Manuscript Fragments Research Articles

Psalms and Psalters in the Manuscript Fragments Preserved in the Abbey Library of Sankt Gallen

This study focuses on three series of manuscript fragments dating from the seventh to the tenth century where passages of the Psalter were copied. Most of the fragments are currently preserved at the Library Abbey of Sankt Gallen, and their digital reproductions are available on Fragmentarium: Cod. Sang. 1395 II, pp. 336-361 [F-4b1o]; Cod. Sang. 1395 III, pp. 368-391 [F-jo7w]; and Cod. Sang. 1397 V, pp. 1-12, 37-42 [F-i8qo]. These fragments provide the basis for identification of the primary characteristics of their original codices as well as information on the texts they transmit: their content, the version of the Psalter used, marginal notes, and the use of the manuscripts after they were copied. Likewise, the subsequent reuse of these manuscripts, once transformed into fragmentary material, is reconstructed, specifically concerning their dispersal in several libraries, being bound in host volumes, evidence from offsets, and traces of missing fragments. This study leads to some basic methodological conclusions on how to deal with collections of fragments, emphasizing the vast and fruitful research opportunity presented by such collections, especially the collection of manuscript fragments at the Library Abbey of Sankt Gallen.

Manuscript Fragments in the University Library, Leipzig: Types and Cataloguing Patterns

Fragments constitute a major part of the holdings of the the University Library of Leipzig (UBL), with some 800 loose fragments, at least 600 fragments in situ in incunabula, and an unknown number bound in manuscript volumes and sixteenth-eighteenth century prints. Over a series of projects working with detached and in situ fragments, the Leipzig Manuscript Centre developed a description scheme for manuscript fragments in its collection. A Fragmentarium case study provided the opportunity to test this scheme for its efficiency in producing useful information for specialists. As a result, in 2017 the case study published on Fragmentarium over 250 fragments with description, including some scholarly significant finds that are already having an impact.

Reconstructing Burnt Anglo-Saxon Fragments in the Cotton Collection at the British Library

The British Library conducted a Fragmentarium case study in 2017 to explore the possibilities for improving access to burnt fragments of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts from the Cotton Collection. Multispectral imaging and analysis undertaken by Dr Christina Duffy at the British Library Conservation Centre has revealed more details from the surviving fragments than are otherwise visible. The complexity of multispectral imaging presents challenges for online display and long-term storage that need to be addressed in future manuscript digitisation initiatives.

Fragments and Fakes: The Arbor consanguinitatis of the Fondation Martin Bodmer and a Contemporary Forgery

A tree of consanguinity (arbor consanguinitatis) contained in a manuscript published on e-codices (Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cod. Bodmer 28), served as the model for a new class of forgery. An analysis of the Bodmer leaf in the context of other arbores consanguinitatis shows how the leaf relates to tradition; an examination of the leaf’s history and provenance reveals that the leaf was mutilated, probably in the mid-twentieth century. The forgery is proven to be such through a paleographical and content analysis of the script, and through an examination of the leaf’s method of composition. A second forgery is examined, a fragment of Jerome’s Epistle 53, fabricated from the first folio of another e-codices manuscript, Aarau, Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek MsWettF 11. The forgeries and their circulation provides the opportunity for an assessment of the changing role of manuscript fragments and fakes in the twenty-first century.

In situ Manuscript Fragments in the Incunables of the Bodleian Library, Oxford: A Fragmentarium Case Study

This paper discusses the objectives, methodology, and outcomes of the Fragmentarium case study to catalogue in situ manuscript fragments in the incunables of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Drawing on summary information provided within the 2005 incunable catalogue, A Catalogue of Books Printed in the Fifteenth Century now in the Bodleian Library, the descriptions produced consider these fragments within their functional contexts. Here, the author argues that considering in situ fragments as constituent parts of their host volumes offers meaningful contribution to the material study of the book.

Medieval Organ Tablature on a Manuscript Fragment from the National Museum Library

Abstract The manuscript fragment in the collection of the National Museum Library in Prague under shelf mark 1 D a 3/52 is a sheet of paper with writing on both sides, containing two strata of inscriptions. The first stratum consists of accounting records, one of which is dated to 1356. That is also the terminus post quem for the other stratum of inscriptions, namely the musical notation of two liturgical plainchants in two-voice organ paraphrases. This involves the introit Salve, sancta parens and the Kyrie magne Deus. The discant is written in black mensural notation on a staff, while the tenor, which quotes the plainchant melody, is partially written in musical notation on the same staff, partially notated by letters for note names, and partially only indicated by syllables of text of the original plainchant. This notation documents the transition from practise without notation to the written notation of music for keyboard instruments, and it significantly supplements the material found in treatises from the milieu of the ars organisandi, which are available to us from fifteenth-century manuscripts.

Fragments and Fakes: The Arbor consanguinitatis of the Fondation Martin Bodmer and a Contemporary Forgery

A tree of consanguinity (arbor consanguinitatis) contained in a manuscript published on e-codices (Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cod. Bodmer 28), served as the model for a new class of forgery. An analysis of the Bodmer leaf in the context of other arbores consanguinitatis shows how the leaf relates to tradition; an examination of the leaf’s history and provenance reveals that the leaf was mutilated, probably in the mid-twentieth century. The forgery is proven to be such through a paleographical and content analysis of the script, and through an examination of the leaf’s method of composition. A second forgery is examined, a fragment of Jerome’s Epistle 53, fabricated from the first folio of another e-codices manuscript, Aarau, Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek MsWettF 11. The forgeries and their circulation provides the opportunity for an assessment of the changing role of manuscript fragments and fakes in the twenty-first century.

The Austro-Hungarian Beginnings of the Research on the ‘European Genizah’

Abstract Research on Hebrew manuscript fragments retrieved from bookbindings started in the second half of the 19th century, some earlier forays into this field notwithstanding. Austria-Hungary played an important role in this field of research for its first hundred years – a fact that deserves attention. This pioneering research in Austria-Hungary was made possible by a recognition and appreciation of the importance of minor source materials (‘small finds’) by local scholars, and was characterized by a historical – rather than a literary-historical – interest in this source material. This article explores the particular historical and cultural factors which contributed to this regional development.

Reciting, Chanting, and Singing: The Codification of Vocal Music in Buddhist Canon Law

This article analyzes the treatment of music in Buddhist monastic life through the rules on music in Buddhist canon law (vinaya) within the six extant traditions, which are preserved in Chinese, Tibetan, Pāli, and fragmentary Sanskrit manuscripts. These texts distinguish and differentiate instrumental and vocal music, presenting song, dance, and instrumental music as a triad and further subdividing vocal music into reciting, chanting, and singing. The performance and consumption of singing is strictly prohibited. Regulations on chanting and recitation are mutually exclusive and context dependent. Chanting is required on two occasions: when one praises the Buddha’s virtues and when one performs the Tridaṇḍaka ritual. Chanting is prohibited on three other occasions: when one recites the Prātimokṣasūtra and other ordinary Buddhist texts, and when one preaches Dharma. These regulations demonstrate that text and context are decisive in determining what forms of vocal music are appropriate in Buddhist practice. The use of embellished chanting is reserved for performing rituals whose primary goal is to please divine recipients but must be prohibited when clear articulation is expected for educating the audience. Given that making or consuming vocal music is not a criminal offense, yet is strictly regulated, I argue that the establishment of Buddhist canon law was compelled by a pressing demand to demarcate and maintain a social boundary between the Buddhist monastic order and the lay community of adherents.

A estética de Peirce como uma ciência dos fins ideais

Argumenta-se aqui que a melhor interpretação da estética de Peirce é como uma ciência normativa de fins ideais. As influências de Peirce neste particular incluem a noção de kalos de Platão, A educação estética do homem de Friedrich Schiller, e a arquitetônica kantiana. Baseada principalmente nos rascunhos de Minute Logic em 1902 e as Palestras de Harvard em 1903, as características essenciais de uma ciência normativa são discutidas e a relação da estética às outras duas ciências normativas da lógica e da ética é analisada. O conceito de Peirce de bondade estética é desenvolvido, e os critérios para o que ele considera como um summum bonum são examinados. As próprias formulações de Peirce do summum bonum são examinados, inclusive sua noção de razoabilidade concreta, como também uma explicação interessante dos ideais fundamentais encontrada em um fragmento de manuscrito de 1903. O artigo conclui com uma discussão entre o que é chamado de estética positiva e negativa de Peirce, entendido como duas abordagens diferentes à formulação de fins ideais.

Non-invasive analysis of a 15th century illuminated manuscript fragment: point-based vs imaging spectroscopy

Illuminated manuscript fragments are some of the best preserved objects of Western cultural heritage. Therefore, scholars are limited to non-invasive - often point-based - methods, to answer questions on material usage, technique, origin and previous treatments. These powerful methods yield specific information; however, the information is limited to the number of points analyzed. Imaging spectroscopies such as MA-XRF and MA-rFTIR combine specificity with the power of imaging, resulting in distribution images that are interpretable by non-spectroscopists and the public at large. In this paper the possible added value of using imaging spectroscopy is discussed. Do these methods yield the same results as an extensive point-based spectroscopic campaign and can they bring novel information? As a case study, a 15th century illuminated manuscript fragment is employed in order to explore the differences between these approaches and present an inventory of their advantages and limitations.

Il reimpiego di manoscritti medievali in legature

Scholars have always investigated fragments of manuscripts according to their field of study. A new global perspective Further potential in studying this particular type of sourceswas brought out by a new global perspective. In this contribution, the interest is particularly directed to fragments of medieval fragments re-used as bindings material, especially from archives bindings. The study of bindings including fragments of manuscripts -and notably the analysis of their external characteristics (such as the conditions and circumstances of the re-used fragments) -raises the issue of whether and to what extent this crafting practice plays a part in selecting manuscripts to be re-used. Specialized researches about the phenomenon of re-using fragments of medieval manuscripts in bindings is supposed to integrate our knowledge in history of books.

Fabian Sietz, Erzählstrategien im Rappolsteiner Parzifal. Zyklizität als Kohährenzprinzip. Studien zur historischen Poetik 25. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2017, 328 S.

Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival survives in nearly 90 codices and manuscript fragments, the latter as small as portions of a single folio and the former as Sammelhandschriften with several hundred extant folia. One example of a longer ms. among them is Cod. Sang. 857, also known as the Nibelungenlied B ms. or St. Galler Epenhandschrift, which includes as complete texts or fragments Parzival, Nibelungenlied, Diu Klage, Karl der Große (Stricker), Willehalm (also Wolfram von Eschenbach), and a few other shorter poems and religious writings. Another example is the object of research in Fabian Sietz’s wide-ranging study of narrative strategies, <?page nr="481"?>namely Cod. Donaueschingen 97 in the Karlsruhe Landesbibliothek – the remarkably complete and well-preserved Rappolsteiner Parzival (the codex has been digitized and can be found here: <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/id/101664">https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/id/101664</ext-link>). Unlike the St. Gall ms., the Rappolsteiner Parzival includes not only Wolfram’s text but also a continuation adapted from Chrétien de Troyes’ Conte du Graal.

Manuscript Fragments of the Pernstein Bible

The article presents recently found fragments of an Old Czech Biblical manuscript from the 15th century, namely the Bible of Pernstein (Prague, National Library of the CR, shelf mark XVII A 7), representing the third redaction of the Old Czech Bible translation. The twenty strips from eighteen parchment folios contain short passages from various Biblical books and Biblical prologues.

Unknown Fragments former possessed by Hartmut Beckers († 1996)

Additionally to the fragments of manuscripts, which now belong to the collection of Freiburg University Library, Hartmut Beckers had some others, which since early 2017 are kept at the Berlin Library. These fragments contain parts of the (Ia.) ʻRennewart’ Ulrichs von Türheim and (Ib.) the ʻArabel’ Ulrich’s von dem Türlin, both belong to a well-known Codex discissus, furthermore parts of the (II.) ʻChristherre-Chronik’ and (III.) a versified Schachzabelbuch. All pieces are shortly introduced to the reader.

Birgitta and Bernard: Two Saints and Five Old Swedish Fragments in the Danish National Archives

AbstractThe Danish National Archives in Copenhagen houses several thousand manuscript fragments, the remains of numerous works that were cut up and used in the bindings of later books. The majority of these fragments are written in Latin, Middle Low German, or Danish, although a few in Old Swedish also survive. Five of these Old Swedish fragments are published and discussed in this article. They contain parts of two of St Birgitta’s

The Examination and Analysis of Dunhuang and Turfan manuscript materials at Princeton University Library’s East Asian Library

Around 1900 a major discovery of early Chinese manuscripts and other archaeological materials occurred in the area of the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The vast hoard of materials, which spans from the fourth to the 14th century, provides a rare glimpse of the various cultures that passed along the great Silk Road. The huge mass of materials was dispersed over time to various major research institutions around the world for study. This paper discusses an analytical examination of the seventh to 14th century Dunhuang and Turfan collection held at Princeton University Library's East Asian Library. The study involves an examination of the manuscripts’ fiber composition by polarized light microscopy, Graff C staining, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy as well as the examination of a small unattributed painting on cloth by the same methods and with the addition of x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. A preponderance of ramie (Boehmeria nivea) fibers was found in the collection of manuscript fragments as well as a very small amount of bamboo (Gramineae bambusa). The small painting is made of silk cloth. The pigments on the silk appear to be natural ultramarine (lapis lazuli), malachite (copper carbonate), lead white (basic lead carbonate), and red lead (lead tetroxide).

An Early Ethiopic Manuscript Fragment (Twelfth–Thirteenth Century) from the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt)

This article presents a single fragmentary folio that was recently uncovered in excavations at the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt). This folio was discovered in a secondary deposit below the foundations of a church which was in all likelihood constructed in the 1230s. A radiocarbon dating of the folio has returned a date of 1160–1265. Together, these two data make this fragmentary folio the earliest securely datable specimen of an Ethiopic manuscript. This find, thus, provides a new foundation for the analysis of the paleography of the earliest Ethiopic manuscripts, including the gospel manuscripts from Ǝnda Abba Gärima, which contain paleographic features that seem to predate this fragmentary folio. In addition, this find has implications for the regnant periodization of Ethiopic literature and more specifically the history of Ethiopic monastic literature, especially the Zena Abäw. Finally, this folio is among the earliest surviving Aethiopica for the entirety of Egypt and thus provides new information on the relationship between Ethiopic and Coptic Christianity.

Trace elements in natural azurite pigments found in illuminated manuscript leaves investigated by synchrotron x-ray fluorescence and diffraction mapping

We present trace-element and composition analysis of azurite pigments in six illuminated manuscript leaves, dating from the thirteenth to sixteenth century, using synchrotron-based, large-area x-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF) and diffraction (SR-XRD) mapping. SR-XRF mapping reveals several trace elements correlated with azurite, including arsenic, zirconium, antimony, barium, and bismuth, that appear in multiple manuscripts but were not always detected by point XRF. Within some manuscript leaves, variations in the concentration of trace elements associated with azurite coincide with distinct regions of the illuminations, suggesting systematic differences in azurite preparation or purification. Variations of the trace element concentrations in azurite are greater among different manuscript leaves than the variations within each individual leaf, suggesting the possibility that such impurities reflect distinct mineralogical/geologic sources. SR-XRD maps collected simultaneously with the SR-XRF maps confirm the identification of azurite regions and are consistent with impurities found in natural mineral sources of azurite. In general, our results suggest the feasibility of using azurite trace element analysis for provenance studies of illuminated manuscript fragments, and demonstrate the value of XRF mapping in non-destructive determination of trace element concentrations within a single pigment.

О свободе творчества служителей религии и передаче религиозных норм в бесписьменном обществе (пер. с нем. яз. Д. А. Функа и В.И. Харитоновой)

О свободе творчества служителей религии и передаче религиозных норм в бесписьменном обществе (пер. с нем. яз. Д. А. Функа и В.И. Харитоновой)