Anno Mundi MMMMMMMDXXXIV · iv id. Aug. Brother Cyril Homilies of John Chrysostom on Matthew

A Devout Marginalium from Homilies of John Chrysostom on Matthew

"Hand, pen, ink, cat — four are sufficient."

Manus, calami, atramentum, Pangur — quattuor sufficiunt.

Abstract

A small but persistent marginalium at f. cxii r of Homilies of John Chrysostom on Matthew prompts these notes. The annotation, in cinnabar-orange, has been variously read; we present here the lectio of the desk, with such hesitations as the corrector has permitted us to keep.

Context

Marginalia of this kind, while common in Cappadocian scriptoria of the tenth century, have not been adequately collected. Our running census now stands at 452, a number that grows weekly and surprises no one but the corrector.

Paleographic Note

The hand here is upright minuscule of the early-thirteenth-century convention, with the characteristic narrow ligated st and the slightly hooked minim-pair. The ink, examined under low magnification, shows a slight gritty texture consistent with insufficient grinding; we infer either a colder than usual brazier or a draught from the cloister door, with the corrector preferring the latter.

Notes

Vespers interrupted the preparation of this footnote; we resume.
We thank Br. Symeon for the verification, and the Tuesday lapis for its colour.
A second cup was brought by Br. Theognostus; the desk records its thanks.

With thanks to Br. Damianus for the citation, and to the cat for his customary contribution. We retain editorial responsibility. Manus, calami, atramentum, Pangur — quattuor sufficiunt.

Other Hands

Annotations by other scribes, in the order in which they were entered into the margins.

Br. Damianus ad f. cxii r, lin. x

Three of us read this differently; the fourth declined to read at all.
Br. Photios ad f. cxii v, lin. iii

The marginal note is older than the principal text; the implications are not small.
Br. Eustathios ad f. cxii v, lin. x

Br. Br. Theognostus wishes it noted that he disagrees, gently.
Pangur ad f. cxii v, lin. xiii

[a tail-mark, mostly cinnabar; the corrector declines to remark]
Br. Anastasios ad f. cxii r, lin. xxi

The hand is steady here, but the rubric is misaligned by half a line.
Br. Theognostus ad f. cxii v, lin. xviii

I would add only that the cinnabar is thinner than usual.