Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

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

Cambridge, Queens' College, MS 32

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11895

Contents

Introduction: The manuscript contains Ptolemy's Almagest, one of the most important works of ancient Greek astronomy. The work is not complete, and ends abruptly at book 10, chapter 4, in the middle of a sentence. The codex is a composite, made up of three parts. Part I and III were copied by an anonymous scribe (hand A), probably in the first half of the 16th century, on the same kind of paper; part II was written by a contemporary or slightly earlier hand (hand B), probably of western European origin. Although the text is continuous across all the parts, it is not clear whether the scribes worked together and whether the codex is the result of a planned and coordinated work of copying. Some physical evidence seems to suggest not. The layout differs; parts I and III seem not to be finished (often the initials, which probably should have been written in red, are missing as well as the tables and diagrams), while part II seems more complete; between parts I and II, and II and III there are blank pages; while part I has a Greek foliation by hand A, the leaves of the other two parts are not numbered. In parts II and III the text of the Almagest is in disorder: judging from the structure of the manuscript, this is not due to a misplacement of leaves, but probably rather to a faulty exemplar or exemplars.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: Codex: 1 + 233 + 7 , 285 × 195 mm.
Foliation: Modern foliation in pencil, in Arabic numerals, only on the first leaf, recto, of each quire, in the top right-hand corner, from 7 ( f. 7r) to 233 ( f. 233r).

Collation

f. [i], 1-296, 304-1 | 3110, 324, 3312, 344 | 35-386, ff. 232-233, [ii]-[viii]

Modern signatures in pencil in the lower margin, right, of the first folio recto of each quire, from 2 (f. 7r), to 39 (f. 232r).

Condition

In good condition. The manuscript's leaves have been heavily trimmed; some leaves, bigger than the others, have been folded at the bottom ( f. 188), or in the outer margin ( f. [201]). There are stains throughout, see e.g. f. 61r.

Binding

Early modern western binding. Leather over wooden boards; blind tooling on each cover, consisting of four friezes with animal and vegetal motifs forming a central rectangle, in which there are lozenges with palmettes. On the top- and tail-edge is written ‘ Ptolemaei Mathematica graece’. On the fore-edge, upper part, ‘M.S. Ptolemaei Almagest.’. On both boards there are catch plates; the straps are lost. Paper label on the spine with shelfmark.

298 × 215 × 58 mm.

Accompanying Material

In the manuscript is a paper strip, f. [192a], probably originating from the outer margin of a leaf of part II ( 260 × 15-20 mm. ). On f. [192a]r there are two incomplete notes by hand B.

History

Origin: The manuscript was written in the first half of the 16th century, probably around the beginning of the century, by two anonymous hands.

Provenance and Acquisition

It was owned by Henry Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon (1535-1595) , , whose name is written on f. [2]r: ‘1585 H. Huntyngdon’.

It passed later to Thomas Church, tutor of the Earl.

On the right pastedown is glued a piece of paper ( 118 × 115 mm. ) with a note mentioning Rev. M. Eaton, Fellow of Queens' College.

The manuscript was bequeathed to Queens' College Library in 1606, after the death of Thomas Church, as is indicated by a note on the left pastedown: ‘ Tho. Church moriens ligavit’. Below the note, there is a Queens' College bookplate with the date of 1700. The donation to the Library by Thomas Church is registered in the Library's Donors' Book, MS Cambridge, Queens' College Library, 47 , p. 4.

Part 1 [Cambridge, Queens' College, MS 32, ff. [i] recto-[177]v]

Contents

Introduction: This part was copied by a single hand (hand A). The work of the anonymous scribe seems to be incomplete: tables and diagrams are incomplete and sometimes missing.

Language(s): Greek

1. [i] recto-[1]v
Blank Leaves
2. ff. [2]r-[176]v
Ptolemy, active 2nd century, Syntaxis mathematica, 1-7.1 Almagest, books 1-7.1
Incipit: f. [2]v Κλαυδίου Πτολεμαίου μαθηματικῆς συντάξεως προοίμιον. Πάνυ καλῶς οἱ γνησίως φιλοσοφήσαντες
Explicit: f. [176]v κατὰ τὴν ἀναγραφὴν γινομένας αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ σφαίρᾳ θέσεις.

Each book is preceded by an index of its chapters.

  • ff. [2]r-[23]v Book 1
  • ff. [24]r-[59]r Book 2
  • ff. [59]v-[83]v l. 3 Book 3
  • ff. [83]v l. 4-[109]r l. 12 Book 4
  • ff. 109r l. 13-[143]r l. 16 Book 5
  • ff. [143]r l. 16-[153]r l. 13 Book 6
  • ff. [153]r l. 14-[176]v Book 7.1

Diagrams accompany the text. Tables are not always complete, see f. [22]r. Leaves have been left blank in correspondence with tables in the text, which were not realised:

  • ff. [39]r-[40]v lacuna: τὴν ἐπισυναγωγὴν αὐτῶν τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον … Ὅτι δὲ τῶν ἀναφορικῶν χρόνων (J.L. Heiberg, Claudii Ptolemaei opera quae exstant omnia, 1.1, Leipzig 1898, pp. 134-141)
  • ff. [52]r-[58]v lacuna: καί ἐστιν ἡ τῶν κανονίων ἔκθεσις τοιαύτη … ἐφωδευμένης δὴ καὶ (Heiberg 1898, pp. 174-187)
  • ff. [66]v-67r lacuna: καί εἰσιν οἱ κανόνες τοιοῦτοι … Περὶ τῶν καθ’ ὁμαλὴν (Heiberg 1898, pp. 210-215)
  • f. [80]r one column was left blank, lacuna: καί ἐστι τὸ κανόνιον τοιοῦτο … Λοιποῦ δ’ ὄντος (Heiberg 1898, pp. 253-254 l. 2)
  • ff. [89]v-[92]r lacuna: ἡ ἔκθεσις τῶν κανονίων τοιαύτη … Ὅτι καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἁπλῆς ὑποθέσεως (Heiberg 1898, pp. 282-293)
  • f. [106]r l. 3 no space was left for the table, which is missing. Lacuna: τὸ κανόνιον τοιοῦτο …Ὅτι οὐ παρὰ τὰς διαφορὰς (Heiberg 1898, p. 337)
  • f. [122]r lacuna: σεληνιακῆς ἀνωμαλίας κανόνιον τοιοῦτον … Περὶ τῆς καθόλου σεληνιακῆς (Heiberg 1898, pp. 390-391)
  • f. [138]r lacuna: καί ἐστιν ὁ κανὼν τοιοῦτος … Περὶ τῆς τῶν παραλλάξεων (Heiberg 1898, pp. 442-443)
  • ff. 145r-[146]r lacuna: ἡ τῶν κανονίων καταγωγὴ τοιαύτη … Ὡς δεῖ τάς τε περιοδικὰς (Heiberg 1898, pp. 466-471)
  • ff. 163r-163v lacuna: ἡ τῶν κανονίων ἔκθεσις τοιαύτη … Σεληνιακῶν ἐκλείψεων (Heiberg 1898, pp. 519-522)
  • f. [172]r lacuna: καὶ τῶν κύκλων τοιαῦται … Διάκρισις προσνεύσεων (Heiberg 1898, p. 544)

Ptolemy's text, in this part, ends with book 7, chapter 1 (ed. J.L. Heiberg, Claudii Ptolemaei opera quae exstant omnia, 1.2, Leipzig 1903, p. 12 l. 3).

TLG 0363.001

ff. [39]r-[40]v, ff. [52]r-[58]v, ff. [66]v-67r, ff. [89]v-[92]r, f. [122]r, ff. 145r-[146]r, ff. 163r-163v and f. [172]r are blank.

3. ff. [177]r-[177]v
Blank leaves

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: f. [i]: Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Pitcher with one handle, surmounted by a clover and a four-leaves clover ( 53 × 15 mm. ) in the centre of the folio comparable to Briquet, Pot 12628-12632 , which is dated from 1514/1520 to 1542/1550. ff. [1]r-[177]v: Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Gothic letter ‘P’ with vertical stroke divided in the lower part ( 52 × 20 mm. ) in the gutter comparable to Briquet, Lettre P 8534, 8541 , which are dated to 1502/1510 and 1516. It is not possible to see the entire watermark.
Foliation: Foliation in Greek numerals, by the scribe (hand A), in the upper margin, right, of the recto of the leaves from α΄ (1, f. [1]r) to ιε΄ (15, f. [15]r), and from κ΄ (20, f. 19r) to ροϛ΄ (176, f. [176]r).

Collation

This part of the manuscript consists of 1 endleaf, 29 ternions, 1 binion (formed by 3 leaves, the last is missing without loss of text).

  • 1 paper endleaf
  • Quires 1-296 ff. [1]-[174]
  • Quire 304-1 ff. 175-[177]

Layout

ff. [2]r-[176]v: one single column of 28-30 lines, mostly 28, 200-210 × 130 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. [2]r-[176]v hand A: informal minuscule, vertical, regular in size, characterised by thickenings and loops at the end of uprights. The aspect is relatively rigid.

The text is written in a brown ink; there are no rubrics.

The scribe does not use iota subscript.

Decoration

There is no proper decoration in the manuscript. The text is accompanied by geometrical diagrams traced by the scribe, see e.g. f. 19r. In many cases the scribe left blank spaces for diagrams which were not realised, see e.g. ff. [34]v-[35]r.

Additions

On the left pastedown there is a modern annotation in pencil concerning the manuscript and its age, probably by a librarian.

History

Origin: This part of the manuscript, as the watermarks suggest, was copied in the first half of the 16th century.

Part 2 [Cambridge, Queens' College, MS 32, ff. 178r-[207]v]

Contents

Introduction: Part 2 was copied by a single hand (hand B). The text of the Almagest (books 7.2-8) is in disorder probably due to a faulty exemplar. As in the previous part, diagrams have not been completed.

Language(s): Greek

4. ff. 178r-[184]r, 192r-[206]v, [184]v-[189]r
Ptolemy, active 2nd century, Syntaxis mathematica, 7.2-8 Almagest, books 7.2-8
Incipit: f. 178r Ὅτι καὶ ἡ τῶν ἀπλανῶν σφαῖρα
Explicit: f. [189]r ἐπὶ μέρους τῆς σελήνης προσνεύσεων. Κλαυδίου Προλεμαίου μαθηματικῶν ὄγδοον.

Each book is preceded by an index of its chapters

The text has been copied in the wrong order:

  • ff. 178r-[184]r Book 7.2-7.4
  • ff. [184]v-[189]rBook 8.4-8.6
  • ff. 192r-[206]v Book 7.5-8.3

Ptolemy's text, in this part, starts with book 7, chapter 2 (ed. Heiberg 1903, p. 12 l. 4) and ends with book 8 (Heiberg 1903, p. 204)

  • ff. 178r-[184]r, ff. 192r-[198]r l. 13 Book 7.2-5
  • ff. [198]r l. 14-[206]v, ff. [184]v-[189]r Book 8

TLG 0363.001

ff. [189]v-[191]r are blank

5. ff. [207]r-[207]v
Blank leaves

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: ff. 178r-[207]v: Western paper, folded in folio. Watermarks: ff. 178r-[187]v Cardinal's hat ( 55 × 47 mm. ) in the centre of the folio comparable to Harlfinger, Chapeau 35 , which is dated to 1502/1503, and to Briquet, Chapeau 3404 , which is dated to 1481/1509. ff. 188r-[207]v Scale in a circle, rounded, with countermark ‘ 8(?) N’on the edge of the leaves ( 53 × 32 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, no precise parallels were found in the main repertoria.

Collation

This part of the manuscript consists of 1 quinion, 1 binion, 1 senion, 1 binion.

  • Quire 3110 ff. 178r-[187]v
  • Quire 324 ff. 188r-[191]v
  • Quire 3312 ff. 192r-[203]v
  • Quire 344 ff. 204r-[207]v

Vertical catchwords in the scribe's hand (hand B) on the last verso, lower part, near the gutter; they are written from the top down.

Layout

ff. 178r-[176]v, ff. 192r-[207]v: one single column of 34-51 lines, 220-260 × 130-150 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. 178r-[176]v, 192r-[207]v hand B: informal minuscule, vertical, regular in size, characterised by a rigid aspect and square-shaped forms. The forms of the letters, in particular of α, ε, χ, η, appear tο be influenced by Latin script, suggesting a western European hand.

The text is written in a brown ink, titles in red.

In the margins of f. [182]v there are annotations by hand A.

A later hand wrote annotations in Latin and Greek; on f. [191]v, it indicates the last chapters of Almagest's book 7.

Decoration

Thick red initial in ekthesis on f. [203]v.

There is no proper decoration in the manuscript. The text is accompanied by a few incomplete geometrical diagrams traced by the scribe, see ff. [187]r, 188v.

Additions

In the margins of f. [182]v there are annotations by hand A.

A later hand wrote annotations in Latin and Greek, indicating the wrong order of the text, on ff. [184]v and [191]v.

History

Origin: This part of the manuscript, as the watermarks suggest, was copied in the early 16th century.

Part 3 [Cambridge, Queens' College, MS 32, ff. 208r-[viii] verso]

Contents

Introduction: This part was copied by a single hand (hand A). The work of the anonymous scribe seems to be incomplete: tables and diagrams are incomplete and missing. The text of the Almagest (books 9-10) is in disorder, probably due to a faulty exemplar.

Language(s): Greek

6. ff. 208r-[212]v, ff. 214v-[219]v, f. 214r, ff. 220r-233r
Ptolemy, active 2nd century, Syntaxis mathematica, 9-10 Almagest, books 9-10
Incipit: f. 208r Περὶ τῆς τάξεως τῶν σφαιρῶν ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ τῶν ε΄ πλανωμένων. ⟨Ὅ⟩σα μὲν δὴ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀπλανῶν ἀστέρων
Explicit: f. 233r Ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἡ ὑπὸ ΕΔΚ, οἵων μέν εἰσιν αἱ δ΄ ὀρθαὶ τξ΄, τοιούτων ||

Each book is preceded by an index of its chapters

The text has been copied in the wrong order:

  • ff. 208r-[212]v Book 9.1-4
  • f. 214r Book 9.7
  • ff. 214v-[219]r Book 9.5-7
  • ff. 220r-233r Books 9.7-10, 11.1-4

In this part there are:

  • ff. 208r-[228]v l. 22 Book 9
  • ff. [228]v l. 22-233r Book 10.1-4

Leaves have been left blank in correspondence with tables in the text, which were not realised on ff. [213]r-[213]v lacuna: καί εἰσιν οἱ κανόνες οὗτοι … Προλαμβανόμενα εἰς τὰς ὑποθέσεις (Heiberg 1903, pp. 220-249)

Ptolemy's text, in this part, ends abruptly with book 10, chapter 4 (ed. Heiberg 1903, p. 309 l. 16).

TLG 0363.001

ff. [213]r-[213]v are blank.

7. ff. 233v-[viii] verso
Blank leaves

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: ff. 208r-[viii] verso: Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Gothic letter ‘P’ with vertical stroke divided in the lower part ( 52 × 20 mm. ) in the gutter comparable to Briquet, Lettre P 8534, 8541 , which are dated to 1502/1510 and 1516. It is not possible to see the entire watermark.

Collation

This part of the manuscript consists of 4 ternions and 9 leaves. It is difficult to determine the structure of the last leaves of the manuscript, since the quires are sewn very tightly. After ff. 233r-233v various leaves are missing (maybe 5); after ff. 236r-236v at least 2 leaves have been cut out .

  • Quires 35-386 ff. 208r-[231]v
  • ff. 232r-[viii] verso

The leaves of quires 35-37 are numbered by the scribe (hand A)
  • α1-α6
  • β1-β6
  • γ1-γ6
, on the lower margin, recto.

Layout

ff. 208r-233r: one single column of 28 lines, 200 × 120 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. 208r-233r hand A.

The text is written in brown ink; there are no rubrics.

The scribe does not use iota subscript.

The scribe also wrote notes in the margins.

Decoration

There is no proper decoration in the manuscript. Blank spaces have been left for diagrams, which have not been completed, see e.g. f. [216]r.

Additions

A later hand wrote annotations in Latin in order to indicate the correct order of the text in this part:

  • f. 214r ‘ Hoc latus debet esse secundum sextii folii sequentis’
  • f. [219]v ‘ In priori latere sextii folii praecedentis invenies quod sequi debet’.

History

Origin: This part of the manuscript, as the watermark suggests, was copied in the first half of the 16th century.

Additional Information

Record Sources

Description (2019) draws partly on M.R. James, A descriptive catalogue of the Western Manuscripts in the Library of Queens College, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1905, pp. 23-24.

Availability

For further information on the availability of the manuscript, please contact Queens' Old Library and Special Collections.

Bibliography

    A descriptive catalogue of the western manuscripts in the library of Queen's College, Cambridge, James, M. R. (London, Cambridge University Press, , 1905)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

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