Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

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

Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.8.6

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11920

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript, probably copied in the late 12th or 13th century, is a Menaion, the liturgical book containing elements of the office peculiar to each day of the fixed calendar. These include hymns and lives of the saints whose feast is celebrated on that day, to be read during the service. The level of detail provided in Menaia varies. This example is a short version, in which hymns are merely identified by their opening line and saints' lives are in an abridged form. While in the fuller version of the text the feasts of each month might fill a manuscript, in this case this single volume covers six months, from March to August, the second half of the year in the Byzantine calendar. The standard of the manuscript is relatively modest. It is ornamented, but in a simple and often rather crude style, while the hand of the scribe who copied the bulk of the text is not especially elegant. In the last few folios another scribe with a more assured hand took over, the change made conspicuous by the bolder colours of ink used. This was evidently still part of the original process of production, rather than a replacement of lost leaves, as the transition occurs between recto and verso of one folio. The manuscript retains an early endleaf, reused from a somewhat older manuscript, probably of the later 11th or earlier 12th century. It contains the end of the Life of St Anthony by Athanasios of Alexandria, and is bound in back-to-front and upside-down at the front of the manuscript. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: Codex: i + 1 | 183 + i leaves. 284 × 195 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [a] + i | 1-183 + [b], in pencil, in Arabic and Roman numerals, recto, upper right.

Binding

18th-century full leather binding over millboards, with plain pastedowns. There is decorative blind tooling on the edges of the boards, gold tooling on the spine and the title ‘Kalendar. Grecum M.S.’ tooled in gold on a red label.

300 × 125 × 60 mm.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Bequeathed to the college by Richard Bentley (1662-1742) , Master of Trinity.

Part 1 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.8.6, f. i]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

1. f. i verso-i recto
Athanasios of Alexandria, Vita Antonii

This folio is bound back-to-front

Incipit: || f. i verso φαιδρότερος μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ἐφαίνετο καὶ πρὸς ἰσχὺν προθυμότερος
Explicit: f. i recto ὡς πλάνους καὶ φθορέας τῶν ἀνθρώπων τυγχάνοντας· ἐν Χριστῶ Ἰησοῦ Κυρίω ἡμῶν· ὧ ἡ δόξα· εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἀμήν||

TLG 2035.128; CPG 2101; BHGa 140-140d; PG 26, coll. 836-976

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment

Condition

There are substantial tears and holes in the folio, extensive and severe mould staining and water staining.

Layout

Two columns of 30 lines. 225 × 140 mm. f. i verso-i recto Ruled in hardpoint, type Leroy 20C2. Text hangs from the lines. The text on f. i recto, comprising the end of this work, is arranged in a single column in an ornamental shape.

Hand(s)

f. i verso-i recto was copied by Hand A, in mixed minuscule script, slanting slightly to the right, in brown ink, with modest variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations appear only at the end of lines. Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. Use of the double dot is functional only. There is accentuation of all lengths of nomina sacra .

Punctuation used includes the middle and upper points and full stop.

Decoration

The beginning of a section is marked by a simple minor initial in red ink.

Additions

There is a note on f. i recto, partially lost to cropping and ending ‘Γεωργίου τῶν Φρυγανῶν’. A similar note in a different hand appears on f. i verso: ‘τῶν Φρυγανῶν τοῦ ἁγίου’, followed by an abbreviated name of uncertain transcription.

History

Origin: The manuscript from which this folio came was probably copied in the second half of the 11th or first half of the 12th century, as suggested by the style of script.

Part 2 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.8.6, ff. 1-183]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

2. ff. 1r-183r
Menaion
2.1. ff. 1r-40v
March
Rubric: f. 1r Μὴ⟨ν⟩ Μάρτιος ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ἡμέρας λαʹ· ἡ ἡμέρα ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ὥρας ιβʹ καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὥρας ιβʹ
Incipit: f. 1r Οὗτος ἀρχὴ μηνῶν καὶ πρῶτος διἀγορεύεται[sic]
Explicit: f. 40v ποῦ πλανασθῶ τοσαὐτόν[sic]
2.2. ff. 41r-71r
April
Rubric: f. 41r Μὴν Ἀπρίλλιος ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ἡμέρας λʹ· ἡ ἡμέρα ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ὥρας ιγʹ καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὥρας ιαʹ
Incipit: f. 41r Εἰς τὴν αʹ· μνήμη τῆς ὁσίας Μαρίας τῆς Αἰγυπτίας
Explicit: f. 71r ἐπιπλεῖον παρατείνει τὸ ἔλεος
2.3. ff. 71r-101r
May
Rubric: f. 71r Μὴν Μάϊος· ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ἡμέρας, λαʹ· ἡ ἡμέρα ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ὥρας, ιδʹ καὶ ἡ νὺξ, ὥρας, ιʹ
Incipit: f. 71r Ἐν τ⟨ῆ⟩ αʹ. μνήμη τοῦ ἁγίου προφήτου Ἱερεμίου
Explicit: f. 101r Ἰλιγγιῶσιν οὐδαμῶς πρὸς πῦρ φλέγων
2.4. ff. 101v-131r
June
Rubric: f. 101v Μὴν Ἰούνιος ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ἡμέρας λʹ· ἡ ἡμέρα ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ὥρας ιεʹ καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὥρας θʹ
Incipit: f. 101v Ἐν τ⟨ῆ⟩ αʹ. μνήμη τοῦ ἁγίου προφήτου φιλοσόφου
Explicit: f. 131r ζητῶν ἐφευρεῖν τὸν καλὸν μαργαρίτην
2.5. ff. 131r-153r
July
Rubric: f. 131r Μὴν Ἰούλλιος ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ἡμέρας λαʹ· ἡ ἡμέρα ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ὥρας ιδʹ καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὥρας ιʹ
Incipit: f. 131r Μνήμη τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων καὶ ἀναργύρων Κοσμᾶ καὶ Δαμιανοῦ τῶν Ῥωμαίων
Explicit: f. 153r ἔνθα ἀπόκειται ἡ ἁγία Σόρος
2.6. ff. 153r-183v
August
Rubric: f. 153r Μὴν Αὔγουστος· ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ἡμέρας, λαʹ· ἡ ἡμέρα ἔχ⟨ει⟩ ὥρας ιγʹ· καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὥρας ιαʹ
Incipit: f. 153r Εἰς τὴν αʹ· μνήμη τῶν ἁγίων Μακκαββαίων Ἐλεαζάρου, καὶ Σολομωνίδος
Explicit: f. 183v φθᾶσαι τὸ τέρμα τῆς παρούσης πυκτίδος

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment (FHHF), of medium thickness and poor quality.

Collation

This part consists of 24 quires, of which one is a binion, one a ternion, and the rest are quaternia.

  • Quires 1-78 ff. 1-56
  • Quire 86 ff. 57-62
  • Quires 9-168 ff. 63-126
  • Quire 178-1 ff. 127-133 The fifth folio has been lost, with loss of text.
  • Quire 188 ff. 134-141
  • Quire 198-1 ff. 142-148 The first folio has been lost, with loss of text.
  • Quires 20-218 ff. 149-164
  • Quire 228-1 ff. 165-171 The seventh folio has been lost, with loss of text.
  • Quire 238 ff. 172-179
  • Quire 244 ff. 180-183

There are quire signatures in Greek numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower left, probably original to the production of the manuscript. Some have been lost to cropping. They survive on Quires 3-9 and 14-16 (γʹ-θʹ, ιδʹ-ιϛʹ), and traces of their ornament on Quires 10-11 and 22. Later quire signatures in Greek numerals, in black ink, have been added on the last folio of each quire, verso, lower left. Some have been lost to cropping. The number 18 has been skipped, so from this point on the numbers are too large by one. These signatures survive in whole or in part on Quires 3-23 (γʹ-ιζʹ, ιθʹ-κδʹ).

Quire signatures in pencil, in Greek numerals, have been added on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower right, on Quires 1-6 and 9-24: (αʹ-ϛʹ, θʹ-κδʹ). Those for Quires 18 and 19 are misplaced.

Condition

There are splits in ff. 43 and 141, and tears to the edges of some folios, most notably ff. 55, 95, 125, 146, 158, 173 and 180-182. Pest damage is present in the outer folios at each end of the manuscript (ff. 1-36, 176-183). There is some cockling and creasing. There is water staining, extensive in the latter part of the manuscript, areas of dirt and spillages of black and red ink.

Layout

Two columns of 36 lines. 220 × 140 mm. Pricking survives in the upper and lower margins, but much has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, type Leroy 20C2. Text hangs from the lines.

Hand(s)

ff. 1r-178r were copied by Hand B, in a somewhat unsteady mixed minuscule script with variable slant, in brown ink. There is little variation in letter size.

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 nomina sacra . The double grave accent is in use. Accents are sometimes joined to letters and nomina sacra strokes. Horizontal strokes appear above proper nouns. Marginal quotation marks are used.

There are inclusions of letters within omicron.

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

Headings are written in the same style in pale red ink, apart from those for each month, which are written in epigraphic display majuscule.

Many faded portions of the text have later been overwritten in black ink.

ff. 178v-183v were copied by Hand C, in an upright mixed minuscule script, in black ink. There is little variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear only at the end of lines. Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. There is decorative use of the double dot, and accentuation of all nomina sacra . The double grave accent is in use. Horizontal strokes appear above proper nouns.

There are inclusions of letters within omicron.

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

Headings are written in the same style in bright red ink.

Decoration

The first heading of the text (f. 1r) is surrounded by a square border headpiece in red ink. Other headings are preceded by rectangular or thin plaited headpieces (ff. 41r, 71r, 101v, 131r, 153r).

Hagiographic sections on ff. 1r-178r begin with enlarged ornamented initials in red ink, while the preceding hymnographic notes begin with initials slightly larger than normal letters in red ink. On ff. 178v-183v both types of section begin with simple minor initials of a single type.

Simple vignettes in red and brown ink precede entries for days.

Additions

There are occasional brief marginal notes and pen-trials. Practice drawings of initials and other ornament have been drawn on f. 183v.

History

Origin: The manuscript was probably copied in the late 12th or 13th century, as suggested by the style of script.

Additional Information

Availability

Visitors to Trinity College who wish to consult Special Collections material are required to apply to the Library in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Trinity College: Information for Readers.

Bibliography

    The western manuscripts in the library of Trinity College: a descriptive catalogue, James, M.R. (Cambridge, 1, Cambridge University Press, 1900) Überlieferung und Bestand der hagiographischen und homiletischen Literatur der griechischen Kirche: von den Anfängen bis zum Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts Überlieferung und Bestand der hagiographischen und homiletischen Literatur der griechischen Kirche Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, Ehrhard, Albert (Leipzig, 2, 1937)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

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Cambridge Digital Library

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