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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

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Last Substantive Revision

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