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Title
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(EN) Miscellaneous manuscript book (Pinakes); f. Ir: flyleaf with label: Maximus Palnudes and other works by other authors 740
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Manuscript (https://digi.vatlib.it/); miscellanea (Pinakes); f. Ir: flyleaf with label: Maximus Planudes et alia aliorum 740
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Creator
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According to Andrist, the booklets forming this manuscript were written in the 14th -15th century by one principal hands, with the interventions of other different hands, possibly contemporary (“le livre actuel est constitué d'unités écrites apparemment dans le deuxième tiers du XVe siècle par le copiste principal, ou autour de lui, à des périodes différents de sa vie, pour un usage personnel” : Andrist, Codex grecs, 265). The copyists have not been identified. The texts might have been copied and assembled in Constantinople, based on the presence of some notary acts apparently referring to the City.
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Subject
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Rhetoric; astrology; metereology; religious poetry; epistolography; interreligious polemics; anti-islamic dialogue; dialogue of the monk Euthymius; notary acts; alchemy; magic; divination
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Abstract
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Tthis miscellaneous book contains the following works:
1. astrologikon attributed to Maximos Planudes (ff. 1-4: ἀκολυθία ἀπασ τῶν ὑελίων ἐκτεθεῖσα παρὰ τοῦ λογιωτάτου καὶ σοφοτάτου κυ μαξίμου τοῦ πλανούδη; Pinakes: De urinis carmen)
2. Catonis disticha de moribus, Greek translation by Maximus Planudes and interlinear glosses (ff. 5-17: Κάτων ῥωμαῖος μετενεχθεὶς εἰς ἐλλενικὴ φωνὴ παρὰ τοῦ σωφωτάτου καὶ λογιωτάτου Μαξίμου μοναχοῦ τοῦ Πλανούδη)
3. Three canons attributed to John of Damascus (ff. 18-33: εἰς τὰ ἅγια θεοφανία, εἰς τὰ ἅγια φῶτα, εἰς τὴν ἅγιαν πεντηκοστὴν) with interlinear glosses and in the margins the paraphrase by Markos Eugenikos
4. Manuel Philes, metaphrasis of Psalms nos. 103, 3, 37, 62, 102, 50 (ff. 34-39; Pinakes: Psalterium versibus politicis redactum). f. 39ar-v is blank.
5. Anthology of letters attributed to Synesius, Isidore of Pelusion and Libanius, with interlinear glosses and commentary (ff. 40r-50vsup.)
6. Epictetus, Encheiridion, with interlinear glosses and commentary (ff. 50vinf.-65vsup.)
7. Libanius, selection of letters with interlinear glosses and commentary (ff. 65vinf.-79v: ἐπιστολαὶ Λιβανίου τοῦ σοφίστου)
8. So-called ‘second schedography’ – part 1 (ff. 80-124v: ἀρχῆ συν θῷ ἁγίῳ (?) τῶν λεγομένων δευτέρων σχεδαρίων)
9. Agapetus diaconus, Parenetic chapters to Justinian (Scheda regia), with commentary (ff. 125r-127v: ἔκθεσις κεφαλαίων παραινετῶν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἰουστινιανόν)
10. Confessio Theodosii iudaei sive de sacerdotio Christi (ff. 128r-133r)
11. Legend of Symeon the Priest (ff. 133r-135v; De hypapante, BHGa 1968m)
12. Series of short texts and extracts: various cryptographic alphabets (136r-v); text on the birth of the Virgin (137r-v); περὶ ἀρώστου. ψήφισμα κυροῦ Λέοντος τοῦ σοφοῦ (f. 137v, lower half of the page, and f. 138r)
13. John of Damascus, Expositio fidei II, 23 and 23b: περὶ ὑδάτων, περὶ πελαγῶν (ff. 139-140)
14. Notary acts, dated to the years 1363-1371 and referring to Constantinople (ff. 141-143)
15. On the interpretation of dreams according to the alphabet (ff. 144r-145v: ὀνειροκρίτης ἐκ μέρους: ἀρχὴ τοῦ α)
16. Letter of the sultan of Egypt (Melik Nasir) to the emperor Andronicus (i.e. Andronicus III Palaeologus (ff. 145v- 146v: Γράγει ὁ Σουλτάνος τῆς Αἰγύπτου πρὸς Ἀνδρόνικον τὸν βασιλέα)
17. Dialogue of Euthymius with a Saracen (ff. 147r-153r: διαλέξεις Εὐθύμιος μετὸν σαρακύνον)
18. Short pamphlet on the women and idolatrous behaviour of Solomon (f. 153r)
19. Ps.-Codinus, De officiis (ff. 153v-154r:† Ἀξιώματα τοῦ βασιλέως Γ ὄπερ εὐεργετῆ ὁ βασιλέυς : † δεσποτης σεβαστοκρατωρ…)
20. Divination spiral (f. 154r-v: πρὸς λύσσαν, i.e. furious madness, ἐκ τῶν γύρων; on f. 154v explanations de rabie)
21. Matthew (Blastares?) hieromonk, political verses for the city of Theodoros (ff. 155r-158r: διήγησις τῆς πόλεως Θεοδώρους στίχοι μαθταίου ἀτελοῦς καὶ ἐλαχίστου θύτου)
22. Table and list with the days and the hours of the week, and the associated divinities (ff. 158r-160r: ὅτι ἑπτὰ ἡμέραι ἐστίν τῆς εὐδομάδος· ἑπτὰ δὲ καὶ οἱ πλανήται… περὶ τῶν ὡρῶν τῆς εὐδομάδος)
23. Hymn to the resurrection of Christ (f. 160v)
24. Esoteric pamphlet on the peony (ff. 162r-164r: περὶ τῆς βοτάνης τῆς καλουμένης παιωνίας)
25. Instructions for magical operations (ff. 164r-165r)
26. Nicholas chartophylax, Method of divination based on biblical book (ff. 165v-167r: τοῦ σοφωτάτου καὶ μακατιωτάτου κυροῦ Νικολάου χαρτοφύλακος τῆς ἁγιωτάτης τοῦ θεοῦ μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας καὶ μητροπολίτου Θεσσαλονίκης μέθοδος τοῦ χρησμοῦ τοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἢ ἑτέρου τινὸς θείου βιβλίου)
27. Texts on magical subjects (ff. 167r-169v)
28. Table and magical and divinatory texts (ψῆφοι) on different subjects (ff. 170r-176r); to be used to determine the issue of an illness, in matters of life or death
29. Series of short learned texts, on geographical, etymological, metereological subjects (ff. 176v-181v)
30. † εἰς τὸ στῆσαι αἶμα and instruction on signs to be written – signa magica follow
31. Magical and medical instructions, apparently concerning plants (183r-v)
32. Texts on medical, astrological and divinatory subjects (f. 184r-188r) with the presence of tables (astrological, numerological: kanonion of Hermes Trimegistos, kanonion of Petosyris)
33. Series of recipes / alchemic texts (f. 188r-193v)
34. Political verses on the crucifixion of the Lord (93av)
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Date
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14th-15th century (first half or second third)
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Format
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Composite manuscript book on paper
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Identifier
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Vat. gr. 952
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Language
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Greek
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Rights
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Images copyright Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (digital reproduction available online)
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Description
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(Physical description) Composite manuscript book on paper, 194 folia. Dark brown leather binding that imitates Byzantine bindings and incorporates elements from an older binding. The front and back covers have white headbands and the spine is cold stamped with the coats of arms of Paul VI (1963-1978) and Cardinal Antonio Samorè. Paper flyleaves. Front flyleaves: modern flyleaf, current shelfmark on label; old flyleaves (f. Ir), old label with title and old shelfmark, ‘Maximus Planudes|et alia aliorum |740’. Rear flyleaf: 1f. + endpaper with label from the BAV restoration workshop dated 12 February 1977.
according to Andrist’s description, the current miscellaneous book is formed from the assembly of several booklets (i.e. potentially independent codicological units). These booklets are primarily in-4°, with some variations. Andrist provides the measurements of some pages: f. 127: 21.7 x 13.6 cm; f. 132: 21.8 x 14.4 cm; f. 137: 21.9 x 14.3 cm; f. 140: 21.9 x 14.4 cm. The paper used has different recognizable and datable watermarks. For a detailed description see Andrist, Codex grecs, 258-267.
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Has Version
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Editions of individual texts
Agapito Diacono, Scheda regia. Introduzione, testo critico, versione italiana, note ed indici a cura di F. Iadevaia, Messina: Edas, 1995.
G. Boter, The Encheiridion of Epictetus and its three Christian adaptations, Leiden – Boston: Brill, 1999.
R. Foerster, Libanius. Opera. Vol. X-XI Epistulae 1-839, Lipsiae : Teubner, 1921-1922.
A. Garzya, Synesii Cyrenensis Epistolae, Romae: Typis Officinae Polygraphicae, 1979.
A. Gioffreda, U. Mondini, A. Rhoby, Die metrische Psalmenmetaphrase des Manuel Philes: Einleitung, kritische Edition und Indices, Berlin – Boston: De Gruyter, 2024.
V. Ortoleva, Maximus Planudes Disticha Catonis in Graecum translata, Roma: Edizioni dell'Ateneo, 1992.
W. Christ-M. Paranikas, Anthologia graece carminum christianorum, Leipzig, 1871, p. 205-236.
E. Trapp, “Die Dialexis des Mönches Euthymios mit einem Sarazenen”, Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik 20 (1971), 111-131.
Secondary literature
L. Andriollo, “Writing and Reading Anti-Islamic Polemics in Byzantium: The Dialogue on the Faith of the Monk Euthymios with a Saracen Philosopher (Twelfth Century)”, in L. Andriollo, L. D’Amelia (ed.), Byzantium and Its Neighbours: Religious Self and Otherness in Dialogue, 51-92, Venezia 2024.
P. Andrist, Les codex grecs adversus Iudeaeos conservés à la Bibliothèque Vaticane (s. XI-XVI), Città del Vaticano 2016, 258-267.
P. Canart, “Pour un répertoire des anthologies scolaires commentées de la période des Paléologues”, in A. Bravo García (ed), The Legacy of Bernard de Montfaucon: Three Hundred Years of Studies on Greek Handwriting, 449-462, Turnhout, 2010.
J. Heeg, S. Weinstock, Catalogus codicum astrologorum graecorum. V, Codicum Romanorum, 3-4, Bruxelles 1910-1940.
K. Choulis, “Il restauro dei manoscritti come fonte di storia. Il caso del Fondo antico dei manoscritti greci della Biblioteca Vaticana”, in M. Zanetti (ed), La legatura dei libri antichi. Storia e conservazione, 45-62, Venezia 2024.
F. Nousia, Byzantine textbooks of the Palaeologan period, Città del Vaticano 2016.
R. Ricceri, “Two metrical rewriting of the Greek Psalms: Pseudo-Apollinaris of Laodicea and Manuel Philes” in M. Cutino (ed), Poetry, Bible and Theology from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages, Berlin – Boston 2020, 223-236.
C.O. Zuretti, Catalogues des manuscrits alchimiques grecs. Vol. II: Les manuscrits italiens, Brixelles 1927, 149-152 no. 30.
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Further bibliography
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Vatican Library selected bibliography
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Rights Holder
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Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
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Author of the Catalogation
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Luisa Andriollo
