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.9.29

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 12044

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript, produced in the 17th century, is a copy of Xenophon's Anabasis. The text is a historical memoir of the participation in a Persian civil war in the 4th century BCE of a force of Greek mercenaries, one of whose commanders was the author himself, and their tortuous retreat to the Black Sea after their employer's defeat. The manuscript also contains a series of brief Latin poems on different fruits. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek and Latin

1. pp. 1-217
Language(s): Greek
Xenophon, Anabasis
Incipit: p. 1 Δαρείου καὶ Μαρυσάτιδος γίγνονται παῖδες δύο πρεσβύτερος μὲν Ἀρταξέρξης
Explicit: p. 217 χρόνου πλῆθος τ'ἀναβάσεως καὶ καταβάσεως, ἐνιαυτὸς, τρεῖς μῆνες
Final rubric: p. 217 Τέλος

TLG 0032.006

2. p. 218
Language(s): Latin
Poems on fruit
Rubric: p. 218 Pomarium poeticum
Incipit: p. 218 Primus veni ficus, primi tibi conscia lapsus
Explicit: p. 218 iamque nolam linguae fructus amarus habet

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Western paper, folded in octavo. Watermark: Foolscap ( c. 65 × 40 mm. ) at the tail-end of the gutter.
Extent: Codex: 2 + 109 + 1 leaves. 155 × 100 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is paginated with the numbers [i-ii] + 1-218 + [iii], in pencil, in Arabic numerals, recto, upper right.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 14 quires, of which one is a ternion and the rest are quaternia.

  • Quire 16-2+1 f. [ii]-p. 6 The first two folios of this quire are pasted to the left cover; a separate bifolio has been inserted after them, the left-hand leaf of which is the visible left pastedown, while the right-hand leaf is the endleaf f. [i].
  • Quire 28+1 pp. 7-24 The last folio has been tipped to the quire.
  • Quire 38 pp. 25-40
  • Quire 48-1 pp. 41-54 The first folio has been cancelled, without loss of text.
  • Quires 5-138 pp. 55-198
  • Quire 148+2 pp. 199-218 The last two folios have been tipped to the quire.

Catchwords appear on each page.

Condition

There is wear and tear to the edges of some folios, and areas of dirt.

Layout

pp. 1-217 A single column of 33 lines. 127 × 67 mm.

p. 218 A single column of 26 lines. 132 × 77 mm.

Hand(s)

The Greek text was copied in an upright western European mixed minuscule script, in brown ink.

Punctuation used includes the lower point and lower comma.

Binding

17th-century limp vellum binding, with plain pastedowns. The classmark appears on the spine on patches.

160 × 107 × 27 mm.

Accompanying Material

A plain paper bifolio at each end forms a pastedown and outer endleaf. At the left-hand end, this bifolio is inserted after the the first two folios of the opening quire, which have also been pasted to the left pastedown; the third folio of the quire forms a second endleaf, f. [ii].

A printed note recording the manuscript's donation to Trinity College by James Duport has been pasted to the left pastedown: ‘Trin. Coll. Cantab. E Libris quos Reverendus Vir Iacobus Duport, S.T.D. Decanus Petroburgensis, Et huius Collegii quondam Vicemagister, huic Bibliothecae legavit’.

History

Origin: The manuscript was probably copied between about 1600 and 1679, as suggested by the type of watermark and the date of death of the donor.

Provenance and Acquisition

Given to Trinity College by the classical scholar James Duport (1606-1679) , Dean of Peterborough, Master of Magdalene College and former Vice-Master of Trinity, as indicated by the printed note on the left pastedown.

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, Cambridge: a descriptive catalogue, James, M.R. (Cambridge, 2, Cambridge University Press, 1901)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

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