Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries: Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.6.41

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 12200

Introduction: This small manuscript is a miscellany, comprising didactic and ethical texts by Epictetus, Aesop and Ignatios the Deacon. After Epictetus' (ca. 55-ca. 135 CE) Encheiridion ("Manual"), a summary of the Stoic philosopher's thought, there are two collections of fables, 149 fables by Aesop (6th c. BCE) and 43 fables in choliambic tetrameters by Ignatios the Deacon (ca. 775-ca. 848), attributed in the manuscript to Babrius. The codex was written in the 17th century, before 1697, since it is mentioned as part of John Moore's library in Bernard's inventory of the libraries of England and Ireland published in that year. Dr Erika Elia

Language(s): Greek

1. ff. 1r-23r

Epictetus , Encheiridion

Rubric: f. 1r Epicteti Enchiridion

Rubric: f. 2r Ἐπικτήτου ἐγχειρίδιον

Incipit: f. 2r Κεφάλαιον α΄. Τῶν ὄντων τὰ μέν ἐστιν ἐφ’ ἡμῖν

Explicit: f. 23r Ἐμὲ δὲ Ἄνυτος καὶ Μέλιτος[sic] ἀποκτεῖναι μὲν δύνανται, βλάψαι δὲ οὔ.

Final rubric: f. 23r Finis capitum 79

The text is divided into 79 chapters

TLG 0557.007

ff. [i] recto-[i] verso, [ii] verso-[ii] verso, 1v, 23v-24v are blank.

2. ff. 25r-80r

Æsop , Fables Fabulae

Rubric: f. 25r Μυθοι[sic] Αισωπου[sic] ἑλληνικῶς

Rubric: f. 26r Αισωπου[sic] μυθοι[sic]

Incipit: f. 26r Ἀετὸς καὶ ἀλώπηξ. Ἀετὸς καὶ ἀλώπηξ φιλιωθέντες πλησίον ἀλλήλων οἰκεῖν ἔγνωσαν βεβαίωσιν φιλίας ποιούμενοι τὴν συνήθειαν

Explicit: f. 80r οὐκ ἐθέλουσα παρὰ τὸ γῆρας κακοπραγεῖ.

Final rubric: f. 80r Τέλος τῶν Αἰσώπου μύθων

TLG 0096.002. The fables are numbered 1-149 (the last is not numbered). They are A. Hausrath, H. Hunger (eds.), Corpus fabularum Aesopicarum, I, fasc. 1-2, Lipsiae 1970 and 1959, nr. 1. 3. 4. 9. 10. 16. 17. 19. 20. 23. 27. 29. 13. 33. 34. 36. 21. 28. 43. 60. 57. 42. 52. 58. 64. 67. 69. 81. 83. 115. 116. 117. 120. 134. 137. 268. 146. 154. 152. 170. 176. 181. 180. 183. 190. 207. 188. 216. 223. 233. 234. 235. 244. 252. 271. 275. 143. 286 (different from edition). 253. 256. 259. 260. 77. 78. 79. 84. 122. 250. 251. 211. 276. 344. 278. 277. 274. 258. 48. 54. 55. 56. 59. 61. 68. 70. 74. 25. 26. 75. 82. 90. 91. 94. 97. 99. 118. 123. 124. 127. 129. 130. 131. 133. 105. 111. 108. 166. 169. 175. 182. 187. 194. 196. 199. 201. 202. 203. 206. 210. 213. 217. 218. 221. 226. 18. 272. 35. 22. 284. 283. 11. 49. 288. 273. 114. 287. 89. 147. 163. 100. 285. 51. 289. 239. 225 (ed. E. Chambry, Aesopi fabulae, Paris 1925-1926). 266. 60d. 43. 100b. 267: the last one, unnumbered, is a fable by Aphthonius, Hausrath-Hunger 1959 1 (TLG 0096.006)

ff. 25v, 80v are blank

3. ff. 81r-90r

⟨Ignatios, the Deacon, approximately 775-approximately 848⟩ , Tetrasticha iambica

Rubric: f. 81r Μυθοι[sic] Γαβριου[sic] ελληνος[sic] τετράστιχα

In the manuscript, as is common in the tradition, the text is attributed to Babrius , whose name is wrongly spelled Gabrius

Incipit: f. 81r Περὶ ἀνθρώπου καὶ λιθίνου λέοντος. Ἀνδρὸς ποσὶν πατεῖτο πέτρινος λέων

Explicit: f. 90r συνοικεῖν ἐν πόλεσι τοῖς κακοῖς.

Final rubric: f. 90r Των[sic] Γαβριου[sic] ελληνος[sic] μύθων τελος[sic]

The fables are numbered 1-43: they are O. Crusius, C. F. Mueller (eds.), Babrii Fabulae Aesopeae, Fabularum dactylicarum et iambicarum reliquiae, Ignatii et aliorum tetrasticha iambica, Lipsiae 1897, pp. 264-285, nr. 1. 4. 5. 38. 48. 36. 28. 49. 50. 51. 43. 18. 8. 19. 7. 39. 14. 23. 15. 12. 27. 52. 53. 54. 55. 25. 22. 56. 11. 2. 9. 57. 13. 33. 26. 24. 21. 30. 32. 6. 17 (expl. f. 89v); the last one is a fable by Babrius, Crusius-Mueller 1897, 9-212 (TLG 0614.001), nr. 12.

Each fable is followed by the epimythion.

ff. 90v-[vii] verso are blank.

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: ff. [ii]-[vi] Western paper, folded in duodecimo. Watermark not clearly discernible. ff. [i], [vii] Modern western paper with a watermark with a rooster's head and the date 1973.

Extent: Codex: i + 2 + 96 + 3 + i leaves., 133 × 75 mm.

Foliation: There are two paginations by the scribe in red ink in Arabic numerals, in the upper margin of the leaves:

pp. 1-43 (ff. 2r-23r)
pp. 1-129 (ff. 26r-90r)

Foliation: Modern pencil foliation in Arabic numerals, in the upper right hand corner, recto: [i]-[iii] + 1-90 + [91]-[95] + 96 + [iv]-[vii].

Collation

The manuscript consists of one later endleaf, 1 bifolium, 8 senions and 4 endleaves.

1 later endleaf ( f. [i])
Quire 1² ff. [ii]-[iii]
Quires 2-9¹² ff. 1-96
3 endleaves and 1 later endleaf ( ff. [iv]-[vii])

Horizontal catchwords under the text, near the gutter, by the scribe, on the verso of each folio.

Condition

The manuscript is in good condition. The leaves are slightly yellowed near the edges. A few worm holes on the upper part of ff. [ii] recto-34v.

The decorated title on f. 25r was damaged (maybe by water), leaving stains on the adjacent leaves; the hole has been repaired.

Layout

One single column, 25 lines, 110 × 55 mm. The written space is bordered by green double lines on both sides. At the end of the texts, line spacing becomes broader, the script bigger, see ff. 22v-23r, 80r, 90r.

Hand(s)

ff. 1r-90r Hand A: all the texts were written by the same hand, in an informal minuscule of regular size, slanting slightly to the right, characterised by slight chiaroscuro effects. The script appears rigid, and some forms show that the hand could be of a western European scribe. The script can be dated at least to the 17th century.

The principal titles of the works are written in majuscule letters.

The text is written in brown ink. Titles are in red ink on ff. 1r-81r, in a yellow ink on ff. 81v-90r. On f. 81r the principal title is in golden ink.

Decoration

Title pages at the beginning of each text. The title, in capital letters, is written in an ornamented cartouche.

f. 1r: title and double frame in red, cartouche in a gradient brown and golden borders
f. 25r: title in blank contoured letters, double frame in green, cartouche in a gradient red and particular in green
f. 81r: title in gold, cartouche in a gradient green with grapefruit.

Additions

Shelfmark and letter indicating the size of the codex on f. [ii] recto.

Numbers on f. [vi] verso.

Binding

Modern western binding, made in the CUL in 1977, as written on the left pastedown. Leather over millboard. Gold tooling on spine with shelfmark in the lower part: on the upper part is glued a red leather tab, tooled in gold, with author ‘Epictetus’.

Golden edges.

141 × 86 × 27 mm.

Accompanying Material

ff. [i] and [vii] are later endleaves added when the codex was rebound in 1977.

History

Origin: The manuscript was probably copied in the 17th century.

Provenance and Acquisition

The manuscript was owned by John Moore (b. 1646, d. 1714), bishop of Ely : nos 659-661 in Bernard, Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliæ et Hiberniæ (1697). The fact that the manuscript is identified in Bernard with three numbers, referring respectively to each of the three texts it contains, suggests that maybe at the time it was preserved unbound, each text forming an independent part.

Presented to the University Library in 1715 by George I (1660-1727) : donation bookplate engraved by John Pine (1690-1756) in 1736 on the left pastedown.

Additional Information

Record Sources

A catalogue of the Manuscripts preserved in the Library of the University of Cambridge, vol. 3, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1858, p. 539-540.

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, 3, Cambridge University Press, 1858)

The Greek Manuscripts of John Moore and Etienne Baluze Codices Manuscripti, Jackson, Donald F. (56/57, 29-42, 2006)

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 Ii.6.41

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