Città del Vaticano, BAV, Pal. lat. 973

Place	Città del Vaticano (Vatican City)
Library	Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
Shelfmark	Pal. lat. 973
Century	s. IX2/2
General region of origin	Northeastern France, region of Reims
ISIL no.	unknown
Collection	Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii)
Main author	Bruno Schalekamp

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. lat. 973 is a ninth-century manuscript (second half) of 129 folios in 1 col. (220 x 190 mm (150-160 x 120-130mm)). Its codicological composition reads as follows: 18 quires: IV⁸ + ([IV – 1] + I paper folio)¹⁷ + 13 x IV¹²¹ + (III – 1)¹²⁶ + II¹³⁰ + 1¹³¹; quire signatures, added in the late medieval period, in Arabic numerals on the recto side from 1^1r to 17^127r, and in Latin numerals on the verso side for folios 38v, 81v (V), 89v (VI), and 121v (X). It was written by multiple (but unknown amount of) hands in Caroline minuscule. The manuscript's origins can be traced to northern France and, probably, the region of Reims according to Bischoff and Mordek. The manuscript's provenance is from the abbeys of Heidelberg and Lorsch. Furthermore, there are traces of a transfer to Rome in possibly 1622/1623 as well as a later signature on fol. 1r.

Contents

The manuscript is a medium-sized composite codex and contains a remarkable, unusual, and rather packed mix of late antique and early medieval textual material. One of Ansegisus's capitularia dominates its contents. Some other works are computistical, such as Bede's De temporibus, a cosmographia, De observatione quattuor temporum, or medical (Potio ad cauculum), as well as geographical (a description of central Asian provinces), prognostic (a lunarium), and kinship (de consanguinitate). Another large portion, put together of various snippets scattered throughout the manuscript, is biblical (including a sketch of Noah's Ark), canonical (including the Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii)), penitential (Benedict of Aniane), sermon, or patristic material. This includes various (excerpts of) epistles of Pseudo-Hormisdas, Pseudo-Gregory the Great, Jerome, and Caesarius of Arles, as well as some conciliar works. Lastly, Fortunatus's praefatio carminum was included.

Fol. 39r of the manuscript, showing the beginning of the (short) canonical collection

The large amount of varied material makes it hard to interpret the exact purpose of the manuscript, as it does not seem to focus on one particular theme, topic or problem. Rather, its variety might point to a personal episcopal collection, manufactured to perfectly suit the particular interests of a bishop. While the codex was generally preserved well, it does show clear traces of re-use and study. Fol. 15r-v, for example, was heavily damaged due to a large cut after the writing stage, which prompted reparations across the whole page. However, not many corrections were made. We might therefore conclude the manuscript functioned in the context of private study for the ecclesiastical elite.

See the digitized version: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4530#0001.

folios	texts
	Front cover
1ar-av	Flyleaf
2ar-av	Blank page with manuscript signature and a probatio pennae
1r-4v	Bede's De temporibus, chapters 17-22, ending with some additions on the Carolingian royal dynasty
4v	Short lunarium
5r-9v	Incomplete Cosmographia Iulii Caesaris
10r-11v	Blank pages
12r-13r	Continuation of the incomplete Cosmographia Iulii Caesaris
13v-15r	Venantius Fortunatus's Praefatio carminum, titled Epistula dedicatoria ad Gregorium papam
15r-v	Ordo vel examinatio in ordinatione episcopi
15v	Orationes ad capillos tondendum
15v-18r	Epistle of Pseudo-Hormisdas, titled Epistula per universas provincias
18r-19v	Pseudo-Theodorus's Diaeta Theodori
19v-21r	Excerpt of Julianus Pomerius's De vita contemplativa
21r-22r	Epistle of Pseudo-Gregory the Great, titled Epistula ad Secundinum inclusum
22r-24r	Epistle of Isidore de Seville, titled Epistula ad Massonam episcopum
24r-25v	Excerpt of Autpert Ambrose's De conflictu vitiorum et virtutum
25v-27v	Benedict of Aniane's Modus paenitentiarum
27v-38v	Pseudo-Cyprian of Carthage's De duodecim abusivis saeculi
38v	Various short biblical excerpts
39r-v	Collectio XXX capitulorum (De ratione matrimonii), chapters II and XI, here titled De ratione coniugum dicta sancti augustini
39v-40v	Excerpt of St. Jerome's Commentaria in Matthaeum
40v-41r	De consanguinitate
41r-v	Excerpt of John Cassian's Collationes patrum in scetica eremo
41v-42r	De eucharistia dicta patrum
42r-v	Excerpt of an alleged sermon of John Chrysostom, titled Sermo de quattuor mensibus ieiuniorum computandis secundum solarem numerum
43r-123v	Ansegisus Luxoviensis's Collectio capitularium
123v-125r	De observatione quattuor temporum
125r	Two canons from the first council of Orléans (511) and the third council of Toledo (589)
125r-v	Sermon of Pseudo-Augustine, titled Sermo sancti Augustini episcopi de conscientia
126r-v	Excerpt of the Concilia Africana secundum traditionem collectio Hispanae, possibly from St. Augustine
126v	Various canons from the councils of Agde (506, canon 8), Mâcon (583, c. 10), Auxerre (561, c. 34), and Carthage (436, c. 94 (69))
127r-128v	Ninth canon of the council of Mainz (852), here titled De infantibus in caute oppressis. Followed by a text by Rathramnus of Corbie with the same title
128v	Two recipes against bladder stones (Potio ad cauculum). Added at a later stage with a different ink, but definitely not much later than the original composition
129r-130v	Excerpt of Caesarius of Arles, sermon 33
130v	Interrogatio sancti Adalberti martyris
131r	Description of central-Asian provinces and kingdoms. Followed by a large sketch of Noah’s Ark, which includes descriptions of its inhabitants as symbolic in Christian theological hierarchy. Noah and his sons are apostles, the birds are martyrs, etcetera
131v	Excerpt of Pseudo-Cyprian's De duodecim abusivis saeculi, chapter 12, as well as citations from the Bible
	Flyleaf and back cover

Literature

Bischoff, Die Abtei Lorsch (1989), p. 128; Kéry, Canonical Collections (1999), p. 81, 97, and 164; Mordek, Bibliotheca capitularium (1995), p. 8, 534, and 801-805; Mordek, Kirchenrecht und Reform (1975), p. 121 n. 87 and 226 n. 56; Reynolds, Law and Liturgy, p. 115 (IV), 20 n. 28, 24 n. 53, and 28 n. 81 (VI), and 35 n. 3 (VII); Waltz, Die historischen und philosophischen Handschriften (1999), p. 87-93.

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