On a Marginal Note in the compendium of classical Greek authors
Working through the compendium of classical Greek authors in the present quarter, Br. Theognostus encountered at f. lxxxvii r a marginal note left by an earlier hand. The note is here transcribed and briefly discussed; further investigation is welcomed but not, on present resources, planned.
The present marginalium is unusual chiefly for its self-awareness; the scribe knows that what is written here will be read by another scribe, who is the chief audience for such asides. The reader at home is at best a third party.
The hand here is upright minuscule of the early-thirteenth-century convention, with the characteristic narrow minim-pair and the slightly hooked uncial m. The ink, examined under low magnification, shows small bubbles, suggesting the scribe blew on the surface; we infer either a freshly-cut calamus or a second hand returning to the line, with the corrector preferring the latter.
Notes
- The relevant exemplar is in the closed press; consultation is by appointment.
- The brazier coals were cold by the third draft; the brazier itself is in fine condition.
- The pigment dish was rinsed twice between examinations.
- We have declined to date the second hand on present evidence.
Other Hands
Annotations by other scribes, in the order in which they were entered into the margins.