Manuscript, written in Italy, of 'De Lingua Latina' by Varro, containing books v to x.54 (‘contra in eo’).

Item

Identifier: Adv.MS.18.3.15

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Headings in red. Initials of books v, vi, viii, and x have been cut out. Written in a small, round humanistic hand. Greek words are omitted or added by a later hand. What was probably an ownership inscription at the foot of folio 1 has been cut out. On the lower pastedown is written ‘1452 vezudo p(er) mi Zohane de ipescadun [?]’. The same note, dated 1451 or 1452, is found in other manuscripts: Oxford, Bodleian Library, Laud.Lat.48, Add.A2, D’Orville 36 and Canon.Misc.486 (see ‘Catalogue of dated and datable manuscripts c. 435-1600 in Oxford Libraries’, numbers 582, 820, 435, 361) and Vatican Library, Vat.Lat.3869 (see ‘La lectura Terentii’, volume 1, page 436); and similar ones are also found (see ‘The Italian manuscripts in the Library of Major J R Abbey’, page 98).

Dates

Creation: Mid-fifteenth century; before 1452.

Extent

1 Volumes (58 folios.)

Language of Materials

Latin

Additional Description

Arrangement

Collation 1-5¹⁰, 6¹⁰ (-6⁹⁻¹⁰). Signatures (a 1-10, b 1-3) for gatherings 1-2. Catchwords by the text-hand in the centre lower margin for gatherings 3-5. Pricking not preserved. Ruling in ink. 1 column. 33 lines. Ruled area 175 x 115 millimetres. Secundo folio: `de vocabulis locorum`.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Vellum (outside and inside sheets of each gathering) and paper (remaining sheets; watermark a ladder, cf. Briquet 5904-5911, central and north Italy, second half of 15th century). Italian binding (probably original) of wooden boards covered in brown calf, tooled blind; remains of two brass and red velvet claps; chain mark; four (out of ten) studs near top of lower cover, for title (110 x 40 millimetres).

Custodial History

There are notes in the hand of Sir James Balfour on folios 7 verso, 8 recto. The manuscript belonged to Sir Robert Sibbald and was sold with his library. Former press-mark: A.7.3. The manuscript was bought by the Advocates’ Library in 1723.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Presented, 1925, by the Faculty of Advocates to the nation on the foundation of the National Library of Scotland.

Bibliography

Varro. `De Lingua Latina`, edited by G Goetz and F Schoell (Leipzig, 1910).

Watson, A G. ‘Catalogue of dated and datable manuscripts c. 435-1600 in Oxford Libraries’ (Oxford, 1984).

Villa, C. ‘Lectura Terentii’, volume 1 (Padova, 1984).

Alexander, J J G, and A C de la Mare. ‘Italian manuscripts in the Library of Major J R Abbey’ (London, 1969).

The manuscript is number 2 in ‘Scottish exhibition, Glasgow 1911, historical catalogue’, page 449.