Beta

Ra 55

Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. gr. 1. No diktyon: 66171.
DBBE ID: 14134.
s. X/1 | Parchment, 565 ff., 410 × 280 mm, 2 col., max. 34 lines per page. |  Minuscule. | Scribe: Three anonymous contemporary scribes  cf. Yota 2017: 189. | Patron: Λέων Πατρίκιος πραιπόσιτος καὶ σακελάριος  PMBZ 24419. | Provenance: Monastery of Saint Nicholas, Constantinople. | Owner: Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626–1689).
Complete Bible (illustrated). | This is the so-called “Leo Bible”, considered a masterpiece of the Macedonian Renaissance. According to Cyril Mango (1969: 125-126), it was produced around 940. The entire Bible consisted of two volumes (containing 60 books), but only the first volume survived. It contains several full page miniatures depicting holy figures, scenes of the Bible, as well as the patron of the manuscript, Leon Sakelarios and his brother Konstantinos. Leon Sakelarios donated this Bible to a monastery of St. Nicholas, which had been founded by his brother Konstantinos and most probably was located in Constantinople. The monastery has not yet been identified. Leon was wrongly identified in the past with Leon Magistros Choirosphaktes (see Mango 1969: 122, cf. Krumbacher 1897: 131). The frames of the miniatures contain epigrams, which refer to the depictions. These miniatures have been detached from the volume and are kept separately. Their style is similar to the one of the Paris Psalter (10th c.). Enlarged decorated initials mark the beginning of each biblical book and majuscule initials the beginning of each Psalm. The biblical text is written in red ink. | Text-type: L with minor readings in accordance with B.
Content
IrMiniature of a cross listing the biblical books It is surrounded by holy figures and captions. Part of the folio has been cut off
IvBlank
IIrNote A note on the volume’s contents by a later hand
IIvMiniature depicting scenes of Genesis, epigram
1r–1vEpigram on the Bible
2rMiniature of the Holy Cross
2vMiniature depicting Leon, Theotokos and Christ, epigram
3rMiniature of Saint Nicholas, Konstantinos and the abbot Makar, epigram
3vMiniature of the Holy Cross
4rPaschal table tit. πασχάλιν σύντομον ἀκολουθῶν τοῖς κύκλοις τῆς σελήνης
4vTable of Contents of the first volume
5r–45vGenesis
45v–84rExodus f. 46r blank, f. 46v: miniature of Moses, epigram
85rBlank
85vMiniature of Moses, Aaron and the Levites, epigram
86r–115vLeviticus
115v–156rNumbers f. 116r: Miniature of Moses, Joshua and the twelve tribes of Israel, epigram; f. 116v blank, f. 155r blank, f. 155v: Miniature of Moses receiving the Law, epigram
156r–182vDeuteronomy
182v–205rJoshua
205v–229rJudges f. 206r miniature of the judges of Israel, epigram; f. 206r blank
229r–232vRuth
232v–262r1 Kingdoms
262v–280v2 Kingdoms f. 263r: Miniature of the anointing of David, epigram; f.263v blank
281rMiniature of the coronation of Solomon, epigram
281vBlank
282r–301v3 Kingdoms
302rBlank
302vMiniature of Elijah, epigram
303r–321r4 Kingdoms
321r–337r1 Chronicles
337r–359r2 Chronicles
359r–368v1 Ezra
369r–382v2 Ezra
382v–393vJudith tit. ιουδείθ. f. 383r: miniature depicting scenes from the Book of Judith, f. 383v blank
394r–400vEsther
401r–406vTobit tit: τωβείτ. Scribal note at the end of the book: “Δεῖ εἰδέναι ὅτι ἔν τισι τῶν ἀντιγράφων προηγοῦνται τὰ μακκαβαϊκὰ καὶ γράφονται ἀπὸ τῶν ἔζδρα λόγων, ἔν τισι δὲ ἀπὸ τὸν τωβέιτ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ὦδε οὔτως αὐτὰ τεθείκαμεν”
406v–427v1 Maccabees
428r–443r2 Maccabees
443v–450r3 Maccabees
450vMiniature of Eleazar and the Maccabees before king Antiochus
451r–460v4 Maccabees
461rBlank
461vMiniature of Job
462r–486vJob
487rBlank
487vMiniature of David
488rEusebius of Caesarea, Hypothesis on the Psalms inc. τῆς βίβλου τῶν ψαλμῶν ἥδε ἂν εἴη ἡ διαίρεσις, ὡς τὰ ἀκριβὴ τῶν ἀντιγράφων αὐτὸ τὲ τὸ ἐβραϊκὸν περιέχει, ed. PG 23, 66-72 and Bandt (2019: 38-48)
488v–490rEusebius of Caesarea, Periochae ed. Bandt (2019: 128-140)
490rCanons of morning and evening Psalms tit. κανόνες ἡμερινῶν ψαλμῶν, κανόνες νυκτερινῶν ψαλμῶν
490v–559rPs 1–151
559r–559vOde 1
559v–561rOde 2
561r–561vOde 3
561v–562rOde 4
562r–562vOde 5
562vOde 6
562v–563vOde 7
563v–564rDaniel 3:46-51 and Ode 8
564r–564vOde 9
564vOde 13
564v–565rOde 11
565r–565vOde 12
565vOde 14 at the end: ἔχει δὲ τὸ βιβλίον τούτω φύλα πεντακόσια ἐξήκοντα καὶ πέντε
Bibliography
Andrist, A.: “Au croisement des contenus et de la matière: l’architecture des sept pandectes bibliques grecques du premier millénaire”, Scrineum Rivista 17/2 (2020), 3–106, 63–80.
Bandt, C.: “Eusebius, Periochae”, in C. Bandt, Fr. X. Risch and B. Villani, Die Prologtexte zu den Psalmen von Origenes und Eusebius (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur (TU) 183), Berlin/Boston 2019, 122–141.
Bandt, C.: “Origenes (?), De divisione psalmorum”, in C. Bandt, Fr. X. Risch and B. Villani, Die Prologtexte zu den Psalmen von Origenes und Eusebius (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur (TU) 183), Berlin–Boston 2019, 32–49.
Canart, P. (ed.): La Bible du Patrice Léon. Codex Reginensis Graecus 1 (Studi e testi 463), Città del Vaticano 2011.
Dufrenne, S and Canart P.: Die Bibel des Patricius Leo. Codex Reginensis Graecus IB (Codices e Vaticanis Selecti 75), Zürich 1988.
Iacobini, A.: “Segno del possesso: committenti, destinatari, donatori nei manoscritti bizantini dell’età macedone”, in F. Conca – G. Fiaccadori, Bisanzio nell'età dei Macedoni: forme della produzione letteraria e artistica: VIII Giornata di studi bizantini (Milano, 15–16 marzo 2005), Napoli 2007, 151–194, 164–168.
Kondakoff, N.: Histoire de l'art byzantin considéré principalement dans les miniatures, Paris 1891, 39–48.
Krumbacher, K.: Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur von Justinian bis zum Ende des Oströmischen Reiches (527–1453), München 1897, 131. 
Lauxtermann, M.: Byzantine Poetry from Pisides to Geometres, vol. 1, Vienna 2003, 191–196, 348.
Mango, C.: “The date of Cod. Vat. Regin. Gr. 1 and the ‚Macedonian Renaissance‘”, Institutum Romanum Norvegiae, Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia 4 (1969), 121–126.
Matthews, T.: “The Epigrams of Leo Sacellarios and an Exegetical Approach to the Miniatures of Vat. Reg. Gr. 1”, Orientalia Christiana periodica 43 (1977), 94–134.
Rahlfs, A.: Psalmi cum Odis, Göttingen 1931, 12.
Rhoby, A.: Ausgewählte byzantinische Epigramme in illuminierten Handschriften (Byzantinische Epigramme in inschriftlicher Überlieferung 4), Wien 2018, 471–492.
Spatharakis, I.: The Portrait in Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts, Leiden 1976, 7–14. 
Yota, E. and S. C. Dirkse: “The Complete Bible”, in A. Tsamakda, A Companion to Byzantine Illustrated Manuscripts (Brill’s Companion to the Byzantine World, Band 2), Leiden–Boston 2017, 185–194, 188–192.
Catalogues
Rahlfs, A.: Verzeichnis der griechischen Handschriften des Alten Testaments (Mitteilungen des Septuaginta–Unternehmens der königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, 2), Berlin 1914, 245–246. 
Stevenson, H.: Codices manuscripti graeci Reginae Svecorum et Pii PP. II: Bibliothecae Vaticanae descripti praeside I.B. Cardinali Pitra, Rome 1888, 1–2. 
Author Maria Tomadaki
Copyright 
Die Editio critica maior des griechischen Psalters,
Niedersächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen
License CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Permalink https://septuaginta.uni-goettingen.de/catalogue/Ra_0055/
Publication Date Feb 4, 2023
Report Problem
Online sources
Related Blogposts
New Testament and Psalter Manuscripts
by Felix Albrecht, January 24, 2023