St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 912
Lowe Elias Avery, Codices Latini Antiquiores. A palaeographical guide to latin manuscripts prior to the ninth century. Part VII: Switzerland, Oxford 1956 (Osnabrück 1982), p. 36-39.
Titre du manuscrit: Glossarium 'Abba, Abavus'.
Période: Saec. VII-VIII.
Volume:
Foll. 158
Format: ca. 120 x ca. 90 mm.
Numérotation des pages: Paginated 1-188, 191-224, 227-320.
Composition des cahiers: Gatherings usually of eight, unsigned.
Mise en page:
(70-85 x 65-70 mm.) in two columns (i.e. lemmata and glosses) of 12-19 lines. Ruling before folding, on the flesh- or hair-side, several bifolia at a time. Single or double bounding lines. Prickings in the outer margin guided the ruling.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Uncial
- Colophon on p. 320 and first line on p. 4 are in poor Rustic capitals in black; other opening lines in red Rustic capitals or uncial.
- Run-overs are set off by a dotted or wavy line, or descend letter by letter in a file, or are set in the middle of the lower margin in the form of a triangle.
- Abbreviations include the Insular symbols Ɔ (and also Ꜿ = con; ł p̅ (p. 279) = interpretatur; Ɋ̸ = quia ; and the common forms B‧, Ɋ‧ = bus, que; = est; Lˢ, Mˢ, Nˢ, Tˢ = lus, mus, nus, tus; Ꝑ, P̅, Ꝓ, P̅P̅ = per, prae, pro, propter; Ɋˢ, Ɋ̍, Ɋð = quae, qui, quod; R̷ = rum; U̅ = uel; also F̅ = fre (doubtless by analogy with P̅ = pre). Omitted M and N, even in mid-line, are marked by a honzontal stroke or flourish.
- Spelling faulty, with confusion of ae and e, e and i, o and u, b and u, and d and t, and wrong aspiration.
- Ink grey. Script, by several scribes, is a late, rather pointed uncial; the sloping form it occasionally assumes in both text and marginalia (pp. 13, 27, 204) illustrates the declining stage of the script: half-uncial a: occurs here and there; the second upright of N is often comma-shaped; X often has the lower left branch sweeping below the line and ending in a curve to the right, as in the Edictum Rothari (see our No. 949); a curious North Italian cursive minuscule with many ligatures is used on p. 201. Additions by various eighth-century hands in uncial or mixed uncial and minuscule.
Décoration: A portrait of a bearded grammarian set in a crudely decorated frame, the whole touched with black and red, stands on p. 3; a similar crude frame stands on the last page of text (p. 320).
Sommaire:
Palimpsest for the most part, secondary script; the volume contains 6 primary scripts, with 2 (enclosed in parentheses in the following list) in whole or part double palimpsests, so that there are 8 lower scripts in all:
- (1) , uncial saec. VII ex., pp. 13-20, 47/48 (these leaves are all ter scripti and contain in the lowermost script
- (2) an unidentified medical text, uncial saec. VII);
- (3) Psalmi, uncial and half-uncial saec. V ex., pp. 21-24, 27-30, 33-40, 41/42?, 45/46?, 49-68, 71-82, 85-188, 191-224, 227-256, 261-270, 279-282;
- (4) Hieremias versionis ante hieronymianae, uncial saec. V, pp. 25/26, 31/32, 69/70, 83/84, (271-278 -ter scripti, lowermost script; for intermediate script, see below), 303/304, 309/310;
- (5) rough draft of the Glossary, uncial and cursive minuscule saec. VII-VIII, pp. 271-278;
- (6) Recepta gynaecologica, cursive minuscule saec. V-VI, pp. 43/44, 283-298, 301/302, 305-308, 311/312, 315-318;
- (7) , Rustic capitals saec. V, pp. 299/300, 313/314;
- (8) an unidentified text, uncial saec. V, pp. 319/320.
Origine du manuscrit:
Written no doubt in North Italy, manifestly in a centre where many ancient texts existed. Was already in some Swiss centre by saec. VIII-IX, to judge by the restorations of that date (see next item).
Titre du manuscrit: Glossarium 'Abba, Abavus'.
Période: Saec. VIII-IX.
Support: Vellum of fair quality.
Volume:
Two folios, paginated 189/190 and 225/226, a restoration of lost leaves of the Glossary in uncial saec. VII-VIII described in the preceding item;
Format: ca. 120 x ca. 90 mm.
Mise en page:
(85-90 x ca. 80 mm.) in 15 long lines.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Mixed Uncial
- Punctuation: both the medial point and semicolon occur.
- Abbreviations include ē = est; p̅ = prae; qđ = quod; ʅ̴ = tur.
- Ink black. Script is imitation uncial mixed with early minuscule, written by the first scribe of St. Gall MS. 229 (our No. 932), whose chapter-headings are in the same type of uncial: ꞇ has two forms; the nt ligature is found in mid-word.
Origine du manuscrit: Written in the same Swiss scriptorium that produced St. Gall 229 (our No. 932).
Titre du manuscrit:
, Ars minor (fragm.).
Période: Saec. VII ex.
Volume:
Three folios survive, badly trimmed: 2 now turned sideways and folded so as to form the bifolia paginated 13/14 +19/20 and 15/16 +17/18, and one now turned upside down and forming pp. 47/48.
Format: Present maximum size ca. 180 x ca. 120 mm., estimated original size ca. 260 x ca. 160 mm.
Mise en page:
(written area exceeds 180 x ca. 115 mm.) normally in 30, occasionally in 34 long lines. Ruling on the flesh-side, but the lines were not followed.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Uncial
- Double palimpsest, intermediate script (for the uppermost script containing a Glossary in uncial saec. VII-VIII, see No. 967a; for the lowermost script, an unidentified medical text in uncial saec. VII, see next item).
- Punctuation: a pause apparently marked by a flourish (p. 13).
- Abbreviations seen are confined to recurrent grammatical terms.
- Spelling shows occasional confusion of e and i, o and u (‘signeficans’, ‘nomerus’).
- Script is an ungainly, coarse uncial, interspersed here and there with minuscule b, d, and r: A has an oval-like bow, often raised above the base-line; the oblique of N is thin.
Origine du manuscrit: Written in Italy, to judge by the script. Rewritten in North Italy with a Glossary in uncial saec. VII-VIII. For later history, see No. 967a.
Titre du manuscrit: Opus Argumenti Medici.
Période: Saec. VII.
Volume:
Parts of three folios survive (halves of two folios and about a quarter of another), now forming the bifolia paginated 13/14 +19/20 and 15/16 +17/18, and the single folio pp. 47/48; each original folio was presumably folded in two to form a bifolium of the Donatus manuscript, some folios of which were again folded in two for rewriting with the Glossary.
Format: Size of largest surviving fragment ca. 120 x ca. 180 mm., estimated original size ca. 320 x ca. 260 mm.
Mise en page:
(width of written space ca. 175 mm.) in long lines, of which 12 survive. Ruling before folding, apparently on the hair-side. Slits slightly inside the written space guided the ruling.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Uncial
- Double palimpsest, lowermost script (for the intermediate script, containing in uncial saec. VII ex., see preceding item; for the uppermost script, containing a Glossary in unciaI saec. VII- VIII, see No. 967a).
- The lowermost script runs parallel to the uppermost, except on pp. 47/48 where it runs at right angles.
- Script, visible only where ink has been chemically revived, is a bold, heavy uncial. The words ‘spissus rauc[us] que’ (visible on p. 13) and ‘trociscum’ (p. 48) suggest a medical or pharmaceutical text.
Origine du manuscrit: Written apparently in Italy. Rewritten there with Donatus saec. VII ex. and again in North Italy with a Glossary saec. VII-VIII. For later history, see No. 967a.
Unité codicologique:
970.
(pp. 21-24, 27-30, 33-40, 41/42?, 45/46?, 49-68, 71-82, 85-188, 191-224, 227-256, 261-270, 279-282).
Titre du manuscrit: Psalmi (fragm.).
Période: Saec. V ex.
Support: Parchment markedly yellowish on the hair-side.
Volume:
Fifty-nine folios (possibly 61) survive, each now turned sideways and folded in two to form a bifolium of the present Glossary, with the exception of the folios paginated 161/162, 199/200, and 227/228, each of which constitutes only one half of a Psalter folio, and the 2 single folios paginated 41/42 and 45/46 which are included here conjecturally.
Format: Leaves now cut down to ca. 190 x ca. 120 mm.
Composition des cahiers:
Gatherings usually of eight, with flesh-side outside, signed with Roman numerals in the lower right-hand corner of the last page.
Mise en page:
(165 x ca. 115 mm.) in 23 long lines. Ruling on the flesh-side, before folding. Single bounding lines. Prickings to guide ruling run far inside the written space-a sign of antiquity.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Uncial and Half-Uncial
- Palimpsest, primary script (for the secondary script, containing a Glossary in uncial saec. VII-VIII, see No. 967a; p. 196 has no secondary script).
- No running titles. No punctuation, as the text is written verse by verse; occasionally a medial point or flourish occurs at the end of a verse.
- Abbreviations are confined to the normal forms of Nomina Sacra: ꝹN̅S, ꝹN̅I, ꝹS̅, ꝹI̅, SC̅S, SC̅I = dominus, -i, deus, -i, sanctus, -i; once N̅ for nostri (coming after ꝹI). Omitted M and N, at line-end only, are marked by a horizontal flourish above the vowel. Spelling: ‘strahel’ (for israel).
- Ink now greyish-yellow. Script is mostly a bold, well-formed uncial not quite of the very oldest type: the bow of A is a thin oval; the upright of R goes below the line and the final stroke is almost horizontal; the half-uncial, seen only on pp. 192, 197, and 228, is expert and beautiful and retains such cursive features as the use of i-Ionga between two vowels and when preceded by r and t-a sign of antiquity-and of various ligatures with e and t; the oblique of N sags; the bow of q is a long horizontal oval; ɼ is short.
Origine du manuscrit: Written apparently in North Italy, to judge by the script. Rewritten saec. VII-VIII also in North Italy. For later history, see our No. 967a.
Titre du manuscrit: Hieremias Versionis Antehieronymianae (Capp. XVII. 10-17; XVII. 26-XVIII. 1; etc.).
Période: Saec. V.
Support: Parchment of fair quality, but not very thin.
Volume:
Five folios survive, including 2 (now paginated 271-278) previously unidentified whose traces of script, width of written space, and prickings show them also to be part of the Jeremiah text;
Format: Cut down to ca. 180 x ca. 120 mm., calculated original size ca. 192 x ca. 180 mm.
Composition des cahiers: each folio is now turned sideways and folded in two to form a bifolium of the present manuscript.
Mise en page:
(ca. 145 x 105 mm.) in 15 long lines. Ruling on the flesh-side, presumably before folding. Single bounding lines. Prickings to guide ruling run inside the written arca near the bounding line.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Uncial
- Palimpsest-in part double-, primary script (for the intermediate script found only on pp. 271-278, see next item ; for the secondary script, see No. 967a).
- Punctuation: the main pause is marked by a medial point occasionally followed by a blank the width of one letter, lesser pauses are marked by the medial point alone.
- Abbreviations: Ꝺ̅E (the older form) = domine. A considerably larger letter begins each page.
- Ink shows pale brown traces. Script is a bold and stately uncial of the, oldest type.
Origine du manuscrit: Written in Italy, to judge by the script. The surviving leaves were washed off and used in North Italy saec. VII-VIII for writing a Glossary (our No. 967a); an earlier rough draft of this Glossary is seen on two folios (our No. 972). For later history, see No. 967a.
Titre du manuscrit: Glossarium 'Abba, Abavus' (fragm.).
Période: Saec. VII-VIII.
Format: Present measurements ca. 185 x 120 mm., with the written area trimmed on all sides.
Composition des cahiers: Two folios survive, folded so as to form 2 bifolia in the present manuscript, the lines running at right angles to the uppermost script.
Mise en page:
In two columns, divided by an irregular line, of a varying number of lines, of which 20-25 survive. Written without ruling.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Uncial and Minuscule
- Double palimpsest, intermediate script (for the lowermost script, containing Hieremias in a pre-Vulgate version in uncial saec. V, see No. 971; for the uppermost script, containing this same Glossary in uncial saec. VII-VIII, see No. 967a).
- The abbreviation ꝓ (or more likely ꝑ) for post occurs on p. 277; it was misinterpreted by the copyist as 'per'.
- Ink greyish-brown. Script is in part uncial, in part minuscule showing cursive features: the shoulder of minuscule r often extends over the following letter.
Origine du manuscrit: Written presumably in North Italy, since this rough draft doubtless originated in the same scriptorium where the final copy of the Glossary was made. For later history, see No. 967a.
Titre du manuscrit: Recepta Gynaecologica (fragm.).
Période: Saec. V-VI.
Volume:
Parts of 14 folios survive, forming 15 folios of the Glossary
Format: Original width of folios exceeds 120 mm.
Composition des cahiers: 1 original folio seems to have been turned sideways and folded in two to form the present pp. 301/302 +311/312; 4 original bifolia were cut down to form pp. 283-298; the primary script in the remaining folios sometimes runs at right angles to the secondary script (for pp. 319/320 which have been alleged to belong here, see No. 975).
Mise en page:
(width of written area ca. 90 mm.) in long lines of which 12 survive. No ruling discernible. Prickings are inside the written area-a sign of antiquity.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Cursive Minuscule
- Palimpsest, primary script (for the secondary script, containing a Glossary in uncial saec. VII-VIII, see No. 967a).
- Spelling: b occurs constantly for consonantal u: ‘bocant’, ‘beluti’, ‘cerbina’, etc.
- Ink now pale brown. Script is an expert, rapid cursive minuscule of very old type: the uncial form of N is still used and its oblique sags; i-longa occurs after r and t-an ancient practice; some ascenders are looped; a more cursive entry in grey ink is seen in the upper margin of p. 284.
Origine du manuscrit: Written in Italy and probably in the North, to judge by the script. Rewritten in North Italy with a Glossary saec. VII-VIII. For later history, see No. 967a.
Titre du manuscrit:
, Heauton Timoroumenos (IV. viii. 17-23; V. i. 1-5).
Période: Saec. V.
Support: Parchment not at all thin or fine, now much disfigured by reagent.
Format: Size of extant leaf ca. 120 x ca.
150 mm., estimated original size ca. 260 x ca. 240 mm.
Composition des cahiers: One folio, of which only the upper half survives, now folded vertically so as to form a bifolium of which pp. 300+313 are the original recto and pp. 299+314 the original verso.
Mise en page:
(calculated ca. 150 x 180 mm. -the square format being an ancient feature) in 18 or 19 long lines, of which 7 survive on the best page. Ruling on the flesh-side.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Rustic Capital
- Palimpsest, primary script (for the secondary script, containing a Glossary in uncial saec. VII-VIII, see No. 967a).
- The single abbreviation seen is Q‧ for que.
- Ink scaled off on flesh-side. Script is a bold Rustic capital, not of the oldest type: V approaches the uncial form.
Origine du manuscrit: Origin uncertain, presumably Italy. Rewritten in North Italy with a Glossary saec. VII-VIII. For later history, see No. 967a.
Titre du manuscrit: Textus Argumenti Incerti (fragm.).
Période: Saec. V.
Support: Parchment rather fine.
Volume:
Part of one leaf survives.
Format: It now measures 90 x 115 mm.
Mise en page:
(width of written area exceeds 115 mm.); text is in long lines. Prickings are inside the written space-an ancient practice-and at least 15 of them are seen.
Type d'écritures et copistes: Uncial
- Palimpsest, primary script (for the secondary script, containing the end of a Glossary in uncial saec. VII-VIII, see No. 967a).
- Script is a small neat uncial of an early type.
- No traces of ink remain, but letters along the margin are clearly discernible if light is thrown at a certain angle.
- One can still make out the beginnings of lines in the lower margin of p. 319: ... ATIO, ... MISSIQ, FLES, DEM, DE CR, ATRIUMP, ... GRATUS.
Origine du manuscrit: Origin uncertain. Rewritten with a Glossary in North Italian uncial saec. VII-VIII. For later history, see No. 967a.