Egerton MS 2976

MACROBIUS, " Commentarii in somnium Scipionis," preceded by the text of the work itself, the heading to which is " Sonnium Publii Scipionis Affricani a Marco Tullio Cycerone descriptum et a Macrobio Ambrosio expositum." Heading to the commentary: " Macrobii Ambrosii Theodosii u.c. et ill. commenta ex Cicero[n]is (sic) in somnivm Scipionis." Glosses and notes both between the lines and in the margins by a contemporary hand, which has corrected the whole text. As corrected the text seems fairly good; it shows some affinity with Janus's R I and R 2, but also with S, which Janus regards as derived from a corrected copy, and there are many readings not recorded by him. The colophon at the end of book 1 (f. 50), " Aur. Memm. Symmacus u.c. em[e]ndabam uel distinsi mevm Ravennæ cvm Macrobio Platino (sic) Evdoxio v.c. Macrobii Ambrosii Theodosii v.c. et inl. de sonnio Scipionis liber primus explicit," allies it with the group R 2 P 1 P 4 S (see L. Janus, Macrobii Ambrosii Theodosii . . . Opera, i, p. lxxix). Numerous diagrams in the margins ; an Italian hand of the 15th cent. has added marginal notes and inserted in the text of the Somnium references to the commentary. The same hand may be responsible for a numeration in Arabic numerals of the leaves of the commentary. The text of the Somnium is preceded by (a) under a drawing of a mounted knight in coat of chain-mail coloured green, an account of Macrobius and his work, beg. " Macrobius orinicretes. hoc est somniorum iudex," ends " inscribendo huic libello," different from that quoted by Janus from C. f. 1 ;-

(b) " Alfabetvm Grecorvm " ; the Greek alphabet with names of the letters and Roman equivalents (see Bodl. Quart., iii, pp. 68-70, 95-96), followed by " Diptongi Grecorvm " and " Articuli Grecorvm," a conjugation of the definite article equated with hic. f. 1 b ;-

(c) a tree of consanguinity in the form of two circles enclosing crosses, with further circles and lozenges at the sides enclosing papal and other decisions, viz. : Calixtus [I], " Consanguineos dicimus " (an abbreviated extract from Calixtus, Ep. ad omn. Gall. episc., Migne, Patr.. Lat. cxxx.

134 B--C; cf. also Gratian, in Corpus Iuris Canonici, ed. Lips. secunda, i. 1264, c. ii) ; Julius [I], " Equaliter uir coniungatur " (C.I.C. i. 1267, c. xiii) ; Nicolas [I], " Interrogati statuimus " (abbreviated extract from ep. xxvi, Migne, Patr.. Lat. cix, 810 A-B, Jaffé 2709) Gregory [I], " Michi omnis Romana ciuitas " (C.I.C. i. 1269, c. xx) Gregory, " Progeniem suam " (C.I.C. i. 1267, C. xvi), i.e. Gregory III, ep. i, Migne, Patr. Lat. lxxxix, 577 D (Jaffé 2239) and Gregory II, ep. xiv, Migne, ib. 524 D (Jaffé 2174) ; Isidore, " Series humani generis " (C.I.C. i. 1271, c. 1). Enclosing the two circles and the two side lozenges are explanatory couplets, viz. At the top "Progenitvs qva sit vel ab ipso qve fore possit Sorte parentele valet istic qvisque videre" at the bottom "Infra maternvm genvs est svpraque paternum, Nominibvs variis distant tamen ordine nvllo" on the right " Sex patet esse gradvs miro discrimine ivnctos Vt liceat nvlli proprio cvm sangvine ivngi" on the left " Hvmani generis medii de limine finis Vt liceat nulli proprio cvm sanguine iungi."

f. 2 ;-

(d) outline drawing of Scipio Africanus and Masinissa, under a colonnade, f. 2 b. Before the commentary (f. 8 b) is (e) a drawing of Macrobius presenting the work to his son Eustachius; and at the end (f. 77 b) is (f) a table of the Latin numerals (cardinal, ordinal, distributive, adverbial, weights). Vellum; ff. iv + 77. 9 1/4 in. x 5 1/2 in. Sec. fol. of text " Tu eris." Circ. 1100 ; probably written in Italy. Gatherings of 8 leaves (last⁴), each numbered at the foot of the last page. Initials in animal forms coloured red, blue and green. The diagrams are also coloured. Thirty lines to the page in the Commentary ; 27 or 28 in the Somnium. Colophon on f. 77: " Explicit somnium Scipionis quod Macrobius exponens ad Eustachium filium suum duos libros edidit, in quibus subtiliter disseruit de bono senectutis et de natura anime uiciisque eius ac uirtutibus, de diuersitatibus etiam et nominibus somniorum, necnon et de natura numerorum et diuisione, de sideribus quoque et stellis, de numero et magnitudine celestium circulorum, de positione ac magnitudine celi ac terre, de magnitudine et defectu neenon et cursu solis ac lune, de .vii. planetis, et de armonia celi." Binding (15th cent.) of beech boards, re-covered, 18th cent., with brown leather, upon which the original brown leather covers, consisting of a blind-tooled panel with gilt pellets, are fixed. On f. 3, in an Italian hand of the 15th cent., the title " Marci Tulii Ciceronis Arpinatis Romani Floris Elloquii Scipionis Somnium Incipit " and " Versus Francissci Petrarce laureati," viz.: "Somnia narantem celum stellasque docentem Intentis spectate occulis, Spaciumque profundi Tellurisque situm, quamue arcta est gloria mundi, Corporis ocasus, animumque excelsa petentem."

On f. 77 b an erased note of ownership, which appears to read " Iste liber est fratris . . . . . ordinis fratrum predicatorum " (15th cent. ?), and on f. iv b the entry " Ad Vsum Francisci Blasii Pro Serenissimo Dominio Veneto Cohortium Ductoris in Cypro " (16th cent.). On f.i a note on the MS. by [the Rev.] H[enry Joseph Thomas] Drury (sale-cat., 13 Mar. 1827, lot 2797). It afterwards belonged to Sir Thomas Phillipps, Phillipps MS. 3362 (sale-cat., 9 June 1899, lot 841). On f. i are also, in pencil, the initials of G[eorgel D[unn], June 1899, and his book-label appears below (sale-cat., 2 7 Nov. 1917, lot 3413).