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 R.9.18

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 12040

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript, copied in the years around 1500, is a Greek Miscellany whose largest single component is the collection of short biographies of ancient philosophers by the 3rd-century CE writer Diogenes Laertios. It also contains a range of ancient and medieval grammatical and rhetorical texts and excerpts, primarily commentaries on the works of the ancient rhetoricians Hermogenes and Aphthonios by the leading late 13th-early 14th century Byzantine classical scholar Maximos Planoudes. Other contents include commentaries on mythology and the most recent component, a brief excerpt from a theological text by Georgios Scholarios (c. 1405-c. 1472), the scholar and official who became Patriarch of Constantinople as Gennadios II. The manuscript was copied by three different copyists, whose work is interspersed throughout the manuscript. One of these has been identified as Georgios Moschos, a scholar from Corfu who copied manuscripts there before moving to Italy towards the end of the 15th century, where he worked in Ferrara and Mirandola, taught rhetoric and medicine and did editorial work for the great Venetian printer of Greek texts Aldus Manutius. Another has been identified as one Ioannes, a collaborator of Georgios, who has been tentaively identified as his father Ioannes Moschos. A variety of other manuscripts copied by both men have been identified, mostly classical texts. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

1. ff. 1r-8v
Palaephatus, De incredibilibus

Excerpt: sections 6-36

Rubric: f. 1r Ἐκ τῶν τοῦ Παλαιφάτου περι[sic] τῶν ἱστοριῶν
Incipit: f. 1r Φασὶν Ἀκτίωνα ὑπὸ τῶν ἰδίων κυνῶν καταβρωθῆναι
Explicit: f. 8v ὁ δὲ λόγος ἐντευθεν[sic] ἐλέχθη οὕτως

TLG 1553.001

2. ff. 9r-15v
Manuel Moschopoulos (d. 1316), Vocum Atticarum collectio Τῶν ὀνόματων Ἀττικῶν συλλογή
Incipit: f. 9r ⟨Α⟩ἴρω τὸ ὑψῶ· καὶ ἄγω· καὶ προσφέρω· καὶ ἀφανίζω, αἰτιατικῇ
Explicit: f. 15v ⟨σ⟩κεύαζω αἰτιῶν.[sic] παρασκευάζω, ἀπό

Ed. Thomae Magistri dictionum Atticarum collectio. Phrynichi Atticorum verborum et nominum collectio. Manuelis Moscopuli vocum Atticarum collectio e libro de arte imaginum Philostrati et scriptis poetarum. Omnia ex alphabeti ordine electa. Ex scriptis Aeliani libellus de antiqua ratione instruendarum acierum et ductorum militarium appellationibus. Orbicius de ordinibus exercitus (Paris 1532)

3. ff. 16r-16v
Moral treatise
Incipit: f. 16r ἐὰν προσέχη τις καλλία, φιλοπότην αὐτὸν ἐργάσεται
Explicit: f. 16v ὅσον ἐπ'αὐτῇ ἥκει

ff. 17r-18r are blank; f. 18v is blank apart from a later note

4. ff. 19r-21v
Maximos Planoudes (c. 1260-c. 1310), Introduction to Hermogenes, Ars rhetorica
Rubric: f. 19r Προλεγόμενα τῆς Ῥητορικῆς
Incipit: f. 19r Τὴν ῥητορικὴν διαφόρως τινὲς ὡρίσαντο
Explicit: f. 21v πρὸς κτῆσιν τῆς ὑγείας, πράξεως εἰσίν

TLG 4146.002

5. ff. 21v-22r
Maximos Planoudes (c. 1260-c. 1310), Introduction to Aphthonios, Progymnasmata

Excerpt: ed. Walz, vol. 2, pp. 5-9; this diverges from the edited text

Rubric: f. 21v Προλεγόμενα τῶν Προγυμνασμάτων
Incipit: f. 21v Προγύμνασμά ἐστιν, ἄσκησις μετρίων πρὸς μειζόνων ἐπίρρωσιν πραγμάτων
Explicit: f. 22r κατηγορία νόμον τοῦ κελεύοντος ἐπ'αὐτοφώρω τὸν μοιχὸν κτείνεσθαι

Ed. Christian Walz, Rhetores Graeci, 9 vols. (Stuttgart and Tübingen 1832-1836), vol. 2, pp. 1-68

For the authorship of this text, see Ronald F. Hock The Chreia and Ancient Rhetoric: Commentaries on Aphthonius's Progymnasmata (Atlanta 2012), pp. 282-284

6. ff. 22r-38r
Maximos Planoudes (c. 1260-c. 1310), Scholia on Aphthonios, Progymnasmata

Excerpt: ed. Walz, vol. 2, pp. 9-68

Rubric: f. 22r Ἐξήγησις τοῦ μύθου
Incipit: f. 22r Διατὶ τὸ μὲν ὁ μῦθος μετὰ τοῦ ἄρθρου προηνέκγεν
Explicit: f. 38r μοιχὸς ἀναιρούμενος·τοῦτο ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐκβησομένου φασὶν

Ed. Christian Walz, Rhetores Graeci, 9 vols. (Stuttgart and Tübingen 1832-1836), vol. 2, pp. 1-68

For the authorship of this text, see Ronald F. Hock The Chreia and Ancient Rhetoric: Commentaries on Aphthonius's Progymnasmata (Atlanta 2012), pp. 282-284

f. 26v is blank

7. ff. 39r-42r
Maximos Planoudes (c. 1260-c. 1310), Introduction to Hermogenes, Περὶ στάσεως (On Issues)
Rubric: f. 39r Προλεγόμενα τῶν στάσεων
Incipit: f. 39r Ὁ τὸ τῆς ῥητορικῆς βιβλίον συντεταχὼς, Ἑρμογένης ἐστὶν ὁ Ταρσεὺς
Explicit: f. 42r περὶ τοῦ πράγματος κελεύοντι, ποιεῖ τελείας παραγραφὴν

Ed. Christian Walz, Rhetores Graeci, 9 vols. (Stuttgart and Tübingen 1832-1836), vol. 5, pp. 223-230

8. f. 42v
Diagram
9. ff. 43r-81v
Maximos Planoudes (c. 1260-c. 1310), Scholia on Hermogenes, Περὶ στάσεως (On Issues)
Incipit: f. 43r ολλῶν ὄντων· λεληθότως μὲν ἀποδίδωσι, τὸν τῆς ῥητορικῆς ὅρον
Explicit: f. 81v καὶ ἔν το ἐν τῶ κατὰ Ἀριστοκράτου

Ed. Christian Walz, Rhetores Graeci, 9 vols. (Stuttgart and Tübingen 1832-1836), vol. 5, pp. 232-363

ff. 82r-85v are blank

10. ff. 86r-97v
On prosody
Rubric: f. 86r Περὶ λογογραφίας· περὶ ἐπιστολῶν· περὶ στίχων, εἰσαγωγῶν
Incipit: f. 86r Πᾶσα λόγου ἰδέα, ἐκ μερῶν ὀκτὼ συγκείται
Explicit: f. 97v καὶ συνεστραμμένην, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τὸ σύντομον

ff. 98r-103v are blank

11. ff. 104r-105v, line 3
Sopater, Commentary on Hermogenes, Ars rhetorica

Excerpt

Incipit: f. 104r Στρογγύλων σχῆμα ἐστὶ τόδε· ὥσπερ εἴ τις ἐκείνων ἑάλω
Explicit: f. 105v ὡς ἔστι τῶν αἰσχρῶν μᾶλλον δὲ τῶν αἰσχίστων

Ed. Michel Patillon, Commentaire sur l'Art d'Hermogène (Paris 2019)

12. f. 105v, line 4-108v, line 8
Legal text on orphans
Incipit: f. 105v Νόμος ἐκέλευε τὴν ὀρφανὴν, μήτε τὸν ἐπίτροπον αὐτῆς
Explicit: f. 108v συνώκισεν αὐτῶ την[sic] γυναῖκα· καὶ κρίνεται παρανομίας
13. f. 108v, line 5-115v
Theophrastus, Characteres
Filiation: Diggle identifies this text as a copy of Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, MS Graec. 327.

Excerpt: chapters 1-23

Incipit: f. 108v Ἤδη μὲν καὶ πρότερον πολλάκις ἐπιστήσας τὴν διάνοιαν
Explicit: f. 115v διὰ τὸ ἑλάττω εἶναι πρὸς τὰς ξενοδοχίας

TLG 0093.009

14. ff. 116r-127v
Maximos Planoudes (c. 1260-c. 1310), Epitome of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, De compositione verborum
Incipit: f. 116r ῶρόν τοι καὶ ἐγὼ τέκνον φίλε Ῥοῦφε Μελίτιε
Explicit: f. 127v ἐκ τεσσάρων μακρῶν, οἶον Ἡρακλείδης

TLG 0081.013

15. ff. 128r-129v
Lexicon Herodoteum
Rubric: f. 128r Λεξικὸν τῶν Ἡροδότου λέξεων ἐκ μέρους κατὰ στοιχεῖον
Incipit: f. 128r Ἀνέλη· χρήση: ἀναξυρίδας τὰ βαθέα καὶ βασιλικὰ τῶν ὑποδημάτων
Explicit: f. 129v κωνώπια τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὀλύνθοις τοῖς ἄρσεσι: ψῶσαν· θάλπουσαν
16. ff. 130r-131r
Aelius Aristides, Monody on Smyrna
Rubric: f. 130r Ἐπὶ Σμύρνη μονωδία Ἀριστείδου
Incipit: f. 130r Ὦ ζεῦ τι χρήσωμαι· πότερον σιωπῶ Σμύρνης κειμένης
Explicit: f. 131r αὐτοῖς ὥρα τοῖς δένδρεσι Θρηνεῖ

TLG 0284.020

f. 131v is blank

17. ff. 132r-240r
Diogenes Laertios, Vitae philosophorum
Filiation: Martini and Düring, followed by Dorandi, place this copy in a group also containing Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Urb. gr. 109, Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS Hist. gr. 59, Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Reg. gr. 103 and Prague, Národní Knihovna České Republiky, MS Raudnitzianus Lobkowicensis VI Fc 38, to which Düring adds Madrid, Biblioteca nacional de España, MS 4676. This manuscript was used in the preparation of Meibom's edition of 1692, the collations being taken by Thomas Gale.
Incipit: f. 132r ὸ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἔργον, ἔνιοι φασὶν ἀπὸ βαρβάρων ἄρξαι
Explicit: f. 240r Ἱππαρχία· Μενίππος· Μενέδημος· οἱ κυνικοὶ φιλόσοφοι

TLG 0004.001

f. 240v is blank

18. f. 241r
Gennadios Scholarios (c. 1405-c. 1472), Quaestiones theologicae de praedestinatione divina et de anima

Excerpt: ed Jugie, Petit and Siderides, Question 1, chapter 1, section 19

Incipit: f. 241r Τοὶς μὲν οὖν, ἐνδεχόμενα ὁμοίως ἦν καὶ τὰ ἐναντία
Explicit: f. 241r ἑκάτερος καὶ μὴ τοδὶ, ἠπίστα τὸ ὡρισμένως

TLG 3195.005

ff. 241v-244v are blank

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: ff. 1-8 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Bull's head ( c. 150 × 40 mm. ) in the gutter, comparable but not identical to Briquet 15394. This example is dated to 1487-1501. ff. 9-15 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Hand ( c. 65 × c. 25 mm. ) in the gutter, similar to Briquet 10715. This example is dated to 1495-1499. f. 16 Western paper, folded in quarto. ff. 17-18, 82-103, 241-244 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Scales ( c. 57 × c. 57 mm. ) in the gutter, similar to Briquet 2548. This example is dated to 1497. ff. 19-81, 104-127 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Mountains ( c. 80 × 24 mm. ) in the gutter, similar to Harlfinger Monts 65. This example is dated to 1468-1469. ff. 128-131 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Hand ( c. 85 × 25 mm. ) in the gutter. ff. 132-155 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Scales ( c. 85 × 33 mm. ) in the gutter, similar to Briquet 2539. This example is dated to 1497. ff. 156-240 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Scales ( c. 85 × 33 mm. ) in the gutter, similar to Briquet 2532. This example is dated to 1484-1491.
Extent: Codex: i + iv + 244 + i leaves. 197 × 156 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [i-v] + 1-244 + [vi], in pencil, in Arabic numerals, recto, upper right.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 35 quires, of which one is a single bifolio, six are binia, three are ternia and the rest are quaternia.

  • Quire 18 ff. 1-8
  • Quire 28-1 ff. 9-15 The fifth folio has been cancelled, without loss of text.
  • Quire 34-1 ff. 16-18 The fourth folio has been cancelled, without loss of text.
  • Quires 4-58 ff. 19-34
  • Quire 64 ff. 35-38
  • Quire 78 ff. 39-46
  • Quire 86+1 ff. 47-53 The seventh folio is an insertion.
  • Quire 94 ff. 54-57
  • Quires 10-128 ff. 58-81
  • Quire 134 ff. 82-85 This quire is blank.
  • Quires 14-158 ff. 86-101
  • Quire 162 ff. 102-103 This quire is blank.
  • Quires 17-198 ff. 104-127
  • Quire 204 ff. 128-131
  • Quires 21-268 ff. 132-179
  • Quire 276 ff. 180-185
  • Quires 28-338 ff. 186-233
  • Quire 346 ff. 234-240
  • Quire 354 ff. 241-244

There are quire signatures in Arabic numerals, in pencil, on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower right.

Condition

The manuscript is generally in good condition. The textblock has split between ff. 131 and 132.

Layout

ff. 1r-8v, 132r-240r A single column of 24-25 lines. 156 × 100 mm.

ff. 9r-15v, 38r, 53r-53v, 86r-97v, 128r-131r A single column of 20-27 lines. 146-155 × 90 mm.

ff. 16r-16v A single column of 32 lines. 175 × 130 mm.

ff. 19r-26v, 27r-37v, 39r-42r, 43r-52v, 54r-81v, 104r-127v A single column of 31-32 lines. 160-165 × 103 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. ff. 1r-6r, line 1, 104r-127v, 132r-240r were copied by Georgios Moschos (Hand A) (RGK I 67, II 88, III 111), in a mixed minuscule script, in brown ink, slanting slightly to the right, 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. Accents are sometimes joined to letters and abbreviations.

The modern eta, modern nu, sigma telikon and loop epsilon are present.

Punctuation used includes the middle and upper points, lower and middle commas, question mark and full stop.

Headings are in the same style in red ink.

ff. 19r-26r, 27r-37v, 39r-42r, 43r-52v, 54r-81v were copied by Hand B, in a mixed minuscule script, in brown ink, slanting slightly to the right, 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. Accents are sometimes joined to letters and abbreviations.

The modern eta, modern nu, sigma telikon and loop epsilon are present.

Punctuation used includes the middle and upper points, lower and middle commas, question mark and full stop.

Headings are in the same style in red ink.

ff. 9r-16v, 38r, 53r-53v, 86r-97v, 128r-131r, 241r were copied by Ioannes Moschos (Hand C) (RGK I 203, II 279, III 336), in a mixed minuscule script, slanting slightly to the left, in brown 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. Use of the double dot is functional only.

The modern eta, modern nu, sigma telikon and loop epsilon are present.

Punctuation used includes the lower, middle and upper points, lower and middle commas, question mark and full stop.

Decoration

A slender headpiece in red ink precedes the beginning of the text on f. 19r.

Many sections begin with minor initials in red ink, appearing within the line of text as well as at the beginning of lines.

Some other sections begin with minor initials in brown ink.

Spaces have been left in places for minor initials that were never added (e.g. ff. 9r-15v).

Additions

Hand B has added marginal scholia both to folios copied by this hand and those copied by Hand A, including a diagram on f. 73v, ση(μείωσαι) marks highlighting notable passages and manicules (e.g. ff. 69r, 117r-118v, 126v).

There are occasional marginal notes in Greek by other hands (e.g. ff. 19r, 87v, 88v-89v, 92v-93r).

Notes in Latin regarding content, by two different hands, appear on ff. 1r, 9r, 18v-19r, 38v, 86r, 104r, 108v, 116r, 121r, 128r, 130r. A list of contents has been added to f. 241r.

On f. 19r is the name Tho(ma)s Bingus.

On f. 42r is a Welsh motto written in Greek letters: ‘ἀ Διεὺ ἀ δίγον ἑβ θὺ ἑβ θυμ’ (God is enough; without God, without anything).

Binding

18th-century full leather binding over millboards, with reverse calf covering on spine and plain pastedowns. There is a blind tooling outline on both boards. The edges have been painted red.

208 × 160 × 48 mm.

A small portion of leather is missing from the upper board exposing millboard beneath. Spine and board edges are heavily scuffed.

Accompanying Material

The left endleaf f. [ii] is a stub of parchment manuscript waste with traces of writing in black ink on it.

The following left endleaves ff. [iii-v] are a stub and then two full folios made of printed book waste.

Pasted to f. 1r is a slip of paper bearing a printed note recording that the manuscript came from the gift of Thomas Nevile: ‘Dono ornatissimi viri Thomae Nevile Decani Cantuariensis, et Collegii Trinitatis Praefecti’.

History

Origin: This manuscript was copied in the late 15th or early 16th century, as indicated by the watermarks and the period of activity of the identified scribes.

Provenance and Acquisition

Donated to Trinity College by Thomas Nevile (d. 1615) , Dean of Canterbury and Master of Trinity.

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

    Diogenis Laertii De vitis, dogmatibus et apophthegmatibus clarorum philosophorum libri X. Græce et Latine : cum subjunctis integris annotationibus Is. Casauboni, Th. Aldobrandini & Mer. Casauboni. Latinam Ambrosii versionem complevit & emendavit Marcus Meibomius. Seorsum excusas Æg. Menagii in Dionegem observationes auctiores habet volumen II. Ut & ejusdem syntagma de mulieribus philosophis, , (Amsterdam, 2, Henricum Wetstenium, 1692) Diogenis Laertii De vitis: dogmatis et apophthegmatis clarorum philosophorum libri decem, , (Leipzig, 2, C.F. Koehler, 1828) Analecta Laertiana: pars prima, Martini, Edgar (Leipzig, J. B. Hirschfeld, 1899) The western manuscripts in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge: a descriptive catalogue, James, M. R. (Cambridge, 2, Cambridge University Press, 1901) Codices Vossiani graeci et miscellanei Codices manuscripti Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. Bibliotheek, de Meyier, K. A. (Leiden, Universitaire pers Leiden, 1955) The manuscripts of Theophrastus Scriptorium. Revue internationale des études relatives aux manuscrits, Wilson, Nigel G. (16, 96-102, 1962) Specimen eines Repertoriums der griechischen Kopisten Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik, Gamillscheg, ErnstHarlfinger, Dieter (27, 293-322, 1978) Repertorium der griechischen Kopisten, 800-1600 Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Byzantinistik, Gamillscheg, ErnstHarlfinger, Dieter (Wien, I. Grossbritannien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1981) La Vie de Ménédème d’Érétrie de Diogène Laërce. Contribution à l’histoire et à la critique du texte des Vies des philosophes, Knoepfler, D. (Basel, F. Reinhardt, 1991) Definition und Schilderung in Theophrasts Charakteren, Stein, Markus (Berlin; Boston, De Gruyter, 1992) Oi recentiores tōn Charakteron tou Theophrastou, Stephanes, I. E. (Thessalonike, Teuchos Tmematos Philologias, 1994) Οι recentiores των Χαρακτήρων του Θεοφράστου Epistīmonikī Epetīris - Aristoteleio Panepistīmio Thessalonikīs, Stephanes, I. E. (4, 63-121, 1994) Characters, , (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004) Per la storia della libreria medicea privata. Il Laur. Plut. 58. 2, Giano Lascaris et Giovanni Mosco Medioevo e rinascimento, Speranzi, David (18, 181-215, 2007) I manoscritti di Diogene Laerzio: un catalogo sommario Codices Manuscripti, Dorandi, T. (63, 45-61, 2007) Laertiana: capitoli sulla tradizione manoscritta e sulla storia del testo delle Vite dei filosofi di Diogene Laerzio, Dorandi, Tiziano (Berlin, Walter De Gruyter, 2009) De Corfú a Venecia: el itinerario primero del Dioscórides de Salamanca Medioevo greco, Martínez Manzano, T. (12, 133-154, 2012) Lives of eminent philosophers, , (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Study at Cambridge

About the University

Research at Cambridge