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Some Facts about our Oldest Latin Manuscripts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

E. A. Lowe
E. A. Lowe
Affiliation:
Oxford
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Extract

A Few years ago Professor Souter made the suggestion that the curious custom of beginning each page of a MS., or each column of a page, with a large letter might be of African origin. He was struck with this feature while examining a fragment, newly acquired for the British Museum, of the celebrated Codex Palatinus of the Gospels (formerly at Vienna, MS. 1185, now at Trent), which is supposed to give us the African text of the New Testament. In reply to the suggestion, the present writer submitted a list of eighteen MSS. in which this usage is illustrated. As most of the MSS. are manifestly Italian, the African origin of the practice was shown to be untenable. Quite recently another theory has been put forward, localizing the practice within still narrower limits. According to Professor Weinberger, the use of a capital at the beginning of each page would seem to be a peculiarity of MSS. coming from Cassiodore's library at Vivarium; and he proceeded to use this feature as a touchstone for detecting Codices Vivarienses. Impressed by the unusual interest attaching to this feature, I began to assemble all the instances I had, and to look for others. I collected a list of nearly fifty items, an inspection of which showed me at once that in registering the phenomenon under discussion I had unwittingly drawn up a list of very ancient MSS. The list does not, to be sure, hold all our oldest MSS., but most of those it holds are, as will be seen, among the oldest. In other words, the use of a large letter at the beginning of each page is clearly a custom of very great antiquity. This being so, it seemed useful to interrogate these MSS. further, in order to ascertain what other practices they have of interest to palaeographers.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Classical Quarterly , Volume 19 , Issue 3-4 , July 1925 , pp. 197 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1925

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References

page 197 note 1 Journal of Theological Studies XXIII. (1922)Google Scholar , pp. 284 sqq.

page 197 note 2 Ibid., p. 403.

page 197 note 3 Weinberger, W., ‘Handschriften von Vivarium’ in Miscellanea Francesco Ehrle, Vol. IV., pp. 77 sqq. (Rome, 1924)Google Scholar . Here five new items are added to my list of eighteen; but my own notes on Pal. Lat. 1631 do not quite bear out Professor Weinberger's observation. According to Mgr. Mercati, who was good enough to examine the MS. for me anew, the large letter is found only on a few pages. The rule is for pages to begin with the ordinary sized letter. The occasional use of the large letter may be taken as a hint that the Codex Palatinus is more recent than the Codex Vaticanus (No. 2 of our list).

page 198 note 1 For various kind services in supplying me with new observations or verifying my own I am indebted to Mgr. Mercati, Mgr. Carusi, Professor D'Elia, Professor Schiaparelli, Professor Maleyn, and especially to Dom C. Mohlberg, who at a great cost of time carefully inspected a number of palimpsests for me.

page 202 note 1 E.g. Mommsen, Jordan, Studemund, Hauler, Traube, and Vattasso remark upon it in their discussions of Vatic. 5766, Palat. 24, Regin. 1283, Verona XL., Verona XV., Rome, Sessor. 55, Bamberg and Lareran Livy Fragments (cf. Abhandl. der berlin. Akad., 1859, pp. 384–5; 1868, pp. 31–206, 207–215; 1869, p. 162; Hermes V., 1871, p. 399; Gai Insttt. Commentarii, 1874; Comment. Woelfflinianae, 1896, p. 309; Palaeographische Forschungen IV., Abh. der kgl. bayerisch. Ahad. XXIV., Bd. I., 1904, p. 27; Studie Ttsti XVIII., p. 4).

page 203 note 1 It is a curious fact that all the oldest MSS. of Livy exemplify the practice. The absence of the Bambergensis from our list is due to the absence of the necessary data, the beginnings of the pages having been lost.

page 204 note 1 Lowe, E. A, Codices Lugdunenses antiquissimi: La plus ancienne Ėcole calligraphique de France, Lyons, 1924Google Scholar .

page 205 note 1 To the examples in my list may be added a few others that have since come to my notice: (1) Vienna 563 is palimpsest. The primary script, in fifth-century uncials, contains the Evangelium Nicodemi. Here most pages, though not all, begin with a larger letter. (2) The practice is illustrated in the vellum fragment of Genesis from Egypt (Oxy. Pap., No. 1073, Vol. VIII., pl. VI.), if the extant leaf may be taken as typical. (3) In Paris 12205, containing Augustine in seventh-century uncials, one scribe begins each page with an ordinary letter (this scribe uses the curious g with the split tail), while another scribe regularly has a large letter (foll. 77 sqq. and 143–157). The latter is either reproducing an ancient original slavishly, or he is clinging to a custom long since become obsolete. (4) In Vatic. Ottob. 319. another seventhcentury uncial MS. of St. Angustine, we get scribe indulges in a large letter ar the beginning of the page, which he doubtless takes over unthinkingly from his original.

page 205 note 2 Traube, L., Hieronymi chronicorum codicis Floriaconsis fragmenta, etc., p. vi (=Codd. Gr. et Lat. photogr. depicti. Suppl. Vol. I., Leyden, 1902)Google Scholar . Some statistics of the omission of m and n will be found in Traubie's Nomina Sacra, pp. 179,181,183,185. But my own observations do not always agree with his. Where divergencies occur I have verified the facts set down in the table.

page 206 note 1 This may throw some light on the date of the Gospel Harmony which fell into the hands of Victor Bishop of Capua(ϯ554). It had neither running titles nor front title, as we learn from the opening words of his preface to his Harmony: ‘Dum fortuito in manus meas incideret imum exquattuor evangelium compositum, et absente titulo, non inuenirem nomen auctoris,’ etc. Migne, Patrologia Latina LXVIII., col. 251.

page 206 note 2 Mgr. M. Vattasso expresses a similar criticism when he says that Dziatzko's discussion is not exhaustive, and that the whole question merits going into again (Studi e Testi XVIII. (1906). p. 4, where the Lateran Livy fragments are discussed).

page 207 note 1 See above, p. 203, n. 1.

page 208 note 1 The quire-marks are found between foll. 9 and 147v, the part of the MS. which was probably written at Lyons. Foll. 1–8 and 148–155 come from a different MS.