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.9.3

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11930

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript, probably produced during the 11th century, is a Menologion for December, a liturgical book containing the hagiographical texts to be read in church during that month, including Lives of Saints, martyrdom narratives and accounts regarding relics and posthumous miracles. The texts in this volume are the work of Symeon Metaphrastes, or Symeon the Metaphrast, a 10th-century Byzantine civil official and later a monk. He rewrote numerous existing hagiographical texts in a more accessible style and compiled these into a new menologion. The term Metaphrast refers to this practice of rewriting. Symeon's versions of these stories became the most widely used, superseding those read previously. At a later date, probably in the 12th century, four new quires were added to replace original folios which had been lost, one in the middle of the manuscript and the rest at the end (ff. 58-65 and 113-136). These are composed of parchment originally from other manuscripts, reused in palimpsest by erasing and overwriting their former text. Remaining traces indicate that at least some of this material came from Latin musical manuscripts, as indicated by the red horizontal lines of musical staves. Some of these folios have previously been identified as having been reused from Greek manuscripts (Tchernetska, p. 734), but the shadowy Greek minuscule script visible here appears to be text showing through from the opposite face of the folio. The replacement quires at the end of the manuscript are followed by two more folios originally from a Latin manuscript, probably a missal, rewritten in palimpsest with a new Greek text, probably in the 13th century. However, they appear not to have been rewritten for this manuscript but for another, and to have been later reused in this manuscript as endleaves (ff. 137r-138v). Their text does not belong to the Menologion but to another type liturgical book, a Menaion, containing various hymns, prayers and readings particular to individual days of the church calendar. They also appear to have been bound into this manuscript upside-down at some point prior to its most recent rebinding, as indicated by the placement of their early modern folio numbers, treatment which would accord with their use as endleaves rather than an intended part of the manuscript's content. Thus they seem to have formed part of at least three different manuscripts in the course of their history, and to have served different purposes in each. The reuse of parchment from Latin manuscripts in a Greek volume suggests that at the time the manuscript may have been in use in a region where both literary cultures were present, such as southern Italy. This possibility is reinforced by the fact that the Latin undertext of the endleaves had been written in the distinctive Beneventan style of script, suggesting that the manuscript from which they came had been produced in southern Italy, possibly in the 11th century. A sequence of quire signatures in Greek numerals survives from an occasion when the manuscript was rebound, including the number ten marked on f. 73v, at the end of a quire. The Greek numeral used for this number is the letter iota, which as a single vertical stroke resembles the Arabic numeral 1, and what appears to be a zero has been written alongside it, to create the Arabic number 10. However, the number at the beginning of the same quire is in the normal Greek form. The form of the signature at the end of the quire could reflect rebinding in an environment where both systems of numerals were in use, leading the binder either to use one rather than the other out of absent-mindedness or to change systems here deliberately in order to avoid mistakenly reading the Greek number ten as an Arabic number one. If the manuscript did spend time in Italy, it was subsequently taken to Greece, as it came into the possession of the Monastery of the Pantokrator on Mount Athos, as indicated by a note on f. 1r. It was bought from the monastery, along with many other manuscripts, by the classicist Richard Bentley (1662-1742), Master of Trinity College. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: Codex: i + 136 + 2 + i leaves.
Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [i] + 1-136 + 137-138 + [ii], in Arabic numerals, in black ink, recto, upper right. The folio numbers of this sequence for ff. 137-138 appear upside-down in the bottom left-hand corner of the verso, the number 137 on f. 138 and the number 138 on f. 137. This indicates that when this foliation was added these folios were bound upside down and appeared in the opposite order.
Foliation: There are folio numbers on ff. 137-138, in Arabic numerals, in pencil, recto, upper right, reflecting the present arrangement of these folios.

Collation

Part I consists of 14 quires (Quires 1-8, 10-15), Part II of 4 quires interspersed with these (Quires 9, 16-18), Part III of two right-hand endleaves: 1-58, 68-2, 78, 88-1, 9-128, 138-1, 14-188

Binding

18th-century full leather binding over couched-laminate boards, with plain pastedowns. There is decorative blind tooling on the edges of the boards and gold tooling on the spine. The title ‘Vitae Sanctorum MSS’ is tooled in gold on a red label on the spine, and the classmark appears on patches.

384 × 276 × 62 mm.

Both outer joints are partially split and both endcaps are damaged.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Owned by the Pantokratoros Monastery on Mount Athos.

Purchased from the Abbot of the Pantokrator by Richard Bentley (1662-1742) , Master of Trinity.

Bequeathed by Bentley to Trinity College after his death.

Part 1 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.9.3, ff. 1-57, 66-112]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

1.
Menologion for December
1.1. ff. 1r-7r
Symeon Metaphrastes, Passion of St Barbara

4 December

Rubric: f. 1r Ἄθλησις τῆς ἁγίας ἐνδόξου καὶ καλλινίκου μεγαλομάρτυρος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, Βαρβάρας: Κύριε εὐλόγησον
Incipit: f. 1r Μαξιμιανῶ τῶ δυσσεβεῖ βασιλεῖ· πολλὴν περὶ τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων πλάνην εἰσφέροντι τὴν σπουδὴν
Explicit: f. 7r εἰς δόξαν Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν,ὧ πρέπει τιμὴ κράτος, μεγαλωσύνη τὲ καὶ μεγαλοπρέπεια, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν

TLG 3115.022

BHG 216

PG 116, coll. 301-316

1.2. ff. 7r-59r
Symeon Metaphrastes, Life of St Sabas

5 December

Rubric: f. 7r Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Σάβα
Incipit: f. 7r Οὐδὲν οὕτω κινῆσαι ψυχὴν εἰς ἀρετῆς ἐπιθυμίαν ἀνυσιμώτατον
Explicit: f. 59r χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπία τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· μεθ'οὗ τῶ Πατρὶ· ἅμα τῶ Ἁγίω Πνεύματι· δόξα, κράτος· νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν

BHG 1609

1.3. ff. 59r-68r
Symeon Metaphrastes, Life of St Nicholas

6 December

Rubric: f. 59r Βίος καὶ πολιτήα[sic] τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ θαυματουργοῦ Νικολάου ἀρχιἐπισκόπου[sic] Μύρων τῆς Λυκίας:· Εὐλόγησον
Incipit: f. 59r Σοφόν τι χρῆμα ζωγράφων χείρ· καὶ δεινὴ μὲν μιμήσασθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν
Explicit: f. 68r ἐν Χριστῶ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν· μεθ'οὗ τῶ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῶ Ἁγίω Πνεύματι· δόξα· κράτος· τιμὴ καὶ προσκύνησις· νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν

TLG 3115.085

BHG 1349

PG 116, coll. 317-356

1.4. ff. 68r-76r
Symeon Metaphrastes, Life of St Ambrose

7 December

Rubric: f. 68r Βίος καὶ πολιτεία· τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἀμβροσίου ἐπισκόπου Μεδιολάνων
Incipit: f. 68r Οὐαλεντινιανὸς. μετὰ τελευτὴν Ἰουβιανοῦ· τὰ σκῆπτρα τῆς βασιλείας διαδεψάμενος
Explicit: f. 76r χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπία τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· ὧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν

BHG 69

1.5. ff. 76r-79v
Symeon Metaphrastes

8 December

Life of St Papatios
Rubric: f. 76r Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Παταπίου
Incipit: f. 76r Οὑ[sic] πολλοὺς Αἴγυπτος· ἐπ'ἂν δὲ τέκη· μέγα τίκτει
Explicit: f. 79v πολλῶν αὐτὸ προπεμψἀντων. καὶ δοξαζόντων. Πατέρα· καὶ Υἱὸν· καὶ Ἅγιον Πναῦμα· νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν

TLG 3115.086

BHG 1424

PG 116, coll. 357-368

1.6. ff. 80r-97v
Symeon Metaphrastes, Passion of SS Menas, Hermogenes and Eugraphos

10 December

Rubric: f. 80r Μαρτὐριον τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων· Μηνᾶ· Ἑρμογένους καὶ Εὐγράφου
Incipit: f. 80r Μετὰ τὴν ἐπι[sic] γῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ παρουσίαν
Explicit: f. 97v ἀψευδὲς παραμύθιον· εἰς δόξαν τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ· καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν

TLG 3115.087

BHG 1271

PG 116, coll. 368-416

1.7. ff. 97v-118v
Symeon Metaphrastes, Life of St Daniel the Stylite

11 December

Rubric: f. 97v Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Δανιὴλ τοῦ Στυλίτου
Incipit: f. 97v Ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀριστέων ὀπόταν περὶ πολέμων καὶ ἀγώνων καὶ τροπαίων τίς διαλέγηται
Explicit: f. 118v χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπία τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· ὧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος· νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν

BHG 490

PG 116, coll. 969-1037

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment (FHHF), of medium thickness and quality.
Extent: 356 × 257 mm.

Collation

This part consists of 14 quires, all quaternia, interspersed with the later replacement quires of Part II (Quires 9, 16-18).

  • Quires 1-58 ff. 1-40
  • Quire 68-2 ff. 41-42 The second-seventh folios have been lost, with loss of text.
  • Quire 78 ff. 43-50
  • Quire 88-1 ff. 51-57 The seventh folio has been lost, with loss of text.
  • Quires 10-128 ff. 66-89
  • Quire 138-1 ff. 90-96 The first folio has been lost, with loss of text.
  • Quires 14-158 ff. 97-112

There are quire signatures in Greek numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower left, possibly original to the production of the manuscript. They survive on Quires 14-15 (ιδʹ-ιεʹ). The signature on Quire 15 (f. 105r) has been partially lost to cropping, and it may be supposed that the same cause led to the loss of the other signatures of this sequence. There are later quire signatures in Greek numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower left, and the last folio of each quire, verso, lower right. They survive on Quires 1-12 (αʹ-ιαʹ). These date from a time later than the removal of the lower margin of f. 41 (since a signature of this sequence has been marked in the upper margin of f. 41r), and probably later than the insertion of the replacement quires, since signatures apparently of this sequence appear on the replacement Quire 9 (θʹ) (ff. 58r, 65v). It may be supposed that they were added to replace signatures of the earlier sequence where these had been lost, but were not required where they had survived, since the sequence of quire numbers remained the same. The signature on f. 73v, the last folio of Quire 10 (ιʹ) is accompanied by what appears to be a zero, converting it into the Arabic number 10. This was perhaps added by a binder familiar with Arabic numerals to avoid the Greek numeral from being mistaken for an Arabic 1.

Condition

The outer margins of ff. 37, 39, 50, 53 and 78 and the lower margins of ff. 35 and 41 have been cut away. There is slight pest damage to the outermost folios and minor losses and tears to some edges. There is cockling and creasing, drops of wax, extensive water staining and areas of dirt. Extensive fading of the text of ff. 66r-67r due to water staining has been overwritten.

Layout

ff. 1r-57v Two columns of 36 lines each. 230-240 × 150 mm. Pricking sometimes survives in all three margins, but much has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, type 20C2c. Text hangs from the lines.

ff. 66r-112v Two columns of 36 lines each. 250-257 × 170 mm. Pricking sometimes survives in all three margins, but much has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, type 33C2c. Text hangs from the lines.

Hand(s)

ff. 1r-57v and 66r-112v were copied by Hand A in an upright mixed minuscule script similar to Perlschrift, in brown ink, with little variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear only at the end of lines. Breathings are both angular and round, and mute iota is absent. Use of the double dot is functional only. Nomina sacra are unaccentuated. Accents remain small and circumflexes do not appear above breathings. The double grave accent is in use.

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

Headings and lection notes have been added in Alexandrine majuscule script in red ink, and then gilded.

Decoration

The beginning of the text on f. 1r is preceded by a pyle in blue, green, red and white paint and gold. Subsequent texts are preceded by simple rectangular headpieces in red ink (e.g. ff. 76r, 98r).

The text on f. 1r begins with an initial in the same style as the pyle.

The beginnings of sections are marked by simple minor initials in red ink.

The heading on f. 1r is written in red ink and gilded.

Additions

There is a note of ownership of the Monastery of the Pantokrator on Mount Athos on f. 1r: ‘ Δικεύριος[sic] μετάφρασις μονῆς τοῦ Παντοκράτορος Χριστοῦ τῆς ἐν τῶ ἁγἰω ὄρει’.

There are occasional brief marginal annotations in Greek (e.g. f. 34r).

History

Origin: The characteristics of the script suggest that the main body of the manuscript was copied in the 11th century.

Part 2 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.9.3, ff. 58-65, 113-136]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

1.
Menologion for December
1.8. ff. 118v-128v
Symeon Metaphrastes, Life of St Spyridon

12 December

Rubric: f. 118v Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ θαυματουργοῦ Σπυρίδωνος ἐπισκόπου Τριμιθοῦντος
Incipit: f. 118v Μέγιστον εἰς ψυχῆς ὠφέλειαν, βίος γενναίων καὶ φιλοθέων ἀνδρῶν
Explicit: f. 128v χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπία τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· mεθ'οὗ τῶ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῶ Ἁγίω Πνεύματι νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν

TLG 3115.088

BHG 1648

PG 116, coll. 417-468

1.9. ff. 128v-136v
Symeon Metaphrastes, Life of SS Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugenios, Mardarios and Orestes

13 December

Defective at the end : ends at PG 116, col. 505

Rubric: f. 128v Μαρτύριον τῶν ἁγίων καὶ ἐνδόξων μεγάλων μαρτύρων τοῦ Χριστοῦ· Εὐστρατίου· Αὐξεντίου· Εὐγενίου· Μαρδαρίου· καὶ Ὁρέστου· Κύριε εὐλόγησον
Incipit: f. 128v Βασιλεύοντος Διοκλητιανοῦ καὶ Μαξιμιανοῦ· πᾶσα ἡ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴ. τῆς ἀθέου τῶν εἰδώλων ἐπεπλήρωτο λατρείας
Explicit: f. 136v ἐδάκρυσεν ὡς καὶ πάντα τὸν περιεστῶτα ὄχλον||

TLG 3115.089

BHG 646

PG 116, coll. 468-505

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: ff. 58r-65v, 113r-136v Parchment (FHHF), of medium thickness and quality, reused in palimpsest.
Extent: 356 × 257 mm.

Collation

This part consists of 4 quires, all quaternia, inserted to replace lost original quires.

  • Quire 98 ff. 58-65
  • Quires 16-188 ff. 113-136

There are quire signatures in Greek numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of Quire 9, recto, lower left, and on its last folio, verso, lower right (θʹ). This belongs to the same sequence as the more recent signatures of the original quires. No signatures survive on the quires added at the end of the manuscript.

Condition

There is some pest damage and minor losses and tears to the edges of some folios, and a tear along the ruling of f. 113. Tears to ff. 130 and 133 have been repaired with stitching. There is cockling and creasing, drops of wax and areas of purple mould staining, water staining and dirt.

Layout

ff. 58r-65v, 113r-136v Two columns of 46 lines. 276 × 210 mm. Pricking survives in the lower and outer margins, but much has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, type K 32C2c, for 37 lines of text. Text ignores the lines.

Hand(s)

ff. 58r-65v and 113r-136v were copied by Hand B in an upright, blocky mixed minuscule script, in black ink, with moderate variation in letter size and some flourishing of tails into the margin.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear throughout the line. Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. There is occasional decorative use of the double dot, and accentuation of all lengths of nomina sacra . Circumflexes occasionally appear above breathings, but without expansion. The double grave accent and marginal quotation marks are in use.

Majuscule epsilon and theta often appear in an enlarged form with a bar on the central stroke.

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

Headings are written in Alexandrine majuscule script with occasional minuscule forms, in red and black ink.

Decoration

The beginnings of texts on ff. 118v and 128v are preceded by narrow headpieces in red ink.

The beginnings of some sections are marked by minor initials in red ink.

The beginnings of other sections are marked by minor initials in black ink.

Additions

The scribe has marked section numbers in the margins of ff. 118v-128v in black ink.

There are occasional brief marginal annotations in Greek (e.g. f. 59r).

History

Origin: These quires were copied to replace losses from the original content of the manuscript, probably in the second half of the 12th century, as suggested by the style of script, reusing parchment from one or more older manuscripts in palimpsest, including a Latin musical manuscript.

Part 2 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.9.3, ff. 137-138]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

1.10. ff. 137r-138v
Menaion

Defective at the beginning and end, with a lacuna: f. 137r-137v begins during the entry for 16 March and ends during that for 18 March, f. 138r-138v begins during the entry for 21 March and ends during that for 23 March

Incipit: || f. 137r ὁ ἄνω θεώρητος· τοῖς ἀγγέλοις ἄχραν τε· κάτω ἐκ σου γεννώμενος
Explicit: f. 138v θεοπειθῶν εὐσεβῶς· ἀεὶ ἐπομένων σοι· ἐξ εῶας πρὸ δύσιν· ἅμα||

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment, of medium thickness and quality, reused in palimpsest from a Latin manuscript, probably a missal.
Extent: 330 × 220-232 mm.

Collation

This part consists of two folios, reused as endleaves.

Condition

There have been some minor losses from the edges of both folios, and there is some creasing, water staining and areas of dirt.

Layout

137r-138v A single column of 47-54 lines. 258-271 × 178 mm. Pricking survives in the lower and outer margins, but some has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, type 40C1, for 41 lines of text. Text sometimes hangs from the lines but largely ignores them.

Hand(s)

ff. 137v-138v were copied by Hand B in an upright mixed minuscule script with variable slant, in black ink, with significant 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 lengths of nomina sacra . Nomina sacra strokes are sometimes decorated with a vertical bar. The double grave accent is in use

There are inclusions of letters within omicron.

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

Decoration

Sections on f. 137r begin with minor initials in red ink, within the line of text as well as at the beginning of lines.

Space has been left for rubricated initials on ff. 137v-138v, but these appear never to have been added.

History

Origin: These folios come originally from a Latin manuscript, probably a missal, which appears to have been written in the Beneventan style of southern Italy in the 11th century, and were reused in palimpsest in a Greek menaion, probably in the 13th century, as suggested by the style of script. Subsequently they were reused in the present manuscript as endleaves.

Additional Information

Availability

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Bibliography

    The western manuscripts in the library of Trinity College: a descriptive catalogue, James, M.R. (Cambridge, 1, Cambridge University Press, 1900) Catalogus codicum hagiographicorum graecorum Germaniae, Belgii, Angliae, van de Vorst, CharlesDelehaye, Hippolyte (Brussels, Société des Bollandistes, 1913) Überlieferung und Bestand der hagiographischen und homiletischen Literatur der griechischen Kirche: von den Anfängen bis zum Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, Ehrhard, Albert (Leipzig, 2, 1937) La provenance athonite des manuscrits grecs legues par R. Bentley a Trinity College, Cambridge et en particulier de l'oncial 0131 du Nouveau Testament Studies in the history and text of the New Testament in honor of Kenneth Willis Clark, Duplacy, Jean (Salt Lake City, 113-126, University of Utah Press, 1967) A second new list of Beneventan manuscripts (1) Mediaeval Studies, Brown, V. (40, 239-289, 1978) The Beneventan script: a history of the South Italian minuscule Sussidi eruditi, Loew, E.A.Brown, Virginia (Rome, 2, Edizioni di storia e letteratura, 1980) Bibliografia dei manoscritti in scrittura beneventana : BMB / Università degli studi di Cassino, Dipartimento di filologia e storia, Scuola di specializzazione per conservatori di beni archivistici e librari della civiltà monastica., , (Rome, 1-4, Università degli studi di Cassino, 1993) Hand-list of the Greek palimpsests in Cambridge libraries I manoscritti greci tra riflessione e dibattito: Atti del V Colloquio Internazionale di Paleografia Greca (Cremona 4-10 ottobre 1998) Papyrologica Florentina, Tchernetska, Natalie (Florence, 733-739, Edizioni Gonnelli, 2000)

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