Glossed manuscript of German provenance, written in or about 1508, of the first part (Epp. 1-88) of Seneca's 'Epistulae Morales'., [Circa 1508.]
Scope and Contents
The text does not seem to belong to any of the better-known groups of manuscripts and contains numerous differences from modern editions. Ep. 53 is placed after 37, 58 after 82, and 59 after 56. Ep. 48 is divided in two at paragraph 6. (This serves to correct the numeration, which is faulty following Ep. 4.) Throughout the text is considerably shortened, and there are numerous variants of vocabulary and word-order. Each letter is preceded by a summary. Ep. 88 is followed by a summary of Ep. 89. Following this is an explicit accompanied by the date 1508, apparently in the same hand.
The initials of Epp. 1-4 are in red, and there is some rubrication in the text of these. The initials of the later letters have not been added. There are numerous interlinear and marginal Latin glosses by the first hand.
Dates
- Creation: [Circa 1508.]
Conditions Governing Access
Normal access conditions apply.
Conditions Governing Use
Normal reproduction conditions apply, subject to any copyright restrictions.
Extent
91 Leaves ; 295 x 220 millimetres.
Language of Materials
From the Series: Undetermined
Arrangement
ii + 89 folios.
Collation: 1¹²(-12), 2⁶(-6), 3- 4¹², 5¹²(-8, 9, 10, 11, 12), 6-8¹², 9⁶.
Single columns of 13-15 lines (text; the summaries are written much more closely). Signatures and catchwords (frequently cropped). Ruled in ink.
Custodial History
The bookplate of Dr Georg F B Kloss is pasted inside the front cover. At the sale of his books by Sotheby and Son, 7 May etc., 1835, this volume was number 4619 (there is a label with this number pasted to the spine; in the catalogue Samuel Leigh Sotheby falsely claimed that this manuscript was entirely in the hand of Philip Melanchthon). Also pasted inside the front cover is a cutting from an unidentified English nineteenth-century sale catalogue, in which the volume was number 315, and pasted to the spine is a label with the number 94 (printed).
Bibliography
Physical Description
Paper (watermark Gothic P). Half calf binding, probably German, circa 1800.
Repository Details
Part of the National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division Repository
Archives and Manuscript Division
National Library of Scotland
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh EH1 1EJ
0131 623 3700
manuscripts@nls.uk