Manuscript No. 7: Commentaries on the Song of Songs

Item Overview

Title

Manuscript No. 7: Commentaries on the Song of Songs

Alternative title

Commentary on the Cantica Canticorum by Cornelius a Lapide

Date Created

1650

Language

Armenian

Collection

Armenian Manuscripts

Notes

Description

The codex is a copy of the Armenian translation of teh "Commentary on the Cantica Canticorum" by Cornelius a Lapide ( 1567-1637), also known as Cornelius Cornelissen van den Steen, Flemish exegete. The book also contains another commentary on the Song of Songs by an unknown author.Cornelius a Lapide was born at Bocholt near Liege, and was educated at the Jesuit colleges of Maastricht and Cologne. IN 1592 he entered the Jesuit order, and became professor of exegesis at Louvain in 1596. In 1616 he was called to Rome, where he taught the same subject and completed his celebrated commentaries, comprising all the Canonical Books except Job and the Psalms. “His works, which have enjoyed enduring popularity, are characterized by their clarity, deep spirituality, and allegorical and mystical exegesis”; his wide erudition enabled him to draw extensively on the Church Fathers and on medieval theologians.

Provenance

There are no colophons in the codex; hence its date of execution and provenance are known. However, the title page (page 1) provides the following information: “Authored by the most venerable author, Father Cornelius Cornelian of Lapida, member of the Jesuit holy fathers, formerly of Louvain and later of Rome, augmented by necessary indexes. At the city of Ant’uperia (Antwerp?), by the printer Meyursius Jacobus, us the year of the Lord 1650, by the order of the emperor and the king of Spain.”The commentary on Cantica Canticorum by Corneliys a Lapide (1567-1637) was first published in 1638. The present codex, which represents its translation into Armenian, may have been done after 1650.Because there are no inscriptions in the book, its later history is unknown. A notation on the inside front cover indicates that Dr. Minassian purchased it on March 3, 1957, from a certain Mr. Amjad, who had brought the codex from Tehran to Isfahan. Another notation, written on the inside back cover, provides the same date of purchase and the purchase price of 3000 rials.

Physical Description

Extent

1070 pages

Dimensions

32X21.5 cm.

Binding note

Dark brown blind-tooled damaged leather over pasteboard, with paper pastedowns. Blind-tooling is the same for both boards. Outer border consists of triple fillets, filled with a foliated tool. Inner rectangle has similar border, and its interior consists of three squares, of which the first and third include triple intersecting diagonal lines. Spine has five raised bands, and horizontal triple fillet lines. Red and white silk endbands with bead on the edge evident at tail only. Sewn over cords with fine blue silk thread, no notches. Edges uncolored. Some detached leaves. Not a traditional Armenian binding.

Condition note

The first two leavse in fron are detached, and the lower right corners of pages 1069-1070 are torn off; otherwise, the codex is in a fairly good state of preservation.

Keywords

Genre

Manuscripts

Resource type

text