THE ACQUISITION OF MANUSCRIPTS AT PHILOTHEOU MONASTERY IN THE BYZANTINE PERIOD

A Paper Presented at the International Congress of Byzantine Studies Moscow, August, 1991

© Robert W. Allison
Bates College
Lewiston, Maine, U.S.A.

General Paleoagraphical Description of the Set of Menaia

The manuscripts in this set of menaia are written in a medium brown ink, in a characteristic twelfth-century monastic script which, in its verticality and reduction of ascenders and descenders, appears to be a stylistically simplified derivative of the tenth-century "minuscule bouletée," [note 18]. The script is characterized in addition by round breathings and contrast of thick and thin strokes (horizontal strokes are thin). A steady head- and footline, slight enlargement of round letters characteristic of 12th century scripts (omicron, theta, C-shaped sigma, and the round, 3-shaped zeta) and avoidance of enlarged or exuberant letter forms or accents give the script a regular but rather subdued and plain appearance. The thick vertical strokes (making the letters look squarish and separated) and small, round breathings contribute to this impression. This constitutes a rather loose canon, but the several scribes who wrote these volumes do not exhibit rigorous and steady adherance to this model. Their scripts can and do gradually change in the course of their writing of a codex. In general, the simplicity and regularity of this script seems intended for legibility and clarity, and its features are well suited to performance in dimly lit monastic churches

All of the volumes are written on a relatively inexpensive grade of parchment, with folios of varying thickness, occasional original holes and sporadic areas with visible hair follicles. Folios of most volumes have moderately to heavily soiled fore edges attesting to their use in the monastery.

Rubrication is in a faded rose, often discolored to faint light brown, but sometimes discolored with a bluish tinge. Script in rubrics and marginal titles consists of intermixed minuscules and uncials constituting a debased version of Herbert Hunger's "Alexandrian Auszeichnungsschrift." [note 19] Marginal initials, of varying size and thickness, are in an equally debased version of his Epigraphic" style intermixing tall forms with flared verticals, short forms with disproportionately large serifs, and ornamented and beaded forms. A repertoire of simple vignettes with some characteristic variations on classic motifs is shared among these codices, with various scribes favoring different types.

Specific characteristics of the script are outlined in tabular form below:

Phil. cod. 91 (Lamlbros 35) Menaion for June

Ductus:

Generally adheres to the model described above, but with more frequent ascending letters. The ductus changes gradually from place to place in the codex, toward a stiffer script with more separated letters (e.g., f. 107r).

• Ascending letters:
  Z (revverse-S form)
  I
  T
  phi (double loop)
  psi +-shaped with shallow, wide bowl at headline

  delta (not enlarged) stands out as tallest of regular letters;

  occasional enlarged letters:

  Z in reversed-S form

  double T with tall second T

  B slightly descending with fettaugenstil lower loop.

• small accents a little lengthened
• breathings & circumflex sometimes displaced to the right (between the accented vowel and the following letter, or over the following letter)
• rare enlarged accents
• diairesis (iota)