Città del Vaticano, BAV, Reg. lat. 407
| Library | Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | Reg. lat. 407 |
| Century | s. IXmed-3/4 |
| General region of origin | Sankt Gallen or 'Swabian region' |
| Collection | Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii) |
| Collection 2 | [[Collectio II librorum/VIII partium]] |
| Main author | Bruno Schalekamp |
Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. lat. 407 is a ninth-century manuscript (third quarter) of 101 folios in 1 col. (fols. 1r-29r and 32v-101v) and 2 cols. (fols. 29v -32r) (230 x 195 mm). Its codicological composition is unknown and no quire signatures were included. Modern folio numbering in Arabic numerals are found on the recto side of each folio in (early?) modern hand. It was written by one hand in Caroline minuscule. The manuscript's origins have been argued to either originate from (the area around) Sankt Gallen according to Kéry and Reynolds, or from the Swabian region or around Lake Constance according to its catalogue. The codex's provenance is not completely clear, but it is known - at the earliest - to have been in possession of Christina, Queen of Sweden, in 1656, based on various notes by a librarian of Antwerp on fols. 1r-2r (see fol. 2r, for example: Volumen CXVIII Non Petauianum).
Contents
The manuscript is a medium-sized codex and contains mostly canonical material. Most prominently, the Collectio II librorum/VIII partium takes up about half of the folios, followed by an unknown 'collection' (?) of various patristic excerpts (Augustine, Jerome, Isidore, Gregory the Great, and Seneca among others) and some conciliar material (including Halitgar of Cambrai and the Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii)). It also includes the Notitia Galliarum in between the two books of the first canonical collection. According to Mommsen the Notitia Galliarum may have been copied from the manuscript Sankt Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, MS 397, based on the ‘germanic type’ of ligatures. This may point to its provenance from the area around Sankt Gallen.
The codex seems to have been preserved in a mediocre state. Quite a few folios have water damage or small holes in them, which must have been created after the text was written. Most of the base text is still relatively readable, fortunately, but some corners - especially in the earlier folios of the work - have practically faded away. Early modern hands have sometimes glossed the contents of the manuscript, pointing to a later interest in its included canonical material.
See the digitized version: https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Reg.lat.407.
| folios | texts |
|---|---|
| Front cover and flyleaf | |
| 1r | Blank page with previous manuscript signature |
| 1v-54r | Collectio II librorum/VIII partium |
| 29v-32r | In between both canonical books: the Notitia Galliarum |
| 54r-101v | Various patristic excerpts, including works and sermons ascribed to Augustine, Jerome, Isidore, Gregory the Great, and Seneca on various topics such as the eucharist, penance and morality. Also includes some conciliar material. Not all have been identified but a few are listed below: |
| 60r and 70r-71v | The Eucharistic sentences, commonly attributed to Cyprian, Ambrose and Hilary (Reynolds) |
| 70r-71v | De obseruatione quattuor temporum |
| 74v | The council of Ancyra (314), canon 11 with some minor deviations, and a decretal by pope Siricius |
| 74v-75v | Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii), chapters II, VIIII, and XI, here titled De ratione coniugum dicta sancti augustini |
| 76v-77r | De consanguinitate |
| 86v-87r | Halitgar of Cambrai's De vitiis et virtutibus, chapters 6-10 |
| 101r-v | Short excerpt of Pseudo-Seneca's Liber de moribus |
| 101v | Excerpt of Pseudo-Aristoteles's Aenigmata |
| Flyleaf and back cover |
Literature
Fournier, ‘Notices sur trois Collections canoniques’ (1926), p. 513-526; Kéry, Canonical Collections (1999), p. 77, 81, and 164; Mordek, Bibliotheca capitularium (1995), p. 200, 804, and 963; Mommsen, Chronica minora Vol. 1 (MGH) (1892), p. 563; Mordek, Kirchenrecht und Reform (1975), p. 120; Munier, Les ‘Statuta ecclesiae antiqua’ (1960), p. 48-49, 59-61, and 228; Pellegrin, Fohlen, Jeudy, Riou, Marucchi, Les manuscrits classiques latins Vol. 2 pars 1 (1978), p. 72-73; Reifferscheid, Bibliotheca patrum (1870), p. 357-360; Reynolds, Law and Liturgy (1994), p. 109 and 115 (IV), 20 no. 28, 24, 28-29 nos. 81 and 90, 31, and 33 no. 119 (VI), 35 (VII), and 311-317 (VIII); Reynolds, ‘The pseudo-augustinian ‘Sermo de conscientia’’ (1971), p. 311 and 313.
An edition of the Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii) is currently being prepared by Sven Meeder, Gideon de Jong, and Bruno Schalekamp.
