PURPOSES AND METHODS OF A MODERN CATALOGUE OF ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS: OBSERVATIONS ON THE RECENT CATALOGUE OF GREEK MANUSCRIPTS AT ST JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD

Abstract

PURPOSES AND METHODS OF A MODERN CATALOGUE OF ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS: OBSERVATIONS ON THE RECENT CATALOGUE OF GREEK MANUSCRIPTS AT ST JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD Mark L. Sosower, A Descriptive Catalogue of Greek Manuscripts at St fohn's College, Oxford, with descriptions of bindings by Jane Eagan (Oxford: St John's College Research Centre, 2007). 118 pp ISBN 978-0-9544975-3-8. £25.00 (p/b).What is the goal of a modern catalogue of ancient manuscripts? Is it just to gather as much 'objective' data about the described objects as possible, or is there more to it? What are the most desirable qualities for such a catalogue? The recent publication of a descriptive catalogue of the Greek manuscripts in the library of St John's College, Oxford, provides the occasion to offer a brief discussion of these questions.A historical diagnosisIn the scholarly world most users of a manuscript catalogue are primarily interested in the texts or the illustrations of the manuscripts described. A handful of others will be interested in the paper, the bindings, the names of the scribes, the previous owners, or more technical features like page layout. The catalogue may offer them a means to obtain specific information relating to one or more items in the collection, but the individual manuscripts are unlikely to be at the centre of their studies. For that reason, when these scholars refer to the manuscripts in their published work, they rely most of the time on the catalogue for details of the date and sometimes also the place of origin and the scribes. The date and place of origin of a codex are vital data for most such studies. For example, the editor of a text needs this information to assess the position of the manuscript in the stemma codicum and the role this 'witness' must play in his tentative reconstruction of the original text. Similarly, knowing the date and production milieu of a manuscript is of great assistance to the art historian in determining whether a miniature is innovative or conservative. Thanks to recent progress in the methods of reproduction and the advent of internet facsimiles, valuable work can be done with manuscripts without always consulting them in situ, especially when additional information can be supplied by a reliable catalogue.By contrast with these scholars, the cataloguer works directly with the manuscripts themselves and they are the prime focus of his studies. He is often the only person in a position to gather all the information needed: how and when each of the constituent parts of a manuscript was made, where these parts came from, and their history until their current shelf location. He enjoys a privileged position in assessing whether printed information about the codex is correct, and for this reason the primary scientific goal of a modern full-scale catalogue of ancient manuscripts must be to present the readers with the cataloguer's own historical 'diagnosis' of the objects described. First of all his conclusions regarding the structure and unity of the volume in its present state; then, for each of its parts, the date, the origin, the cultural milieu, and the techniques used in its production; finally, where and how each part circulated, how the parts came together, and then travelled together until the present day. From such a perspective, each description in a catalogue must be a systematic, precise, and complete report, especially with regard to the codicological elements that are used (or can potentially be used by others) to make such a historical diagnosis. As such an evaluation has to take full account of intellectual, cultural, social, and technological issues, the catalogue must describe its content and its material aspects as completely and precisely as the scope of the cataloguing project allows. Consequendy, as Paul Canart put it recendy, the main qualities of an ideal catalogue are 'obiettivita, completezza, precisione, chiarezza'.1 How does the catalogue of the Greek manuscripts at St John's College meet this difficult challenge? …