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.1.68

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11968

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript, probably copied in the 17th century, consists largely of Epigrams selected from the Greek Anthology, the collection of over 2,000 short poems compiled in the 10th century by Konstantinos Kephalas and revised in the 14th century by Maximos Planoudes. Most of the manuscript was the work of a single copyist. The modern foliation of the manuscript does not follow the actual order of the folios, [**but accords with the order in which the various epigrams customarily appear in the Anthology. Since the foliation is more recent than the current binding, this disparity presumably does not reflect any physical reordering of the folios, but rather a decision to impose the "correct" textual order over the physical actual state of the manuscript. Since the epigrams present are merely a selection rather than forming a full copy of the collection, there is no reason to suppose that they were ever arranged in an order conforming with that established in the full Anthology**]. A few Latin epigrams have been added at the beginning and end, mainly by another hand which may be that of John Fountagne, who left an ownership note on f. 1r. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek and Latin

1. ff. 1v-2r
Epigram
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: f. 1v In celeberrimam victoriam Hybernicam
Incipit: f. 1v Io triumphe sona iucundo buccina cantu

f. 1r is blank apart from some notes and headings; f. 2v is blank

2. f. 3r
Epigram
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: f. 3r Inalter oblita sonos iam buccina clangat

f. 3v is blank

3. ff. 4r-15r, 32r-39r, 24r-31r, 16r-23r, 40r-54r, [54a]r, 55r-98r
Anthologia Graeca

Selected epigrams [**GIVE NUMBERS?**]

Language(s): Greek
Rubric: f. 4r Epigrammata Graeca
Incipit: f. 4r Ἀνθρώπου μὲν ἴσως λήσεις ἄτοπόν τι ποιήσαι

TLG 7000.001

All verso folios are blank; ff. 98v-104v are blank

4. f. 105r
Epigram
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: f. 105r In Lucam apostolum olim medicum
Incipit: f. 105r Corpora qui quondam sanabas dispari sorte

f. 105v is blank

5. f. 106r
Epigram
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: f. 106r Carmen θριαμβικὸν
Incipit: f. 106r Quantus Io plausus resonat per compita gaudet

ff. 106v-107r are blank; f. 107v is blank apart from a note

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: ff. 1-107 Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark: Flag ( c. 35 × c. 25 mm. ) in the outer corner of the folio, comparable but not identical to Tecnicelpa 1792. This example is dated to 1605 .
Extent: Codex: 109 leaves. 145 × 80 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [i], 1-15, 32-39, 24-31, 16-23, 40-54, [54a], 55-107, in Arabic numerals, in pencil, recto, lower right.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 14 quires, all quaternia.

  • Quires 1-58 ff. [i], 1-15, 32-39, 24-31, 16-23
  • Quire 68-1 ff. 40-46 The eighth folio has been cancelled, without loss of text.
  • Quires 7-138 ff. 47-54, [54a], 55-101
  • Quire 148-2 ff. 102-107 The fifth and eighth folios have been cancelled, without loss of text.

Condition

Most of f. [i] has been lost, as has about half of f. 107. There is some creasing and occasional areas of dirt.

Layout

A single column of 8-12 lines. 55-63 × 110-120 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. 1v-2r, 3r and 105r were copied by Hand A in Latin script, in brown ink.

ff. 4r-98r were copied by Hand B in mixed minuscule script, slanting slightly to the right, in black ink, with moderate variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings are not in use. Breathings are round and mute iota is subscript.

Punctuation used includes the lower point and lower comma.

Headings and f. 105r were written by the same hand in Latin script.

Additions

The headings ‘Epigrammata Graeca et Latina’ and ‘Epigrammatum Aquillium’ have been written on f. 1r, along with an unfinished ownership note of John Fountagne, ‘Johannes Fountagne his b⟨ook⟩ ’, the number L.7 and other brief notes and pen-trials.

The current classmark and the numbers L.7 and no. 398 have been written on the left pastedown.

Binding

18th-century full leather binding over millboards, with plain pastedowns. There is decorative gold tooling on both boards. The classmark appears on the spine on patches.

159 × 82 × 20 mm.

History

Origin: The manuscript was probably copied in the 17th or early 18th century, as suggested by the style of script, watermark and provenance.

Provenance and Acquisition

Owned by John Fountagne , as indicated by his note on f. 1r.

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

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, Montague Rhodes (Cambridge, 3, Cambridge University Press, 1902)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

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