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 O.1.2

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11951

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript forms the fourth volume of a Byzantine grammatical collection divided into at least four volumes, of which the fourth survives as MS O.1.5. It was probably copied in the second quarter of the 14th century in Thessalonike, the second city of the Byzantine Empire. The principal component of this volume is a treatise by the 8th-9th-century grammarian Michael, synkellos (chaplain) to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, followed by the alphabetical collection of proverbs compiled by the 13th-century scholar George of Cyprus, who became Patriarch Gregory II of Constantinople. It also contains a series of other brief grammatical texts and linguistic oddments. The sequential relationship with MS O.1.5 is indicated by notes on the first folio of each manuscript, identifying this as the fourth and that as the third volume, by the appearance of quire signatures from the same sequence in both manuscripts, and by the use of similar parchment strips in the binding. This volume contains the original Quires 25-30, while MS O.1.5 contains Quires 17-24. The implication of the single signature series is that these and the preceding two parts were supposed to form a single large manuscript. The question is complicated by the fact that the two manuscripts appear to have been copied by different scribes, while their modest ornament is also different in style.However, the fact that both manuscripts were made from paper bearing the same unusual watermark suggests that, although produced separately, they belong to the same context of production and may well have been part of the same project. The style of script of the notes identifying them as the third and fourth parts appears similar in date to the main text, sugesting that the four-part organisation occurred around the time of production or soon after. It is unclear, however, whether these notes were meant to identify the order of a series of separate volumes or to indicate in which order a series of originally separate entities were to be bound together (in which case they would presumably have been written before the quire signatures were added, as these would have rendered such numbering superfluous). It therefore remains uncertain whether they were originally intended to be part of one codex or if this was a plan developed at some point after they had been copied, and it is also unclear whether they were actually bound together and then separated or if the plan was abandoned after the signatures had been marked but before the binding actually occurred. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

1. pp. 1-52
Michael synkellos of Jerusalem (761-846), On the Construction of Words Περὶ τῆς λόγου συντάξεως
Filiation: Copied largely from Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Vat. gr. 2222, with some use of Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurentiana, MS San Marco 314. This manuscript was the exemplar for this text for Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS C.VIII.20, Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS phil. gr. 283, and the edition of Blomfield and Monk.

Incomplete, with a lacuna after p. 28

Rubric: p. 1 Τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Μιχαὴλ τοῦ συγκέλλου περὶ τῆς συντάξεως τοῦ λόγου
Incipit: p. 1 Η περὶ τῆς συντάξεως τοῦ λόγου διδασκαλία, πολλή τε καὶ βαθεῖα καθέστηκε
Explicit: p. 52 τυγχάνον τῆς ἡμῶν πρὸς σὲ σχέσεως ὦ φίλων ἄριστε

TLG 3083.001

2. pp. 52-75
George of Cyprus, Patriarch Gregory II of Constantinople (1214-1290), Proverbs
Rubric: p. 52 Παροιμίαι κατὰ ἀλφάβητον
Incipit: p. 52 Ἀβύδηνον ἐπιφόρημα τὸ ἀηδὲς· διὰ τὸ τοὺς ἀβυδηνοὺς μετὰ δείπνων προσάγειν
Explicit: p. 75 Ὤδινεν ὄρος· εἶτ'ἀπέτεκε μῦν· ὅτάν τις ἐλπίσας μεγάλα, μικροῖς ἐντύχοι: Ὠὸν τίλλων

This text does not correspond exactly to any of the edited recensions of this text; it appears to be most similar to that of the Vatican manuscript (TLG 9006.004), but the proverbs appear in a different order and include some absent from that manuscript but present in other recensions (TLG 9006.001, 9006.002, 9006.003), as well as others not present in any of the edited manuscripts

3. p. 75
List of proverbial impossibilities
Rubric: p. 75 Τὰ λεγόμενα ἐπὶ τῶν ἀδῦνατων[sic]
Incipit: p. 75 Κατὰ πετρῶν σπείρεις·· εἰς οὐρανὸν τοξεύεις
Explicit: p. 75 βατράχοις οἰνοχοεῖς:· ἀνέμους γεωργεῖς

Similar to Plutarch, Ἐκλογὴ περὶ τῶν ἀδυνάτων (TLG 0007.147), but with differences in content and order.

4. pp. 75-76
List of sounds made by various animals
Rubric: p. 75 Ζώων ἀλόγων φωναὶ
Incipit: p. 75 Ἄνθρώπου, τὸ φωνεῖν· τὸ βοᾶν
Explicit: p. 76 πυρὸς βρόμος· ἀνέμων πάτταγος
5. pp. 76-81
Ioannes Philoponos (c. 490-c. 570), De vocabulis quae diversum significatum
Filiation: This is the exemplar for this text for Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS C.VIII.20
Rubric: p. 76 Περὶ λέξεως τοῦ Φιλοπόνου
Incipit: p. 76 Λέξις ἐστὶ φωνὴ ἐγγράμματος μέρος λόγου παριστῶσα
Explicit: p. 81 Ἀλκαῖος Ἀλκάος· ἀρχαῖος ἀρχάος· Ῥωμαῖος Ῥωμάος

Ed. (partial) Gottfried H. Schaefer, Gregorii Corinthii et aliorum De dialectis linguae graecae, Manueli Moschopuli De vocum passionibus (Leipzig 1811), pp. 667-675

6. pp. 81-84
Tryphon of Alexandria, Περὶ παθῶν λέξεων De passionibus vocum
Filiation: This is the exemplar for this text for Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS C.VIII.20

Excerpt: Chapter 1

Rubric: p. 81 Τρύφωνος πάθη λέξεων
Incipit: p. 81 Τὰ τῆς λέξεως πάθη, εἰς δύο γενικώτατα διαιρεῖται
Explicit: p. 84 ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑνικοῦ ἀποκοπῆναι, οὐκέτι ἐκλίθη

TLG 0609.002

7. pp. 84-85
On the use of syntax
Filiation: This is the exemplar for this text for Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS C.VIII.20
Rubric: p. 84 Πῶς δεῖ ἡμᾶς ταῖς συντάξεσι χρῆσθαι
Incipit: p. 84 Εἰδέναι δεῖ, ὅτι ὁ ποιητὴς ἐλλειπτικὸς τῶν ἄρθρων ἐστὶν
Explicit: p. 85 αἱ ἀντιχρήσεις διὰ τῶν μεταφράσεων, σὺν Θεῶ δηλωθήσεται
8. pp. 84-85
Tryphon of Alexandria, Περὶ τρόπων On tropes
Filiation: The exemplar for this text for Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS C.VIII.20

Ends incomplete (ed. Spengel, p. 205, line 30)

Rubric: p. 85 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ περὶ τρόπων
Incipit: p. 85 Φράσις ἐστὶ, λόγος ἐγκατάσκευος
Explicit: p. 92 ἦ μάλα δή τι Κύπρις Ἀχαϊάδων

TLG 0609.001

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: L-shape ( 55 × 35 mm. ) in the gutter, similar to Piccard online 28595. This example is dated to 1335.
Extent: Codex: v + 46 + vii leaves. 206 × 147 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is paginated with the numbers [i-v] + 1-46 + [vi-xii], in pencil, in Arabic numerals, recto only, upper right.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 6 quires, of which one is a ternion and the rest are quaternia.

  • Quire 18 pp. 1-16
  • Quire 26 pp. 17-28
  • Quires 3-68 pp. 29-92

There are original quire signatures in Greek numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower centre. They begin from the number 25, and survive on Quires 1 and 3-6 (κεʹ, κζʹ-λʹ). The previous eight quires are now MS O.1.5.

Condition

Wear and tear to the edges of folios has led to losses in places, which have sometimes been repaired with paper patches (e.g. ff. 1, 77). There is some water staining and areas of dirt. The paper has become soft in places.

Layout

A single column of 27-33 lines. 154-159 × 102 mm.

Hand(s)

The text was copied in mixed minuscule script, slanting slightly to the right, in brown or black ink, with moderate 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 . Accents are sometimes joined to letters, breathings, abbreviations and nomina sacra strokes.

The sigma telikon and loop epsilon are present.

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

Headings are in the same style in red or brown ink.

Decoration

The beginning of the text is preceded by a plaited headpiece outlined in brown ink, with red paint infill (p. 1).

The begnnings of texts and sections are marked by simple minor initials in red or black ink.

Additions

A note on p. 1 gives the word ‘τέταρτον’, identifying this as the fourth part of the original compilation (a similar note appears in MS O.1.5). A later hand has added a note of the title of the text beginning on p. 76, probably due to the fading of the original heading. There are various brief marginal annotations in Greek.

A note in Latin and Greek on p. 1 gives the heading to the text of Michael Synkellos that appears in a manuscript owned by Christian Ravius (1613-1677), perhaps Leiden, Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit, MS Voss. gr. Qo 54: ‘Titulus in MS Ravii sic se habet:-’ ‘Μιχαὴλ πρεσβυτέρου συγκέλλου τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ θρόνου τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων μέθοδος περὶ τῆς τοῦ λόγου συντάξεως, σχεδιασθεῖσα ἐν Ἐδέσσῃ τῆς Μεσοποταμίας, αἰτήσει Λαζάρου διακόνου, φιλοσόφου καὶ λογοθέτου’.

The present classmark and the former classmarks C.41 and No. 171 are marked on f. [i] recto.

Binding

17th-century full leather binding over couched-laminate boards, with plain pastedowns. There is decorative blind tooling on both boards. The name ‘Harpocration II’ is tooled in gold on the spine, and the classmark appears on patches.

213 × 153 × 22 mm.

Accompanying Material

Slips of parchment waste with Greek text have been used in the binding and appear between many folios (e.g. after ff. 16, 90). Similar slips from one of the same sources have been used in a similar way in MS O.1.5, which has a common origin.

History

Origin: The manuscript was probably copied in the second quarter of the 14th century, as indicated by the watermarks. This would be consistent with the characteristics of the script. It was produced as part of a set of four parts, at some point intended to form a single manuscript, of which this is the fourth and the third is now MS O.1.5. Isepy argues on the basis of the script that these manuscripts were probably produced in Thessalonike (Isepy, 'Towards a new text of Helladius', p. 207 n. 91), corroborating Diller's assessment that one of the texts in MS O.1.5 was derived from a copy then owned by the Monastery of the Theotokos in that city.

Provenance and Acquisition

Owned by the scholar Henry Scrimger (1506-1572)

Inherited from him by his nephew, Peter Young

By descent to his son, the royal librarian Patrick Young (1584-1652) .

Owned by the antiquary Thomas Gale (c. 1635-1702) , Fellow of Trinity and Dean of York. It appears in the 1697 catalogue of Gale's collection contained in Trinity College MS O.5.38 (p. 161).

Donated to Trinity College by Thomas's son, the antiquary Roger Gale (1672-1744) , in 1738.

Additional Information

Record Sources

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

    Museum criticum : Or, Cambridge Classical Researches Volume 1, Blomfield, Charles JamesMonk, James Henry (1826) The western manuscripts in the library of Trinity College : a descriptive catalogue, James, M. R. (Montague Rhodes) (Cambridge, 3, Cambridge University Press, 1902) Le traité de la construction de la phrase de Michel le Syncelle de Jérusalem, Synkellos, Michael (Brussels, Institut Historique Belge de Rome, 1982) Longa est via: forme e contenuti dello studio grammaticale dalla Bisanzio paleologa al tardo Rinascimento veneziano Hellenica, Nuti, E. (Alessandria, Edizioni dell'Orso, 2014)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

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Cambridge Digital Library

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