Montecassino, Archivio dell’Abbazia, 541

Library	Archivio e Biblioteca dell’Abbazia
Shelfmark	541
Century	s. XIin
General region of origin	Southern Italy
Collection	Quadripartitus
Collection 2	Cresconius
Collection 3	Collectio Dacheriana
Main author	Bruno Schalekamp
Main author	Christof Rolker

Monte Cassino, Biblioteca statale del Monumento nazionale di Montecassino, 541 is an early eleventh-century manuscript of 296 pages in 2 cols. (360x 270mm). Its codicological composition is unknown as of yet. Written in southern Italy, it has been in possession of the Monte Cassino Abbey since very soon after it was compiled. It was written by various hands in distinct Beneventan script in saec. XIⁱⁿ according to Kerff and Kéry.

Contents

The manuscript contains for the vast majority canon law material, as well as some patristic excerpts, episcopal and papal epistles, and an explanation of the Rule of Benedict. It was possibly compiled by order of abbot Theobald of Monte Cassino (1022-1035) at Monte Cassino, according to Kerff. Furthermore, according to both Kerff and Mordek, this manuscript is a direct copy of Città del Vaticano, BAV, Vat. lat. 1347.

It is interesting to note what was added to the compilation for the reader. While most of the 'base text' stayed the same, a few pages of new contents, such as the ordo de celebrando concilio, an explanation 'on councils' (p. 5), and various excerpts of conciliar law with 'baptism' as central theme, were added and deemed relevant to its original textual structure. Some omissions can be found, too, such as an unknown text titled nonnullo stulti dogmate and two unknown canonical texts. Even more striking, is that around the time of copying Città del Vaticano, BAV, Vat. lat. 1347, a text in Beneventan script was added to that same manuscript - an epistle of Gregory the Great to Marinianus of Ravenna titled quam sit necessarium - which cannot be found in its direct copy expounded on here.

pages	texts
	Front cover
1-4	Ordo de celebrando concilio
4	Ordo in susceptione presbiterorum
5	De conciliis
5-8b	Various excerpts of epistles
9a-123b	Cresconius, Concordia canonum
123b-124a	Definitio fidei of the Council of Chalcedon (451)
124ab	The symbol of the first Council of Nicaea (325)
124b-126b	The symbol and Definitio fidei of the first Council of Constantinople (381)
126b-140b	Various excerpts of various epistles and conciliar legislation, including:
126b-130b	Epistle of pope Leo I to bishop Anastasius of Thessaloniki
130b-134a	Epistle of Jerome to Lucian
134a-137a	Epistle of bishop Mansuetus of Milan to emperor Constantine
137a-139a	The symbol of the synod of Milan (680)
139ab	Expositio sancti Augustini
139b-140b	Expositio euangelii beati Gregorii papa omelia VII
140b-143b	Collection of canons in the style of Fulgentius Ferrandus' Breviatio canonum
143-147b	Glossary of synonyms on the Rule of Benedict in Latin, as well as various canons, such as the Canones apostolorum and from councils in northern Africa and the eastern Mediterranean
147b-235b	Collectio Dacheriana, in ‘form B’
235b-236a	Epistle of Aeneas of Paris to Hincmar of Reims: Epistola ad Hincmarum Remensem archiepiscopum
236b-285b	Collectio canonum Quadripartitus, book 4, including prologue, list of titles, and epilogue
285b-296b	Excerpts of conciliar law with the central theme of baptism
	Back cover

Literature

Bergmann, Stricker, Goldhammer, Wich-Reif, Katalog (2005), p. 920-921, n. 438; Blume, Bibliotheca librorum (1834), p. 221-222; Inguanez, Codicem Casinensium (1940), p. 199-203; Kerff, Quadripartitus (1982), p. 18-20; Kéry, Canonical collections (1999), p. 34; Lowe, The Beneventan script (1914), p. 352; Maassen, Geschichte (1870), p. 853; Mordek, Kirchenrecht (1975), p. 101, 172, and 262; Mordek, ‘Zur handschriftlichen Überlieferung’ (1967), p. 577; Schmitz, Bussbücher Vol. 1 (1883), p. 718; Zechiel-Eckes, Cresconius.

See also Michael Elliot's extensive work and draft editions of the Quadripartitus on his own website: http://individual.utoronto.ca/michaelelliot/.