Manuscript No. 12: Miscellany

Item Overview

Title

Manuscript No. 12: Miscellany

Date Created

1742

Language

Armenian

Collection

Armenian Manuscripts

Notes

Description

Text in bolorgir, written in two columns. Columns separated by border lines in purple ink. Subtitles and other divisions throughout the codex in red ink. Index on fols. 267-276 is in minuscule notragir. Corrections of text in the margins in notragir. The codex has two sets of numbers. The book originally consisted of 560 pages numbered by the scribe with the letters of the Armenian alphabet, written in the left and right upper corners of the page The ten surviving folios of the codex are not numbered. The second set of numbers was done by Dr. Minasian at a time when the codex consisted of 278 folios. Since then however, fols. 1-4 have disappeared. Twenty-three quires numbered with the letters of the Armenian alphabet, written in large bolorgir in the lower margin of the page, mostly in black but occasionally also in red ink. The quires usually have gatherings of twelve leaves each. Because leaves are missing at the beginning, quire 1 has five and quire 2 has eleven leaves; quires 20 and 23 have eight leaves, and quire 22 has six.

Colophon

Fol. 209v. Principle colophon in bolorgirFol. 77. In the same bolorgir as the textFol. 96v. In the same bolorgir as the textFol. 158. In the same bolorgir as the textFol. 235. In the same bolorgir as the textFol. 237v. In the same bolorgir as the textFol. 277. In miuscule notragir.Fol. 278v. On blank endsheet, in Minasian's handwriting.

Provenance

According to the principle colophon (fol 209v), the book was written by the scribe/priest Margar for his own use at the church of Surb Tʻomay (St. Thomas) at New Julfa in Isfahan. The writing of the codex was completed on September 26 in the year 1191 of the Armenian Era (= A.D. 1742). The scribe’s name is also found at the end of the texts on folios 96v, 215 and 237v. In a partially illegible inscription on folio 277, Margar has recorded the birth of his son Mkrtichʻ in the year 1731. This date is given according to three different calendars.

Physical Description

Extent

278 folios

Dimensions

18X14 cm.

Binding note

Not a traditional Armenian binding. Rebound, probably in 19th century. Upper board wanting. Lower board and spine of brown calfskin over pasteboards, gold-tooled. Spine also gold-tooled, forming three panels, each with a large floral stamp in center. Gilt edges. White paper pastedown. First quire loose. Sewn on two single cords, kettlestitches evident. Shallow notches. Fragments of blue and red silk threads from endbands at head. Gutter repairs, trimmed edges (cutting into marginal notations), and leaves bound upside down (fols. 267, 269) are all evidence of rebinding.

Condition note

The codex is in a rather poor state of preservation. The front cover and folios 1-4 are missing, and folios 5-9 are loose. A considerable number of leaves are moth-eaten; many of these have been partially repaired. Many leaves are smudged. Quite a few pages are misnumbered by the scribe. The homily numbered 17 on folio 254 should be corrected to read 15. The index to the commentary should be folios 270, 268, 269, 267, 271-276. Folios 267 and 269 are bound upside down. This index should have been bound at the beginning of the codex.

Illustrations note

The codex is illustrated with seven one-column headpieces (fols. 12v, 37v, 77v, 97v, 122v, 158, and 211). Six of these mark the six chapters of the “Analysis of the Gospel of Matthew,” and the seventh (fol. 211) marks the beginning of the sermons. Additionally, there are 21 large decorative initials marking the opening lines of the major divisions of the codex. With one exception, the illuminations are drawn in the magenta ink used for rubrics. Traces of blue and orange remain on fol. 12v. The headpiece on fol. 211 was drawn in brown ink and filled in, rather erratically, in orange and magenta. Its design is awkward; a pattern of square knots framing buds had to be abandoned in mid-knot, leaving loop.Twenty of the 21 initials are formed by birds, and one has ornate designs. Three of these bird-form initials (fols. 220, 225, and 229v) were colored in blue.

Keywords

Genre

Manuscripts
Illuminations

Resource type

text