Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

A catalogue of Western manuscripts and papyri at Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and selected Cambridge colleges

Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.5.29

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 12159

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript contains a series of Transcriptions, notes and collations made by Abednego Seller (ca. 1646-1705), nonjuring Church of England clergyman and religious writer. They are taken from various manuscripts: Dd.5.29 is bound together with MS Dd.5.28, which contains texts in Latin. Dr Erika Elia

Language(s): Greek and Latin

1. pp. ii, v
Contents of MS Arundel. gr. N. 1
Rubric: p. ii Lemmata Cod. Arundel. Gr. N. 1
Incipit: p. ii Ἐκλογὴ καὶ σύνοψις τῶν βασιλικῶν σὺν παραπομπαῖς κατὰ στοιχεῖον
Explicit: p. v Λέξεις Ῥωμαικαὶ κείμεναι ἐν τῷ νόμῳ κατὰ στοιχεῖον.

Each title is preceded by a cross.

The text is written on pp. ii and v, which probably were originally adjacent.

2. p. iii
Table of contents of the manuscript
Incipit: p. iii Hymni Graeci Eccles. praesertim C.P. ex Cod. ms. Gr. (De musica Eccles.) chartac. D. Humfridi Wanley Coll. Univers. Oxon. Soc. p. 1
Explicit: p. iii Variae Lect. Diog. Laertii Vit. Philos. ex opt. cod. p. 162

p. iv is blank (except for a note by the scribe).

3. pp. 1-42
Various hymns of the Greek Church copied from a manuscript of Humphrey Wanley
Rubric: p. 1 Hymni Eccles. e Cod. ms.

In the upper left corner of p. 1 the scribe identified himself: ‘ Sum Ab. Selleri P.E.A.’.

p. 43 is blank.

3.1. pp. 1-2
Inicipits of hymns of the Greek Church
Rubric: Initia hymnorum
Incipit: p. 1 Ἦχος αʹ· Ἐπέστη ἡ εἴσοδος εἰς τὸ ὄρος
Explicit: p. 2 l. 7 ἵνα σε ὑμνῶ τὴν τρίφωτον λυχνίαν.

On p. iv, originally adjacent to p. 1, the scribe wrote a note concerning the content, ‘ Hic exhibentur initia hymnorum apud Graecos’.

3.2. pp. 2-42
Various hymns of the Greek Church
Incipit: p. 2 l. 8 Ω[sic] πάγχρυσε Χρυσόστομε, φωστὴρ τῆς οἰκουμένης
Explicit: p. 42 ἠκριβολογεῖτο διάστημα τοῦ ἔτους.||

At the end of the text the scribe wrote ‘ Caetera desunt et hic explicit liber rarissimus, cui vix par inveniendus est, etsi sequioris aevi’.

4. p. 45
Transcription of fragments from the testament of Gregory of Nazianzus from a Gresham College manuscript
Rubric: p. 45 l. 1 Fragmentum testamenti Gregorii Nazianzeni in Cod. Gresh. Gr. n. 1
Incipit: p. 45 Θεοδόσιος ἐπίσκοπος
Explicit: p. 45 l. 9 Μετεγράφη ἐκ τοῦ ἀρχετύπου τοῦ συγκειμένου ἐν τῇ ἐκκλεσίᾳ Ναζιανζοῦ.||

On p. 44, there is a note referring to a manuscript, ‘ v. Cat. L. Ms. in Anglia, vol. II p. 84 no. 3423’ (reference to E. Bernard, Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliae et Hiberniae in unum collecti, ii, Oxoniae 1697): today London, British Library, Arundel MS 516

The scribe copied only the first words of the lines of the exemplar

For the text: TLG 2022.058; CPG 3033; BHG 0730

5. pp. 45-46
Moschion, Hypothecae
Rubric: p. 45 l. 10 Μοσχίονος ὑποθῆκαι
Incipit: p. 45 Παραφύλαττε σαυτὸν ἐν παντὶ τῷ βίῳ
Explicit: p. 46 l. 24 ἀλλὰ καταφρόνει τῆς ἐν τῷ τρόπῳ κιβδηλείας.

Lacunae in the text owing to damage in the exemplar are signalled by the scribe with full stops

Ed. H. Schenkl, Epicteti dissertationes ab Arriano digestae, Leipzig (1916), pp. 495-496; the text ends with fragment Stob. (C) 9, not 8 as indicated in Schenkl 1916, p. 496

6. pp. 46-48
De bissextili
Rubric: p. 46 l. 25 Περὶ βισέξτου
Incipit: p. 46 Τὸ τοῦ βισέξτου ὄνομα ῥωμαικόν ἐστι δηλοῦν τὸ δὶσ ἕξ
Explicit: p. 48 μελαίνεσθαί δε μειουμένου τοῦ φωτὸς αὐτῆς.

The same text is found in London, British Library, Arundel MS 516, ff. 355v-356v.

7. p. 49
De generatione homini
Rubric: p. 49 l. 1 Περὶ γεννήσεως ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ὅθεν τρίτον καὶ θ΄ καὶ μ΄
Incipit: p. 49 Τὸ σπέρμα ἐν τῇ μέτρᾳ καταβαλλόμενον
Explicit: p. 49 l. 24 καὶ μ΄ ἐπιτελοῦνται τοῖς τεθνεῶσιν.

Ed. K. Krumbacher, 'Studien zu den Legenden des hl. Theodosios', in Sitzungsberichte der philosophish-philologischen und der historischen Klasse der k. B. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München (1892), pp. 345-347.

8. pp. 49-53
De quatuor fluminibus Paradisi
Rubric: p. 49 l. 25 Περὶ τῶν ποταμῶν
Incipit: p. 49 Ὅτι ὁ Ἴστρος ὁ ποταμὸς λεγόμενος Φισὼν παρὰ τῇ θείᾳ γραφῇ
Explicit: p. 53 l. 2 ἐν τῷ λέοντι ποιεῖται κατὰ τοὺς εὐκρατοὺς τόπους.

The text is attributed by the scribe, in a note written near the title, to Kosmas Indikopleustes

The same text is found in London, British Library, Arundel MS 516, ff. 356v-358r.

9. pp. 53-55
⟨ Eustathius Romanus⟩ , De temporalibus intervallis, excerptum
Rubric: p. 53 Ἀρχὴ σὺν θεῷ τῶν ῥοπῶν ἤτοι τῶν προθεσμιῶν ἕως τῶν ρ΄ χρόνων
Incipit: p. 53 Ἠλευθερώθη δούλη ἐν διαθήκῃ, ἑὰν τρία τέκη
Explicit: p. 55 καὶ εἰκότως ἡ γενομένη διαθήκη μετὰ τὴν||

At the end of the incomplete text the scribe wrote ‘ Caetera desunt in male compacto libro Gr. in quo haec schedae inseruntur novellis’

Ed. I. and P. Zepos, Theofili Antecessoris Institutiones, Jus Graecoromanum 3, Athenis (1931), pp. 275-342. The text ends imperfectly at Zepos 1931, p. 278 l. 13.

10. pp. 56-61 l. 11, 62-63
De actionibus libellus, ex Basilicis compilatus
Rubric: p. 56 Δεαστιανίβους[sic]. Περὶ ἰδιωτικῶν ἀγωγῶν
Incipit: p. 56 Ἐν τῷ διαπέμπεσθαι βιβλίον ἀνάγχη ὁρίζεσθαι τὴν ἀγωγήν
Explicit: p. 63 δι' οἰκῶν λόγους οὐ καταιτεῖται[sic].

On p. 56, before the text, the scribe indicated where the text was located in his exemplar: ‘ In eodem Codice post Synodicam Sisinnii adversus nuptias illicitas sequitur’

In the margin the scribe indicated the Latin terms cited in the text

The same text is found in London, British Library, Arundel MS 516, ff. 368v-372v.

11. p. 61 ll. 12-26
Tractatus geometricus
Rubric: p. 61 De mensuris
Incipit: p. 61 Μέτρον γεωμετρικόν ἐχέτω ἡ ὀργυιὰ σπιθαμὰς θʹ
Explicit: p. 61 καὶ γίνεται γῆ μοδίων σξʹ[sic] ||

The text is inserted within the previous one

Ed. R. Bondoux, J.-C. Cheynet, J.-P. Grélois, V. Kravari, J. Lefort, and J.-M. Martin, Géometries du fisc byzantin, Paris (1991), p. 169, text VIII, sections 267-268

TLG 5511.003

12. pp. 64-65
Sisinnius II. Constantinopolitanus, De matrimonio illicito, excerptum
Rubric: p. 64 Σισίννιος ἐλέῳ θεοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως νέας Ῥώμης εἰς τὴν ἐπολέθρῳ τοῦ γάμου ἐπεισφρήσασαν ἤδη τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποίμνῃ ἀθεμιτογαμίαν. Εἴτ' οὖν αἱμομιξίαν. Καὶ πυρὸς δίκην πυρπολοῦσαν τὰ σύμπαντα. Ἥτις θεοῦ χάριτι νῦν κανονικῶς καὶ νομίμως συνοδικῇ ἀποφάση[sic] ἐκωλύθη. Κατὰ τῶν εἰκάδα α΄ τοῦ Φεβρουαρίου μηνὸς τῆς ἐνεστώσης δ΄ ἰνδικτιῶνος ἐν ἔτει τῷ ˏϛφε΄.
Incipit: p. 64 Princ. Καὶ ἰατρὸς ἰδίων ἄξιος
Explicit: p. 64 Κῶνσταντίνος Κίου Ιωάννης[sic] Δέρκου

The text is limited to title, incipit and explicit

Some of the lines containing the list of bishops' names at the end of the text are prolonged on p. 65

TLG 3356.001; PG 119, 728-741

13. pp. 66-82
Excerpts from Synopsis Basilicorum Maior and Appendix A
Rubric: p. 66 Ἐκλογὴ καὶ σύνοψις τῶν βασιλικῶν
Incipit: p. 66 Post tit. Ἀνάγνωθι βιβλίον α΄ τίτλον α΄ κεφάλαιον α΄ καὶ δ΄, ἐν οἷς φησὶν ὅτι Χριστιανός ἐστι ὁ πιστεύων
Explicit: p. 82 Ἐπειδήπερ ἡ βασιλεία μου

The scribe copied titles and excerpts from the Synopsis Basilicorum Maior (TLG 5065.004) and its so-called Appendix A, contained in London, British Library, Arundel MS 516, noting also in Latin later editions of the texts; a few texts are copied entirely; the end of the text is followed by references

p. 83 is blank

13.1. pp. 66 l. 15-69 l. 9
⟨ Romanus II, Emperor of the East, 959-963⟩ , Edictum de fundis militaribus

I. Zepos, P. Zepos (eds.), Jus Graecoromanum, 1, Athens (1931), Coll. 3 Nov. 16; F. Dölger (ed.), Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des oströmischen Reiches von 565-1453, 1, München-Berlin (1924), no. 690.

pp. 70 l. 13-71 l. 16
Fragment about measures

Ed. Bondoux-Cheynet- Grélois-Kravari-Lefort-Martin (1991), p. 168, text VIII, sections 262-266.

TLG 5511.003

14. pp. 85-86
Excerpts from Maximus Planudes ' Prolegomena in artem rhetoricam with a few remarks
Rubric: p. 85 Προλεγόμενα τῆς ῥητορικῆς e Cod. chart. Ms. Colleg. SS. Trinit. Cantabr. (R.9.18) v. edit. Aldi
Incipit: p. 85 Τὴν ῥητορικὴν διαφόρως τινὲς ὡρίσαντο. Πλάτων μὲν γὰρ εἶπεν
Explicit: p. 86 ἐν δὲ τῇ τρίτῃ

The text is attributed by the scribe to Troilus in a note on the upper right edge of p. 85: ‘ Troilus Sophista’

TLG 4146.002

On the previous page, p. 84 the scribe wrote two lists of names of Greek and Roman authors ‘ Scriptores de re rhetorica’

15. pp. 87-88
Excerpts from Prolegomena in Aphthonii Progymnasmata
Rubric: p. 87 Sequuntur in eod. Codice Προλεγόμενα τῶν προγυμνασμάτων Aphthonii sc. ἐξήγησις τοῦ μύθου
Incipit: p. 87 Ἀνασκευὴ ὠνόμασται ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνασκευαζομένων
Explicit: p. 88 ἐμπίπτει ἀντίθησις, ἐν ἐκείνῳ δὲ οὐδαμῶς.

The excerpts are from the scholia published by C. Walz, Rhetores Graeci, vol. 2, Stuttgartiae et Tubingae, Londini-Lutetiae (1835), pp. 1-68; the text begins at p. 25 l. 15.

The scribe seems to have copied in particular the cited authors

At the beginning of the text, the scribe wrote a note present on the exemplar, inc. Ἀλλ' ἐμοὶ χρήναί[sic] φησιν ὁ Σάρδεων.

16. pp. 89-91
Excerpts from Maximus Planudes ' Prolegomena to Hermogenes' On Staseis
Rubric: p. 89 Sequuntur in eod. Codice Προλεγόμενα τῶν στάσεων f. Sopatri
Incipit: p. 89 Ὁ τὸ τῆς ῥητορικῆς βιβλίον συντεταχῶς
Explicit: p. 91 l. 3 δυοῖν ἐγκλημάτων ὄντων, μοιχείας καὶ φόνου||

In the manuscript the text is attributed to Sopater

The text ends imperfectly at C. Walz, Rhetores Graeci, vol. 5, Stuttgartiae et Tubingae, Londini, Lutetiae (1833), p. 228 l. 8; at the end of the text the scribe indicated that it ends imperfectly: ‘ Caetera petenda sunt ex ms.’

17. p. 91
Excerpts from anonymous Prolegomena to Hermogenes' On Staseis
Incipit: p. 91 l. 4 Οἱ ἀρχαιότεροι ῥήτορες, οἷον Αἰσχίνης
Explicit: p. 91 l. 31 τρίτον τὸ τῶν ἰδεῶν

Excertps, the first starts at H. Rabe, Prolegomenon Sylloge (Rhetores Graeci, vol. 14), Leipzig (1931), pp. 238-255: 249 lin. 25

TLG 5024.004

18. pp. 92-100
Excerpts from Maximus Planudes ' Scholia to Hermogenes' On Staseis
Rubric: p. 92 Σχόλια εἰς Ερμογένους[sic] στάσεις
Incipit: p. 92 Πολλῶν ὄντων, λεληθότως μὲν ἀποδίδωσι τὸν τῆς ῥητορικῆς ὅρος
Explicit: p. 100 καὶ ἔτι ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ἀριστοκράτους||

For the text see Walz (1833), pp. 232-369

At the end of the text the scribe indicated that it is incomplete

19. pp. 101-130
De oratione soluta libellus
Rubric: p. 101 Eod. Cod. Περὶ λογογραφίας, περὶ ἐπιστολῶν, περὶ στίχων εἰσαγωγικῶν
Incipit: p. 101 Πᾶσα λόγου ἰδέα ἐκ μερῶν ὀκτὼ σύγκειται
Explicit: p. 130 καὶ συνεστραμμένον καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τὸ σύντομον.

On the text, which has not been entirely edited yet, see A. Corcella, 'Una testimonianza sulle Προλαλιαι di Procopio e Coricio di Gaza nel Περί λογογραφίας' Segno e testo 8 (2010), pp. 247-264

20. p. 131
Sopater, De figuris in Hermogenis libris περὶ εὑρέσεων et περὶ ἰδεῶν, excerpts from MS Cambridge, Trinity College, R.9.18
Rubric: p. 131 l. 1 In eodem Codice marg. Sopater in Hermogenem
Incipit: p. 131 Princip. στρόγγυλον σχῆμά έστι τόδε
Explicit: p. 131 l. 10 καὶ κρίνεται παρανομίας.

The text is attributed in the manuscript to Sopater, but the attribution is not certain

The scribe noted only incipit and explicit of the text, as well as some extracts citing authors

TLG 5024.021

21. pp. 131-161
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, De compositione verborum (epitome)
Rubric: p. 131 l. 11 Epitome Dionysii Halicarnasei περὶ συνθέσεως ὀνομάτων ita lit. melioris notae liber
Incipit: p. 131 Δῶρόν τοι καὶ ἐγώ, τέκνον φίλε, τοῦτο δίδωμι
Explicit: p. 161 l. 4 διὰ ταύτας γινόμενα τὰς αἰτίας

TLG 0081.013

22. p. 161
Fragment on the spondee
Incipit: p. 161 l. 5 Σπονδείος ποῦς σύγκειται ἐκ δύο μακρῶν
Explicit: p. 161 l. 32 Δισπόνδειος ἐκ τεσσάρων μακρῶν, οἷον ΗΕΡΑΚΛΕΙΔΕΣ.

At the end of the text the scribe wrote a note concerning the contents of his exemplar

23. p. 162-171
Various readings from Cambridge, Trinity College, MS R.9.18, of Diogenes as compared with the Amsterdam edition of Meibomius (1692)
Rubric: p. 162 Variae lectiones e Codice SS. Trinitatis Cantabrigensis Galei relata ad editionem nuper Amstelodamensem 4° to. 1
Incipit: p. 162 p. 2 l. 6 καὶ Θράκα
Explicit: p. 171 l. 28 L. aut. Τιμολέων ἀπ.

After the text (p. 171 l. 28-172) there is a note by the scribe explaining why he had interrupted the collation.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: pp. 1-184 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Lily on a cartouche surmounted by a crown ( ca. 80 × 50 mm. ) in the gutter, comparable to the type Churchill Lilies 390 , which is dated in 1679.
Extent: Codex: 95 leaves. 185 × 143 mm.
Foliation:

The manuscript is paginated: pp. i-vi, 1-173, [174]-[179], 180, [181]-[183], 184. The original pagination has been written by the scribe in brown ink in Arabic numerals, in the upper left-hand corner of the leaves, from 1 to 173.

There is also a later pagination in pencil, completing the original one, on the first leaves and on some of the last blank folios:

  • in Roman numerals from i to vi
  • in Arabic numerals on pp. 180 and 184.
The same hand, using a pencil, added also a few folio numbers in the upper right- or left-hand corner of the leaves from 26 ( p. 45) to 35 ( p. 63).

Collation

It is difficult to identify the quire structure of the manuscript, due to the absence of signatures and to the tight sewing of the quires.

Condition

The manuscript has been bound together with the Latin manuscript, MS Dd.5.28. The first leaf, pp. i-ii, is formed by two leaves glued together. On p. i there are brown stains, probably left by glue (probably this page was originally glued to the binding). On the first leaves ( pp. iii-vi), on the upper edge and in the gutter, there are water and humidity stains. There are yellow and orange stains on the last leaves, from p. [178] to the right pastedown. Given the fact that on p. iv there is a note indicating the contents of p. 1, it can be assumed that possibily, originally, the order of the first leaves was: pp. i/ii, v/vi, iii/iv, 1/2.

Layout

The layout is irregular. The texts are always written on one single column, the number of lines varies between 26 and 35. The written space is also irregular. ca. 170 × ca. 125 mm.

Hand(s)

pp. ii-172 Hand A: all the texts have been written in a minuscule script slanting slightly to the right, with rigid ductus and forms, which show that the hand is that of a non-Greek native scribe. The scribe, who writes in Greek and in Latin, can be identified as Abednego Seller (ca. 1646-1705) (Lehnus 2012, p. 69 note 91).

Characteristic forms of his Greek script, as shown, e.g., in MS Dd.8.51, written by him in 1698, can be identified in MS Dd.5.29, such as gamma with the inferior part strongly slanting to the left, rounded tau, the frequent use of the ligature omicron-sigma with inclusion of sigma traced in one movement.

The text is written in brown ink.

Additions

The shelfmark is written in pencil by a modern hand on p. i.

Binding

Modern western binding. Paper cover over couched-laminate boards. Leather on spine with gold tooling with shelfmark ‘ Dd.5.28-29’.

200 × 150 × 42 mm.

The cover is damaged on the right board and near the boards' edges.

History

Origin: The manuscript was copied by the English writer Abednego Seller (ca. 1646-1705) (see also note on p. 1), probably in the second half of the 17th century, and certainly before 1705.

Provenance and Acquisition

It is unclear how the manuscript reached the library. On p. i is glued the bookplate engraved by John Pine made for the library in 1736 in commemoration of George I's purchase and donation to the University of the library of John Moore.

Additional Information

Record Sources

Description (2020) draws partly on A catalogue of the Manuscripts preserved in the Library of the University of Cambridge, vol. 1: Dd (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1856), pp. 264-267.

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

    A catalogue of the manuscripts preserved in the library of the University of Cambridge, (Cambridge, 1: Dd, Cambridge University Press, 1856) Callimaco Redivivo tra Th. Stanley e R. Bentley Eikasmos, Lehnus, Luigi (2, 285-309, 1991) Callimaco Redivivo tra Th. Stanley e R. Bentley Incontri con la filologia del passato Paradosis, Lehnus, Luigi (Bari, 47-80, Dedalo, 2012)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

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Cambridge Digital Library

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