Introduction:
This manuscript contains a Greek Catena on the
Psalms, a compilation of extracts of commentary on the
text, covering Psalms 74-150. It was copied in Alexandria in 1604,
as indicated by a colophon on f.
452v.
A note on f. 1r
records that the manuscript was at one time the property of
Metrophanes Kritopoulos (1589-1639)
, a monk of Mount Athos, who in about 1621 travelled to study
at Oxford, presumably
bringing this manuscript with him. He went at the instigation of the
Patriarch of Constantinople
Cyril Loukaris
(1572-1638)
, who had been Patriarch
of Alexandria until 1620. In the early 17th century Loukaris
established a close relationship with the Anglican Church, as a
result of his attraction to Calvinist theology and the wish for
cooperation against Catholic encroachment. He was particularly
concerned to bolster the intellectual means available to counter the
arguments of Catholic missionaries, owing to the limited character
of the education the Orthodox Church could now provide. Loukaris
made arrangements with the Archbishop of Canterbury,
George
Abbot (1562-1633)
, to send Greek clerics
to study at Oxford.
The first of these was Kritopoulos, who studied for a
time at Balliol College, but fell out with Abbot and left England in
1623, having
seemingly given away or sold this manuscript in the meantime. He
would pursue his studies and contacts with Protestant churches in
other parts of Europe for several years before returning home around
1630, soon being elevated to the post of Bishop of Memphis and later
Patriarch of Alexandria.
The manuscript was afterwards found in the hands of the
royal librarian Patrick Young (1584-1652), who may well have
acquired it directly from Kritopoulos, along with another catena on
the Psalms previously owned by Kritopoulos, now Cambridge, Trinity College MS O.3.15.
He added and annotated on blank folios at the end of the manuscript
(ff. 453r-454r) two brief
introductory hypotheses to the Psalms by Eusebios of Caesarea.
Dr Christopher Wright
Language(s): Greek
1. ff. 1r-452v
Catena on the Psalms
Psalms 74-150
Incipit:
f. 1r Εἴρηται καὶ οὗτος ὁ
ψαλμὸς ἐκ προσώπου τῶν ἐν Βαβυλῶνι δαρυαλάτων
Explicit:
f. 452v παρ'οὗ πᾶν
ἀνθρώποις τὸ κατορθούμενον· αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας,
ἀμήν
Colophon:
f. 452v Ἐν
Αλεξανδρεία[sic] ͵αχδʹ σωτηρίου· Ἰουνίου, γʹ
2. f. 453r-453v
Eusebios of Caesarea (c. 260-c.
340),
Commentaria in Psalmos
Excerpt: PG 23, coll. 68-72
Rubric:
f. 453r Ὑπόθεσις Εὐσεβίου
τοῦ Παμφίλου εἰς τοὺς ρνʹ ψαλμοὺς
Incipit:
f. 453r Πρῶτος, προτροπὴ
θεοσεβείας, καὶ ἀποτροπὴ τοῦ ἐναντίου
Explicit:
f. 453v ρμθʹ ὕμνος σὺν
προφητεία· ρνʹ παρακέλευσις ὕμνου καθολικὴ
TLG 2018.034
CPG 3467
3. f. 454r, lines 1-15
Eusebios of Caesarea (c. 260-c. 340),
Commentaria in Psalmos
Excerpt: PG 23, coll. 66-68
Rubric:
f. 454r
Ετέρα[sic] ὑπόθεσις Εὐσεβίου τοῦ Παμφίλου εἰς τοὺς αὐτοῦ ρνʹ
ψαλμοὺς
Incipit:
f. 454r Τῆς βίβλου τῶν
ψαλμῶν ἡ δὲ ἂν εἴη ἡ διαίρεσις ὡς τὰ ἀκριβῆ τῶν ἀντιγράφων
Explicit:
f. 454r ὅσοι ἐπιγραφὰς
μὲν ἔχουσιν, οὐ μὴν δηλοῦσι τίνος εἰσὶν, ὅμου ρνʹ
TLG 2018.034
CPG 3467
4. f. 454r, lines 16-25
Eusebios of Caesarea (c. 260-c. 340),
Commentaria in Psalmos
Excerpt: PG 23, col. 76
Rubric:
f. 454r Τοῦ αὐτοῦ Εὐσεβίου
εἰς τὸ δίαψαλμα
Incipit:
f. 454r Ἔγραψαν τὸ
διάψαλμα οἱ ἑρμηνεύσαντες πέντε ἄρχοντες
Explicit:
f. 454r καὶ πάντες
ἐπεφώνουν τῷ ψάλλοντι, ἀλλήλουϊα
TLG 2018.034
CPG 3467
5. f. 454r, lines 25-45
Synaxarium mensis Octobris
Excerpt: Day 15, section 1
Incipit:
f. 454r Τὸ διάψαλμα, ἢ
πρόσωπον ἐναλλαγή ἐστιν, ἢ διανοίας μεταβολὴ
Explicit:
f. 454r ἐν πυργίσκου
τοίχῳ κονιάματι πρὸς ασφάλειαν[sic] διακεχρισμένῳ
TLG 4411.002
Form: codex
Support:
ff. 1-40, 105r-152 Western paper,
folded in folio.
Watermark:
Anchor (
51 × 42 mm.
) in the
centre of the folio.
ff. 41-104 Western
paper, folded in folio.
Watermark:
Anchor (
58 × 37 mm.
) in the
centre of the folio.
ff. 153-160,
346-349, 352-406 Western paper,
folded in folio.
Watermark:
Anchor (
51 × 42 mm.
) in the
centre of the folio.
ff 161-192v
Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark:
Crown (
54 × 39 mm.
) in the
centre of the folio.
ff. 193-345v,
350-351, 438-445 Western paper,
folded in folio.
Watermark:
Anchor (
50 × 40 mm.
) in the
centre of the folio, similar to Mošin
2292. This example is dated to 1614.
ff. 407-437
Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark:
Anchor (
50 × 38 mm.
) in the
centre of the folio.
ff. 446-454
Western paper, folded in folio. Watermark:
Anchor (
50 × 38 mm.
) in the
centre of the folio, comparable but not
identical to Mošin 2335-2336. These
examples are dated to 1590-1610.
Extent:
Codex:
4 + 457 + 3 leaves.
310 × 210 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the
numbers [i-iv] + 1-226, 226a, 227-401, 401a, 402-427, 427a,
428-454 + 455, [v-vi] in Arabic numerals, in pencil, recto,
upper right.
Collation
The manuscript consists of 57 quires, all quaternia.
- Quires 1-568
ff. 1-445
- Quire 578+1
ff.
446-454
There are small quire signatures in
Greek numerals, in black ink, on the last folio of each
quire of Quires 1-21 (ff.
1-208), verso, lower left. Many have been lost
to cropping. Signatures survive in whole or in part on
Quires 6, 8-10, 12-14, 22-24 (ϛʹ, ηʹ-ιʹ, ιβʹ-ιδʹ,
κβʹ-κδʹ).
There are larger quire signatures in
Greek numerals, in black ink, on the first folio of each
quire of Quires 27-57 (ff.
209-454), recto, lower centre, and the last
folio of each of these quires, verso, lower centre. Many
have been lost to cropping. Signatures survive in whole or
in part on all quires of this portion of the manuscript
(κζʹ-νζʹ).
Condition
There are minor tears to a few folios. There is extensive
but mild water staining throughout, and extensive areas of dirt
and stains from contact with the binding on the
flyleaves.
Layout
A single column of 36 lines.
225 × 130 mm.
Hand(s)
ff. 1r-452v were copied by
Hand A in mixed minuscule script,
with variable slant, in brown ink, with modest variation in
letter size.
Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear
throughout the line. Breathings are both round, and mute iota is subscript. There is decorative
use of the double dot, and accentuation of all nomina sacra .
Punctuation used includes the middle and upper points, lower and
middle commas, question mark and full stop.
Headings are written in the same style in red ink.
ff. 453r-454r were copied by
Patrick Young (Hand B) in mixed
minuscule script of western European type, similar to
early printing, in brown ink.
Decoration
The beginning of the portion of the catena
for some psalms is preceded by a narrow headpiece or vignette in red
ink.
The portion for each psalm begins with an
ornamented initial in red ink. The beginnings of some sections are
marked by smaller, simpler initials in red ink.
The beginnings of other sections are marked
by small initials in brown ink.
Portions for psalms not preceded by full-width
headpieces or vignettes are preceded by line-fillers in red
ink.
Additions
As part of the original production of the manuscript, the abbreviated
name of the author has been marked in the margin each time the
author of the adjacent text changes.
On f. 1r is an ownership note of
Metrophanes Kritopoulos: ‘Ἐκ τῶν Μητροφάνους τοῦ
Κριτοπούλου’.
The title ‘Catena in Psalmos’ is written on f. [i] recto, along with
the present classmark, the former classmark G.13 and the numbers 298
and 299. The former classmark O.4.40 is marked on f. 1r.
The texts on ff. 453r-454r have
been annotated in Greek and Latin by Patrick Young.
Binding
17th-century full leather binding over wooden boards, with
unsupported sewing. Two metallic pins are set into the foredge
of the left board. Corresponding to the pins there are two sets
of three holes through the right board that retain lengths of
three plaited leather straps each. The classmark appears on
patches on the spine.
320 × 230 × 95 mm.
Origin:
The main content of the manuscript was copied in Alexandria and completed in
3 June
1604, as indicated by the colophon on f. 452v.
The texts on ff. 453r-454v were
added later, probably in England, as indicated by the style of script, and
in the period 1621-1652, between the arrival of its
owner Metrophanes Kritopoulos in England and the death of Patrick
Young, whose hand appears here.
Provenance and Acquisition
Owned by
Metrophanes Kritopoulos
(1588-1639)
,
as indicated by the note on f.
1r.
Owned by the Biblical scholar and royal librarian
Patrick Young (1584-1652)
,
as indicated by the presence of his hand in the manuscript.
Purchased after his death 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. 150).
Donated to Trinity College by Thomas's son, the
antiquary
Roger
Gale (1672-1744)
, in 1738.
