The manuscript tradition of Procopius' Gothic wars : a reconstruction of family y in the light of a hitherto unknown manuscript (Athos, Lavra H-73)

The Introduction, which gives information about the life and work of Procopius and also about previous editions and studies of the text, is followed by Chapter 1 which contains an analytical codicological and palaeological description of codex Ath, which was written in the late 13th century and is thus the earliest extant ms of Procopius' Wars. Section 2 examines the position of the codex in the stemma codicum, proposed by the latest editor of the text, Jacob Haury, Procopius Caesariensis Opera Omnia (Teubner: Leipzig, 1905-12, revised by G.Wirth, 1963). A collation of the text with the principal manuscripts (K and L) of the two families, z and y, shows that Ath belongs to the y family. A further collation of Ath with all other extant manuscripts of this family of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, illustrates the importance of Ath in the tradition of the text, despite its minor phonetic, grammatical, syntactical and linguistic errors. Section 3 gives a description and updated information of all manuscripts of family y, which were briefly described by previous editors, and some of them were not examined at all, before their relation is examined and the stemma codicum is revised on the basis of a series of propositions. It is concluded that Ath has been the exemplar for some of the later manuscripts, either directly or through intermediaries. The study concludes with a more theoretical chapter, Section 4, which places the production of Ath and other manuscripts, containing Procopius' works and other early Byzantine historiographical texts, in the general context of the intellectual milieu of the Palaeologan period. Main description: The Introduction, which gives information about the life and work of Procopius and also about previous editions and studies of the text, is followed by Chapter 1 which contains an analytical codicological and palaeological description of codex Ath, which was written in the late 13th century and is thus the earliest extant ms of Procopius' Wars. Section 2 examines the position of the codex in the stemma codicum, proposed by the latest editor of the text, Jacob Haury, Procopius Caesariensis Opera Omnia (Teubner: Leipzig, 1905-12, revised by G.Wirth, 1963). A collation of the text with the principal manuscripts (K and L) of the two families, z and y, shows that Ath belongs to the y family. A further collation of Ath with all other extant manuscripts of this family of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, illustrates the importance of Ath in the tradition of the text, despite its minor phonetic, grammatical, syntactical and linguistic errors. Section 3 gives a description and updated information of all manuscripts of family y, which were briefly described by previous editors, and some of them were not examined at all, before their relation is examined and the stemma codicum is revised on the basis of a series of propositions. It is concluded that Ath has been the exemplar for some of the later manuscripts, either directly or through intermediaries. The study concludes with a more theoretical chapter, Section 4, which places the production of Ath and other manuscripts, containing Procopius' works and other early Byzantine historiographical texts, in the general context of the intellectual milieu of the Palaeologan period Main description: Die Einleitung gibt eine Übersicht über Leben und Werk des Prokop sowie über Ausgaben und Untersuchungen des Textes. Es folgt eine kodikologische und paläographische Beschreibung der "neuen" Handschrift (Athos, Lavra H-73, = Ath). Der zweite Teil untersucht die Stellung dieser Handschrift im Stemma codicum der Teubner-Ausgabe von Jacob Haury (Leipzig 1905-12, revidiert von G. Wirth 1963). Die Kollation des Textes mit den Haupthandschriften (K und L) der beiden Gruppen z und y ergibt, dass Ath zur y-Gruppe gehört, und die Kollation mit allen übrigen Handschriften dieser Gruppe zeigt den Wert der Handschrift Ath für die Geschichte des Textes, ungeachtet ihrer geringfügigen phonetischen, grammatischen, syntaktischen und sprachlichen Fehler. Im dritten Teil werden alle Handschriften der y-Gruppe, die frühere Herausgeber nur kurz oder gar nicht beschrieben hatten, genauer vorgestellt und in ihrem Verhältnis zu einander im Stemma untersucht. Daraus ergibt sich, dass Ath die Vorlage einiger dieser späten Handschriften war, entweder unmittelbar oder über Zwischenstufen. Der abschließende vierte Teil stellt die Entstehung von Ath und anderer Handschriften der historiographischen Werke Prokops und anderer frühbyzantinischer Autoren in den allgemeinen Zusammenhang des intellektuellen Milieus der Palaiologenzeit ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS 8 ABSTRACT 10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 11 LIST OF PLATES 12 Introduction 15 Chapter 1: Description of codex Ath 23 Chapter 2: A study of the text In codex Ath 35 Chapter 3: A study of the manuscript tradition of family y in the light of manuscript Ath 146 Chapter 4: Intellectual activity in the Palaeologan Period (13 th -14 th century) 163 CONCLUSION 183 APPENDICES 185 BIBLIOGRAPHY 191 PLATES 213 Review text: "En conclusion, à une époque où l'on assiste à une inflation des publications dans le domaine des études grecques et latines, il serait de saine politique pour le maisons d'édition de ne retenir que les monographies qui apportent une contribution importante à la recherche."Bruno Rochette in: Latomus 2007