Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries: Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.9.10

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11937

Introduction: This manuscript contains an anonymous dialogue De recta in Deum fide ('On the true faith in God'), which was originally composed in the 4th century CE and traditionally attributed to an Adamantius, its protagonist, or to Origen. Adamantius, who acts as champion of the orthodox faith, discusses it with various opponents, some of them representing the heresies of Marcionism and Valentinianism. The text in MS B.9.10 seems to be the result of a transcription made at two separate times. The main part of the text (ff. 1r-56v), which contains a prologue and incomplete copy of the dialogue, was copied from Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, gr. 817 by an anonymous scribe. Other leaves, containing a second, longer prologue to the work (ff. [iv]-[v]), and the ending of the dialogue with an epilogue (ff. 57-58), were copied on a different kind of paper by Claude Serrau (Claudius Serravius), who trascribed them from another Parisian manuscript Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, gr. 461 . Serrau worked after the copy of the anonymous scribe of ff. 1r-56v had been completed: he collated the portion of the text of ff. 1-56 with Par. gr. 461, which he indicated as ‘ P(arisinus) S(ecundus)’, writing in the margins variants and missing passages; and added to these leaves parts of the text present in MS Par. gr. 461, absent from the anonymous scribe's exemplar, MS Par. gr. 817. Serrau indicated in the margins other manuscripts from which he drew passages (see e.g. f. 56v). He concluded his work in December 1647 (see f. 58r; for a transcription, see Colophon); he did it for his friend and correspondent, the Dutch scholar and manuscripts collector Isaac Vossius, who eventually gave the manuscript to Edward Thorndike. Dr Erika Elia

Language(s): Greek

1. ff. [iv] recto-[v] verso, 1r-58r

De recta in Deum fide

The text, which in the past has been attributed to Origen , is anonymous: see W.H. van de Sande Bakhuyzen, Der Dialog des Adamantius Περὶ τῆς εἰς θεὸν ὀρθῆς πίστεως (Leipzig, 1901), pp. XIII-XVI

TLG 2950.001; CPG 1726

ff. [i] recto-[ii] recto, [iii] verso are blank

1.1. ff. [iv] recto-[v] verso

Prologue (i)

Rubric: f. [iv] recto Διάλεξις Ἀδαμαντίου τοῦ καὶ Ὠριγένους περὶ τῆς εἰς θεὸν ὀρθῆς πίστεως· δι' ἧς πολλοὶ τῶν αἱρετικῶν δαιφόρους ἐσχηκότης αἱρέσεις, ἐπίστευσαν ὀρθῶς εἰς τῆν τοῦ Χριστοῦ πίστιν. Ὑπόθεσις τῆς διαλέξεως

Incipit: f. [iv] recto Τοῦ συντακτικοῦ Ὠριγένους ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ τὰ συνήθη πράττοντος

Explicit: f. [v] verso ὅτι ἄλλος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ κόσμου

The prologue was not written by the author of the text: see W.H. van de Sande Bakhuyzen, Der Dialog des Adamantius Περὶ τῆς εἰς θεὸν ὀρθῆς πίστεως (Leipzig, 1901), pp. XXIII-XXIV (the prologue is not completely given)

The introduction to the text was copied from MS Par. gr. 461, as stated by the scribe in a note in the right margin of f. [iv] recto: ‘ Ex codice MS. B.R. n^o 1219 sive Regio Secundo’

1.2. f. 1r

Prologue (ii)

Incipit: f. 1r Διάλεκτος Ἀδαμαντίου τοῦ καὶ Ὠριγένους περὶ τῆς εἰς θεὸν ὀρθῆς πίστεως πρὸς Μεγέθιον καὶ Μάρκον[sic] Δροσέριον Οὐάλεντα καὶ Μαρῖνον

Explicit: f. 1r κατὰ πρόσωπον ἀνέμου.

The introduction to the text was copied from MS Par. gr. 817, as stated in a note in the upper margin of f. 1r: ‘ Ex codice MS. Bibliothecae Regiae n^o 56’

The prologue was not written by the author of the text, see van de Sande Bakhuyzen (1901), p. XXIII

1.3. ff. 1r-58r

De recta in Deum fide

Rubric: f. 1r Ὠριγένους διάλογος κατὰ μαρκιανιστῶν

The title, which is written in the upper margin, was erased with a line

Incipit: f. 1r Ἀδαμάντιος. Οἱ τὸν φιλαλήθη καὶ φιλάνθρωπον τρόπον μεταδιώκοντες

Explicit: f. 58r l. 11 γινόμενοι τῶν θείων μαθημάτων μύσται

1.4. f. 58r

Epilogue

Incipit: f. 58r l. 12 Θεῖε πάνσοφε κεκοσμημένε γνώσει

Explicit: f. 58r l. 17 καὶ ἦραν ὄνειδος ἐξ υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ

For the epilogue, which is present in some of the manuscripts and was not written by the author, see van de Sande Bakhuyzen (1901), p. XXIV

2. f. 58r

Colophon

Colophon: In gratiam praestantissimi et eruditissimi viri Isaaci Vossii I. V. D. describebam Lutetiae Parisiorum Decembri 1647 ego Claudius Sarravius

ff. 58v-[vi] verso are blank

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: ff. [ii]-[v], 1-58 Western paper, folded in folio. Watermarks: ff. [ii]-[iii] Coat of arms with a shield surmounted by a crown; on the shield a ribbon, below letters ‘ A V I’ ( ca. 110 × ca. 60 mm. ), in the centre of the leaf, no exact parallels found in the main repertoires. ff. [iv]-[v], 57-58 Grapes surmounted by a lily, at which sides there are the letters ‘V B’ ( 42 × 26 mm. ), in the centre of the leaf, no exact parallels found in the main repertoires. ff. 1r-56v Crown with letters alternating with two hearts, ‘ B H C’, countermark in form of grapes ( 55 × 40 mm. ), in the centre of the leaf, no exact parallels found in the main repertoires.

Extent: Codex: i + 4 + 58 + i leaves. ca. 350 × ca. 230 mm.

Foliation:

Foliation in black/brown ink, in Arabic numerals, in the upper margin right from 1 to 58: 5 blank leaves at the beginning and 1 at the end are unnumbered (ff. [i]-[v] and [vi]): [i]-[v] + 1-58 + [vi]

Collation

The quires have been sewn very tightly and there is no numbering, therefore the collation has been hypothetically reconstructed on the basis of the position of the watermarks.

1 later endleaf, f. [i]
Quire 1² ff. [ii]-[iii]
Quire 2² ff. [iv]-[v]
Quires 3-9⁸ ff. 1-56
Quire 10² ff. 57-58
1 later endleaf, f. [vi]

The scribe wrote horizontal catchwords right below the text, to the right, on each verso of the leaves.

Condition

The manuscript is in fair condition.

Layout

ff. 1r-56v A single column of 29 lines. 275 × 160 mm.

ff. [iv] recto-[v] verso, 57r-58r A single column of 39-43 lines. 270-280 × 165 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. 1r-56v Hand A: Greek minuscule script, datable to the 17th century. The scribe used two different types of script: a more formal, calligraphic and larger script for titles and the names of the dialogue's personas; and a more informal, smaller script, slanting to the right, for the rest of the text.

The text is written in brown ink

ff. [iv] recto-[v] verso, 57r-58r Hand B: Greek minuscule script by Claude Sarrau (c. 1600-1651) , who signed the copy in 1647.

Serrau wrote also copiuos marginal annotations, in Greek and Latin, on ff. 1r-56v.

The text is written in brown ink.

Additions

On the f. [ii] verso there is an annotation in Latin about the text. Below are written an older shelfmark (?) erased with a line, and the present shelfmark ‘ B.IX.10’.

On the f. [iii] recto there are notes about the donation of the manuscript (see Provenance and Acquisition for transcription).

Binding

Brown leather cover over pasteboards; on the spine gold tooling with title, ‘ Origenis Tractat.’; three paper labels with the shelfmark ‘ B.9.10’. 362 × 240 × 18 mm.

Some scratches on the left cover.

History

Origin:

The manuscript was copied in the 17th century, before 1647 by an anonymous scribe and Claude Sarrau, who concluded his work in Paris in 1647, as stated in the colophon on f. 58r.

Provenance and Acquisition

The manuscript was copied for the Dutch scholar Isaac Vossius (1618-1689) .

Voss gave the manuscript to the English academic and clergyman Herbert Thorndike (1598-1672) , fellow of Trinity College (1618), as indicated in a note on f. [iii] recto, ‘ Dedit Herberto Thorndicio cl(arissimus) v(ir) Isaac Vossius’.

Thorndike donated the manuscript to the Library in 1670, as specified in a note on f. [iii] recto, ‘ Ex dono reverendi clarissimique viri Herberti Thorndike huiusce Collegii quondam socii. Anno Domini 1670’. On f. [ii] verso is pasted the Trinity College bookplate. On ff. [iv] recto and 58r there are stamps of Trinity College Library.

Additional Information

Record Sources

Description (2020) draws partly on M.R. James, The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College Cambridge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1900), vol. 1, p. 274.

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)

Der Dialog des Adamantius Peri tēs eis theon orthēs pisteōs Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte, (Leipzig, Hinrich, 1901)

Der Dialog des Adamantius: Peri tēs eis theon orthēs pisteōs Der Dialog des Adamantius Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte, (Berlin; Boston, De Gruyter, 2020)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.9.10

Contents