Marcianus graecus Z 513 (= 770) – Ma

Previous descriptions: Mioni (1985, 375‒6).

Reproductions: –

Family: d²

Siglum: Marcianus graecus Z 513

Shelfmark: Ma

Date: Second quarter of the 15th century

Format: paper, 215×145 mm, III + 267 ff.

Material: the paper is in a very good condition; no losses of text.

Binding: not original.

Watermarks: the watermarks have been examined in detail by Mioni (1985, 375) and allow us to date the manuscript to the 1425–1463 period (Briquet 5956, 6698 and 15870). I saw no trace of the watermark P that Mioni reportedly noticed on ff. 115/118 and 119/122.

Scribes: there are many hands in the codex, thus identified in Mioni (1985, 375): A: ff. 1r–29r, 30–50r l. 12, 53r–95v l. 5, 96r–98v, 99v–105r, 106r ll. 16–25, 106v–216r, 217r–258v l. 9, 259r–262v Michael ApostolisMichael Apostolis (RGK I 278 = II 379 = III 454); B: ff. 29v, 50r l. 12–50v, 99r, 216v, 258v ll. 9–32; C: f. 51r–v; D: f. 95v ll. 5–32; E: ff. 105v–106r l. 15; F: f. 106r ll. 26–30; G: ff. 265r–266v.        

Annotations: on f. IIIv BessarionBessarion (RGK I 41 = II 61 = III 77) wrote his ownership note: liber B(essarionis) car. Tusculani locus 75.

1 (ff. 1r–26v) Albinus, Epitoma in Platonis opera. Title: Ἀλκινόου μεγάλου διδασκάλου λόγος διδασκαλικὸς τῶν Πλάτωνος δογμάτων. Incipit: τῶν κυριωτάτων Πλάτωνος δογμάτων τοιαύτη τις ἂν διδασκαλία γένοιτο. Explicit: καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ δογμάτων γενέσθαι. Edited in Louis (1945).

f. 27: blank.

2 (ff. 28r‒144r) Pollux, Onomasticon. No title. Incipit: ὦ παῖ πατρὸς ἀγαθοῦ (1.1). Explicit: κόρημα, κιβωτόν, λύχνον (10.192). It contains all ten books of the work: 1 (ff. 28r–52v), 2 (ff. 53r–69r), 3 (ff. 69r–77r), 4 (ff. 77v–89r), 5 (ff. 89r–95r), 6 (ff. 95r–105r), 7 (ff. 105r–112v), 8 (ff. 112v–123r), 9 (ff. 123r–133r), and 10 (ff.    133r–144r).

f. 144v: blank.

3 (ff. 145r‒162v) Cornutus, De natura deorum. Title: Φορνούτου ἐκ τῶν παραδεδομένων ἐπιδρομὴ κατὰ τὴν ἑλληνικὴν θεωρίαν. Incipit: ὁ οὐρανὸς ὦ παιδίον. Explicit: ἁρμοδιώτατόν ἐστιν. Edited in Torres (2018).

4 (ff. 163r‒174r) Palaephatus, De incredibilibus. Title: Παλαιφάτου περὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἱστοριῶν. Incipit: περὶ τῶν ἀπίστων τάδε συγγέγραφα. Explicit: προσγράφουσι τὸ ἀμαλθείας κέρας. Edited in Festa (1902).

5 (ff. 174r‒201r) Xenophon, Oeconomicus. Title: Ξενοφῶντος Ἀθηναίου οἰκονομικός. Incipit: ἤκουσα δὲ αὐτοῦ. Explicit: μηδεὶς ἀποθάνῃ. (ff. 201r‒216v) Xenophon, Symposium. Title: τοῦ αὐτοῦ ῥητόρων συμπόσιον. Incipit: ἀλλ’ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ. Explicit: ἐκεῖνος ὑπέλαβεν.

6 (217r‒245v) Themistius, Orationes. (f. 217r) περὶ φιλίας, (f. 225r) σοφιστής, (f. 233v) ἐπὶ τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος Θεοδοσίου,. (f. 237r) περὶ τῆς φιληκοΐας τοῦ βασιλέως. (f. 241r) προτρεπτικὸς Νικομηδεῦσιν εἰς φιλοσοφίαν, (f. 245r) πρὸς τὸν ἀξιώσαντα λέγειν ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα. Edited in Downey, Norman, Schenkl (1974).

f. 246: blank.

7 (ff. 247r‒256v) Theophrastus, Characteres 1‒27. Title: Θεοφράστου χαρακτῆρες.

8 (ff. 257r‒262v) Ocellus Lucanus, De natura universi. Title: Ὠκέλλου Λευκανοῦ περὶ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς φύσεως. Incipit: τάδε συνέγραψεν Ὤκελλος Λευκανὸς περὶ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς φύσεως. Explicit: ἀποτελοῦντα τε γεννώμενα. Edited in Harder (1926).

ff. 263‒264: blank.

9 (ff. 265r‒267r) Grammatical annotations. No title. Incipit: μύρια τὸ ὡρισμένον. Explicit: καὶ σύγχυσιν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ ἀσάφειαν γίνεσθαι.

f. 267v: blank.

The manuscript was written in Crete (see Bandini 2023, 64) in the middle of the 15th century or in the third quarter of the same century. The collations of Book 2 show that one of Ma’s models was Vaticanus Palatinus graecus 209Vat. Pal. gr. 209 (D), in which on f. 62v there is an annotation by Michael Apostolis, one of the copyists of Ma (see Stefec 2014, 195). Unsurprisingly, this manuscript belonged to the library of Cardinal BessarionBessarion, of whom Apostolis was a protégé. In 1468 the cardinal, after some negotiations with Paolo Morosini, the cardinal donated his entire library to the Republic of Venice, which eventually made it the core collection of the future Biblioteca Marciana (or Bibliotheca sancti Marci); see Labowski (1979, 3–38); M. Zorzi (1987).