Montpellier, Bibliothèque Interuniversitaire. Section de Médecine, H 137
| Place | Montpellier |
|---|---|
| Library | Bibliothèque Interuniversitaire |
| Shelfmark | H. 137 |
| Century | s. XI (fols. 1r-306v and 315r-320v) and s. XI2 (fols. 307r-314r) (Kéry);
s. IX/X (fols. 106v-116r) (Kottje); A: IXex-X; B: s. XI (Fournier/Mordek) |
| General region of origin | France |
| ISIL no. | unknown |
| Collection | Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii) |
| Collection 2 | Collectio CCCXLII capitulorum and Collectio Dacheriana |
| Main author | Bruno Schalekamp |
Montpellier, Bibliotheque Interuniversitaire, H. 137 is a late ninth to (late) eleventh-century manuscript of 320 folios in 1 col. (fols. 1r-174v, 176r-268v, and 269v-320v) and 2 cols. (fols. 175r-v and 269r). Its codicological composition and dimensions are unknown. No quire signatures have been included. Modern folio numbering in Arabic numerals in lead pencil are found on the recto side of each folio in a modern hand. Fournier has argued the manuscript consists of two parts, A (fols. 1-166v) and B (fols. 167r-320v). The manuscript was written by numerous (but unknown amount of) hands in either Caroline minuscule (part A) or late Caroline minuscule (part B)
The codex's origins are unknown but can be traced to France according to Mordek. Its provenance is known from the 16th century onwards, as it is known to have been in possession of Pierre Pithou (1539-1596). Nothing else known about both parts before his life; according to Fournier, both parts - previously created separated - were probably bound together sometime in the 17th century.
Contents
Montpellier, BISM, H. 137 is a large codex and contains mostly patristic and canonical material, with some penitential additions. The patristic sources are dominated by sermons, originating from a wide range of authors including Caesarius of Arles and St. Augustine (or ascribed to him). Many of these sermons are - at the time of writing - of unknown authorship. Folios 1r-166v probably comprise a coherent (unknown?) collection of these sermons. The canonical material consists of the preface to the Collectio Dacheriana, the Collectio CCCXLII capitulorum, the preface to Pseudoisidore's False Capitularies, a few chapters of the Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii), and an unknown collection of 114 chapters. The penitential part includes works by Pseudo-Theodore, Halitgar of Cambrai, Fulbert of Chartres, and a penitential ascribed to pope Gregory III. The manuscript includes many other - sometimes unidentified - works, which can mostly be considered to be part of the previously mentioned categories. Some of these include, for example, a letter of Jerome 'on penance', excerpts from both Isidore de Seville and St. Augustine's large corpus of works, pope Gregory the Great's 25th homily, and the first two books of St. Augustine's The Soliloquies. See below for a complete preliminary overview of the identified and unidentified works.
This very large composite codex contains a remarkable mix of genres and an abundance of literary sources. The owner of part A of this large collection of patristic, canonical, and penitential sources, it can be said, must have had a clear interest in penance and confession. Many of the sources included expound on what these activities - be it spiritually or materially - mean and entail. Part B, however, also includes a penitential and some works relevant to penance, even though its contents are overwhelmingly canonical. It can, therefore, only with certainty be said that the 17th-century owner of both these parts had a very wide interest in the source material of penance and canon law.
Fournier adds the important note that Burchard of Worms, Liber decretorum did not influence these manuscripts in any way. Furthermore, Pseudoisidore’s False Decretals remarkably make no appearance here, whereas the False Capitularies do. One might suggest the second part of the manuscript (B) could be defined as a separate canonical ‘collection’ of sorts, as it includes much canonical material that is intertextually relevant, as well as could be associated with one another. On the other hand, the Collectio CCCXLII capitulorum is ‘its own section’, which criticizes such a possible suggestion.
See the digitized version: https://ged.scdi-montpellier.fr/florabium45/jsp/nodoc.jsp?NODOC=2014_DOC_MON1_MBUM_41.
| folios | texts |
|---|---|
| Front cover and multiple flyleaves | |
| 1r-166v | Collection of various excerpts from sermons, letters, books, and other works from various patristic fathers and other relevant authors |
| 1r-3v | Unknown author (in Migne: Exhortatio poenitendi): Cur fluctuas anima merorum quassata procellis |
| 3v-8v | Unknown author (in Migne: Exhortatio poenitendi): Audi Christe tristem fletum amarumque canticum |
| 8v-24r | Unknown author (in Migne: Oratio pro correptione vitae): Deus omnium mirabilium auctor miseri |
| 24v | Blank page |
| 25r-30r | Epistle of St. Jerome to Rusticus, titled De Poenitentia |
| 30r-40v | Alleged sermon of St. Augustine (n. 351), titled De Poenitentia |
| 41r-43r | Alleged homilia of St. Augustine. Rather, probably a sermon ascribed to him (n. 258), titled De Agenda Poenitentia |
| 43r-44r | Sermon of pseudo-John Chrysostom, titled De Confessione |
| 44r-46v | Excerpt from St. Augustine’s De vera religione liber unus, chapter 55 |
| 46v-47v | Excerpts from St. Augustine’s Libri contra Faustum, book 20, n. 21 |
| 47v-49v | Sermon of St. Augustine (n. 350), titled De laude caritatis |
| 49v-52v | St. Cyprian's Exhortatio de paenitentia |
| 52v-56v | St. Ephraim the Syrian’s De judicio Dei et resurrectione, de Regno coelorum et munditia animae. Here mentioned as De munditia animae |
| 57r-69r | St. Augustine's De agone Christiano |
| 69r-77v | St. Augustine's Episcopi de patientia |
| 78r-96r | St. Jerome’s epistle (n. 22) to Eustochium, titled Libellus de virginitate servanda |
| 96r-103r | Gennadius of Marseille's De ecclesiasticis dogmatibus |
| 103v | Blank page |
| 104r-105v | Pope Gregory the Great’s 25th homily |
| 105v-106r | Alleged work of St. Augustine. Rather, probably the 11th chapter of Alcuin’s De virtutibus et vitiis, titled De compunctione cordis |
| 106r-v | St. Augustine's De confessione chapter 12 |
| 106v-107r | Excerpts from Halitgar of Cambrai’s De poenitentiae |
| 107r-117v | Various excerpts from patristic fathers such as, among others (and allegedly?), St. Jerome, St. Augustine and Isidore de Seville |
| 117v-118r | Excerpts from St. Eucherius’ Instructiones, book 1 |
| 118r | Excerpt from the 21st chapter of Alcuin’s De virtutibus et vitiis, chapter 21, titled De falsis testibus. Also an excerpt from Halitgar of Cambrai’s De poenitentiae |
| 118r-v | Various excerpts from biblical and patristic sources |
| 118v | Excerpt from Halitgar of Cambrai’s De poenitentiae. Also an excerpt from Alcuin’s De virtutibus et vitiis, chapter 19, titled De fraude cavenda |
| 118v-119r | Excerpts from Halitgar of Cambrai’s De poenitentiae, De furtu |
| 119r | Unknown excerpt ascribed to pope Gregory the Great's De discordia |
| 119r-120v | Sermon of Caesarius of Arles (n. 54) on methods of divination. Here ascribed to St. Augustine |
| 120v-121r | Unknown sermon, titled De detractione |
| 121r | Unknown sermon, titled De contentione |
| 121r-122v | Sermon of Caesarius of Arles (n. 57), titled De ebrietate. Here ascribed to St. Augustine |
| 122v | Excerpt from pope Gregory the Great’s Dialogues |
| 123r | Unknown sermon, titled De uerbo otioso |
| 123r-v | Unknown sermon, titled De cogitationibus malis |
| 123v | Unknown sermon ascribed to St. Augustine, titled De curiositate |
| 123v-124r | Unknown sermon, ascribed to pope Gregory the Great, titled De fructu digno penitentiae |
| 124r-v | Excerpt from Alcuin’s Opusculum de baptismi ceremoniis |
| 124v-126r | John Cassian's Conferences, book 3, chapters 8-11 |
| 126r-v | Unknown sermon, titled De non celandis propriis peccatis |
| 126v-127r | Unknown sermon, titled De alienis peccatis non tacendis |
| 127r-128r | Excerpt from the Penitential of Cummean |
| 128r-130r | 30th canon of the Penitential of pseudo-Theodore with an expoundation |
| 130r-132v | Series of fragments of pope Gregory the Great concerning various topics. These were mostly excerpted from his Dialogues, book 4. Chapters in order of appearance include chapters 50, 39, 42, 43, 44, 25, 28, and 39 |
| 132v-133v | Epistle of Hrabanus Maurus to Regimbald |
| 133v-137r | St. Ephrem's De iudicio extremo et de compunctione |
| 137r-v | Isidore de Seville's Sententiae, book 2, chapter 6 |
| 137v-147v | John Chrysostom's De compunctione cordis |
| 147v-166r | St. Augustine's The Soliloquies, books 1 and 2 |
| 166r-v | Excerpts from St. Augustine's The Soliloquies, which cuts off in the middle of a sentence |
| 167r | Beginning of a penitential ascribed to Fulbert of Chartres (952/970-1028), titled De diuersis criminibus et remediis eorum |
| 167r-172r | Penitential of 33 chapters ascribed to Gregory III (d. 741). This concerns a complete version of the work |
| 172v-229r | Collection of capitularies, which are excerpts from Ansegisus (c. 770-833/834) and Benedict Levita. According to Fournier, some were also taken from Isidore de Seville |
| 229v-230v | Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii), chapters I-VIII |
| 230v-269r | Preface to the Collectio Dacheriana, titled De utilitate penitentiae |
| 269r | Short table of a collation of the Greek and Latin alphabet with Roman numerals |
| 269r-272v | Canons 1 through 25 of the council of Meaux-Paris (845/846) |
| 272v-306r | Collectio CCCXLII capitulorum |
| 306r-307r | Excerpts from Pseudoisidore's False Capitularies, praefatio |
| 307r-314r | Unknown canonical collection consisting of 114 chapters |
| 314r-v | Epistle of Fulbert of Chartres (n. 13) and an excerpt from a council of Toledo |
| 315r-316r | Small collection of canons from councils at Toledo (III-IV), Agde, Orléans, Sevilla (II), Carthage (IV), Chalcedon, Tarragona and Arles (I), as well as a decretal by pope Siricius. Furthermore includes some chapters of Martin of Braga and of an unknown council, titled Concilia Orientalium patrum |
| 316v-320v | Series of epistles by Fulbert of Chartres (ns. 74, 55, 22, 56, 4, 87, 106, 58, 75, 11, 12, 842, 10, 95, 91, 16, 98, 18, 14, 17, 6, and 23) |
| Multiple lyleaves and back cover |
Literature
Catalogue général Vol. 1 (1849), p. 335-336; Fournier, ‘Notice sur le Manuscrit H.137’ (1897), p. 1-33; Kéry, Canonical Collections (1999), p. 75, 81, 89, 122, and 181; Kottje, Die Bussbücher Halitgars von Cambrai (1980), p. 64; Mordek, Bibliotheca capitularium (1999), p. 127 and 524; Mordek, Kirchenrecht und Reform (1975), p. 181 n. 394 and 398, 194 n. 495, 259, and 262.
An edition of the Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii) is currently being prepared by Sven Meeder, Gideon de Jong, and Bruno Schalekamp.
