Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale, Ms 222

Composite manual with texts by Bede

Parchment — i + 28 + i fols. — 240 × 194 mm — North-east France — s. IX¹

Support: I^8(-1) (ff.1-7), II¹ (f.8), III⁸ (ff.9-16), IV¹ (f. 17), V⁸⁽⁺³⁾ (ff.18-28). A folium missing after f. 1. Folium 8 was once after f. 17, both single leaves after third quire. Probably during the rebinding f. 18 was attached to the next quire (its strip is visible between ff. 26v and 27r). Folia 27 and 28 are single leaves bound around the last quire (their strips are visible before f. 18r).Foliated in arabic numerals by a modern hand in ink.

Layout: Written in one column; mostly 28 long lines (exception on ff. 9r-v and 10v written in 27 lines; ff. 11r and 14v - 26 lines). Capitalis rustica used for headings - in part one using the same braunish ink as for the text; in part 3 it is in red with yellow (possibly gold) filling colour. Hollow initials, in part 1 left blank or coloured red, in part 2 left blank, and in part 3 executed completely with yellow paint as a background.Layout: The De signis coelis on f. 18 is written in two columns, ca. 38 lines. The layout here is messier, the scribe probably trying to fit the text on the folio, often writing two lines of text on one ruled line.

Hands: Two main hands writing in carolingian minuscule. Hand A wrote part 1 with Bede, DTR; Hand B wrote parts 2 and 3, where one notice also similar initials. In part 2 however the script and rubrication are more hasty. Hand B also wrote the marginal note in part 1, f. 16r. Hand B use complete word-division; ligatures & and e-caudata, st, ct; abbreviations -ur, -m and -n; punctuation: "·" and ";". Hand A writes for the most with word-division; to the abbreviations used by Habd B adds -us; writes sporadic 'N'; punctuation: "·" / ".," / ",¨" and ";".

f. 18r-v crude pen-drawings of the constellation figures. The figures were drawn in the insufficient space left between the chapters, inbetween the two columns, and in the inner and outher margins. The latter are now cut off either completely or in part. On f.19r there is one rota with four semicircles on the rim, which illustrate the first chapter of Bede's DNR and more specifically the expression "quadriformiratione".

Binding: The original wooden boards were removed in 1794. Later in 1825 M. Le Prince rebounded them in green leather.

History: The manuscript was thought to originated from Corbie. According to David Ganz, who studies the manuscripts produced at Corbie, Amien 222 may have been in Corbie in the 9th c., but it was not written there (see Contreni, John J. ‘John Scottus and Bede’. In History and Eschatology in John Scottus Eriugena and His Time. Ed. Michael Dunne and J. J. McEvoy, 91–140 (here p. 97, n. 15). Leuven University Press, 2002. B. Bischoff (Bischoff, Katalog I, p. 14) considered it to be written in North-east Francia in the s. IX^3/3. — Unclear.

Selected bibliography:Bischoff, Katalog I, p. 14. — Borst (1994), p. 158, n. 83. — Contreni, John J. “Bede’s Scientific Works in the Carolingian Age.” In Bède Le Vénérable. Ed. by Stéphane Lebecq, Michel Perrin, and Olivier Szerwiniak, 247–59. Villeneuve d’Ascq: Institut de Recherches Historiques du Septentrion, 2005. . — Coyecque, Ernest. Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France; Départements. Vol. 19. Paris: Plon, 1893, p. 105. — Dell'Era (1979). — Haffner p. 174. — Jones, Charles. “Manuscripts of Bede’s ‘De Natura Rerum.’” Isis 27 (1937): 430–40, p. 431. — Le Bourdellès, Hubert. “La diffusion des Aratea dans la culture du nord-ouest de la France pendant le haut Moyen-Age, et le débat idéologique sur la mythologie d’après un texte inédit.” In L’Art du haut Moyen Age dans le Nord-Ouest de la France: Actes du Colloque de St Riquier (22-24 septembre 1987). Ed. by Dominique Poulan and Michel Perrin, 201–12. Greifswald: Reineke, 1993. — Le Bourdellès (1985). — Jeudy, Colette, and Yves-François Riou. Les manuscrits classiques latins des bibliothèques publiques de France: catalogue. Vol. I. Paris: CNRS, 1989, pp. 33-4. — Contreni, John J. “John Scottus and Bede.” In History and Eschatology in John Scottus Eriugena and His Time: Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference of the Society for the Promotion of Eriugenian Studies, Maynooth and Dublin, August 16-20, 2002. Ed. by Michael Dunne and J. J. McEvoy, 91–140. Leuven University Press, 2002, p. 97. — Sternbilder des Mittelalters, pp. 76, 185-7, Plates 24-25. — Kendall, Calvin B., and Faith Wallis, trans. Bede: On the Nature of Things and on Times. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2010, pp. 39, 44, and 65. — Lipp, Frances. The Carolingian Commentaries on Bede's De natura rerum. Yale University (unpublished dissertation), 1961. — Lippincott, Kristen. Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale, 222.

Part 1

1r-17v Bede. ›Bedae de computo ((added probably later))‹ Acephalous and anourous De temporum ratione (from mid of cap. 6 till mid of cap. 23). die occursum equinoctii et ante triduum hoc est quintodecimo KLdarum earunndem … — (17v) … Est namque aetiam uetus argumentum non solummodo de KLdarum uerum et de quorumlibet inter KLdarum dierum luna uel feria dinoscenda repertum F. 8 displaced, originally following f. 17: (8r:) "aliquanto […] ndum sed maiorum tamen nobis …" so that the logical explicit is on f. 8v: "…& sic ex ordine recurrens luna suam cuique litterae restituit aetatem […]"

(16r) Marginal note taken from Cicero 's Aratea vv. 329-331, 319-328 on the zodiacal signs. primus adest aries obscura lumine labens … — … ex in squamiferi serpentes ludere pisces.

(16r) Nomina feriarum Marginal note continues with a short text on the days of the week named after roman dieties. prima dies phoebi sacrata numine fulget. … — … Emicat alta dies saturno septima summa. Ed. Riese, Anthologia Latina sive Poesis Latinae supplementum, Vol. I, 2. Leipzig: Teubner, 1894 (here p. 38, no. 488).

Part 2

18r-18v De signis caeli(missing cap. 1-16 and 41) Andromeda habet stellas in capite splendidam I … — … et ideo anticanis uocatur eo quod contratia sit ca[ni.] Written by a different but similar hand probably within the same scriptorium. (Very similar initials) Crude drawings of the constellations in the little space left between paragraphs, between the two columns or in the margin where they were partly cut out by later trimming. Dell'Era (1979), pp. 288-296.

Part 3

19r-27r Bede: De natura rerum

(19r) Separate unidentified gloss preceding the DNR: "Astianax astu ciuitas est, Anax uero rex dicitur. Unde astianax illius ciuitatis rex qui fuit iulius… Nutritiua in arboribus. Sensualis in animalibus, intellectualis in hominibus"

(19r) Prolog: ›Versus Bedae presbuter i‹ Naturas rerum uarias labentis et aeui

(19r) List of the chapters in three columns. ›Incipiunt capitula‹ I De quadrifario opere dei | II De mundi formatione … — … LI Diuisio terrae.

(19r-27r) Text: ›De quadriformi ratione operum dei‹ Operatio diuina quae saecula creauit et gubernat quadrifatione non facta sed aeterna sunt … — … atque inde africa a meridie usque ad occidentem protenditur. Initials coloured with yellow; rubrics for the chapters incapitalis rustica in red and yellow.

(19r-26v) Marginal glosses: A. XV KL aprili in prima parte arietis quia aries XXXta partes habet, in VI enim primis partibus totus mundus factus est … — … Dicunt ueraciter ante solistitium XLmo Vto die fieri sine umbra similer post solistitium dicunt uero quod cunctae horę continentes in XC diebus uertuntur ad meridiem. Lipp, Frances R.The Carolingian Commentaries on Bede's 'De Natura Rerum'. Ph.D. dissertation, Yale Univeristy, 1961, pp. 63-67.

Bede.Opera didascalica. Ed. Charles Jones. CCSL, 123 A. Turnhout: Brepols, 1975 (here p. 192-234).

27v Sisebut: Carmen de eclipsibus(vv. 31-44)

(27v) Prolog (?): "Decies octies maior est sol quam terra sicut sisebutus gottorum rex confirmat scribens uersibus heroicis suo magistro sancto isidoro spalense ciuitatis episcopo quare sol ultra terram non tangit lunam quando deficit."

Bis nouies cluiat quam terreus orbis | Non circumcingit terrestres lumine moetas … — … Fratre caret uacuaquę exsanguis deficit horae. In the outer margine list of roman numerals in four columns entitled "Numerus in litteras latinas". Fontaine, J.Isidore de Séville. Traité de la nature; suivi de l'épître en vers du roi Sisebut à Isidore. Bordeaux: Féret et fils, 1960 (here pp. 329-335).

Verse: Bissena mensum uertigine uoluitur annus … — … Personas idus decurrens atque Kalendas This short verse is transmitted in a series of manuscripts; among others inSt. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 250, p. 65, Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek, Aug. 167 (the "karlsruhe Bede"), f. 13v. The latter MS has no Aratea, but it belongs to the same small group of DNR manuscripts (six MS from the 9th c. including Berlin, SBB MS Phill. 1832, and Amiens, BM, MS 222. Ed. Riese, Anthologia Latina sive Poesis Latinae supplementum, Vol. I, 2. Leipzig: Teubner, 1894 (here p. 140, no. 680). PL 94, col. 603 (assigned to Bede).

27v-28r Anonymous text on time: Intuentum quit sit status quid cursus postremo quid finis. Status est natura uel temporum ordo … — … nemo horas et momenta et ceteros temporum articulos distinguet quia omnia praesentia simul. "Intuentum quit sit status quid cursus postremo quid finis. Status est natura uel temporum ordo qui in se (?) semper per acto naturali circulo reuertitur ut partes in horam, horę in diem, dies in mensem, [m] enses in annum, anni in lunares solaresque circulos et cetera. Et ideo status dicitur quia semper sine ulla ordinis motatione currit per eosdem curriculos atque recurrit. Nam cursus ille temporum quem hic appellat per omnia motabilis est. Per VI enim huius mundi aetates gesta uariantur humana. De isto cursu chronica scripsit quę sunt secunda pars huius libri. Finem uero temporum elegantissime exposuit. cum de vii et viii aetate in fine sui operis disserte lucideque tracauit. Immo ipse labentibus curriculis temporum finem cum uoluerit imponet et reliqua. Quem finem deus tempori imponet non per omnia patet facile. Si enim cęli et siderum cursibus quae hęc notissima tempora efficiunt profecto cęlum cum suius planetis aut penitus deficient quod absit aut sine ulla motatione de loco ad [in] locum stabilia erit. Nam si cursum suum egerint anni erunt. Si quis autem contenderit rara et aperta disputatione totum mundum in omnibus partibus stabilem atque nullo modo mobilem, non ualde resisto. Sed crediderim facilius pulcherrimum omnium esse semper cursum. Non paruum enim pulchritudinis addit rotunditati uolubilitas, cum manifesta ratio prodit naturam, firmamenti stare sine uolubilitate non posse. Namque cęlum igne et aqua ut philosophi dicunt conditum. ignis in alta uolat, undas ubi maruit, quę duo in se contraria uolubile efficiunt cęlum; sed quia non est sursum et deorsum in uniuerso. Non enim est altior plaga illa mundi quę super terras et ad quam igne auibus (?) caeli uolare uidetur, quam illa quę subtus est et ad quam labitur aqua. Ideo VII planetae contra mundum uadunt ut his motibus sibimet ad uersantibus ostendatur corporeum istum mundum ubique altum ubique esse imum semperque uolubilem adsque centro. Attendamus ergo quid sit quod dixit labentibus temporum curriculis finem cum uoluerit imponet. Sed labentibus temporum curriculis id est his quę intemporibus aguntur ut manente semper mundo et naturali concursu et tempore quamuis melius motata omnia caduca atque labentia, id est omnes humani actus et cognitationes finem accipiant. Cum enim deus omnia momentibus erit, nemo laborabit qui a nemo indigebit, nemo contentet quia nullus aduersarius erit, nemo cogitabit ignarus quia nullus nisi sapiens, nemo horas et momenta et ceteros temporum articulos distinguet quia omnia pręsentia simul."

28r-v Short text on the pleiades etc. similar to Commentary on Martianus Capella: Feruntur VII pliades esse quarum hęc sunt uocabula Terope, meropios, cileno, maia, altione … — … Ipse sunt furię a lecto tesipherie megera quarum una tenet colum, altera fusum, tertia rumpit fila."Feruntur VII pliades esse quarum hęc sunt uocabula Terope, meropios, cileno, maia, altione tegere, electra. Dictae autem pliades A ПOTOY ПACTOC. hoc est a pluralitate sui uel a pluuia uel a matre ut sint filię athlantis et pliadis. Prima enim fit natiuitatis euocatio. Secunda uitę sors quemadmodum quisque uiuat. Tertia mortis sine certa conditione. Triae enim sunt genera mortis acerba, inmatura, debita. Ipse sunt furię a lecto tesipherie megera quarum una tenet colum, altera fusum, tertia rumpit fila."

28v Short text on the days in the months followed by a table. ›Incipit computatio grecorum‹ Ianuaris Augustus et December IIII Nonas habent et XVIIII KL post idus et dies XXXI … — … Omnes ergo menses VIII Idus habent.

Table with three columns: ›Hi sunt concurrentes […] ad inveniendam epactam […]‹ In the middle column with now blemished ink oneargumenta "si uis scire quota sit luna in kl hoc argumentum potestinuenere (?)" followed by list of the months SEPT V, OCTB V, DECB VII and so on till AGS XIIII.

In the margin another computistical table.

Abreviated Literature:

Bischoff, Katalog I	Katalog der festländischen Handschriften des neunten Jahrhunderts: (mit Ausnahme der wisigotischen)Bernhard Bischoff1. Aachen-Lambach Wiesbaden Harrassowitz 1998
Borst (1994)	Borst, Arno. Das Buch der Naturgeschichte: Plinius und seine Leser im Zeitalter des Pergaments. Heidelberg: Winter, 1994.
Dell'Era (1979)	Dell'Era, Antonio. "Una rielaborazione dell'Arato latino." In Studi Medievali ser. 3, 20:1 (1979): 269-302.
Haffner	Haffner, Mechthild. Ein antiker Sternbilderzyklus und seine Tradierung in Handschriften vom frühen Mittelalter bis zum Humanismus: Untersuchungen zu den Illustrationen der “Aratea” des Germanicus. Hildesheim: Olms, 1997.
Le Bourdellès (1985)	Le Bourdellès, Hubert. L’Aratus Latinus: étude sur la culture et la langue latines dans le Nord de la France au VIIIe siècle. Travaux et recherches. Lille: Université de Lille III, 1985.
PL	Patrologia latina ed. J. P. Migne. - Paris 1844ff.
Sternbilder des Mittelalters	Blume, Dieter, Mechthild Haffner, and Wolfgang Metzger. Sternbilder des Mittelalters: der gemalte Himmel zwischen Wissenschaft und Phantasie. Vol. I, 1: Text und Katalog der Handschriften. Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2012.

Catalogued by: Ivana Dobcheva

(last change: 2016-10-16)

How to quote: Ivana Dobcheva, 'Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale, Ms 222 - Aratea Digital ' (https://github.com/ivanadob/aratea-data/blob/master/data/descriptions/desc__amiens_bm_222.xml last update: 2016-10-16).