Firenze, BML, Plut. XX 48

Library	Firenze, BML
Shelfmark	Plutei 20.48
Century	s. XI2-XIIin
Provenance	?
European region of origin	France or Germany
Collection	Collectio XXX capitulorum
Collection 2	Pseudoisidore, False Decretals
Author	Bruno Schalekamp
Author	Lotte Kéry

Firenze, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, ms. Plutei 20.48 is a small to medium-sized early twelfth manuscript of 55 folios in 1 col. and 23 lines, which are clearly ruled with pinpricks in the margins. It is made of parchment and measures 110 x 195 mm. Its codicological composition is unknown and no quire signatures were included; modern foliation in Arabic numerals in black ink. The manuscript's origins and provenance are unknown as yet, but its contents may point to modern France or Germany as areas of origin. Earlier signatures read 15 and 272 in the inside of the front cover. The manuscript was probably written by a single hand in the early twelfth century (c. 1100-1110) according to its current archive in Florence.

Contents

The manuscript is filled to the brink with excerpts from patristic works, but includes an interesting mix of some other material too. While excerpts from, for example, Hincmar of Rheims, Augustine, Bede, Hrabanus Maurus, Julian of Tolédo, and Isidore of Seville dominate its contents, some canonical material was also included. The preface to Pseudoisidore's False Decretals and some of its contents make an appearance, as well as the Collectio XXX capitulorum, and excerpts of various northern African, Hispanic, and Gallic councils. The canonical material is followed by a commentary on biblical material by an unknown author, which may also be a collection of excerpts by the compiler of some sort. Some poetic material was also included, such as two poems by Hildebert of Lavardin. One of these has not previously been discovered and reads as follows: De tribus missis in natale domini. / In natale sacro sacre sollempnia misse; / Quid signent. aut cur ter celebrentur. habes / Nocte prior. sub luce sequens. in luce suprema; / Sub noe. sub templo. sub cruce. sacra notant; / Sub noe. sub dauid. sub cristo. sacra fuere.; / Nox. aurora. dies. umbra. figura. deus; See also Hammond's transcription from a different manuscript in the literature below.

Furthermore, it seems the compiler of the manuscript had an interest in juxtaposing some ancient material near the end of the codex. Excerpts from works by Valerius Maximus, Suetonius, and Gaius Solinus appear on fols. 40r-52r. These are interestingly followed by a compilation of philosophical quotes. Two unknown poems wrap up its contents. It must be noted that the manuscript includes quite a few notae as marginalia, indicating various parts were excerpted at a later stage after its production. They may also point to an interested reader or patron of this compilation, which may be clarified through further study.

See its digitized form in the digital environment of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana: https://tecabml.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/plutei/id/6327/rec/1; or straight to the IIIF Manifest: https://tecabml.contentdm.oclc.org/iiif/info/plutei/6327/manifest.json.

folios	content
	Front cover. Inside of cover includes previous manuscript signatures
	Flyleaf with current manuscript signature, written down two times, as well as a short list of contents in Latin (early modern hand) on the verso side
1r	Table of consanguinity
1v-28r	Unknown canonical and patristic collection, mostly consisting of various excerpts from patristic and medieval writers
1v-5r	Pseudoisidore, False Decretals, preface followed by excerpts from the same work as well as various genuine papal decretals and epistles
5r-6r	Canons of various councils from, mostly, Elvira, Carthage, northern Africa in general, and Toledo
6r-9r	Various excerpts from papal decretals
9r-v	A few canons of the councils of Chalcedon and Nicaea, followed by various (excerpts from) papal decretals
9v-11r	Various canons of the councils of, among others, Auxerre, Ancyra, and Sardica
11r-13r	Patristic and papal excerpts, including Isidore’s Sententiae
13r-21r	Excerpts from Hincmar of Rheims’ Capitula synodica
21rv	Collectio XXX capitulorum
21v-22r	Either the Sententiae Atrebatenses according to Lottin or Anselm of Laon’s Sentences according to Giraud
22rv	Excerpts from Augustine’s Enchiridion, followed by a mostly blank folio side
23r	Short excerpt from Hrabanus Maurus, Commentaria in librum Sapientiae, book 2, ch. 3
	This is followed by an unknown patristic writing, possibly a sermon, which may be an excerpt from Augustine’s De fide et symbolo
23r-28r	The excerpt is followed by a commentary on biblical material by an unknown author
28r-32v	Julian of Toledo, Prognosticum futuri saeculi
32v-33v	Isidore of Seville, Etymologies book 8, ch. 3, 1-3 and ch. 5, 1
33v-34r	Atticus of Constantinople, Qualiter formata epistola fiat
34ra	The Greek alphabet – transliterated in Latin - correllated with the numbers 1 through 900
34r	Unknown short text on the martyrs
34rv	Augustine on the Eucharist, sermon 272, cut off after contra se conuersus ad dominum
34v-39v?	Excerpts from Gregory the Great’s epistles
39v	Hildebert of Lavardin, poem Cur Deus Homo. His poem is followed by another ascribed to him, without a title.
40r-46r	Excerpts from Valerius Maximus’s Factorum et dictorum memorabilium (Memorable Deeds and Sayings)
46r-48v	Excerpts from Suetonius’s De vita caesarum (The Twelve Caesars)
48v	Unknown text titled De virtute et natura sexus feminei
48v-51r	Excerpts from Jerome’s Adversus Jovinianum. Both this and the previous text can also be found juxtaposed in Paris, BnF, lat. 2874(2), fol. 66v
51r-52r	Excerpts from Gaius Julius Solinus’s works, here titled as Ex memorabilius inter cetera
52rv	Excerpts from Bede's De septem miraculis mundi
52v-54r	Unknown text titled Sententie philosophorum, possibly an excerpt from Pseudo-Caecilius Balbus’s De nugis philosophorum
54v	Blank folio side
55r	Two unknown poems, headed by a codified title: BRCHK DKBCP NP. BNSCXLFP
55v	Blank folio side
	Flyleaf
	Back cover

Literature

Bandini, Catalogus codicum Latinorum (1774), cols. 654-657; Giraud, ‘Théologie et Pédagogie au XIIe siècle,’ (2012), pp 193-287, esp. 226-228; ; Hammond, ‘Notes on Some Poems of Hildebert in a Harvard Manuscript,’ (1932), p. 534; Kéry, Canonical Collections (1999), p. 75 and 81; Lottin, ‘Les “Sententiae Atrebatenses”,’ (1938), pp. 205-224.

An edition of the Collectio XXX capitulorum is currently being prepared by Sven Meeder, Gideon de Jong, and Bruno Schalekamp.