eta, modern nu sigma telikon and loop epsilon are present, and there are inclusions of letters within omicron and omega.

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

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

Decoration

The beginnings of books on ff. 1r, 141r, 232r and 301r are preceded by slender headpieces in red ink.

Sections begin with minor initials in red ink.

Additions

As part of the original production of the manuscript, the scribe has added marginal ση(μείωσαι) marks to hghlight notable passages, and there are occasional marginal numbers or other marks for sub-sections of particular passages.

There are marginal notes of variant readings, frequent in the early folios.

There is a note of the total number of folios on f. [490]v.

Binding

18th-century full leather binding over millboards, with plain pastedowns. There is decorative blind tooling on the boards and spine, and gold tooling on the edges. The classmarks 500 and 382 are marked on patches of different date on the spine.

134 × 232 × 98 mm.

Accompanying Material

A torn slip of paper bearing a note of donation to Gonville and Caius College, in the hand of John Caius (1510-1573) , has been pasted to f. [ii] recto. Due to damage suffered before its present attachment, some of the text is now lost ‘Collegio suo de Gon⟨neville⟩ et Caius in Ca⟨nt⟩abrigia, Joannes Ca⟨ius⟩ dono dedit’.

History

Origin: The manuscript was copied by the scribe Paulos (RGK I 342, II 460, III 539), in the late 15th or early 16th century, as indicated by the watermarks and Paulos's period of activity, probably in ; Padua, where he was based.

Provenance and Acquisition

Given to Gonville and Caius College by John Caius (1510-1573) .

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

Inventaire des manuscrits grecs d'Aristote et de ses commentateurs: contribution à l'histoire du texte d'Aristote, Wartelle, André (Paris, Société d'édition Les belles lettres, 1963)

Specimen eines Repertoriums der griechischen Kopisten Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik, Gamillscheg, ErnstHarlfinger, Dieter (27, 293-322, 1978)

John Caius' Library Biographical history of Gonville and Caius College, 1349-1897 : containing a list of all known members of the college from the foundation to the present time, with biographical notes, Grierson, Philip (Cambridge, 7, 509-525, Cambridge University Press, 1978)

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

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 500/382

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