A catalogue of Western manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries and selected Oxford colleges

MS. Bywater 38

Humanist translations and texts, probably collected by Francesco Barbaro ; thirteen booklets bound together; Italian, Florence; 15th century (in part 1414)

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Paper; watermarks: post horn (cf. Briquet no. 7684); fore-part of stag (cf. Briquet no. 3279); three mountains in circle (cf. Briquet no. 11882); basilisk (cf. Briquet 11697); bell (cf. Briquet 3984); three mountains (cf. Briquet 11697); steer's head (cf. Briquet no. 14651).
Dimensions (leaf): 210 × 140 mm.
Foliation: Alterations to the foliation were made on 5 July 1997, as recorded on fol. 262r: fols. i and ii refoliated as ii and iii respectively; fol. i foliated; fols. 27 and 27a refoliated as 27a and 27b; fol. 67 refoliated as 67a, the following unfoliated leaf foliated as 67b.

Binding

Bound in 18th-century Italian plain parchment over pasteboards; the spine with four slightly raised cords, the second compartment with a paper label inscribed 'Misc. | Latina | MS. | Saec. 15' over an older inscription; fine endpapers printed in red and gilt; traces of leather and of ferrous corrosion on fols. i and 260 suggest a previous binding was of brown leather, and had metal fitting at the corners and centre of each cover.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Francesco Barbaro, procurator of S. Marco, 15th century: a list of contents in his hand (fol. 1v) is headed: 'In hoc volumine patricii veneti francisci barbari procuratoris sancti m[arci] infrascripta continentur.', which must have been written between January 1452 and his death in 1454 (for a facsimile of a similar inscription, see B. Pighi, Catulli Codex Bononiensis 2621 (Bologna, 1950), pl. 1c).

Giambatista Recanati (1687–1735) : additions to the titles on fols. 134r and 228r in his hand; probably identical with the MS. in his library mentioned by G. Agostini, Scrittori Viniziani(Venice: 1754) I, 223, as containing the item starting on fol. 74r.

Jacopo Soranzo (1686–1761) ; with his characteristic 'bold foliation'; numeration and page references added to the list of contents (fol. 1v) by Francesco Melchiori, Soranzo's librarian (cf. Mitchell, 1969, pls. XI, XIV).

Matteo Luigi Canonici (1727–1806) .

Giuseppe Canonici (d. 1807) : Matteo died intestate, and his MSS. passed to his brother.

Giovanni Perisinotti : on Giuseppe's death in 1807, the MSS., about 3550 in number, passed to Perisinotti, and after many attempts to sell them, 2045 of them were acquired by the Bodleian in 1817; another group was sold at Sotheby's in 1821; and the remainder, 915 in number, were sold to Sneyd in 1834.

Rev. Walter Sneyd, of Denton House, Cuddeston (1809–1888) : his sale, Sotheby's 16 Dec. 1903 and three following days, lot 77, bought by J. Barnard for 1 shilling.

Ingram Bywater

Bequeathed by him in 1915.

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 2–27a

Contents

(fols. 2r-27av)
Plutarch, Life of Dio

, in the Latin translation by Guarino of Verona , with the dedicatory letter to Francesco Barbaro .

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 1414

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 27b-62

Contents

(fol. 27br-55v)
Plutarch, Life of Brutus,

in the Latin translation by Guarino of Verona (cf. Sabbadini, La Scuola e gli studi de Guarino (Catania: 1896), 132), but here attributed to Giacomo d'Angelo della Scarperia ; fols. 56r-62v are blank.

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 63–67b

Contents

(fol. 63r-64v)
Plutarch, Comparison of Brutus and Dio,

in the Latin translation by Guarino of Verona ; in the same hand as the first text; fols. 65r-67ar are blank.

Language(s): Latin
(fol. 67bv)
Guarino of Verona, Letter to Leonardo Giustiniani (pr. E. L[obel], 'A letter of Guarino and other things', Bodleian Quarterly Record, 5 (1926), 43–46, at 43–44, where the addressee is wrongly given as Leonardo Bruni); fol. 67br is blank.
Language(s): Greek

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 68–91

Contents

(fol. 68r-v)
Poggio Bracciolini, Letter to Francesco Barbaro (pr. Tonelli, Vita di Poggio 1, 197).
Language(s): Latin
(fols. 68v-74r)
Martino Rizzoni, Pro Francisco Barbaro oratio
Rubric: CLARISSIMI et eloquentissimi uiri francisci Barbaba[the second 'ba' crossed through]ri ueneti patricii et equestris ordinis ordinis [sic] laudatio habita publice in pretura sua veronensi
Incipit: Etsi unus ex omnibus clarissimi uiri ac patres amplissimi idoneus minime
Explicit: te etiam atque etiam rogamus

Ascribed at the end to Martinus Veronensis.

Language(s): Latin
(fols. 74r-83v)
Tobias Veronensis, Oratio ad Franciscum Barbarum
Rubric: ORATIO populi ueronensis ad ... franciscum Barbarum per tobiam [dal Borgo] ueronensem
(part pr. in A. M. Querini, Diatriba praeliminaris ad F. Barbari ... Epistolas (Brescia: 1741), 364–6; for other MSS. see P. Gothein, Francesco Barbaro (Berlin: 1932), 402–4).
Language(s): Latin
(fols. 83v-87r)
Lauro Quirini, Oratio in laudam Francisci Barbari
Rubric: Lauri Quirini oratio in laudam ... francisci barbari...
Incipit: Credo equidem insignis barbare
Explicit: Vale ornamentum et decus nostre civitatis

Fols. 87v-91v blank.

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 92–99

Contents

(fol. 92r-99r)
Petrus Donatus, Oratio in exsequiis domini Francisci Zabarellae
Rubric: ... Petri Donati Veneti Archiepiscopi Cretensis In Fra[nciscum] Zabba[rellam] cardinalem Flo[rentinum] Epithaphios logos
Incipit: ⟨E⟩tsi unus ex omnibus minime sim Patres amplissimi
Explicit: ut instituistis audiatis

For other MSS. see G. Agostini, Scrittori Viniziani (Venice: 1754) II, 154; fol 99v blank.

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 100–133

Contents

(fols. 100r-128r)
Plutarch, De amico et assentore

Translated by Guarino da Verona ; preceded by the dedicatory letter to Leonello d'Este (pr. Sabbadini, Epistolario di Guarino, II, 260–2); fols. 128v-133v are blank.

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 134–147

Contents

(fols. 134r-146r)
Isocrates, Laus Helenae,

in a translation attributed in the list of contents to Guarino da Verona ; preceded by a dedicatory letter to P. Emiliani (pr. E. L[obel], 'A letter of Guarino and other things', The Bodleian Quarterly Record, 5 (1926), 43–46, at 44–45); fols. 146v-147v are blank.

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 148–157

Contents

(fols. 148r-156v)
Lucian, De calumnia,

in the translation by Guarino da Verona

Incipit: Gravis profecto res ignorantia est
Explicit: ex ipsa ueritate lustratis
(for other MSS. see E. Ph. Goldschmidt in Fritz Saxl. memorial essays (London: 1957), 230); preceded by the dedicatory letter to Giovanni Quirini (pr. Sabbadini, Epistolario, I, 6; fol. 157r-v is ruled, otherwise blank.
Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 158–187

Contents

(fols. 158r-165v)
Ps.-Plutarch, Parallela minora (in the translation by Guarino da Verona)
Language(s): Latin
(fols. 166r-182v)
Guarino da Verona, Commentarioli (in a fuller form than that found in Bologna Bibl. Comunale. MS. A.163 (16.B.III.3), fol. 51, for which see Sabbadini, La scuola, 137–8; the incipits of the chapters are pr. in L[obel], op. cit., 45–46); the top hald of fol. 166r, and fols. 183r-187v are blank.
Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 188–197

Contents

(fols. 188r-196v)
Poggio Bracciolini, Letter to Scipio Mainenti ,

fol. 197r-v is ruled, otherwise blank.

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 198–227

Contents

(fols. 198r-223r)
Guarino da Verona, Letter to Leonello d'Este and Poggio Bracciolini
Language(s): Latin

fols. 223v-227v are blank.

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 228–243

Contents

(fols. 228r-242v)
Plutarch, Life of Marius,

translated by Giacomo d'Angelo delle Scarperia

Incipit: Gaio mario terciam nomen dicere[/dare???] non possumus: quemadmodum neque Quinto Sertorio: qui occupavit Ispania
Explicit: necem sibi conscivit
Colophon: Explicit Marius. ia. angelus transtulit.

fol. 243r-v is blank.

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

MS. Bywater 38, fols. 244–260

Contents

(fols. 244r-250r)
Leonardo Giustiniani, Funebris oratio pro Carlo Zeno (pr. in Orationes funebres in morte pontificum etc. (Hanover, 1613), 140–9).
Language(s): Latin
(fols. 250r-255v)
Antonio Loschi, Invectiva in Florentinos
Rubric: Antonii Lusci poetae Vicentini invectiva in Florentinos
Incipit: Illucebitne unquam dies, perditissimi cives
Explicit: vestre calamitatis extollat
(see D. Moreni, Salutati invectiva in A. Luschum (Florence, 1826).
Language(s): Latin
(fols. 255v-257v)
Antonio Loschi, Poem
Incipit: Fama per Italiam celeri delapsa volatu
(pr. Antonii de Luschis Carmina, ed. G. da Schio (Florence: 1826), 7.
Language(s): Latin
(fols. 257v-259r)
Antonio Loschi, Poem
Incipit: Egregie o iuvenis quam clara indole magnum
(pr. ibid., 65); fols. 259v-260v are blank.
Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: Italian, Florence (?); 15th century

Additional Information

Record Sources

Draft description by Peter Kidd, late 1990s

Digital Images

Digital Bodleian (19 images from 35mm slides)

Bibliography

Last Substantive Revision

2020-08-21: Corrected identification of text on fols. 158r-165v.