Parisinus Coislinianus 345 – C

Previous descriptions: Devreesse (1945, 329–30); Hansen (1998, 14); Cunningham (2003, 16–8); Bonelli (2007, 9–12); Valente (2008); Valente (2012, 20–31); Valente (2015, 6–12). See also de Leeuw (2000).

Reproductions: Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Family: –

Siglum: C

Shelfmark: Parisinus Coislinianus 345

Date: last decades of 10th century.

Format: parchment, 236×165 mm, ff. 272.

Material: a detailed description of the material and its state of preservation can be found in Valente (2008, 153–7). It should be noted that ff. 1r and 272v are damaged and the text is difficult to read.

Binding: not original.

Watermarks: none.

Scribes: the entire manuscript was written by a single scribe (a); on this hand see Valente (2008, 166–72). Two later hands appear in the manuscript: one (b) dated to the 14th century, who wrote ff. 223r–224v and 272v, some marginal notes on the Synagoge, see e.g. ff. 65v, 67r, etc., and perhaps the mutilated note on f. 1r (Valente 2008, 172–3). The other later hand (c; 16th century according to Devreesse 1945, 330), whose orthography appears very untidy, inserted lexicographic material in the margins: it cannot be ruled out that this was the hand of the hieromonk Klimax, who also wrote the note on f. 213v (see Valente 2008, 173–4).

Annotations: (f. 1r) ]νοντες τῶν ταύτην προσενεγκότων (sic) τῇ ἁγίᾳ λαύρᾳ τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἀθανασίου (see below C. History, and de Leeuw 2000, 60); (f. 213v) a long, striking note in red ink and majuscule script by the hieromonk Klimax (transcription in de Leeuw 2000, 61–2).

1 (ff. 1r–46v) Apollonius Sophista, Lexicon Homericum. Title: Ἀπολλωνίου Σοφιστοῦ λέξικον κατὰ στοιχεῖον τῆς τε Ἰλιάδος καὶ Ὀδυσσείας. Edited in Bekker (1833); sole witness.

2 (ff. 47r–64r) Phrynichus, Praeparatio sophistica (see entry Phrynichus Atticista, Σοφιστικὴ προπαρασκευή (Praeparatio sophistica)). Title: ἐκ τῶν τοῦ Φρυνίχου τοῦ Ἀρραβίου (sic) τῆς σοφιστικῆς προπαρασκευῆς. As the title indicates, this is an epitome – but one might also call it a collection of excerpts – of the Praeparatio sophistica. Edited in de Borries (1911, 1–129); sole witness. See Favi (forthcoming) and Cavarzeran (forthcoming).

3 (ff. 64v–149r) Synagoge. Title: συναγωγὴ λέξεων χρησίμων ἐκ διαφόρων σοφῶν τε καὶ ῥητόρων πολλῶν. Edited in Cunningham (2003); manuscript B. This witness of the Synagoge is important because it is the only one that preserves an expanded redaction of the letter α (see Cunningham 2003, 13–42).

4 (f. 149v) Two glosses (ἐφούθ and δηλοῖ) to 4Re. See Valente (2008, 159 n. 34).

5 (ff. 150r–156r) Timaeus Sophista, Lexicon vocum Platonicarum. Title: Τιμαίου Σοφιστοῦ ἐκ τῶν τοῦ Πλάτωνος λέξεων. Edited in Valente (2012, 92–215); sole witness.

6 (ff. 156r–165v) <Antiatticista>. Title: ἄλλος ἀλφάβητος. Edited in Valente (2015); sole witness.

7 (ff. 165v–167v) Glossae in Herodotum. Title: Ἠροδότου (sic) λέξεις. Edited in Stein (1869–1871 vol. 2); manuscript A and B.

8 (ff. 167v–175v) Moeris, Lexicon. Title: Μοίριδος ἀττικιστοῦ. Edited in Hansen (1998); manuscript C. See entry Moeris, Ἀττικιστής.

9 (ff. 175v–178v) A lexicon on juridical and administrative words. Title: δικῶν ὀνόματα κατὰ ἀλφάβητον. Incipit: ἀποπομπεῖα· ἀργυρᾶ καὶ χρυσᾶ ποτήρια. Explicit: ὅτι ἀδίκως καταμαρτυροῦνται. Edited in Bekker (1814, 181–94); sole witness.

10 (ff. 178v–186r) Extracts from Arethas’ scholia to Lucian. Title: συναγωγὴ λέξεων χρησίμων ἐκ τῶν τοῦ Λουκιανοῦ. Edited in Bachmann (1828 vol. 2, 319–48) and used by Rabe (1906) in his edition of the scholia.

11 (ff. 186v–213v) Title: λέξεις ῥητορικαί; better known as lexicon Bk^V. Edited in Bekker (1814–1821 vol. 1, 195–318); sole witness.

12 (ff. 214r–223r) Lexicon to the Bible. No title. For a detailed study and further bibliography, see Valente (2008, 160–1). Not yet published in full.

ff. 223v–224v were left blank: a later hand (14th century) wrote a table to calculate the date of the Easter on f. 223v (Devreesse 1945, 330), while on f. 224 there are some attempts to calculate it (Valente 2008, 161). On f. 224v there is a lexicon on the definition of the human ages (title: αἱ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μεθηλικιώσεις) in Hippocrates (Ἱπποκράτ⁽⁾) and in Plato (κατὰ τὸν Πλάτωνα).

13 (ff. 225r–253r) Lycophro’s Alexandra with paraphrases arranged as a glossary (Leone 2002, VIII). Title: λέξεις Ἀλεξάνδρας Λυκόφρονος καὶ ὑπόθεσις. Included in the edition by Leone (2002).

14 (ff. 253v–256r) Title: λεξικὸν τῆς γραμματικῆς. Incipit: ὁπηνίκα· ὁπότ’ ἄν. Explicit: νηλέα· ἀνηλεῆ. Edited in Bachmann (1828 vol. 1, 425–50); sole witness.

15 (ff. 256v–257r) Title: λέξεις ἐγκείμεναι τοῖς κανόσι κατὰ στοιχεῖον τῆς Χριστοῦ γεννήσεως τῶν φώτων καὶ τῆς πεντεκοστῆς. Edited in De Stefani (1907, 58–66).

16 (ff. 257v–269r) Title: περὶ συντάξεως· ποῖα τῶν ῥημάτων γενικῇ καὶ δοτικῇ καὶ αἰτιατικῇ συντάσσονται. Incipit: ἀντιλαμβάνομαι γενικῇ· Δημοσθένης ἐν α´ τῶν Ὀλυνθιακῶν. Explicit: ὠνεῖται τὰ γ´ βιβλία τῆς τιμῆς τῶν ἐννέα. As noted by Valente (2008, 162), περὶ συντάξεως is written in the upper left margin of f. 257v and may refer to the content of the entire last section of the manuscript (ff. 257v–272v). Edited in Bekker (1814–1821 vol. 1, 117–80); sole witness.

17 (ff. 269v–271r) Title: ἕτερος ἀλφάβητος ὅπως συντάσσεσθαι δεῖ τὰ ῥήματα. Incipit: ἀναγκάζω σε· ἀναλίσκω σε. Explicit: ὠφελῶ σε· ὤθω (sic) σε. Edited in Bachmann (1828 vol. 2, 304–10); sole witness.

18 (ff. 271r–272r) Title: πῶς δεῖ κλίνειν εἰς τοὺς παρατατικοὺς τὰ ὑποτεταγμένα ῥήματα. Incipit: ἐμπειρῶ ἠμπείρουν καὶ ἐνεπείρουν. Explicit: συντασσόμενα μετὰ τῆς ὑπὸ προθέσεως. Edited in Bachmann (1828, 310–3); sole witness.

19 (f. 272r) Title: περὶ συντάξεων τῶν ὀνομάτων (to be read ῥημάτων, see Bachmann 1828 vol. 2, 313). Incipit: τὰ ἔχοντα πάθους γενικῇ. Explicit: οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ βλέπουσιν. Edited in Bachmann (1828 vol. 2, 313–4); sole witness.

20 (f. 272r–v) Title: περὶ τῆς καθόλου τῶν ὀνομάτων (to be read ῥημάτων, see Bachmann 1828 vol. 2, 314) συντάξεως. Incipit: τὰ κατ’ ἐπικράτειαν λεγόμενα. Explicit: ὑποτακτικοῖς καὶ εὐκτικοῖς συντάσσονται. Edited in Bachmann (1828 vol. 2, 314–5); sold witness. In the lower part of f. 272v, left blank, a later hand wrote a text (perhaps some glosses) which is now so faded that it is very difficult to read.

Coislinianus 345, dated to the last decades of the 10th century, is one of the most important witnesses to Greek lexicography, a manuscript consistently conceived from the outset as a lexicographical miscellany. Despite its utmost importance to scholars (as the sole witness to many works), it is not a finely crafted artifact, neither in its material aspects nor in its use of a cursive-like script (see Valente 2008, 153–7, 177–8). It is therefore possible to hypothesise that it was a copy intended for private use and that the user was also the scribe a (see Valente 2008, 177–8). The place where the manuscript was prepared and written is difficult to determine with certainty; however, there is considerable agreement among scholars, albeit based on different considerations, in identifying Constantinople as its place of origin (Kougeas 1913, 64–72; de Leeuw 2000, 58–9; Valente 2008, 176–7).

The theory proposed by Kougeas (1913, 64–72), which links the manuscript to ArethasArethas of Caesarea, Bishop of Caesarea, was supported by Alpers (1971, 82) but later rejected by Wilson (1983, 127–8). On the other hand, de Leeuw (200, 58–9) hypothesised, on a codicological basis, that the Coislinianus may have originated in the monastery of StoudiosStoudios Monastery (Constantinople). Whatever its origin, it seems certain (see the note on f. 1r) that the manuscript was kept for some time – probably as early as the 14th century – in the monastery of Megisti LavraMegisti Lavra (Mount Athos) on Mount Athos. We do not know whether it was still stored there when the hieromonk KlimaxKlimax, around the 16th century (Devreesse 1945, 330), wrote an ownership note in red ink (edited in de Leeuw 2000) on f. 213v, which is now partially faded. His Greek sometimes shows demotic features (see, for example, the final -ν in the accusative κλίμακαν on l. 18, the omission of the nasal in συγχωρέω on ll. 15 and 17, or the νά on l. 17) and contains many orthographic errors. In this lengthy note, he states that he is the owner of this manuscript ([Κλίμαξ] ἱἐρομόμαχως τἔθητὲ ἐν τῇ β[±5]τη), which he briefly describes; after his death, he wishes it to be entrusted to his brother monk Ἰωάννης in the monastery of Saint Paul, also on Mount Athos. Along with this name, there was probably a second person mentioned on the line: ιω(άννην) κ[αὶ] τῶν κα[±2]κον ἐῖϲ των αγϊον παύλον; de Leeuw (2000, 63) suggests an emendation to καθολικόν, while acknowledging that such a religious figure did not exist on Mount Athos. There is no reason to believe that this wish was not fulfilled and that the manuscript remained in the monastery of Saint PaulSaint Paul Monastery (Mount Athos) until more recent times, if not until it was purchased by Athanasius RhetorAthanasius Rhetor (1571–1663) on behalf of Pierre SéguierPierre Séguier (Devresse 1945, VI–VII) between 1643 and 1653, when he was sent to Greece. Athanasius (on his life see O’Meara 1977), born in Cyprus, had published several philosophical works in France at the time and was very interested in alchemy, a discipline he studied during his travels in the East. From this moment onward, the path that led the manuscript to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is well-documented: it was owned by Pierre Séguier, then inherited, along with the entire library of Séguier, by his nephew Henri-Charles du CamboutHenri-Charles du Cambou, Duke of Coislin (1664–1762). After his death, his library was donated to the monastery of Saint GermainSaint Germain Monastery (Paris) in Paris, which acquired it on 9 January 1735. There it remained until 1795/1796, when it was moved to the Bibliothèque Nationale along with the entire manuscript collection of the Benedictine monastery (see Devreesse 1945, IX–XIV).