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.2.34

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11972

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript is formed of Materials linked with Trinity College, MS O.8.33, as is stated in M.R. James's catalogue (1902, p. 132): ‘ In Thomas Gales' lifetime, practically the whole volume was bound with O.8.33’. Three parts, with different origin and purpose, can be detected. The first part (ff. 430-459) contains a series of religious texts (some of them by Basil of Caesarea and Ephrem Syrus), completing the miscellany contained in MS Trinity O.8.33. The texts were copied by the scribe of that manuscript, Abramios, in the second half of the 16th century. A long annotation by him, stating that he was a hieromonk from the Peloponnese and that he had finished the copy on the 27th of June, was present on a leaf of this manuscript (see James (1902), p. 134). Since 1991, this folio has been transferred to MS O.8.33 (f. 477v), together with two other leaves originally pertaining to MS O.2.34. On the leaves of part I there is an original foliation in red, which is the same found in MS O.8.33. MS O.8.33 and part I of MS Trinity O.2.34 in all likelihood formed originally a single manuscript copied by Abramios. Part III (ff. 461-474) does not seem to belong to the manuscript copied by Abramios. It contains a fragment from a service-book, written probably in the 14th century. These leaves were originally wrapped in a bifolium, now ff. 460 and 478, which form part II. Folios 460 and 478 seem connected with part I of the manuscript, because some texts have been copied by the hieromonk Abramios. Abramios' hand has been identified also in MS 22 of Istambul, Patriarchikê Bibliothêkê, Hagia Trias, where he acted as restorer (see A. Binggeli, M. Cassin, M. Cronier, M. Kouroupou, Catalogue des manuscrits conservés dans la Bibliothèque du Patriarcat œcuménique. Les manuscrits du monastère de la Sainte-Trinité de Chalki, Turnhout 2019, pp. 39-42). This fact, together with the fact that on f. 478r there is a note of ownership ‘ τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος’, could link the manuscript with that monastery. Dr Erika Elia

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: Codex: ii + 1 + 46 + ii leaves. 205-215 × 140-155 mm.
Foliation: The first two (later) endleaves are unnumbered (ff. [a]-[b]). Modern pencil foliation from 430 to 478, continuing the foliation of MS O.8.33 (the two codices were once bound together). The numbering does not comprise ff. 475-477, because these leaves have been transferred to MS O.8.33. Ff. [c]-[d] are two later endleaves on which fragments from other leaves of the manuscript have been pasted. [a]- [b] + i + 430-460, 478, 461-474 + [c]-[d]

Collation

ff. [a]-[b], f. [i] | 120, 210 | 32 | 414 | ff. [c]-[d]

Condition

The leaves are yellowed and generally worn towards the edges. F. i has been sewn in the codex through a paper strip pasted on its internal margin.

Binding

Western modern binding, textile/bookcloth over pasteboards. Leather on spine and part of both covers. On the spine have been pasted three paper labels with the shelfmark, ‘ O’ ‘ 2’ ‘ 34’. 225 × 165 × 17 mm.

Accompanying Material

F. i is a paper leaf datable to the 16th c. ( James (1902), p. 133), containing an astrological text in English, used as guard-leaf. No watermark is visible.

ff. [a]-[b], [c]-[d] are later endleaves: they form two bifolia of western paper, folded in-quarto, with watermark formed by letters ‘ G R ’ surmounted by a crown, in a circle, (see the countermark of Heawood, Pro Patria 3700, dated to 1747 in England). On ff. [c] recto and [d] recto have been pasted 8 paper fragments with traces of writing in Greek, in black ink:

  • 3 on f. [c] recto ( 10-30 × 150-160 mm. )
  • 5 on f. [d] recto ( 45-60 × 10-45 mm. ).
These fragments are not mentioned in the catalogue by James (1902), therefore they were probably arranged in this way when the manuscript was restored and rebound in the 1990s. There are folio numbers written on them in pencil, probably indicating the leaves of the manuscript where they were originally placed. The leaves mentioned are 461, 469, 470, 471, 473. All these leaves belong to part III of the manuscript, a quire of 14 leaves from a manuscript from the 14th century (see Part III). These leaves are damaged, they lost parts near the gutter and the external margins, which have been restored by integrating them with paper strips. The fragments could have been originally pasted to them in the same way, in the gutter, forming an ancient restoration (the script appearing on them is different from the script on ff. 461-474, it is datable at least in the 16th century).

History

Provenance and Acquisition

The manuscript was part of the collection of the antiquary Roger Gale (1672-1744) (see James 1902, p. 133).

It was donated to Trinity College by Roger Gale in 1738. On the lower part of f. [a] recto is pasted the Trinity College bookplate; on ff. i recto and 478v there are stamps of Trinity College Library

Part 1 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.2.34, ff. 430-459]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

1. ff. 430r-432r
Text attributed to Basil of Caesarea
Rubric: f. 430r Τοῦ μεγάλου Βασιλιου[sic]
Incipit: f. 430r Ἡρώτησεν οὖν ὁ Εὔβουλος τῶ Βασιλείω[sic], τὶς ὅρους σοφίας
Explicit: f. 432r l. 26 οὐκ ἠπίστατο εὐεργετήσασα

The text is attributed to Basil of Caesarea , but it cannot be found among the author's works; the last part of the text (f. 232r) is found in the spurious Homilies attributed to Clemens romanus (et Clementina), Homily 12 ch. 25-26 (TLG 1271.006; J. Irmscher, F. Paschke, B. Rehm, Die Pseudoklementinen I. Homilien (Berlin, 1969), 2nd edn., pp. 23-281)

2. ff. 432r-441v, 447r-449v
Alexandros monachos

The attribution of the text to Alexandros monachos is not certain

Inventio crucis
Rubric: f. 432r l. 26 Ἀλεξάνδρου μοναχοῦ· λόγος ἱστορικὸς περὶ τῆς εὑρήσεως τοῦ τιμίου καὶ ζωοποιοῦ[sic] σταυροῦ, πρὸς τίνας ὁσίους πατέρας προτραπέντος ὑπ' αὐτῶν· ἐν ᾧ ἐστὶ θεολογίας ἀληθὴς καὶ περὶ τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας ἀπλανὴς ὁμολογίας· καὶ ἐγκώμιον εἰς τὸν τίμιον καὶ ζωὁποιὸν[sic] σταυρὸν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· εὐλόγησον
Incipit: f. 432v Τὴν κέλευσιν τῆς ὑμετέρας πατρικῆς ὁσιότητος δεξάμενος
Explicit: f. 449v εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν

In the left margin, in red ‘ Μηνὶ σεπτεμβρίου ιδ΄ λόγος κη΄’

On f. 441v the text ends imperfectly at PG 87.3, 4045 l. 52: in the lower margin, the scribe wrote ‘ ἀπέλθε εἰς φύλλα ἔμπροσθεν ϛ΄ να εὔρεις τὸ τέλος τοῦ λόγου’, pointing out that the end of the work is to be found after 6 leaves, on f. 447r l. 16, where the text continues from PG 87.3, 4065 l. 42, leaving a lacuna ( συνπαντὶ τῶ[sic] στρατεύματι αὐτοῦ … Λόγος δὲ κρατεῖ, ὅτι Ἀθανάσιος ἐκεῖθεν φυγὼν, PG 87.3, 4045 l. 52-4065 l. 42)

TLG 2860.001; BHG 410; PG 87.3, 4016-4076

3. ff. 442r-447r
Inventio crucis et clavorum
Rubric: f. 442r Διήγησις τοῦ τιμίου καὶ ζωοποιοῦ[sic] σταυροῦ καὶ ἀνεύρεσις ὃν ἐφανέρωσεν ἡ μακαρία Ἑλένη· εὐλόγησον
Incipit: f. 442r Ἔτους διακοσιοστοῦ εἰκοστοῦ τετάρτου τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, ζήτησις καὶ ἐρεύνησις ἐγένετο τοῦ τιμίου σταυροῦ
Explicit: f. 447r l. 16 ἵνα ὄσι[sic] μνημονεύουσι τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τύχωσι τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων τᾶς[sic] ἁγίας ἀγαθῶν ἐν αὐτῶ Χριστῶ[sic] ... ἀμὴν

In the upper margin the scribe wrote, in red ink, ‘ λόγος θ΄’

ΒΗG 404

4. ff. 450r-453v
Ephraem Syrus, Ad eversionem superbiae
Rubric: f. 450r Τοῦ ἁγίου Ἑφραὶμ[sic], λόγος πρὸς καθέρεσιν[sic] ὑπεριφανίας[sic]
Incipit: f. 450r Ματαία πᾶσα ἄσκησις
Explicit: f. 453v l. 8 πρέπει δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμῖν[sic].

In the upper margin the scribe wrote, in red ink, ‘ κε΄’

TLG 4138.003; CPG 3907

5. ff. 453v-459v
Ephraem Syrus, Sermo asceticus
Rubric: f. 453v l. 8 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγος ἀσκητικός
Incipit: f. 453v Ὁ πόνος τοῦ λέγειν ἀναγκάζει με
Explicit: f. 459v τοὺς ἀπ’ αἰῶνος κοιμωμένους.||

The text ends imperfectly at K.G. Phrantzoles, Ὁσίου Ἐφραίμ τοῦ Σύρου ἔργα (Thessalonica, 1988), 1 (repr. 1995), pp. 122-184 (p. 147 l. 2)

TLG 4138.005; CPG 3909

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermarks: ff. 430-459 Anchor in a cicle surmounted by a quatrefoil ( ca. 65 × ca. 40 mm. ) in the gutter, no exact parallels found in the main repertoires.
Foliation:

Red pencil foliation, in Arabic numerals, in the upper margin, right, from 430 to 459, probably written by the scribe who refers to it in some notes (see Additions).

Collation

  • Quire 120 ff. 430-449
  • Quire 210 ff. 450-459

Horizontal catchwords by the scribe, written in the lower margin, right, of each leaf.

Layout

ff. 430r-459v: A single column of 27 lines. 175 × 120 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. 430r-459v Hand A: the texts in this part of the manuscript have been written by the hieromonk Abramios (or Anastasios, 16th century), who signed his work on f. 477v of MS MS O.8.33 ( Ἀβράμιος [Ἀναστάσιος], see RGK I, 1, where to this scribe are attributed only ff. 45-48 (= ff. 475-478; ff. 475-477, once present in MS O.2.34, since 1991 have been transferred to MS O.8.33); see also RGK II, 2; RGK III, 1).

The text is written in black ink; titles and initials, as well as some marginal notes, in red.

The scribe wrote annotations in the margins and revised the text.

Decoration

Initials in red ink are decorated in a branch motif (see e.g. f. 432v).

Additions

On f. 441v, in the lower margin, there is an indication by the scribe, in modern Greek, about where to find the prosecution of the text. Possibly the scribe had a faulty exemplar, with problems in the order of the leaves. He wrote ἀπέλθε εἰς φύλλα ἔμπροσθεν ϛ΄ να εὔρεις τὸ τέλος τοῦ λόγου, pointing out to the fact that the end of the text written on that leaf (Alexandros monachos, Inventio crucis) can be found after 6 leaves, on f. 447r.

History

Origin: This part of the manuscript was copied by the hieromonk Abramios, probably in the last quarter of the 16th century (see RGK III, 1).

Part 2 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.2.34, ff. 460, 478]

Contents

Introduction: This part of the manuscript is formed by two leaves, ff. 460 and 478. They form a unique bifolium: a text, the letter of Patriarch Jeremias, is written horizontally on both ff. 460v and 478r. The catalogue by James (1902, p. 132) informs us that this bifolium was used as a cover for the leaves forming part III of the manuscript, now ff. 461-474. Folios 460 and 478 seem connected with part I of the manuscript, because some texts have been written by the hieromonk Abramios, who copied part I.

Language(s): Greek

6. f. 460r
Psalm 78
Incipit: || f. 460r Ἐξέχεαν τὸ αἷμα αὐτῶν
Explicit: f. 460r ἐξαγγελοῦμεν τὴν ἔνεσίν[sic] σου

The text begins from the third line

TLG 0527.027

7. ff. 460v, 478r
Letter of Jeremias Patriarch of Constantinople
Incipit: f. 460v Ἱερεμίας ἐλέῳ Θεοῦ ἐπίσκοπος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως … πατριάρχης. Θεοσεβέστατε ἐν ἱερεύσιν
Explicit: f. 460v ἵνα καὶ ἡ Θεοῦ χάρις εἴη μετά σου.

The letter is written horizontally on ff. 460v and 478r

8. f. 478r
Ascetic anecdote
Incipit: f. 478r Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν πατέρων, ὅτι μοναχός
Explicit: f. 478r τῆς πνευματικῆς διακρίσεως καὶ μετάλαβεν αὐτὰ μετὰ κοχληαρίου[sic] τῆς κατα(?) ||
9. f. 478v
Fragment of prayers
Incipit: || f. 478v δέσποινα (?) ὑπεράγαθε ἐλπίς μου θεοτόκε
Explicit: f. 478v δόξαν ἀναπέμπομεν||

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermarks: ff. 460/478 Only traces of a watermark are visible, a circle surmounted by a six-point star in the gutter.

Collation

Part II consists of a bifolium.

  • Quire 32 ff. 460/478

Hand(s)

ff. 460r, 478r l. 7-478v Hand A: some of the texts have been written by the hieromonk Abramios, who wrote the texts of part I.

The scribe wrote also some annotations on f. 460v.

ff. 460v, 478r ll.1-6 Hand B: another, contemporary, hand copied the letter on ff. 460v and 478r, in an informal minuscule datable probably in the 16th c.

The text is written in black ink.

Additions

On ff. 460v, 478r there are big annotations in black ink in monocondyle: on f. 460v can be read μηνὶ ἰουλλίου; on f. 478r ἰου(?)ος. On these same leaves there are scattered annotations by Abramios, and a note of ownership ‘ τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος’.

History

Origin: This part of the manuscript was copied in the 16th century, probably around the same period as part I.

Part 3 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.2.34, ff. 461-474]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

10. ff. 461r-474v
Service book (Psalms), fragment
Incipit: || f. 461r αὕτη ἡμέρα ἣν ἐποίησεν ὁ κύριος ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῆ[sic]
Explicit: f. 474v ἔθεντο τὰ θνησιμαῖα ⟨τῶν δού⟩λων ⟨σου⟩ βρ⟨ώματα⟩ ||

The text is formed by lines from different Psalms, organized in thematic chapters; it starts imperfectly with Psalm 117, 24 and ends with Psalm 78, 2 (TLG 0527.027)

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: ff. 461-474 Eastern paper.

Collation

This part of the manuscript is formed by a single quire of 14 leaves.

  • Quire 414 ff. 461-474

Condition

Some of the leaves are damaged, see f. 474, where the text is not completely readable.

Layout

A single column of 28 lines. ca. 160 × ca. 100 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. 461r-474r l. 10 Hand C: the majority of the texts in this part of the manuscript have been written in a minuscule script of 'traditional basis', of regular size, not very calligraphic, datable in the 14th c.

The text is written in brown ink; titles and initials in red

ff. 474r l. 11-474v Hand D: another hand, contemporary or slightly later than C, continued the text until 474v.

The text is written in brown ink

Decoration

Undulating line fillers with clovers at both ends, in red ink, accompany the titles, see e.g. f. 472v.

Thick minor initials in red ink.

History

Origin: On the basis of the script, this part of the manuscript was probably copied in the 14th century, possibly in the first half.

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, 1902), vol. 3, pp. 133-134.

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, 3, Cambridge University Press, 1902) Catalogus codicum hagiographicorum graecorum Germaniae, Belgii, Angliae, van de Vorst, CharlesDelehaye, Hippolyte (Brussels, Société des Bollandistes, 1913) Repertorium der griechischen Kopisten, 800-1600. I. Grossbritannien Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Byzantinistik, Gamillscheg, ErnstHarlfinger, Dieter (Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1981) Repertorium der griechischen Kopisten, 800-1600. III. Rom mit dem Vatikan Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Byzantinistik, Gamillscheg, ErnstHarlfinger, DieterEleuteri, Paolo (Wien, 1997)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

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Cambridge Digital Library

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