Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 4173
Diktyon no.: Diktyon 12125
Contents
Language(s): Greek
Gregory-Aland min. 2488
PG 123, 144 C 1-148 C 2
Greek translation by Sophronius
Only the life of Matthew has been edited. See: O. von Gebhardt, Hieronymus, De Viris Inlustribus in griechischer Übersetzung (der sogenannte Sophronius) (Leipzig, 1986), ch. 4.
TLG 3389.001; CPG 3635; BHG 1228b; (also published in PG 123, 140 A-B 2)
The text is attributed in the manuscript to Dorotheus of Gaza , but the attribution in uncertain.
BHG Suppl. 2149
TLG 0031.001
The text is attributed in the manuscript to Dorotheus of Gaza , but the attribution in uncertain
BHG Suppl. 2149
TLG 0031.002
The text is attributed in the manuscript to Dorotheus of Gaza , but the attribution in uncertain.
BHG Suppl. 2149
TLG 0031.003
TLG 0031.005
The transcription reproduces the original use of accents and breathings
The text is in Latin
ff. 175r-178r are blank
Explanations and translations in Latin
ff. 181r-182v are blank
Physical Description
Modern pencil foliation, in Arabic numerals, in the upper margin, right, from 3 to 182; two unnumbered parchment endleaves, one at the beginning, one at the end of the manuscript: [i] + 3-182 + [ii]. Folio numbers 1-2 assigned to leaves no longer present in the volume (as per historic foliation practice at Cambridge University Library).
From f. 7r, throughout the manuscript, in the upper margins, there are running titles written in red ink by the scribe, comprising the title of the work and, on the recto of the leaves, right, a folio number in Greek numerals, from α΄ (1, f. 7r), to ρξϛ΄ (166, f. 172r).
Collation
The codex is formed mostly of quaternions. The first quire is a ternion from which the first two leaves have been excised, without loss of text.
- 1 parchment endleaf f. [i]
- Quire 16-2 ff. 3-6 ( 1st, 2nd leaf missing)
- Quires 2-218 ff. 7-166
- Quire 226 ff. 167-172
- Quire 238 ff. 173-180
- Quire 242 ff. 181-182
- 1 parchment endleaf f. [ii]
Throughout the manuscript, the first leaf of the second part of each quire is signalled by a cross traced in black ink or in pencil in the lower margin, right, recto, see the first on f. 11r (the one on f. 4r seems different from the others, could it be a later addition?), the last on f. 177r. There are moreover two series of signatures.
The first is in Greek numerals (the number ζ΄, 7, is not present, but no quire is missing), written in brown ink or in pencil (these could be later additions), in the lower margin of the first leaf, recto, of the quires; in ink are written
- β 1, β 2, β 3 ( ff. 15r-17r)
- δ΄ ( f. 31r)
- ε΄, ε 2 (ff. f. 39r and 41r)
- ϛ΄ ( f. 47r).
Moreover, there is a series of signatures, written in brown ink by the scribe, in Arabic numerals, from 1 ( f. 127r) to 6 ( f. 167r), in the lower margin, right, of the first leaf recto of the quires.
Horizontal catchwords by the scribe, in brown ink, in the lower margin, right, directly under the text, on the verso of each leaf, passim also on the recto.Condition
Layout
ff. 5r-172v A single column of 25-27 lines. ca. 120-125 × ca. 80-90 mm.
Hand(s)
ff. 5r-174v, 178v-180v Hand A: the texts were all written in a minuscule Gebrauchsschrift, upright, by a non-Greek; some forms are hesitantly and almost clumsily traced. Breathings and accents are often absent. On f. 172v the scribe signed his copy as 'brother' Paschasios (Πασχάσιος, RGK I, 340).
The text is written in a light brown ink; titles, initials, and running titles in red.
Decoration
Thick initials in red ink throughout; they are bigger at the beginning of the texts, see e.g. ff. 7r, 50v.
Additions
On f. 3r there are a few modern notes in pencil.
On f. 3v is pasted a label of Cambridge University Library.
In the lower margin of f. 5r is written, in ink, the shelfmark, ‘ Add. 4173’.
Binding
Early modern western binding. Full limp leather cover over boards formed by folded paper leaves with manuscript text in Latin. Blind tooling on both boards: a geometrical pattern of triple and double fillets, with a central rectangle filled with rhombuses. On the spine (the fragment is preserved in the manuscript's enclosure), in black ink, ‘ Novum Testamentum Graece MSS.’ On the part of this label which remains on the left cover, can be read a handwritten note, unclear, ‘ Ven(?) (?) 1550’. 150 × 105 × ca. 30 mm.
The manuscript is preserved in a box made by J.S. Wilson and Son. The left outer joint is completely split, the right outer joint is partially split. Part of the spine is lost, some remnants are kept within the enclosure.
Accompanying Material
Two parchment leaves have been used as endleaves, ff. [i], and [ii]. They derive from a Latin manuscript of the 13th century containing Canon Law with gloss (see Kerr).
Paper leaves in the cover, used as boards, come from a Latin paper manuscript, probably datable in the 15th century (see Kerr).
With the manuscript is preserved a detached fragment from the spine.
History
The manuscript was copied by a scribe who signed the copy as brother Paschasios (see Colophon on f. 172v) in the first half of the 16th century. The two watermarks of the manuscript for which it was possible to find parallels in the repertoires confirm a date in the first half of the 16th century. The date of 1550 written on the left cover could be an indication for a more precise dating of the production of the manuscript, but the relation with the codex itself is not clear. More useful is the date of 1565, which has been written by the scribe on f. 173v, at the conclusion of a list of Greek script abbreviations: it can be assumed as terminus ante quem for the copy of the manuscript.
Provenance and Acquisition
Owned by T. Swinburne ; his name is written on f. 3r.
Owned by Reverend Charles Watson (bookplate on f. 4r).
Donated to the University Library in 1905 by Reverend Charles Watson (see Easterling (1962), p. 304).
Additional Information
Record Sources
Availability
Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card. For information on eligibility and admissions procedures, see Joining the Library). For further enquiries, and to confirm the availability of the manuscript, please contact the Special Collections Reading Room.
Bibliography
-
Hand-list of the additional Greek manuscripts
in the University Library, Cambridge Scriptorium, Easterling, Patricia
E. (16, 2, 302-323, 1962)
Repertorium der griechischen Kopisten,
800-1600. I. Grossbritannien Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für
Byzantinistik, Gamillscheg, ErnstHarlfinger, Dieter (Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie
der
Wissenschaften, 1981)
Funding of Cataloguing
The Polonsky Foundation
Digital Images
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
