Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

A catalogue of Western manuscripts and papyri at Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and selected Cambridge colleges

Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 292

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11890

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript, copied in England and completed in 1632, is the first part of a four-volume copy of the Panoplia Dogmatike of Niketas Choniates. The author was a high official of the Byzantine government in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, best known for his history of his own time, which includes the principal Byzantine account of the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Following this disaster, Choniates took refuge in Nicaea, seat of an emerging Byzantine government in exile, but failed to regain steady employment in imperial service. It was there that he completed this text, a vast theological compilation, which includes allusions to the straitened circumstances in which he now lived. The main purpose of the work was the refutation of heresies and other religions, including paganism, Judaism, Islam, and non-Orthodox strands of Christianity from antiquity to the present. Among these is the western, Catholic Church, whose emerging schism with the Orthodox Church had both contributed to and been inflamed by the outcome of the Fourth Crusade. Drawing heavily on existing texts, the work's most original sections concern various theological controversies that had occurred within 12th-century Byzantium. The early chapters were closely based on the similar work of the monk Euthymios Zigabenos, composed a century earlier. This copy was produced by the clergyman Thomas Bayly or Bailey, as part of his project to produce an edition and Latin translation of the text. The first five of its 27 books had previously been translated into Latin by Pierre Moreau, but it otherwise remained unavailable in print. Bayly's undertaking was never completed, but extensive evidence of his approach is present in his marginal annotations to the four volumes and a variety of associated papers which have been preserved alongside them. Although presently bound in four volumes, and referred to as such in Bayly's papers, the original pagination of the manuscripts is in two sequences, one covering the first and second volumes and the other the third and fourth. This suggests that they had perhaps been produced as a two-volume set originally but soon rebound as four when this proved unwieldy. Besides Moreau's publication, Bayly's only access to the work of Choniates itself was the single Bodleian Library manuscript which served as the exemplar for this copy, but he aimed to improve and expand upon the text by collating it with the texts of works on which Choniates had drawn. These included works of the Fathers of the Church which Bayly consulted through their printed editions, and the work of Euthymios Zigabenos, consulted via a manuscript copy in Trinity College, Cambridge. The four volumes are extensively annotated with proposed emendations from these sources, and Bayly also envisaged incorporating additional passages from Zigabenos which Choniates had omitted in his adaptation of the earlier work. Copies of some of these passages survive among the associated papers, along with notes regarding the planned translation and other texts which may have been intended to supplement the edition. There are also two sections of Latin translation, one a brief excerpt, while the other, longer section, comprises the early part of Book 6 of the text. Since Moreau's translation had extended to the end of Book 5, this presumably represents the beginning of Bayly's main work of translation, and may well be as far as he ever got with the task. Like Choniates, Bayly's life was afflicted by warfare infused with religious controversy. A committed Royalist with Catholic sympathies during the English Civil War, he served in the defence of Raglan Castle in 1646, despite his clerical vocation. He also published tracts regarding the king's religious opinions and discussions with his own patron, the Catholic Henry Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, which had occurred while all three men were at Raglan. It was perhaps due to unemployment after the surrender of Raglan and Worcester's imprisonment that in December 1646 Bayly sold his manuscripts of Choniates to the London bookseller Cornelius Bee. However, in March 1647 he was able to retrieve two of the four volumes, along with a number of printed books. The circumstances are unclear, but evidently the four were subsequently reunited. Bayly was briefly imprisoned in 1649, after publishing writings in defence of the recently executed king and against the new regime of the Commonwealth, and subsequently left the country, converting openly to Catholicism. The manuscripts presumably remained in England, where they were acquired by another clergyman, Richard Drake, who donated them to Pembroke College in 1663. Dr Christopher Wright

History

Origin: The manuscript was copied by the clergyman Thomas Bayly (d. 1657) . The four-volume set to which it belongs was completed in 1632, as indicated by the colophon of MS 295, f. 136r.

Provenance and Acquisition

Bought along with the other volumes from Bayly by the London bookseller Cornelius Bee (1636-1672) , 8 December 1646, as indicated by a note on the cover of MS 294.

Two of the four volumes, along with a number of printed books, were retrieved by Thomas Bayly on 11 March 1647.

Donated 24 June 1663 by Richard Drake (1609-1681) , as recorded in the Pemrboke College Book of Benefactors (MS LC II.77, f. 90r).

Part 1 [Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 292, ff. 1:ii, 1:1-1:145]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

1. f. ii recto, lines 1-5
Title

Full transcription given here. This was incompletely transcribed from the manuscript's exemplar, parts of the text in the exemplar evidently having been found illegible; elipses are represented by dots, reproduced here

Incipit: f. ii recto Συλλογὴ τῶν ὅλων σχεδὸν δοξῶν καὶ αἱρέσεων, καὶ ἱστορία ταξαπο..... αὐτὰς ἀνδρῶν· ἔτι δὲ καὶ πρόῤῥησις ἔτ'ἔνι.... καὶ ..... παλαιτέραις καὶ .... τινὰ χρήσιμα τοῖς εὐσεβέσι πονηθέντα παρὰ τοῦ ....στου Νικήτου τοῦ Χονιάτου τοῦ γεγονότος κριτοῦ τοῦ Βήλου καὶ τῶν κρίσεων ἐφόρου γενικοῦ .... τοῦ βασιλικοῦ κοιτῶνος ἑστῶτος δὲ καὶ μεγάλου λογοθέτου τῶν σεκρετῶν.
2. f. ii recto, lines 6-32
Contents list

Includes Books 1-27, but with page numbers only for Books 1-12 (those contained in this manuscript and MS 293 )

ff. i recto-i verso and ii verso are blank.

3. ff. 1r-145v
Choniates, Nicetas, approximately 1140-1213, Πανοπλία Δογματική Panoplia Dogmatike Thesaurus Orthodoxae Fidei

Books 1-4

Filiation: The manuscript was copied from Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Roe 22 . It was omitted from those consulted by J. L. Van Dieten, Zur Überlieferung und Veröffentlichung der Panoplia Dogmatike des Niketas Choniates (Amsterdam, 1970).
Incipit: f. 1r Θεῷ, καὶ θεοφιλέσιν ἀνδράσι τίς ἂν ἀξία προσαγωγὴ γένοιτο;
Explicit: f. 145v τότε τούτους προβαίνειν εἰς τὴν τῶν ἀπιόντων τιμήν

TLG 3094.006 (extract)

PG 139, coll. 1093-1444; PG 140, coll. 9-284

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Bird ( 54 × 52 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, similar to Heawood 174. This example is dated to 1628.
Extent: Codex: 2 + 145 leaves. 399 × 265 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers i-ii + 1-145 in pencil, in Arabic and Roman numerals, recto, upper right.
Foliation: ff. 1r-145v are paginated with the numbers 1-292 in brown ink, in Arabic numerals, recto, upper right, original to the production of the manuscript. This is part of a single pagination sequence for the first two volumes of the work, this manuscript and MS 293.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 24 quires, of which one is a quaternion, one a binion, one a single bifolio, and the rest are ternia.

  • Quire 18 ff. ii-7
  • Quires 2-216 ff. 8-127
  • Quire 224 ff. 128-131
  • Quire 236 ff. 132-143
  • Quire 242 ff. 144-145

Catchwords appear on every page.

Condition

There are small tears to the edges of some folios. The deckle edges are brittle and there is some creasing to ff. i-ii. There are some areas of dirt.

Layout

A single column of 29 lines. 291 × 160 mm.

Hand(s)

The manuscript was copied by Thomas Bayly in a calligraphic mixed minuscule script, slanting to the right, in brown ink, with moderate variation in letter size. There are deletions by expunctuation and strikethrough.

Syllabic abbreviations appear throughout the line. Breathings are round and mute iota is subscript, often appearing as a dot rather than a line. Use of the double dot is functional only, while nomina sacra are uncontracted. Accents are sometimes joined to letters and abbreviations. Marginal quotation marks are in use.

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

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

Decoration

Some headings, sections and proper nouns begin with slightly enlarged initials in modern capital letters.

Some headings are flanked by simple leaves drawn in ink (e.g. ff. 61v-68v). These also appear at the end of the text (f. 145v).

Additions

There are numerous marginal annotations in Greek and Latin by the copyist. These include collations of variant readings in the text's patristic citations with printed editions and with the text of Euthymius Zigabenos, Panoplia dogmatica ad Alexium Comnenum (TLG 3038.001; PG 130, coll. 20-1360) in Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.8.9. On f. 123r the marginal letter alpha indicates the intended position for a supplementary passage from Euthymius Zigabenos (Part II, f. [p] recto-[p] verso). There are also Greek and Latin annotations by other hands.

Binding

Bound in a 17th-century limp vellum binding. Four leather straps have been inserted through holes in the cover for fastening, of which three survive in part while only a stump of the other remains. The classmark and the title ‘Niceta ⟨Chon⟩iata Panoplia volum. 1’ are written in ink on the spine. The present classmark and the former classmarks 6.2.1 and 4.11.12 are written inside the left cover.

411 × 278 × 45 mm.

Both inner joints are partially split. The left cover is detached from the text block.

Accompanying Material

A bookplate reading ‘Ex dono Ricardi Drake S.T.P. Coll. Soc. 1630’ and a Pembroke College bookplate dated 1700 are pasted inside the left cover.

Part 2 [Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 292, ff. 6:[b]-6:[p]]

Contents

Language(s): Greek and Latin

8. ff. [b] recto-[p] verso

This text is written on three quires sewn into a booklet, housed in the folder accompanying the manuscript

Zigavenos, Euthymios, approximately 1050-approximately 1118 or 1120, Panoplia dogmatica ad Alexium Comnenum

27 excerpts selected to supplement the text of MS 294, ff. 40r-41v, 73r, 74r-77r, 79r, 80r and 81v, and of this manuscript, f. 123r

Incipit: f. [b] recto Pagina 77. A. Μετὰ τὴν τετάρτην ἐν Χαλκηδόνι σύνοδον, ἀποῤῥήξαντες ἑαυτοὺς
Explicit: f. [p] verso εὐλόγως ἐνταῦθα τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ τέθειται

TLG 3038.001

PG 130, coll. 20-1360

f. [a] recto is blank apart from the heading and some pen-trials; ff. f. [a] verso and [q] recto-[r] verso are blank.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: ff. [a], [f], [g-l] Western paper. Watermark: Pillar ( 45 × 34 mm. ) in the centre of the folio. ff. [b-e] Western paper. Watermark: Letters (CHV, within a box) ( 30 × 30 mm. ) in the centre of the folio. ff. [m-r] Western paper. Watermark: Pillar ( 41 × 35 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, containing the date 1622.
Extent: Booklet 18 leaves. 315-331 × 200-210 mm.

Collation

This part consists of 3 quires, all ternia.

  • Quires 1-36 ff. [a-r]

Catchwords appear on each page.

Condition

There are small tears to the edges of some folios, some of which have been repaired with Japanese paper. The folios are creased and there are some areas of dirt.

Layout

A single column of 25-44 lines. 234-247 × 130-160 mm.

Hand(s)

Written by Thomas Bayly.

Additions

There are marginal notes by the copyist regarding citations and variant readings. On f. [a] recto are the note ‘Ad volumen tertium Manuscripti Nicetae’, the deleted note ‘Ad Tomum 3’ and some pen-trials.

Part 3 [Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 292, ff. 5:[a]-5:[b]]

Contents

Language(s): Latin and Greek

8. ff. [a] recto-[b] recto

This text is written on a single folded sheet housed in the folder accompanying the manuscript

Editorial notes

Regarding the text of ff. ii recto and 1r-4v of the manuscript

Incipit: f. [a] recto Titulus libri in Graeco exemplari mendolissimus est, nec facili sanabilis sine ope emendationis alicuius codicis
Explicit: f. [b] recto linea 16. περὶ πλανητῶν. lege, κομητῶν

f. [b] verso is blank.

Physical Description

Form: quire
Support: Western paper. Watermark: Crozier ( 67 × 52 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, similar to Heawood 1214, 1219-1223, 1225 but not identical, and containing the letters COSNARD. These examples are dated to 1634-1657.
Extent: Quire 6 leaves. 329 × 227 mm.

Condition

The folios are creased and there are some areas of dirt.

Layout

A single column of 32-40 lines. 218-229 × 145-155 mm.

Hand(s)

Written by Thomas Bayly.

Part 4 [Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 292, ff. 2:1-2:20]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

4. pp. 1-20

This text is written on two separate unsewn quires housed in the folder accompanying the manuscript

Choniates, Nicetas, approximately 1140-1213, Thesaurus Orthodoxae Fidei

This is a Latin translation of the content of MS 293, ff. 42r- 50r, line 16 (the early part of Book 6)

Rubric: p. 1 Tomus sextus De Macedonio Pneumatomacho
Incipit: p. 1 Cum mihi deinceps propositum sit, stylo persequi illa quae Macedonium concernunt
Explicit: p. 20 hinc eum Deo similitudo. Et quod desideratorum est desideratissimum, Deum fieri

pp. [21-24] are blank.

Physical Description

Form: quire
Support: Western paper. Watermark: Crozier ( 67 × 52 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, similar to Heawood 1214, 1219-1223, 1225 but not identical, and containing the letters COSNARD. These examples are dated to 1634-1657.
Extent: Quire 12 leaves. 308 × 197 mm.
Foliation: The quires are paginated with the numbers 1-20, [21-24], in Arabic numerals, in brown ink, recto, upper right, and verso, upper, left, original to the production of the manuscript.

Collation

This part consists of 2 unbound quires, both ternia.

  • Quires 1-26 pp. 1-[24]

Layout

A single column of 28 lines. 235 × 140 mm.

Hand(s)

Written by Thomas Bayly.

Part 5 [Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 292, ff. 3:[a]-3:[b]]

Contents

Language(s): Greek and Latin

5. f. [a] recto

This text is written on a single folded sheet housed in the accompanying folder

Julian, Emperor of Rome, 331-363, Letter to Basil of Caesarea
Filiation: This text was copied from Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Pal. gr. 364.
Rubric: f. [a] recto Επιστολὴ Ιουλιανοῦ τοῦ παραβάτου πρὸς τὸν μέγαν Βασίλειον
Incipit: f. [a] recto Τὸ ἔμφυτόν μοι ἐκπαιδόθεν γαληνὸν καὶ φιλάνθρωπον ἐνδεικνύμενος
Explicit: f. [a] recto ἃ γὰρ ἀνέγνων, ἔγνων καὶ κατέγνων

TLG 2040.004

BHG 260b

PG 32, coll. 341-344

6. f. [a] verso
Julian, Emperor of Rome, 331-363, Letter to Basil of Caesarea

Latin translation of the text overleaf

Rubric: f. [a] verso Epistola Juliani Apostata ad Basilium Magnum
Incipit: f. [a] verso Insitam mihi a natura serenitatem atque humanitatem jam inde a pueritia
Explicit: f. [a] verso Quae enim legi, novi, et damnari

f. [b] recto is blank; f. [b] verso is blank apart from some pen-trials.

Physical Description

Form: sheet
Support: Western paper. Watermark: Crozier ( 67 × 52 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, similar to Heawood 1214, 1219-1223, 1225 but not identical, and containing the letters COSNARD. These examples are dated to 1634-1657.
Extent: Sheet 2 leaves. 305 × 197 mm.

Layout

A single column of 27-29 lines. 245-262 × 125-130 mm.

Hand(s)

Written by Thomas Bayly.

Part 6 [Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 292, ff. 4:[1]-4:[a]]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

7. pp. [1]-5

This text is written on an unsewn quire housed in the folder accompanying the manuscript

Synodicon vetus

Ends incomplete at section 35, line 11

Rubric: p. [1] Συνοδικὸν περιέχον ἐν ἐπιτομῇ ἁπάσας ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων γεγονυίας ὀρθοδόξης καὶ αἱρετικὰς συνόδους, μέχρι τῆς ὀγδόης, τῆς ἐπὶ τοῦ Φωτίου, καὶ τῇ τοῦ Πάπα Ιωάννου[sic] ἑνώσει
Incipit: p. [1] Σύνοδος θεία καὶ ἱερὰ, συναθροισθεῖσα ἐν Ιεροσολύμοις[sic], ὑπὸ τῶν θεοδιδάκτων ἁγίων ἀποστόλων
Explicit: p. 5 ἐξέθετο κατὰ πάσης αἱρέσεως τὸ θεουργὸν τῆς πίστεως μάθημα, Αρείου[sic], Σαβελλίου||

TLG 4407.001

f. [a] recto is blank apart from a Latin note on the content and another note in Greek; f. [a] verso, p. [6] and ff. [b] recto-[c] verso are blank.

Physical Description

Form: quire
Support: Western paper. Watermark: Lion ( 60 × 28 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, with Flag watermark as countermark ( 47 × 43 mm. ). The latter is similar to Heawood 1369-1370, but present there as a sole watermark. These examples are dated to c. 1630-1640.
Extent: Quire 6 leaves. 329 × 227 mm.
Foliation: The quire is paginated with the numbers [a], [1], 2-5, [6], [b-c], in Arabic numerals, in brown ink, recto, upper right, and verso, upper, left, original to the production of the manuscript.

Collation

Catchwords appear on each page.

Condition

There is a small hole in f. [a] and small tears to the edges of the folios. The folios are creased and there are some areas of dirt.

Layout

A single column of 32-40 lines. 218-229 × 145-155 mm.

Hand(s)

Written by Thomas Bayly.

Additions

On f. [a] recto are the notes ‘Synodicon istud idem est cum illo quod a Pappo non ita pridem edebatur’ and ‘Ιουδαϊκῶς ἄγειν τὸ μυστικὸν’

Additional Information

Availability

Researchers should note that Pembroke College's western European medieval manuscripts are housed at Cambridge University Library. Scholars who wish to consult Pembroke College manuscripts should contact the Special Collections Reading Room to arrange their visit; all University Library admissions procedures will apply. For information on eligibility and admissions procedures, see Joining the Library. For further enquiries, and to confirm the availability of the manuscript, please contact the Special Collections Reading Room.

Bibliography

    A descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts in the library of Pembroke College, Cambridge, James, M. R. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1905)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

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