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.17.11

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 12052

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript is composed of a series of four fragments bound together, three of which belong to the same original manuscript, originally copied during the first half of the 12th century. The fourth was probably a later addition to that manuscript. Its contents consist largely of a series of brief Lexica, each defining unusual words found in a specific text or group of texts. Of those whose source text can be identified, most are drawn from books of the Bible, but one (ff. 11v-13v) relates to a text on medicinal plants, while others remain unidentified. The manuscript also contains a poem (f. 9r-9v), presented as an acrostic on the name Basileios (Basil). Peculiarly, while the first six lines each contain words beginning with the relevant letter of that name, these are not the first words of each line, while the last three do not contain words beginning with the relevant letter at all. The copyist of the original manuscript has been identified as a priest named Konstantinos, who copied a number of other known manuscripts, one of which is dated to 1125, placing his period of activity in the first half of the 12th century. Most of that manuscript has now been lost, as indicated by a quire signature on f. 1r, which identifies this as the beginning of nineteenth quire. Some of the lexica have been supplemented by the addition of further entries by later hands, both in the Byzantine period and much later in western Europe. The last folio (f. 14v) was copied much later than the rest, probably in the 15th or 16th century. This was probably either an expansion of the original with further lexica of the same sort or a replacement for a lost folio. However, since the whole survived as a group of separate fragments until acquiring their present binding in 1859, it is conceivable that this folio originated as part of a separate manuscript and became associated with the others after both original books had disintegrated, because of the similarity of their content. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: Codex: iv + 13 + ii leaves. 235 × 195 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [i-iv] + 1-6, 8-14 + [v-vi] in Arabic numerals, in black ink, recto, upper right. Either the number 7 has been omitted or the seventh folio has been lost subsequent to the addition of this foliation, with the result that the numbers thereafter are too large by one.

Additions

A contents list and note on the acquisition and binding of the manuscript appear on f. [ii] recto, in the hand of Henry R. Luard (1825-1891) , Fellow of Trinity.

Binding

Bound in 1859, according to the note on f. [ii] recto. Half leather and patterned paper covering over millboards, with marbled pastedowns.

249 × 203 × 10 mm.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Owned, as unbound fragments, by the classicist Richard Porson (1759-1808) .

Purchased by Trinity College along with the rest of Porson's books in 1809, according to a note on f. [ii] recto.

Part 1 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS R.17.11, ff. 1-13]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

1. f. 1r-1v
Lexicon of Proverbs
Incipit: || f. 1r Ἐρείδεται· ἐμπιστεύει πέποιθεν
Explicit: f. 1v Προνομεύσει· αἰχμαλωτεύσει||

Defective at the beginning and end.

2. f. 2r-2v
Lexicon
Incipit: || f. 2r <⟨ἐναν⟩>τίου πάλιν
Explicit: f. 2v Χάσματα· φαντάσματα

Defective at the beginning.

3. ff. 2v-5r
Lexicon of Ecclesiasticus
Rubric: f. 2v Λέξεις Σοφίας Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Σιρὰχ καταστοιχεῖον
Incipit: f. 2v Ἀνθέζεται· ἀντηλήψεται
Explicit: f. 5r Ὠχύρωσεν· ἰσχυρὸν ἐποίησεν
4. f. 5r-5v
Lexicon of Acts
Rubric: f. 5r Λέξεις Πράξεων τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων
Incipit: f. 5r Ὁπτανόμενος· ὁρώμενος φαινόμενος
Explicit: f. 5v Τῆς προθήσεως· τῆς σπονδής[sic] ||

Defective at the end.

5. f. 6r-6v
Lexicon of Odes
Incipit: || f. 6r Ἀπῶσμε· ἐξερρίφην ἀπέρριμμε
Explicit: f. 6v Παράτεινον τὸ ελεός[sic] σου· μη[sic] αποκόψεις,[sic] μὴ αποστήσει[sic]

Defective at the beginning.

6. f. 6v
Lexicon
Rubric: f. 6v Ἐκλογὴ λέξεων κατα[sic] διαφορὰν καὶ κατα[sic] στοῖχον
Incipit: f. 6v Ἀμυνονα[sic]· ἀγαθὸν φέρτερον
Explicit: f. 6v Ἄγαστον· ἔνδοξον θαυμαστόν||

Defective at the end.

7. ff. 8r-9r
Lexicon
Incipit: || f. 8r Ἰέμενοι· ἐπιθυμοῦντες
Explicit: f. 9r Ὡστοσκοπεῖ· ἐνοχλεῖ λαλῶν

Defective at the beginning.

8. f. 9r-9v
Acrostic poem on the name Basileios
Rubric: f. 9r Στίχοι, ιβʹ σύλλαβοι· Βασίλειος
Incipit: f. 9r Ἐκ μὲν θειοῖ ο[sic] βασιλεύει τῶ Σιώβ
Explicit: f. 9v Νυν[sic] τῆς θυσίας· ἰκετειας[sic] μετρίας
9. ff. 9v-11v
Lexicon of the books of the Twelve Prophets
Rubric: f. 9v Λέξεις τῶν ιβʹ προφητῶν κατα στοιχον
Incipit: f. 9v Ἀντιτασσόμενος· ἀνθηστάμενος
Explicit: f. 11v Χερσοθήσεται· ἐρημωθήσεται
10. ff. 11v-13v
Lexicon of a medical text on plants
Rubric: f. 11v Λέξις[sic] ἰατρικοῦ βιβλίου ἑρμηνία[sic] βοτάνων
Incipit: f. 11v Ἄκανθα Αἰγύπτια· ἀγριόκαρδος
Explicit: f. 13v Ταριχευτά· κρέοι καὶ ἰχθύες

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment (FHHF), of medium thickness and poor quality, with conspicuous follicles.

Collation

The main body of the manuscript consists of portions of 4 different quires, the extent of which does not permit their original form to be established.

  • Quire 11 f. 1 This is the sole surviving leaf of an otherwise lost quire.
  • Quire 24 ff. 2-5 This is the surviving portion of an otherwise lost quire.
  • Quire 31 f. 6 This is the sole surviving leaf of an otherwise lost quire.
  • Quire 46 ff. 8-13 This is the surviving portion of an otherwise lost quire, probably a quaternion of which the first and last folios have been lost.

There is a Greek quire signature, in black ink, on f. 1r, giving the number 19 (ιθʹ).

 Leaf signatures in Arabic numerals, in brown ink, have been added to ff. 2-5 and 8-14, recto, lower right, giving an apparently erroneous reconstruction of the original quire structure.

Condition

There is some creasing, severe in places, as in the case of f. 5. Pale brown stains appear in the gutter, and there are areas of dirt.

Layout

Two columns of 32 lines. 176 × 140 mm. Pricking survives in the outer margin, but most has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, type Leroy 42C2. Text hangs from the lines.

Hand(s)

ff. 1r-13v were copied by Konstantinos (Hand A) (RGK I 231, II 320) in a mixed minuscule script with variable slant, in black ink, with little variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear at the end of lines only. Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. Use of the double dot is functional only.

Punctuation used includes the middle and upper points and full stop.

Headings were written in Alexandrine majuscule script, in red ink.

Decoration

Simple vignettes in red ink precede the beginning of each section.

Simple minor initials in red ink mark the beginning of each section. Each entry begins with a normal letter in red ink.

Additions

Additional entries and occasional corrections have been added on ff. 6v-9r by a hand probably of the later 12th or 13th century.

Latin and Greek notes have been added on ff. 1v-2r and 10v, and the same hand has added additional entries on ff. 5v-6r and 13v, and completed an entry on f. 2r, which was incomplete due to the loss of the preceding folio.

History

Origin: The manuscript was copied by the priest Konstantinos (RGK I 231, II 320), active in the first half of the 12th century.

Part 2 [Cambridge, Trinity College, MS R.17.11, f. 14]

Contents

Language(s): Greek

11. f. 14r-14v
Lexicon
Incipit: || f. 14r Οῦ· ὄπου: ὄστις
Explicit: f. 14v Ωσθεῖς· ὡσθιζόμενος

Defective at the beginning.

12. f. 14v
Lexicon of Odes
Rubric: f. 14v Λέξεις τῶν Ὁδῶν
Incipit: f. 14v Τριστάτας. τρίτης μοίρας ἔχοντας
Explicit: f. 14v Καρδίας· θαλάσσης· τοῦ βίου||

Defective at the end.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment, of medium thickness and poor quality.

Condition

There is some creasing, brown stains in the gutter and areas of dirt.

Layout

Two columns of 31 lines. 162 × 125 mm. Pricking does not survive. Ruled in hardpoint, type Leroy X2 20D2. Text hangs from the lines.

Hand(s)

f. 14r-14v was copied by Hand B in an inelegant mixed minuscule script, slanting to the right, in black 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. Accents are sometimes joined to letters and breathings.

Majuscule delta appears in a distinctive, bulbous form whose extension to the left at the base is a loop, with no extension to the right.

Punctuation used includes the middle point, lower and middle commas and full stop.

Decoration

The beginning of a section on f. 14v is preceded by a horizontal bar in red ink.

Each entry begins with an enlarged letter in black ink, ornamented with red ink infill.

History

Origin: This folio may have been added to the original manuscript as a replacement for losses or as an expansion with additional content. Alternatively, it could come from a different manuscript but have become associated with the other fragments because of its similarity of content. The style of the script suggests that it was copied in the 15th or 16th century.

Additional Information

Record Sources

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, 1900) Teodoro Sacerdote, copista del Reg. gr. Pii II 35. Appunti su scribi e committenti di manoscritti greci Bollettino della Badia Greca di Grottaferrata, Lucà, Santo (55, 127-163, 2001)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

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