Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries: Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 6678

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 12140

Introduction: This manuscript is a high-quality illuminated Acts and Epistles book, produced in the later 12th or earlier 13th century. Its ornament includes portraits of each of the writers of the Epistles, as well as an opening headpiece containing an image of Christ in its centre, while its original rubric is gilded. It belongs to a large stylistic class of manuscripts, known as the decorative style, which account for the majority of illustrated Greek manuscripts of this period, and whose common characteristics are suggestive of a provincial origin. The features placing it in this group include the style of script and its use of very black ink, the positioning of its quire signatures and their accompaniment by a cross or dagger mark in the middle of the upper margin, and the specific characteristics of its illuminations, including the prominent use of pink and magenta in their colour scheme. Some of these features are also typical of manuscripts from Cyprus and the Levant, which may indicate that this group originated there, but the evidence is inconclusive, and the sheer number of expensive deluxe manuscripts which it contains suggests that they may come from a wider range of places (Carr, Byzantine Illumination , pp. 1-4, 9-10). The manuscripts of this group include a significant number in which New Testament content is combined with a Psalter, and this manuscript may originally have formed part of such a volume. A Psalter now in a private collection in Switzerland was formerly accompanied by the Acts and Epistles, which remained present during the 17th century, when it was given to a Monastery of the Prophet Elias on Samos, but the two components were later separated. Stylistic similarities suggest that this manuscript may be the Acts and Epistles book in question, but insufficient information is available on the Psalter to verify this (Carr, Byzantine Illumination , pp. 217, 289). If it did form part of a combined volume, the survival of its original quire signatures, whose sequence begins with the first quire, demonstrates that it must have formed the first part of the volume. There is also a sequence of signatures from a later rebinding, which is unusually made up of Greek letters in alphabetical order rather than numbers. This sequence begins from the first quire with the letter beta, indicating that at the time of this rebinding there must have been an additional quire preceding it, which was not part of the original composition of the manuscript. This presumably contained prefatory material such as a contents list, which had been added at some point but was later lost or removed during another rebinding. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

Act and Epistles book

Gregory-Aland 1850; Von Soden α 357 (Ia)

Filiation: This was possibly originally part of a larger manuscript also containing a Psalter, now in a private collection in Switzerland (Carr, p. 289).

1.1. ff. 1r-44r

Acts of the Apostles

Rubric: f. 1r Αἱ πράξεις τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων

Incipit: f. 1r Τὸν μὲν πρῶτον λόγον ἐποιησάμην

Explicit: f. 44r καὶ διδάσκων περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μετὰ πάσης παρρησίας ἀκωλύτως

Final rubric: f. 44r Τέλος τῶν Πράξεων ἁγίων ἀποστόλων

TLG 0031.005

1.2. ff. 44v-48v

Letter of James

Rubric: f. 44v Καθολικῆ ἐπιστολῆ[sic] Ἰακώβου

Incipit: f. 44v Ἰάκωβος Θεοῦ, καὶ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος· ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς

Explicit: f. 48v ἐκ θανάτου, καὶ καλύψει πλῆθος, ἁμαρτιῶν

Final rubric: f. 48v Τέλος τῆς καθολικῆς ἐπιστολῆς, Ἰακώβου

TLG 0031.020

1.3. ff. 49r-53r

First Letter of Peter

Rubric: f. 49r Καθολικῆ[sic] ἐπιστολὴ Πέτρου, αʹ

Incipit: f. 49r Πέτρος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· ἐκλεκτοῖς παρεπιδήμοις διασπορᾶς

Explicit: f. 53r ἐν φιλήματι ἀγάπης· εἰρήνη ὑμῖν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐν Χριστῶ Ἰησοῦ, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.021

1.4. ff. 53v-56r

Second Letter of Peter

Rubric: f. 53v Καθολικῆ[sic] βʹ ἐπιστολὴ Πέτρου

Incipit: f. 53v Συμεὼν Πέτρος, δοῦλος καὶ ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

Explicit: f. 56r αὐτῶ ἡ δόξα. καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς ἡμέραν αἰῶνος, ἀμήν

Final rubric: f. 56r Τέλος τῶν καθολικῶν ἐπιστολῶν, Πέτρου

TLG 0031.022

1.5. ff. 56r-60v

First Letter of John

Rubric: f. 56r Ἐπιστολῆ καθολικῆ[sic]· Ἰωάννου, πρώτῳ

Incipit: f. 56r Ὃ ἦν ἀπαρχῆς ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν· ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν

Explicit: f. 60v φυλάξατε ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.023

1.6. ff. 60v-61r

Second Letter of John

Rubric: f. 60v Ἐπιστολὴ Ἰωάννου, βʹ

Incipit: f. 60v Ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐκλεκτὴ[sic] κυρία καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῆς

Explicit: f. 61r ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.024

1.7. ff. 61r-61v

Third Letter of John

Rubric: f. 61r Ἐπιστολὴ Ἰωάννου, γʹ

Incipit: f. 61r Ὁ πρεσβύτερος Γαΐω τῶ ἀγαπητῶ, ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθεία

Explicit: f. 61v ἀσπάζονταί σε οἱ φίλοι· ἀσπάζου τοὺς φίλους κατ'ὄνομα

Final rubric: f. 61v Τέλος τῶν ἐπιστολῶν, Ἰωάννου

TLG 0031.025

1.8. ff. 61v-62v

Letter of Jude

Rubric: f. 61v Ἐπιστολῆ[sic] καθολικὴ, Ἰούδα

Incipit: f. 61v Ἰούδας Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος, ἀδελφὸς δὲ Ἰακώβου

Explicit: f. 62v καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἴωνας, ἀμήν

Final rubric: f. 62v Τέλος τῶν καθολικῶν, ἐπιστολῶν

TLG 0031.026

1.9. ff. 63r-79r

Letter to the Romans

Rubric: f. 63r Πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 63r Παῦλος, δοῦλος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος· ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον Θεοῦ

Explicit: f. 79r ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.006

1.10. ff. 79r-93v

First Letter to the Corinthians

Rubric: f. 79r Πρὸς Κορινθίους, πρώτη ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 79r Παῦλος κλητὸς ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ

Explicit: f. 93v ἡ ἀγάπη μοῦ μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῶ Ἰησοῦ, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.007

1.11. ff. 94r-104r

Second Letter to the Corinthians

Rubric: f. 94r Πρὸς Κορινθίους, βʹ ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 94r Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ

Explicit: f. 104r καὶ ἡ κοινωνία τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν ἀμήν

TLG 0031.008

1.12. ff. 104r-109r

Letter to the Galatians

Rubric: f. 104r Πρὸς Γαλάτας ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 104r Παῦλος ἀπόστολος, οὐκ ἀπανθρώπων, οὐδὲ δι'ἀνθρώπου

Explicit: f. 109r ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν ἀδελφοὶ, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.009

1.13. ff. 109r-114v

Letter to the Ephesians

Rubric: f. 109r Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 109r Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ διὰ θελήμτος Θεοῦ· τοῖς ἅγιοις τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ἐφέσω

Explicit: f. 114v ἡ χάρις μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἀγαπῶντων[sic] τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησὸν Χριστὸν ἐν ἀφθαρσία, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.010

1.14. ff. 114v-118r

Letter to the Philippians

Rubric: f. 114v Πρὸς Φιλιππησίους ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 114v Παῦλος καὶ Τιμόθεος δοῦλοι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῶ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Φιλίπποις

Explicit: f. 118r μάλιστα δὲ, οἱ ἐκ τῆς Καίσαρος οἰκίας· ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.011

1.15. ff. 118r-121v

Letter to the Colossians

Rubric: f. 118r Πρὸς Κολασσαεῖς ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 118r Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς

Explicit: f. 121v μνημονεύετέ μου τῶν δεσμῶν, ἡ χάρις μεθ'ὑμῶν, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.012

1.16. ff. 121v-125r

First Letter to the Thessalonians

Rubric: f. 121v Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς αʹ ἐπιστολὴ, Παύλου

Incipit: f. 121v Παῦλος καὶ Σιλουανὸς καὶ Τιμόθεος· τῆ ἐκκλησία Θεσσαλονικαίων[sic]

Explicit: f. 125r ἀναγνωσθῆναι τὴν ἐπιστολὴν πᾶσι τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς· ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μεθ'ὑμῶν, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.013

1.17. ff. 125r-126v

Second Letter to the Thessalonians

Rubric: f. 125r Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς βʹ ἐπιστολὴ, Παύλου

Incipit: f. 125r Παῦλος καὶ Σιλουανὸς καὶ Τιμόθεος, τῆ ἐκκλησία Θεσσαλονικαίων[sic]

Explicit: f. 126v οὕτως γράφω· ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν ἀμήν

TLG 0031.014

1.18. ff. 127r-130v

First Letter to Timothy

Rubric: f. 127r Πρὸς Τιμόθεον αʹ ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 127r Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ κατ'ἐπιταγὴν Θεοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν

Explicit: f. 130v ἥν τινες ἐπαγγελόμενοι, περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἡστόχησαν· ἡ χάρις μετά σου ἀμήν

TLG 0031.015

1.19. ff. 131r-133v

Second Letter to Timothy

Rubric: f. 131r Πρὸς Τιμόθεον βʹ ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 131r Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ

Explicit: f. 133v ὁ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματός σου· ἡ χάρις μεθ ὑμῶν, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.016

1.20. ff. 133v-135v

Letter to Titus

Rubric: f. 133v Πρὸς Τίτον ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 133v Παῦλος δοῦλος Θεοῦ, ἀπόστολος δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ κατα πίστιν ἐκλεκτῶν Θεοῦ

Explicit: f. 135v ἄσπασαι τοὺς φιλοῦντας ἡμᾶς ἐν πίστει· ἡ χάρις μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.017

1.21. f. 135v-136r

Letter to Philemon

Rubric: f. 135v Πρὸς Φιλήμονα, ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 135v Παῦλος δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς· Φιλήμονι τῶ ἀγαπητῶ

Explicit: f. 136r ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος, ἀμήν

TLG 0031.018

1.22. ff. 136r-147v

Letter to the Hebrews

Rubric: f. 136r Πρὸς Ἑβραίους ἐπιστολὴ Παύλου

Incipit: f. 136r Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ Θεὸς λαλήσας ἐν τοῖς προφήταις

Explicit: f. 147v ἀσπάζονται ὑμᾶς οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰταλίας· ἡ χάρις μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν, ἀμήν

Final rubric: f. 147v Τέλος τῶν ιδʹ ἐπιστόλων, τοῦ ἁγίου Παύλου

TLG 0031.019

Physical Description

Form: codex

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

Extent: Codex: ii + 147 + ii leaves. 188 × 135 mm.

Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [i-ii], 1-147 + [iii-iv] in pencil, in Arabic numerals, recto, upper right.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 19 quires, of which one is a ternion, one consists of five folios and the rest are quaternia.

Quires 1-7⁸ ff. 1-56
Quire 8⁶ ff. 57-62
Quire 9-18⁸ ff. 63-142
Quire 19⁵ ff. 142-147 This quire consists of two bifolios with a single folio inserted between them.

There are orignal quire signatures in Greek numerals, in black ink, on the first folio of each quire, recto, upper right. They are in the hand of the copyist, but the one on Quire 9 has been added in red ink. They survive on Quires 3-19 (γʹ-ιθʹ). These signatures are accompanied by a cross in the centre of the upper margin.

A second set of quire signatures in Greek letters, in grey-brown ink, has been added to the first folio of each quire, recto, lower right. These signatures begin on the first quire, but with the letter beta.

Condition

There is a tear along a ruling line in f. 115. There is water staining to the edges of the last few folios (ff. 145-147). Attempted erasure of marginal annotations has created areas of grey discoloration (e.g. ff. 4r-5v) and there are occasional patches of dirt and brown stains (e.g. f. 25r). There is some abrasion to the miniatures and other illuminated ornament.

Layout

A single column of 30 lines. 141 × 92 mm. Pricking does not survive. Ruled in hardpoint, system Leroy 1, ff. 1r-24v type Leroy 44C1, ff. 25r-147v type Leroy 34C1. Text hangs from the lines. The text lines are often very faint.

Hand(s)

The manuscript has been copied in an upright scribal low epsilon-style mixed minuscule script, in black ink. There is significant variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings usually appear only at the end of lines, but occasionally elsewhere. Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. There is occasional decorative use of the double dot, and accentuation of all nomina sacra .

The flat-bottomed omega is present.

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

This hand has also provided the subscriptions, in a similar but more florid style style, in red ink which has been gilded. The text of f. 1r has also been written in red ink and gilded. Headings have been added in epigraphic display majuscule, again in red ink and gilded.

Decoration

Portraits of each of the writers of the Epistles in paint and gold have been placed at the beginning of their first letter Each of these except that of St Paul has simple ornament at its corners.

f. 44v James ( 91 × 93 mm. )
f. 49r Peter ( 78-81 × 94 mm. )
f. 56r John ( 65 × 92 mm. )
f. 61v Jude ( 58 × 94 mm. )
f. 63r Paul ( 89 × 92 mm. )

The beginning of the text is preceded by a square headpiece in paint and gold (f. 1r), with vegetative ornament within and at its corners, topped by two birds. In a circular medallion in the centre is a bust of Christ.

The text begins with a major initial in paint and gold (f. 1r). Simpler major initials, in red ink which has been gilded, begin each Epistle.

The beginning of subsections of texts are marked with minor initials at the beginning of the next, in red ink which has been gilded.

Headings, subscriptions and the text of f. 1r have been gilded.

Additions

As part of the original process of production, marginal numbers have been placed at the beginning of each of the Pauline Epistles, numbering these as a sequence.

A later hand using bright red ink has added standard subscriptions at the end of each book, regarding its circumstances of composition. The same hand has placed running headers identifying the current book at the top of each recto folio (and on the final verso, f. 147v), but most of these have been wholly or partially lost to cropping.

There are numerous passages of commentary in Greek in the margins of Acts, in black ink now largely faded to grey, but much of this has been lost, apparently due to a deliberate attempt to erase it (e.g. ff. 8v-11r, 27r).

Binding

Full leather 20th-century binding over millboards, with blind-tooled decoration on boards and spine. The descriptions ‘Acta et Epistolae sec Euthalium’ and ‘Graece Codex sec XIIIe’ are tooled in gold on the spine. There is a movable ribbon bookmark attached to the head. The edges have previously been painted red and later gilded.

196 × 146 × 44 mm.

Accompanying Material

Sheets of tissue paper have been inserted loose to protect the miniatures on ff. 49r, 56r and 61v.

The manuscript is accompanied by a wrapper resembling the spine and covers of a book, with the title ‘Acta et epistolae sec Euthalium Graece codex sec XIII’ tooled in gold on the spine.

History

Origin: The characteristics of the decoration and script suggest that the manuscript was probably produced in the second half of the 12th or first half of the 13th century. The very black ink and style of script are suggestive of an origin in the the Levant or in Cyprus, but are also typical of the stylistic group to which the manuscript belongs, which may have a wider geographical range.

Provenance and Acquisition

Possibly presented to Anthemos of Ephesos, Bishop of Samos in 1639

Then presented to the Monastery of the Prophet Elias on Samos by the sakellarios of Samos in 1672. This depends on Carr's hypothesis that this was the Acts and Epistles book then combined with the Psalter whose annotations record these events.

Owned by Rev. William Makellar (1816-1896) of Edinburgh.

Sold at auction on 19 November 1898 (lot 3013), and purchased by Arthur William Young (1852-1936) . No. 2 in the catalogue of his collection, now Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 6751.

Presented to the University Library by Young , 6 October 1933.

Additional Information

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

Die Schriften des neuen Testaments, in ihrer ältesten erreichbaren Textgestalt hergestellt auf Grund ihrer Textgeschichte, von Soden, Hermann (Berlin, 1, Verlag von Alexander Duncker, 1902)

Hand-list of the additional Greek manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge Scriptorium, Easterling, Patricia E. (16, 2, 302-323, 1962)

Byzantine illumination, 1150-1250: the study of a provincial tradition Byzantine illumination, 1150-1250, Carr, Annemarie Weyl (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1987)

Byzantium: treasures of Byzantine art and culture from British collections, (London, British Museum Press for the Trustees of the British Museum, 1994)

Byzantium and the revival of learning Greek Scripts: an illustrated introduction, Easterling, P. (London, 51-63, 2001)

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. 6678

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