Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 7887

Aratus Latinus

Parchment — 60 fols. — Francia — s. IX^ex

A late ninth-century copy of Aratus Latinus with ample blank spaces left for illustrations of the constellations (partly cut off probably for reuse).

Support: I⁸ (ff. 1-8), II^8(-1) (ff.9-15 lost one after f. 15, now f.50), III⁴ (ff. 16-19), IV⁸ (ff. 20-27), V⁸ (ff. 28-35), VI⁸ (ff. 36-43), VII⁶ (ff. 44-49). The text of Bede' DNR is probably a separate codicological unit: stub between ff. 52 and 53, and after f. 60. Quire marks:

8v - "Q.I."
19v - "III"
27v - "IIII"
35v - "V"
43v - "VI"
49v - "VIII"

The folio between ff. 15v and 16r (with sections on Corona and Serpentarius) is now f. 50. On several folios the lower half which was left blank (presumably for illustrations), was later cut off.

Layout: Written in one column, 30 lines per page.

Script: Carolingian minuscule; word division although inconsistent at times; ligatures: or, ri, st, et, open a alongside carolingian a; abbreviations.

History: Provenance: Fleury (?); Cathedral of Le Puy-en-Velay. At least from the 10th c. onwards lat. 7887 and lat. 7581 formed one book, listed in the 10th c. catalogue: "Aratus, cum quo est liber de quadrifario opere Dei.". The catalogue found in the later MS is entitled "haec retinet scedula Navilelmi [or Wilelmi] nomina certat Librorum qui sint et quo simul ordine pendit". (See discussion and edition of the catalogue in P. Riche "Un catalogue de la bibliothèque du Puy au début du XIe siècle", Finances, pouvoirs et mémoire. Mélanges offerts à Jean Favier. S. d. de J. Kerhervé - A. Rigaudière, Paris, Fayard, 1999, p. 700-713.) It was Baluze who divided the two in 1681. Both manuscripts have, however, independent quire signatures, which suggests that they did not form one book originally. — According to Delisle (Cabinet des manuscrits, pp. 511-14) the MS was one of the ca. fifty books which Colbert in 1681 acquired from the library of Notre-Dame du Puy and later sent to Paris. The list of books is found today in Paris Bnf, MS lat. 9364. From the 49 items which Baluze reports, 38 are still in the BnF with the same shelf mark.

Selected bibliography: M. B. Olsen, L'etude des auteurs classiques latins, II, p.435. — P. Riche, "Un catalogue de la bibliothèque du Puy au début du XIe siècle", Finances, pouvoirs et mémoire. Mélanges offerts à Jean Favier. S. d. de J. Kerhervé - A. Rigaudière, Paris, Fayard, 1999, p. 700-713.

1v-50v Aratus Latinus

(1v-3v) AL, I Arati ea quae uidentur ›Arati quae uidentur‹ Ostensionem quoque de quibus uidentur oportet fieri … — … ut nihil te latere posit quorum ab eo dicta sunt frequent change by a more experienced hand who wrote each time one or two lines.

(3v-4r) AL, II Eratosthenes de circa exornatione stellarum eratostenis de circa exornatione stellarum et ethimologia de quibus uidentur Haec autem sunt ad aquilonem serpentrio maior … — … pisces Uque stelle erratice.

(4r) AL, II A Hipparchus de magnitudine et positione errantium stellarum ipparcus de magnitudine et posicione errantium stellarum. Constat autem in aquilonio semis sperio haec septentrio moior … — … aries taurus gemini.

(4r-5v) AL, III quibus sarati | uidentur, quedam sunt secundum celi stellarum ordinem … — … quia simili modo in id ipsum suggerunt.

(5v-7r) AL, Alia descriptio praefationis ›Alia descrio prefationis‹ Subtus terra hubi adornantur signa uii … — … in dextera sacrarium necnon sagittarius piscis cetus orion.

(7r) AL, IV Descriptio duorum semispherium ›Descriptio duorum semisspherium‹ Habet autem pondere totum medio terre terrenum … — … ipsa enim in medio iacet duobus semispheriis.

(7r-8r) AL, V Arati genus ›Arati genus‹ Aratus patris quidem est athinodori matris autem … — … scire magnum loqui pericie mathematice reperimus autem illum et super[…] ›Explicit.‹

(8r-v) AL, VI Praefatio Arati ›Prefacio arati‹ Preclara ostensio sacri uoluminis Namquet cum mihi … — … fabulis disponam quasi optima tu autem sum sapientia hec intelle […].

— 9r) blank.

(9v-12r) AL, VII Involutio sphaerae ›Inuolutio sphere‹ Hic est stellarum ordo utrotumque circulorum septentriones … — … constientia ridet et mundus imperitus. Lower half of f. 12r left blank.

(12v-50v) AL, VIII Aratea cum scholiis A ioue incipimus quem umquam uiri relinquimus archanum … — … in utraque genu […] pedibus v omnes […].

51r-59v Bede: DNR Naturas rerum uarias labentis … — … usque ad occidentem extenditur.

59v-60v Later filling text: Quod sunt quetum mendant ueritatem uniuscuiusque conscripcionis … — … tertio ut ignorantes doceret et ad ueritatis indaginem reduceret et quia[…]

Catalogued by: Ivana Dobcheva

(last change: 2018-10-24)

How to quote: Ivana Dobcheva, 'Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 7887 - Aratea Digital ' (https://github.com/ivanadob/aratea-data/blob/master/data/descriptions/desc__paris_bnf_lat_7887.xml last update: 2018-10-24).