Matritensis 4625 – E

Previous descriptions: de Andrés (1986, 145–6).

Reproductions: Biblioteca Nacional de España

Family: e / d

Siglum: E

Shelfmark: Matritensis 4625

Date: Third quarter of the 14th century

Format: paper, 218×155 mm, IV + 123 ff.

Material: the paper is stained in many places by moisture. However, the text appears to be complete and fully legible.

Binding: –

Watermarks: Greek cross, Mošin-Traljić 3537 (1311); see de Andrés (1986, 145).

Scribes: A: ff. 2r, 68r l. 14–71v, 122v–123v (on this hand see Mondrain 2007, 194 n. 70; Caballero Sanchez 2018, 109); B: f. 2r (fragment from Apollonius Dyscolus), ff. 2v–49v, 67r l.2–68r l.14, 72r–105v; C: f. 50r–67r l.2, 106r–122r (the same hand wrote ff. 1v–43r and 47r–75v in Parisinus graecus 2549). The hand of Constantinus LascarisConstantinus Lascaris (RGK I 223 = II 313 = III 362) wrote the epigram on f. 1v.

Annotations: on f. 123v Lascaris wrote Κωνσταντίνου Λασκάρεως τοῦ Βυζαντίου κτῆμα ἐν Ῥόδῳ κτηθέν ‘Possession of Constantinus Lascaris of Byzantium, acquired in Rhodes’.

f. 1v: Prefatory EpigramPrefatory epigram (Pollux) in the hand of Constantinus Lascaris.

f. 2r: fragment of <Apollonius Dyscolus, De constructione>. No title. Incipit: τὸν Χρύσην ἠτίμασεν Explicit: ῥημάτων ὑποστελλομένων (GG 2,2.92.3–9).

1 (2r; 68r–71v; 122v–123v) Fragment from Book 2 of <Manuel Bryennius, Harmonica>. No title. Incipit: ὅταν δὲ πάλιν ἡ φωνὴ (132.4). Explicit: παραμέσην κέκτηται (194.13). Edited in Jonker (1970).

2 (ff. 2v–68r; 72r–122r) Pollux, Onomasticon. No title. Incipit: ὦ παῖ πατρὸς ἀγαθοῦ (1.1). Explicit: γαῦλοι καὶ σκαφίδες καί (10.130). Although the text was left incomplete by the copyist (Chapters 130–192 are missing), it nonetheless covers all ten books: 1 (ff. 2v–26v), 2 (ff. 26v–45v), 3 (ff. 45v–53v), 4 (ff. 54r–63v), 5 (ff. 63v–68r; Chapters 37 γενναῖοι κύνες – 75 ὁ Καρπάθιος τὸν λαγών were moved after the end of the book), 6 (ff. 72r–81v), 7 (ff. 81v–89v), 8 (ff. 90r–101v), 9 (ff. 101v–112r), and 10 (ff. 112r–122r).

Manuscript E was written by three scribes in the third quarter of the 14th century. The Onomasticon in E generally belongs to the d family (Bethe’s IV) of the textual tradition, but it is possible to ascertain that, at least in Books 2–4 and 6–7, it was contaminated by a witness belonging to the b (Bethe’s II) or c family (Bethe’s III); the manuscript was nonetheless ignored by Bethe, who assumed that it dated from the 15th century (see Bethe 1900–1937 vol. 1, XII). Constantinus LascarisConstantinus Lascaris acquired this manuscript in Rhodes around 1456, as declared by the notes in his own hand on f. 123v, and provided it on f. 1v with the Prefatory Epigram to Pollux’s work, which he must have found in another source. The humanist then bequeathed the manuscript, along with his entire library, to the city of Messina. Later (after 1674) his collection was transferred to Palermo and finally to Madrid (1712–1713). It must be stressed that E seems to have quite a number of descendants, since Laurentianus plut. 28.32Laur. plut. 28.32 (Fl), Laurentianus plut. 58.1Laur. plut. 58.1 (Fr), Laurentianus plut. 58.3Laur. plut. 58.3 (Lu), and Marcianus graecus X, 26Marc. gr. X, 26 (Mr) likely descend directly or indirectly from it.