Introduction:
This manuscript, written in the mid-17th century,
contains a Latin translation of the content of Pemboke College, MS
LC II.233.2. That manuscript contains 61 Greek Letters of
Theophylact of Ohrid, Metropolitan of Bulgaria in the
late 11th and early 12th centuries. Originally from the Greek island
of Euboia, Theophylact was appointed in 1078 to the see of
Ohrid, which covered
the whole of the former Bulgarian Empire conquered by Byzantium
earlier in the century. His letters, addressed to a variety of other
clerics, imperial officials and members of the imperial family, are
a major source for the history of Bulgaria under Byzantine rule. He
was also the author of a range of religious texts, including
homilies, biblical commentaries and hagiography.
The translation is a working copy, containing various
changes where the translator's interpretation changed, and remains
unfinished. Blank spaces have been left for many passages, including
one entire letter, presumably due to difficulties in translation.
The translator scrupulously observed the numbering sequence of the
Greek original, leaving the translation of a letter inadvertantly
left unnumbered in the Greek original unnumbered here as well.
Dr Christopher Wright
Language(s): Latin
[1]r-[24]r
Theophylact of Ohrid (c.
1055-c. 1126) ,
Letters
Filiation: This manuscript is a translation of Pembroke College, MS LC
II.233.2.
The manuscript contains (according to the sequence of the edition
of Paul Gautier, Théophylacte d'Achrida
Lettres (Thessalonike 1986)) Letters 4-18,
22-60, 71-72, 74 and 79-81, in the order:
- 4-18 (1-15 here)
- 22-23 (16-17)
- 24 (unnumbered)
- 25-28 (18-21)
- 75 (22)
- 29-55 (23-49)
- 71 (50)
- 56 (51)
- 72 (52)
- 57 (53)
- 74 (54)
- 58-60 (55-57)
- 79-81 (58-60)
.
The end of Letter 18,
the whole of Letters 19-21 and the beginning of Letter 22 are
missing due to a lacuna in the exemplar of MS LC II.233.2. There are
various other lacunas where gaps have been left in the text,
including the whole of Letter 12 (9). Letter 24 in Gautier's
sequence, appearing between those numbered 17 and 18 in MS LC
II.233.2 was left unnumbered in that manuscript; it has also been
left unnumbered here.
Rubric:
f. [1]r Epistolae beatissimi
Episcopi Bulgariae, Domini Theophylacti
Incipit:
f. [1]r Mea sancta Domina, inter
multas aerumnas
Explicit:
f. [24]r ab
unde te adorat et, per te, potentissimus nostris rege||
Form: codex
Support:
Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Pillar (
50 × 35 mm.
), in the
centre of the folio, similar but not
identical to Heawood 3492, 3532. These
examples are dated to 1640-1644.
Extent:
Codex:
2 +
34 +
2 leaves.
314 × 200 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is unfoliated, so the following
folio numbers have been assigned for the purposes of display
and reference here, as follows: [i-ii] + [1-34] + [iii-iv].
Collation
The manuscript consists of single bifolios, unconventionally
stitched. The endleaves are composed of the same paper as
the rest of the manuscript, and not structurally
distinct.
- Quires 1-192
ff.
[i-ii, 1-34, iii-iv]
Condition
There are slight losses to the edge of some folios, some
of which have been repaired with Japanese paper. There is some
creasing, areas of dirt and slight water staining on the
endleaves.
Layout
A
single column of 31-37 lines.
280-290 × 160 mm.
Hand(s)
The manuscript was copied by a single hand.
Additions
The letters are numbered in the same sequence as in LC II.233.2,
and there are numerous marginal corrections
Origin: While no exact match to the watermark has been identified, the
dating of similar types suggests that the manuscript was produced
between about 1630 and 1655.
