Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries: Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 4491

Diktyon no.: 12129

Introduction: This fragment consists of 14 surviving folios of a manuscript, probably dating to the late 11th century or early 12th century, containing the Life of Barlaam and Joasaph (or Josaphat), a Christianised version of the life of the Buddha. He appears as Joasaph, a name ultimately derived from the term Boddhisatva, while Barlaam is his teacher, a character derived from the ascetic who inspired the Buddha's turn to spiritual pursuits. In this text they are credited with reviving Christianity in India, supposed to have reverted to its old religious traditions after conversion to Christianity by St Thomas. The story of the Buddha had been adopted into the Manichaean tradition, capitalising on the analogous themes of renunciation of material desires found in Buddhism and Manichaeism, and passed thence through Persian and Arabic versions before entering the Georgian Christian tradition. From there it was translated into Greek, with some alterations, between about 955 and 1028. The translator was Euthymios Hagioreites, a Georgian monk who spent much of his life in Constantinople and in the monasteries of the Byzantine holy mountains of Olympos and Athos, eventually becoming abbot of the Georgian Monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos. The title commonly transmitted with the work credited a monk named John with bringing the story from India (here conflated with Ethiopia), and this led to a traditional attribution of the text to the Church Father John of Damascus. The bulk of the manuscript from which these folios originated became Ioannina, Zosimaia Bibliotheke, MS 1, which is now lost. Another four folios survive as New York, Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Plimpton MS 9. In the 19th century the main body of the manuscript was in the possession of the Durachani Monastery near Ioannina, before being transferred to the library of the Zosimaia Schole in the city in 1846. Since this fragment was probably bought in Ioannina in 1870, as part of the collection purchased there for Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts, it was presumably in this area that they became detached from one another, but it is not clear when or how. This manuscript was richly illuminated with narrative miniatures illustrating the events of the text. It is one of six copies of this text to receive such embellishment, from a total of 160. While the miniatures have suffered significant damage from abrasion, the greater part of them survives. They show similarities to another manuscript of the text, Jerusalem, Patriarchike Bibliotheke, MS Timiou Stavrou 42, which suggest that the illustrations of both derived from the same exemplar. However, while the Jerusalem manuscript is believed to have been produced in Constantinople, this one displays features, such as the prominent use of pink and magenta paint in its miniatures, which place it within a large group of illustrated manuscripts of provincial origin typified by what is known as the decorative style. More specifically, its features indicate that it was produced in Cyprus (Kavrus-Hoffman, Catalogue, pp. 194-197; Toumpouri, 'Book production in Cyprus', pp. 315-316). Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

Euthymios Hagioreites (d. 1028)

Traditionally attributed to John of Damascus .

Life of Barlaam and Joasaph

Defective at the beginning and end, with lacunas

Filiation: Assigned by Volk to Family C, the oldest version of the text (John of Damascus, ed. Volk, pp. 584-587). Its illustration scheme resembles that of one of the other manuscripts of this group Jerusalem, Patriarchike Bibliotheke, MS Timiou Stavrou 42 in ways that suggest their illuminations derive from the same exemplar.

Incipit: || f. 1r <⟨βαττολο⟩>γίαν διεξῆλθε· καὶ εἰ μὴ κατἀρχὰς[sic] τοῦ λόγου

Explicit: f. 14v προσκυνῶι τῶι Πατρὶ καὶ τῶι Υἱῶι καὶ τῶι Ἁγίωι Πνεύματι||

TLG 2934.066

CPG 8120

BHG 0224-0224a

PG 96, coll. 860-1240

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Parchment (FHHF), of medium thickness and quality.

Extent: Fragment (quire, leaves) 14 leaves. 275 × 204 mm.

Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers 1-14, in pencil, in Arabic numerals, recto, upper right.

Collation

This part consists of parts of 34 quires, of which the only one to survive in full is a quaternion.

Quire 1^8-4 ff. 1-4 This was probably a quaternion, from which the first, second, seventh and eighth folios have been lost.
Quire 2^8-7 f. 5 This is the first folio of an otherwise lost quire.
Quire 3^8-7 ff. 5-6 This is the single surviving folio of an otherwise lost quire.
Quire 4⁸ ff. 7-14 This quire survives in full, though the first and last folios are detached.

There are quire signatures in Greek numerals on ff. 5r and 7r, recto, upper right, giving the numbers 6 and 21 respectively (ϛʹ, καʹ).

Condition

A small area from the lower inner corner of ff. 6-14 is torn away and there are occasional small tears from the edges elsewhere, and some small holes. Much of the paint and gold leaf of the miniatures has been lost to abrasion. There is also abrasion of the ink, which has been overwritten in places with black ink. There is some creasing, areas of dirt and water staining, extensively on f. 14r-14v.

Layout

A single column of 25 lines. 185 × 120 mm. Pricking survives in the lower margin, but most has been lost to cropping. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, type Leroy 32C1. Text hangs from the lines.

Hand(s)

The main text was copied in a scribal mixed minuscule script, slanting to the right, in brown ink. The size of letters is generally consistent, with occasional expansions.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear only at the end of lines, and are uncommon even there, except for the use of a horizontal line for nu. Breathings are both angular and round, and mute iota is either adscript or in a transitional position below and to the right of the letter. Use of the double dot is functional only, appearing as two short vertical strokes rather than dots. There is accentuation of all lengths of nomina sacra . The double grave accent is in use. Nomina sacra strokes are sometimes decorated with two vertical strokes.

Punctuation used includes the middle and upper points and the lower and middle commas.

Captions to miniatures are written in Alexandrine majuscule script in red ink.

Decoration

The text is provided with numerous miniatures illustrating the narrative, in gold and red, blue, brown, black, grey, white, magenta, green and pink paint. These appear on ff. 2r, 3v, 4v, 5v-7r, 9r-9v, 13v and 14v.

The beginnings of sections are marked by simple minor initials in red ink.

Additions

There are occasional pen-trials.

Notes in pencil have been added in the margins, giving column references to the text in the Patrologia Graeca.

Binding

ff. 1-4 and 8-13 remain stitched. The stitching of ff. 8-13 appears early, that of ff. 1-4 later.

Accompanying Material

The manuscript is accompanied by two handwritten notes on card, one concerning the collation and the other the content and dating of this manuscript and MS Add. 4492.

History

Origin: The manuscript from which the fragment came, the now lost Ioannina, Zosimaia Bibliotheke, MS 1, was probably produced in Cyprus in the second half of the 11th or first half of the 12th century, as suggested by the style of script and miniatures.

Provenance and Acquisition

The main body of the manuscript to which this fragment originally belonged was owned by the Durachani Monastery near Ioannina, and transferred in 1846 to the Zosimaia Schole in Ioannina. It is unclear whether or not these folios had become separated from it at this time.

These folios were probably acquired in a collection of manuscripts bought from a dealer in Ioannina in 1870 for Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906) .

Owned by Frederick H.A. Scrivener (1813-1891) . Probably bought from Burdett-Coutts . Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 4489 had also belonged to Burdett-Coutts and was sold to Scrivener by her probably before 1883.

By descent to Scrivener's daughter, Frances Emily Scrivener .

Purchased by the University Library from Frances Emily Scrivener on 6 August 1909, with money from the Rustat Fund (see also MS Add. 4489 and MS Add. 4490).

Additional Information

Record Sources

Description draws on Patricia E. Easterling, "Hand-list of the additional Greek manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge", Scriptorium, 16 (1962), pp. 302-323 at p. 312.

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

Catalogus codicum hagiographicorum graecorum Germaniae, Belgii, Angliae, van de Vorst, CharlesDelehaye, Hippolyte (Brussels, Société des Bollandistes, 1913)

L'illustration du roman de Barlaam et Joasaph: d'après les clichés de la Frick art reference library et de la Mission Gabriel Millet au Mont-Athos, Der Nersessian, Sirarpie (Paris, Boccard, 1937)

L'illustration du roman de Barlaam et Joasaph: d'après les clichés de la Frick Art Reference Library et de la Mission Gabriel Millet au Mont-Athos: album, Der Nersessian, Sirarpie (Paris, Boccard, 1937)

Corrigenda and addenda to the descriptions of the Plimpton manuscripts as recorded in the De Ricci Census Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, Ives, Samuel A. (17, 33-49, 1942)

Der Religionsdisput der Barlaam-Legende, ein Motiv abendländischer Dichtung: Untersuchung, ungedruckte Texte, Bibliographie der Legende Der Religionsdisput der Barlaam-Legende, ein Motiv abendländischer Dichtung Acta Salmanticensia. Filosofía y letras, Peri, Hiram (Salamanca, Universidad de Salamanca, 1959)

Hand-list of the additional Greek manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge Scriptorium. Revue internationale des études relatives aux manuscrits, Easterling, Patricia E. (16, 2, 302-323, 1962)

Apuntes sobre la historia del texto bizantino de la Historia edificante de Barlaam y Josafat Erytheia: Revista de estudios bizantinos y neogriegos, Perez Martin, Inmaculada (17, 159-177, 1996)

Neues vom Schreiber Kallistos und vom Fortwirken zweier illuminierter Handschriften des griechischen Barlaam-Romans Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik, Volk, Robert (48, 243-272, 1998)

Catalogue of Greek madieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the collections of the United States of America. Part I: Columbia University, Rare Book and Manuscript Library Manuscripta, Kavrus-Hoffmann, Nadezhda (49, 165-245, 2005)

Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos Patristische Texte und Studien,, , (Berlin, VI/1: Historia animae utilis de Barlaam et Ioasaph (spuria), De Gruyter, 2009)

Book Production in Cyprus (9th-12th century). The illustrated manuscripts as evidence of artistic production on the island Cahiers du Centre d'Etudes Chypriotes, Toumpouri, Marina (43, 307-328, 2013)

Barlaam and Ioasaph A Companion to Byzantine Illustrated Manuscripts, Toumpouri, Marina (Leiden, The Netherlands, 149-168, Brill, 2017, https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004346239/B9789004346239_008.xml)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 4491

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