Greek Bookhands of the Early Byzantine Period A.D. 300-800 0900587512, 9780900587511

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INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES

GREEK BOOKHANDS OF THE EARLY BYZANTINE PERIOD A.D. 300 - 800 G. CAVALLO

and H. MAEHLER

BULLETIN SUPPLEMENT 47 1987

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GREEK BOOKHANDS OF THE EARLY BYZANTINE PERIOD: A.D. 300 - 800

This book is published with the aid of a grant from the

Henry Brown Fund

SBN 900587 5 1 2

ISSN 0076-0749

Published by Institute of Classical Studies

31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY

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GREEK BOOKHANDS

OF THE EARLY BYZANTINE PERIOD A. D. 300 - 800

G. CAVALLO

and H. MAEHLER

BULLETIN SUPPLEMENT 47 1987

University of London Institute of Classical Studies

PREFACE This book is the result of a joint and coordinated investigation by

had a long-standing interest in the palaeography of Greek book objective is to put the dating and classification of Greek literary s basis. The idea suggested itself in a discussion at the 2nd Inte

Paläographie und Kodikologie" held in Berlin and Wolfenbüttel in 1

been in close contact and in agreement as to the method and aim o

the material. We have compared our results and discussed their im

at every stage of the operatioa Although it can be said, in very ge

mainly for the palaeographical descriptions and Maehler mainly fo

it would be impossible to isolate each author's contribution. We th

defects this book may have.

One somewhat unexpected problem has been terminology. Thi that while most of the specialist literature on the stylistic aspe

Italian and French, relatively little research on this subject has "Auszeichnungsschrift" (see 52ab) or"Spitzbogenmajuskel", "ma

a satisfactory equivalent in English, so we have had to paraph ("pointed majuscule", see p. 4). To avoid confusion, we speak o the term "uncial" denotes a specific type of Latin majuscule and other script By "script" we mean "type of hand", represented by

have essential stylistic features in common. Another possible sourc

and "verso" ; contrary to the practice followed by earlier editors, w

applied to codices, i.e. to call a right-hand page "recto", its back or

the case of a papyrus codex, the fibres run vertically or horizontally

by 1 or ->).2

Of the 1 27 specimens illustrated in the plates, the vast majority

justification for the approximate dates suggested is, in most discussions of each plate which follow the descriptions of the instance, " V/VI" means "not more than two decades before or given, the first applies (unless stated otherwise) to the maximu maximum preserved width of the fragment, leaf or sheet (= approximately3 facsimile-size, with very few exceptions which For the convenience of readers, we have added transcriptions of

have transcribed the first 10-12 lines, with word division but no a signs except those which are in the manuscript.

1 G. Cavallo, Papiri greci letterari della tarda antichità, in: Akten des XIII, in

1971 (= Münchner Beiträge 66, 1974), pp. 69-81; H. Maehler, Zur Datieru

Jahrhunderts aus Ägypten, to be published in the proceedings of the 2nd Inter Codicology ( Scrittura e Civiltà , Rome, 1988).

2 See E. G. Turner, "The terms recto and verso: the anatomy of the papyrus Papyrologie, Première partie ( Papyrologica Bruxellensia 16, Brussels, 1978). 3 Within a margin of about 10% ; even where a scale is included in the negative,

exact facsimile size.

V

It would not have been practicable to give a complete bibliography for each manuscript; instead, we have normally cited the editio princeps and the respective number in either Pack or van Haelst, where further bibliographical references can be found. In quotations of papyrus publications, the numbers are

usually publication numbers (where page numbers are given, they are preceded by 'p.' or 'pp.'). Most of the libraries and museums listed in Index II (pp. 145-8) have supplied photographs, and given us permission to publish them, either free of charge, or for moderate fees ; sadly, such generosity has become

the exception rather than the rule in Britain (where one exception has been the John Rylands Library in Manchester) and the United States. We gratefully acknowledge a grant of£250 from University College

London towards the cost of photographs. It is a pleasure to record here our profound gratitude to all those friends and colleagues who have helped us with photographs and information. To the following our debt is particularly great: Padre

Leonardo Boyle, Prefetto della Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Dr W. M. Brashear, Ägyptisches Museum, West Berlin 19 (Charlottenburg); Prof. A. Bülow- Jacobsen, K^benhavns Universitet, Institut for Klassisk Filologi, Copenhagen; Dr R A. Coles, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Prof. D. Hagedorn, Universität Heidelberg, Institut fur Papyrologie; Dr H. Harrauer, österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Papyrussammlung, Vienna; Prof. A. Henrichs, Harvard University, Department of the Classics, Cambridge, Mass.; Prof. L. Koenen, University of Michigan, Department of Classical Studies, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Prof. M. Manfredi, Università di Firenze, Istituto Papirologia) "G. Vitelli", Florence; Mrs Glenise A. Matheson, Keeper of Manuscripts, The John Rylands University Library, Manchester; Dr Béatrice Meyer, Université de Paris-IV Sorbonne, Institut de Papyrologie, Paris; Dr Antonietta

Morandini, Director, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence; Mr T. S. Pattie, Keeper of Manuscripts, The British Library, London; Prof. P. W. Pestman, Papyrologisch Instituut, Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden; Padre M. Petta, Grottaferrata; Dr G. Poethke, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Papyrus- Sammlung, Berlin/DDR; Dr Cornelia Römer, Universität Köln, Institut fur Altertumskunde, Cologne; Prof. J. Schwartz, Institut de Papyrologie, Université des Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg; Mrs Louise C. Youtie, Hatcher Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. We thank all the institutions listed in Index II for their permission to publish photographs of manuscripts in their possession. We also wish to thank Mr J. M. Murphy and Miss Georgina Robinson who improved our English, Miss Margaret Packer who typed the English text, Miss Alicia Totolos who made the layout, and Dr Jennifer March who read the proofs and saw the book through the press. Above all, we are grateful

to Professor J. P. Barron, Director of the Institute of Classical Studies and Editor of its publications, for publishing our book in this series.

Rome and London, 2 March 1987

vi

CONTENTS

Codex Rossanensis (see 40a) Frontispiece LIST

OF

ABBREVIATIONS

INTRODUCTION

xi 1

PLATES AND COMMENTARIES

la. New Testament, St Paul's Epistle to the Romans. P. Oxy. 209. 8

lb. Hesiod, Catalogue. P. Oxy. 1358. 8 2a. Letter to Theophanes. P. Herm. Rees 4. 10 2b. LXX, Ecclesiasticus. P. Chester Beatty XI. 10 3 a. Enoch and Meliton. P. Chester Beatty XII. 12 3 b. Demosthenes, De falsa legatione. P. Lit Lond. 127. 12

4a Acknowledgement of a loan. P. Oxy. P. Oxy. 3266. 14 4b. New Testament, Matthew. P. Mich. 137. 14 5a. Sworn declaration by shipowners. P. Vindob. Sijpesteijn 1. 16 5 b. Menander, Dyscolus. P. Bodmer IV. 16 6a. 6b.

Homer, Lease

Iliad

of

XI.

land.

P.

P.

Reinach

Berol.

69.

18

11037.

18

7a. St Basil, Letters (Selection). P. Berol. 6795. 20 7b. Philostratus, Eikones. P. Berol. 17013. 20

8a Coptic letter. P. Lond. 1920. 22 8b. Lysias, Pro Eryximacho. P. Lond. inv. 2852. 22 8c. New Testament, II John. P. Ant. 12. 22 8d. New Testament, Matthew. PSI 1. 22

8e. LXX, Deuteronomy. P. Amh. 192. 22 9a Offer to lease an orchard. P. Cornell inv. II 38. 26

9b.

Homer,

Iliad

I.

P.

Köln

134.

26

10a Aristophanes, Knights. Bodl. gr. class, f. 72 (P). 28 10b. Callimachus, Aitia. P. Berol. 11629. 28

11a Euripides, Oedipus. P. Oxy. 2459. 30 lib. Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Shield. P. Vindob. G 19815. 30 12a LXX, Psalms. P. Oxy. 1352. 32 12b. Aristophanes, Clouds. PSI 1171. 32 12c. Oracula Sibyllina. P. Flor. 389. 32 13a Historian. P. Ryl. 504. 34 13b. Speeches from Thucydides, Book II. P. Oxy. 1621. 34 13c. Demosthenes, Philippica II. P. Amh. II 24. 34 14a

Deed

14b. 15

a

of

loan.

Prayers. The

P.

P.

Köln

151.

Egerton

Freer

5.

Gospels.

36

36 38

15b. Menander, Aspls. PSI 126. 38 16a Aristophanes, Clouds, with scholia. P. Oxy. 1371. 40 vii

16b.

"The

Cairo

Menander".

40

17a Aristophanes, Peace and Knights. P. Oxy. 1373. 42 17b. Aeschines, Against Ctesiphoru P. Vindob. G 2314. 42 18a.

Ascension

of

Isaias.

P.

Amh.

1.

44

18b. New Testament, Galat PSI 251. 44 19a LXX, Psalm 36. PSI 1371. 46 19b. LXX, Psalm 90. P. Laur. 141. 46

19c. Oration (?) on Christ's Passion. PSI inv. 535. 46 20a Receipt P. Berol. 21840. 48 20b. Pindar, Olympian Odes. P. Oxy. 1614. 48 21a Prayer. P. Oxy. 1059 verso. 50 21b. Epic poem. P. Berol. 17044. 50 21c. Isocrates, Helena. P. Vindob. G 806. 50

21 d. Aristophanes, Acharnians, Frogs, Birds, Plu 22a Euripides, Andromache. P. Berol. 13418. 52 22b. Homer, Odyssey XVIII. P. Oxy. 1820. 52 23a

Homer,

Iliad

VII.

P.

Ant

157.

23b. Homer, Iliad XXIL P. Oxy. 1818. 24a The "Cotton Genesis". British Library. 24b. LXX, Genesis. P. Berol. 16353. 24c. Aristophanes, Knights, with scholia

54

54 56 56 56

25a Homer, Iliad XXI and XXII. P. BeroL 6794. 58 25 b. Dioscurides, De materia medica. Cod. Vindob. Med Gr. 1. 58

26a Euripides, Medea. P. Berol. 13243. 60 26b. Hesiod, Theogony. P. Ant 71. 60 26c. Theocritus, Idylls. P. Oxy. 1618. 60 27a Sale of hay with deferred delivery. P. Berol. 21827. 62 27 b. Euripides, Bacchae. P. Ant 24. 62 27c. Menander, Misumenos. P. Oxy. 1013. 62 28a Homer, Iliad XVII and XVIII. P. Oxy. 1817. 64 28b. Dialogue between St Basil and St Gregory. 64 29.

Vienna

Genesis.

66

30a Liturgie church calendar. P. Oxy. 1357. 68 30b. Theophilus, On Contrition. P. Oxy. 2531. 68 31a Dioscorus, Encomium. P. Cair. Masp. 67055 verso. 70 31b. LXX, Psalm 1. P. Vindob. G 25949. 70

31c. Isocrates, Ad Demonicum. P. Oxy. 1812. 70 32a Dioscorus, Encomia to Romānus. P. Lit. Lond. 98. 72 32b.

Deed

of

divorce.

P.

Berol.

21900.

72

33a Callimachus, Hymn IV. Bodl. gr. class, f. 109 (P). 74 33b. Life of Isocrates. P. Cair. Masp. 67175. 74 34a Fragment of a lease. P. Lond. 1326a 76 34b. Loan of money. P. Laur. 75. 76 34c. Isocrates, Nicocles 47-51. PSI 16. 76 35a Homer, Iliad IX, X, XII. P. Ant 161. 78 35b. Homer, Iliad XI. P Berol. 13262 + 21228. 78

36a Loan of money upon mortgage. P. Warren 10. 80 36b. Aesop, Fable 48. Bodl. gr. class, e. 72 (P). 80 viii

37.

Paschal

letter.

P.

Grenf.

II

112.

82

38a New Testament, II Cor. P. Vindob. G 19802. 84 38b. LXX, Exodus. P. Berol. 13994. 84

39a Homer, Odyssey X. P. Berol. 11754 + 21187. 86 39b. Sappho. P. Berol. 9722. 86 40. New Testament, Matthew and Mark. Codex Rossanensis. 88

41. Gospel and Apocalypse of St Peter. P. Cairo 10759a. Enoch.

P.

Cairo.

10759b

+

c.

90

42a Homer, Odyssey XV, XVII. PSI 1299. 42b. Aristophanes, Wasps. P. Oxy. 1374. 42c. Homer, Odyssey XIII. P. Berol. 13264. 43a Receipt for money. P. Amh. 157. 43b.

Official

letter.

P.

Lond.

32.

92 92 92 94 94

43c. Greek/ Arabic letter. P. Vindob. G 39736. 94

44. John Chrysostomus, Homiliae in Matthaeum. Cod. Guelferb. Helmst. 75 a. 98 45a Prolegomena on Galen, De sectis ad tirones. P. Berol. 11739. 100 45b. New Testament, Luke ; Euclid, Elements. Codex Nitriensis. 100 46a Contract P. Vindob. G 19807 + 25195. 102

46b. Virgil, Aeneid (Latin/Greek glossary). P. Colt 1. 102 46c. New Testament, Acta. P. Vindob. G 39783. 102

47 a Ivory diptych. British Museum. 104 47b.

Paschal

letter.

P.

Köln

215.

104

48a Psalter. Zürich, Cod. RP 1. 106 48b. LXX, Hiob with Catena and illustrations. Patmos, Cod. 171. 106

49a John Malaias, Chronographia. Cod. Crypt. L.a XXXIV. 108 49b. Acts of the 3rd Council of Constantinople. P. Vindob. G 3. 108 50a

Deed

of

sale.

P.

Vindob.

G

1981

1.

1

10

50b. Miscellanea Philologica. P. Berol. 21163. 110 51.

Lives

52a

of

Saints.

Paschal

P.

letter.

Louvre

P.

Berol.

E.

7404.

10677.

112 114

52b. Paschal letter (?). P. Heidelberg 295. 114 53a Monophysite hymns. P. Ryl. 466. 116 53b. Hymn from psalm verses. P. Berol. 11763. 116 53c. Hymn. PSI 1096. 116 54a Coptic document with Greek invocation. P. Strasb. 397. 118 54b.

LXX,

Psalm

141.

PSI

1372.

118

54c. Text with verses from Psalm 47. P. Amst 21. 118 55a

Homilies.

Cod.

Paris,

lat.

4403

B.

120

55 b. Menology for August Cod. Sinai. 120 55c. Doctrina Patrum. Cod. Vat. gr. 2200. 120 56a New Testament. Cod. Vat. Barb. gr. 472. 122 56b. S. Gregorius Magnus, Liber dialogorum. Cod. Vat. gr. 1666. 122 TRANSCRIPTIONS

1

25

INDICES:

I. Manuscripts illustrated or mentioned 143 II. Libraries, Museums, Collections 145 III.

Contents

149

IV. Palaeography and Codicology 151 ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

The abbreviations for papyrus publications are those of E Oxford, 1980), pp. 156-79, and of J. F. Oates and others, C Ostraca, BASP Supplement 4 (3rd edition, 1985). For period

listed in Liddell- Scott- Jones, Greek-English Lexicon (New

and in the Supplement (Oxford, 1968), p. XI; those cited differ

For a select bibliography, see pp. 153-61 in the second edit of the Ancient World (London, 1987).

Aland K. Aland, Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments (Berlin, 1973).

Aland, Rep. K. Aland, Repertorium der griechischen christlichen Papyri, I. Biblische Papyri (Berlin, 1976).

APF Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete (Leipzig, 1901- ). Austin, CGF C. Austin, Comicorum graecorum fragmenta in papyris reperta (Berlin, 1973).

BIFAO Bulletin de l'institut français d'archéologie orientale (Cairo, 1901- ). Cat gén. Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire . Cavallo, GA G. Cavallo, Grammata Alexandrina, JOB 24 (1975), pp. 23-54. Cavallo, Ricerche G. Cavallo, Ricerche sulla maiuscola biblica (Florence, 1967). cent. century (all dates are A.D.). ed. (edd.) editor (editors) or edition, ed. pr. editio princeps.

Festschr. Beri. Äg. Mus. Festschrift zum 150jährigen Bestehen des Berlin (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Mitteilungen aus der Ägypt lung, VIII) (Berlin, 1975).

Hatch W. H. P. Hatch, The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament (Chicago, 1939). inv. inventory number.

JOB (or JÕBG) Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik (

österreichischen Byzantinischen Gesellschaft (Vienna. 1

MMAF Mémoires publiés par les membres de l'institut français d'archéologie orientale au Caire.

Naldini M. Naldini, Documenti dell' antichità cristiana (Florence, 1965). New Pal. Soc. E. M. Thompson, G. F. Warner, F. G. Kenyon and J. P. Gilson, The New Palaeographical Society , Facsimiles Series I and II (London, 1903-30). Norsa, Scritt. lett. M. Norsa, La scrittura letteraria greca dal secolo IV a. C. all' VIII d. C. (Florence, 1939). Norsa, Doc. M. Norsa, Papiri greci delle collezioni italiane. Scritture documentarie dal III secolo a.C. al secolo VIII d.C. (Rome, 1946). xi

NPS see New Pal Soc. O.C.T. Oxford Classical Text

Omont, Facsimiles H. Omont, Facsimiles des plus anciens manuscrits grecs ... de la Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris, 1892). Pack R A. Pack, The Greek and Latin Literary Texts from Greco-Roman Egypt, 2nd edition (Ann Arbor, 1965).

Pal. Soc. E. A. Bond and E. M Thompson, Palaeographical Society, Facsimiles Series I and II (London, 1874-941. RE Pauly- Wissowa, Realencyclopaedie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (1894-1980). Schubart, Pal. W. Schubart, Griechische Palãographie, Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft 1 4, 1 (Munich, 1925).

Scriptorium Scriptorium. Revue internationale des études relatives aux manuscrits (Brussels-Gand, 1947- ).

Seider I R Seider, Palãographie der griechischen Papyri, I Urkunden (Stuttgart, 1967).

Seider II R Seider, Palãographie der griechischen Papyri, II Literarische Papyri (Stuttgart, 1970).

Turner, GMAW E. G. Turner, Greek Manuscripts of the Ancient World (Oxford, 1971 ; 2nd edition, London, 1987).

Turner, Typology E. G. Turner, The Typology of the Early Codex (Philadelphia, 1977). van Haelst J. van Haelst, Catalogue des papyrus littéraires juifs et chrétiens (Paris, 1976). ZPE Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik (Bonn, 1967- ).

xii

INTRODUCTION

Sir Eric Turner wrote, with reference to the Lille Stesichorus papy

to a Greek literary papyrus is a hazardous undertaking. The h

Ptolemaic period" . 1 The same could be said, with even greater justif

fourth to the eighth century A.D. Greek literary hands of the Rom

within boundaries of about half a century, because their characteri

more or less closely from dated or datable documentary hands of t

thatC. H. Roberts' useful handbook, Greek Literary Hands ( Oxford,

Timotheos papyrus in Berlin and ending with the Codex Sinaiticus i

centuries, from the 4th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. Forth

800, however, such confidence in the relative precision of dates

Editors of papyrus and parchment texts of late Antiquity often sug

century; for instance "A.D. VI/VII" may be intended to mean no seventh century", or "c. A.D. 600", but rather, one suspects, "sixth

indicated in the sub- title of this book, which we refer to as the ear

middle andiate Byzantine periods ofc. 800-1204 and 1204-1453 r

disagreement prevail when it comes to assigning dates to literary m

often many centuries apart, have been suggested for an impressive

This unsatisfactory state of affairs is due, we believe, to three

1 . From the fourth century onwards, literary and documentary h

paths and with increasing autonomy. The influence of documentary

ligatures, and on the general appearance, of contemporary bookha

it had been in the preceding centuries; it can still be found in som

rule, in the formal and highly stylized scripts of this period

2. While the literary hands which appear in Greek papyri of th been studied in some detail,2 those of the later Roman and ear rather unequal treatment; biblical majuscule , for example,

analysis,3 and other types of literary scripts have received at leas

have so far been largely neglected. Above all, the complex phenom

in this period has not been studied in its entirety. We do not eve

facsimiles, which could form a basis for a comprehensive study o

3. The main reason for our general lack of confidence in dating late

lack of securely dated specimens which could serve as chron comparable scripts. The Vienna Dioscurides (see plate 25b)

(plate 37) and Berlin (plate 52a) are rare exceptions - precious land

not numerous enough to elucidate the stylistic development of th Their number can, however, be increased In this period, literary

literary purposes, such as for letters; in addition to the two Festal le

letters written in bookhands which form part of datable archives (

of bookhands in the archive of Dioscorus (plates 31a, 32a, 33 b); the

or datable within narrow limits, written in literary hands (plates 30a 1

or derived from, literary scripts (plate 32b). Furthermore, we sometimes find elements of Greek majuscule scripts in the subscriptions of dated documents (plates 46a, 49b, 50a),6 or more generally in the letter forms of documentary texts (plate 27a). Conversely, we find, in the fourth century and still in

the first half of the fifth, literary texts written in informal, semi-cursive hands closely related to documentary hands (see plates 4, 5, 6, 9, 14, 20). Other chronological indicators are marginal notes in cursive or semi-cursive hands (plates 16a, 24c), and other links between literary and cursive hands (plates 19b, 21a, 31b). We have tried to collect a sufficient number of such indicators to provide a framework of dates, within which the stages in the development of the various scripts can be traced. When considering the successive stages in the development of the main types of hands, or scripts, we can often observe a tendency to shape the letters so as to make them fit into certain geometric forms. Where this tendency is particularly strong, it leads to the formation of beautifully regular letters which seem to be inscribed into even squares or circles, or into geometric shapes of equal height but contrasting width. A script may reach a high degree of stylization (its ideal configuration, so to speak, or its canon),

before the letter forms become too rigid and begin to degenerate into mannerism, usually by overemphasizing their characteristic features. If in the biblical majuscule, for instance, the canon or ideal configuration is represented by the hand of the Codex Sinaiticus, then the Vienna Dioscurides (plate 25 b) shows the beginning of its decline, and later stages of its degeneration can be seen in plates 38, 40,

and 44. The other main scripts of this period seem to have undergone analogous developments. Alexandrian majuscule, for example, reaches a very high degree of regularity in bookhands of the sixth century (plates 22b, 37), before the contrast between narrow and wide letters, and that between thick and

thin strokes, becomes exaggerated and gives the script a mannered appearance (plates 47b, 51, 52). By the end of the period under consideration, the main literary scripts have all become mannered and betray symptoms of decline, some more so than others.7 By this time, a new type of Greek literary script

was about to emerge, with different roots and of very different appearance: minuscule, which soon

becomes standard, whereas majuscule scripts become rare and continue in use only in headings, quotations, lemmata and similar forms of Auszeichnungsschrift.9, It seemed appropriate, therefore, to

end our survey at this point, A.D. 800. The title we have chosen for this book, Greek Bookhands, only partially reflects its contents, for in addition to handwritings used exclusively or predominantly in books, we have also included examples of scripts used only for official documents, or for private purposes such as the autographs of Dioscorus of Aphrodito. But the distinction is in any case somewhat artificial, because in fact we are dealing not with two completely different types of writing, but with various scripts which were all taught, practised and

employed depending on the purpose which the particular text - whether a book, a document or any other form of the written word - was expected to fulfil in its socio-cultural context, namely that of the

Early Byzantine Period which, notwithstanding certain cultural vicissitudes, especially in the seventh

and eighth centuries, had remained generally literate. In some cases, yet other factors may have influenced the production of a text. If we can form a picture of the complex phenomenon of writing in its entirety, and not just as a series

of individual examples, it will prove possible in certain cases to use the forms of letters or letter groups and their various stages of development in conjunction with dated or approximately datable texts to help establish the chronological limits of the far larger number of manuscripts which cannot be dated by their

contents or by any other kind of terminus ante quern or post quern Certain highly stylized scripts deserve special consideration and will be discussed below. The aim of the present book is therefore twofold. Firstly, to trace in outline, and without any claim to

completeness, the development of Greek handwriting from the fourth to the eighth century in books

and documents. Secondly, to single out particular features of the scripts which bear comparison with each other and serve, therefore, as suitable chronological reference points for dating purposes. We have 2

consciously limited ourselves, with very few exceptions, to books and documents. Compared with other periods, in particular with the first centuries of the Roman Empire which produced a much greater and more varied output of all forms of written material, Late Antiquity is characterized by a decline in the number of other kinds of inscribed objects, such as ostraca, wooden tablets and graffiti, so that books and

documents alone provide an accurate and reliable picture of the state of writing. The same applies to an even greater extent in the seventh and eighth centuries, a period in which there is a further decline in the number of texts (although, to make up for that, a greater percentage of texts of non-Egyptian origin

have survived). Both in tracing the general development of scripts in the early Byzantine period and in examining

certain very stylized bookhands, we could have taken into consideration inscriptions both on stone, or painted, or on mosaics, but we decided to confine our investigation to writing on papyrus and parchment (or paper, see 55 c) and therefore to books and documents in the wider sense, including school texts, texts written on single leaves or autographs, the only exception being the ivory diptych 47 a What picture emerges from the evidence we have examined? In essence, we find that ( a) in everyday use the basic forms developed very slowly, ( b) highly stylized, formal scripts tended to become fossilized, ( c) innovations appear to be inspired by the scripts used in official correspondence. In this rather complex

picture we find strongly divergent trends. These trends are closely linked to the part played by writing in Byzantine society from the time of Constantine to the Iconoclasts. Although in this society literacy was

fairly wide-spread, writing was increasingly delegated to its "technicians" and employed less for private use, with the result that its stylistic features were preserved for long periods. The rigidity of this society inclined it towards the systematic arrangement of texts, whether they were of the great classical authors of the past, of the new Christian texts, or of the works of the jurists. Stability was preferred both in the form of the book (the corpus in codex form) and in the style of the writing ( scripts which conform to fixed

norms). It is only in the sphere of bureaucracy that writing undergoes, through the obligatory use of Latin

as well as Greek scripts, those stylistic innovations which were eventually to result in the minuscule: not only in the form of individual letters but as a complex system of writing. The plates aim to illustrate this diversified process up to and including the eighth century. It is no

coincidence that opportunities to compare bookhands with cursive scripts become scarcer as the centuries proceed. For the later part of the period under consideration, we are therefore forced for dating

purposes to use criteria of a different nature (see plates 30, 31a, 32a, 37, 38, 46, 47, 49, 50, 52, 53). Retracing this process, both in outline and in its particulars, will enable us to establish a chronological

framework for the history of Greek writing from A.D. 300 to 800, even where we have no dated or datable texts.

In the first place there are the most generally used scripts, both in documents and in books. Due to their

different applications, however, scripts in books are usually more disciplined and tidier than the former; but one often finds the same forms, strokes, ligatures, and other stylistic features in both (see plates 1, 2

and 3, 6, 9 and 10, 14, 20, 21, 27, 31b-c, 32b-33c, 34, 35 and 36, 54); one also finds the same general impression or air du temps (see plates 7, 19, 26). While a specific feature may be found over a longer period of time, it is the general character of a hand, or a combination of a number of different features,

which enable us to determine whether hands are contemporary or not. A stylistic comparison with datable hands can establish, with little margin of error (provided we pay close attention to the relevant

details), approximate dates for manuscripts not dated by other means. During the earlier part of the period under consideration, namely the fourth to sixth centuries, there is less scope for comparison between documentary and literary hands than during the first to third centuries; but, nonetheless, it is

still a promising area for investigation. In this period, due to various economic, social and cultural factors, it was often the readers themselves who copied the books. They were not professional scribes with advanced training in formal script writing, but simply literate persons, capable of writing without 3

blunders for their everyday affairs; or they may have been officials, not necessarily of high rank. These hands differ only in their degree of formality, depending on the nature of the texts they were writing or copying (see, for instance, the rather informal hands of plate 4 and the more stylized versions of the same

type in plate 5). However, this period is one in which comparatively little was written - and this is particularly true of the fifth century - even though literacy was still wide- spread. This accounts for the

slow developments of scripts (significantly, in the fifth century they remain almost unchanged). Eventually, from the later part of the sixth century onwards, books were produced in steadily decreasing numbers by professional scribes, while informal hands are found only in writings of lesser quality (see,

for example, plates 36b and 53). From the sixth century on, we are dealing with extremely formal stylized scripts, those which were

approaching their full development in the early Byzantine period: the sloping pointed majuscule, the

upright pointed majuscule, the biblical majuscule, and the Alexandrian majuscule. Apart from a few very special exceptions, these scripts were used exclusively for books. What, therefore, is their relationship to the contemporary scripts employed in everyday affairs? For some of these scripts, writing

exercises have survived. This suggests that these scripts were taught as the more advanced form of writing to scribes who were already familiar with the current scripts of their period, even if they did not

always use them. The fact that training was necessary in these scripts shows that their special character must have been recognized. We must therefore, when analysing them, be careful to distinguish between

these formal scripts (or their more shortlived variants) and general characteristics in the manner of writing which look similar and may have influenced them. Those who wrote, and indeed some of their

readers too, were conscious of using scripts which were controlled by precise norms developed and perfected for the clearly defined purpose of copying books. But this does not explain their perpetuation through the centuries. The very formal literary scripts of the Hellenistic period, for instance, were much

more shortlived. The fact that in the early Byzantine period certain scripts remained in use uninfluenced by developments in other kinds of writing is to be accounted for by the endeavour of its society to preserve

the heritage of the past by encasing it within norms. This also applied to certain scripts, in the form of

standard models. This phenomenon is indeed one of the pillars upon which the civilization of Late Antiquity and the Byzantine Period rests. Notwithstanding this conscious effort on the part of this society

to preserve the scripts, the hands do in fact reveal differences according to period, environment, and

taste; in addition, some writers, accustomed to scripts in common use, may have subconsciously introduced elements of cursive which were foreign to the formal scripts.

These intrusions or "weak points" provide a foothold for the palaeographer's work; his task is facilitated if he also has at his disposal some other means, however slight, of dating the text On this basis,

we have tried to define the various stages in the development of the formal scripts. These scripts may be divided into four main types

1. Sloping pointed majuscule . Its origins are to be found in the second century A.D., but it does not reach its ideal form until the late fourth century. From then on, it becomes distinguishable from the numerous other forms of sloping script of Late Antiquity, with which it should not be confused; a

comparison with them may prove useful to help establish common features (for examples of such general sloping scripts see plates 2 and 3, 14, 27b-c, 30-33, 49a, 53, 54). Within the formal system of the sloping pointed majuscule there are three different, although related, types which can be followed

through the centuries; one is illustrated by plates 1 1 a, 15a, 17b, 41 b-c, 45, a second by plates lib,

15b, 17a, 23a, 28a, 39, 46b-c, 55a-b, a third by plates 16, 23b, 28b, 42. 2. Upright pointed majuscule . This script is fairly well attested in its initial phase, in the second and third centuries, but it very rarely appears in the fourth to eighth centuries (there are hardly more examples than those illustrated in plates 12, 40, 48a). But it seems likely that this form continued in

use during the later centuries in parts of the Greek East outside Egypt 4

3 . Biblical majuscule. This script was very widely used in the early Byzantine period when it appears to be the commonest of all the formal scripts. Having already reached its definitive form by the third

century, it begins to acquire distinct characteristics of the period which enable us to follow its development in all phases right up to A.D. 800 (see plates 13, 18, 24, 25, 29, 43a, 48b, 56; certain regional characteristics are evident in plates 24a, 25, 29, 48b, 56). 4. Alexandrian majuscule . Even though its first traces are already discernible in the second century, it does not reach its ideal form until the fifth to sixth centuries. It seems to have been in use mainly, though not exclusively, in Egypt where it was used, like other Greek scripts, in a modified form in

Coptic texts, finally superseding all others and becoming the most widely used - one may say "national" - script of the Copts. Hence it has also become known as "Greek Uncial of Coptic Type". Within its formal system, two distinct types can be distinguished: in one, the letters are, by and large,

of uniform size (see opiate 8); in the other there is a contrast between large and narrow letters (see

plates 22, 37, 47, 51, 52). Of these, the second was commoner and continued in use for longer. Among the literary scripts of Late Antiquity, of a strictly formal character, the standardized types listed above are not the only ones. There are also hybrid forms resulting from the adaptation of certain

scripts to the Coptic alphabet, which were nonetheless also used for Greek texts (plate 38). There are imitative scripts resulting from antiquarian fashions and tastes, documented in P. Duke inv. 5 and the

so-called Ilias Ambrosiana F 205 inf. in Milan, in which second century forms of writing reappear in manuscripts of the fifth and sixth centuries. There are also scripts which reflect the transposition into Greek of the Latin uncial of the so-called B-Rtype, which is to be found mainly in juristic manuscripts but

also in PSI 1 10, a manuscript of the Iliad , which may therefore have been written by someone used to copying juristic texts. These scripts have been deliberately excluded from the present study because they

are rare exceptions and of little relevance for the history of Greek writing in the period under consideration. The few examples referred to above have been mentioned because they are of historical and cultural interest.

Finally we must say a word about documentary cursives and semi-cursives used for chancery purposes. It is in this sphere that Greek writing develops, and eventually evolves into minuscule. Cursive forms and ligatures had been in use for centuries, but it was not until the fourth century (when a Graeco-

Latin scriptorial koine began to emerge) that the process which was to lead to the emergence of Greek minuscule as a script in its own right really began. Minuscule, however, was for a long time to remain confined to the office, while majuscule maintained its place as the main script to be taught well into the middle Byzantine period. The term "Byzantine cursive" covers a whole series of scripts widely attested in centuries VI to VIII, in which the shape and angle of the pen-strokes and the forms of the ligatures differ widely, although they all form part of the writing system of minuscule. It is therefore wrong to use this as a

generic term, instead of referring to a particular script in this category, when we talk about the stylizations

of the later bookhands. For it is only specific types of documentary scripts - some of them more or less cursive (plate 43c), others more formal (plate 43 a- b) - which formed the basis for the development of later styles of bookhands, be it that they contributed the occasional feature (plate 43b) or were drawn

upon in restricted areas (plate 55c), or lent themselves to full-scale adoption, as in the case of the documentary script which was the precursor of the Greek bookhand properly called " literary minuscule" which we find from the ninth century onwards. But this subject is outside the scope of the present book.

5

NOTES

1. E. G. Turner, "Ptolemaic Bookhands and the Lille Stesichorus", Scrittura e Civi 2. By far the most useful handbook on the palaeography of Greek papyri is still W

(Munich, 1925); also useful, though very brief, is H. Hunger's survey on Gree

Textüberlieferung (Zürich, 1961), pp. 72-107. Medea Norsa produced two collection discerning descriptions of the hands and styles of writing: La scrittura letteraria (Florence, 1939), and Papiri greci delle collezioni italiane: Scritture documentarie ( majuscule specimens are dated. R. Seider, Paläographie der griechischen Papyri,

provides a useful collection of photographs. E. G. Turner's two fundamental books, Gre (Oxford, 1 97 1 ; revised edition London, 1 987) and The Typology of the Early Codex of information on ancient book rolls and codices and many valuable observations on th palaeographical handbooks. In Ruth Barbour's Greek Literary Hands, A D. 400-1600 ( O

indicated in her subtitle are represented by just three specimens, the oldest of which is th

3. G. Cavallo, Ricerche sulla maiuscola biblica (Florence, 1967).

4. J. Irigoin, "L'onciale grecque de type copte", Jahrbuch der österreichischen byza

29-51; G. Cavallo, Grommata Alexandrina, ibid 24 (1975), pp. 23-54. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Schubart devoted just 2 Vi pages of his Griechische Paläographie to the bookhands Another example is the subscription of Ioannes in P. Lond. 210, see Facsimiles, vo For example biblical majuscule (plate 56) more so than sloping pointed majuscule ( G. Cavallo, "Funzione e strutture della maiuscola greca tra i secoli viii - xi", La palé 1977), pp. 95-137; H. Hunger, "Minuskel und Auszeichnungsschriften im 10.-12. Ja

6

PLATES AND COMMENTARIES

la. P.Oxy. 209. New Testament, St Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Early iv. Cambridge, Mass.: Houghton Library, Harvard University, Semitic Museum inv. 2218. Ed.pr. B.P. Grenfell and A.S. Hunt, P.Oxy . II (1899) 209. van Haelst 490. Aland, Rep., Var 33. 25.1 X 19.9cm. The papyrus was found tied together with a contract dated A.D. 316; other documents discovered with it belong to the same period. The first hand has written Rom. 11-7 in crude letters (a school exercise?). Underneath are two lines in a practised cursive; the lower half of the sheet is blank.

lb. P.Oxy. 1358. Hesiod, Catalogue. Early iv.

Cambridge: University Library Add. 6353. Ed.pr. B.P. Gren 1358. Pack 522.

Two fragments measuring 22.2 x 10.1cm and 23.6 x 13cm of a roll of official accounts in a cursive hand of the iii century, with the literary text on the verso. Its scribe puts diaeresis over ü and ¿"ā

Some corrections, punctuations and accents (circumflex and very flat, almost horizontal, acute) seem to have been added by a different hand. The plate shows fr. 1 verso lines 1-22 = R. Merkelbach and M.L. West (edd.), Fragmenta Hesiodea (Oxford 1967) fr. 141. Part of lines 6-13 are also preserved in P. Rein. II 77 (P. Sorb. inv. 2082) = Pack 523.

The hand of a writes rather crude and irregular letters. Characteristic are A in three strokes at sharp angles; E in three movements with its top curve drawn from left to right; K with its descending

diagonal hanging from the ascending one; M with its middle strokes joined into one curve; T commonly in three strokes with its vertical descending below the baseline but occasionally, as for example in XPT 1. 1, formed like a Latin V; 4> with its circle squashed into an angular shape; (ù made in three strokes, the third of which descends from the top. Nomina sacra are given in the form which had by this time become the norm. The two lines below are in a fluid and practised cursive which can be assigned to the first decade of the iv century (compare Norsa, Doc. pl. 19 of A.D. 302 and Seider I pl. 48 of A.D. 32 1 or 322). The hand of b betrays more experience but shows essentially the same forms and treatments of letters as those observed in a; it must therefore be closely contemporary.

8

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2a. P. Herm. Rees 4. Letter to Theophanes. ca. A.D. 320.

Manchester: John Rylands University Library. Ed.pr. B.R. Rees, Papyri fr 1964) 4 + pl. 3. This letter, complete and well preserved, occupies the upper half of a sheet of 24.7 x 14.5cm, its lower half blank. The address is on the verso, written along the fibres. With P. Herrn. Rees 2, 3, 5

and 6, it belongs to the Theophanes archive {P.Ryl. IV 616-651). The datable documents in this archive were written between about A.D. 312 and 325 (see editor's introduction, P.Ryl. IV pp. 104ff., and A. Moscadi, "Le lettere dell'archivio di Teofane", Aegyptus 50 (1970), pp. 88-154.

2b. P. Chester Beatty XI. LXX, Ecclesiasticus. Early iv.

Dublin: Chester Beatty Museum. Ed.pr. F.G. Kenyon, The Chester Beatty B

Text (London 1937), pp. 28-32; Plates (Dublin 1958), pli. 104-105 (fol Seider II 57.

One complete leaf, 26.5 x 18cm, containing on ļ Eccles. 36.28- 37.1 1 and on - * Eccles. 37.1 1-22, and part of the lower half of another, 15 x 9cm, containing on i Eccles. 46.6-1 1 and on - * Eccles. 46.16-47.2. The original format of the page was ca. 27.5 x 18.7cm. The pagination is preserved in the middle of the top margins of the complete leaf ( ļ 07, - > oô); one column per page, with 33 lines ( ļ ) and 34 lines ( - > ). The plate shows the top half of the recto (J ) with 36.28-37.4.

In a, characteristic letters are A, sometimes with markedly curved diagonal; A with its descending diagonal capping the ascending one; long I; K with very rigid arms; M with its middle curve sometimes

descending from a hook (jpaļinarcov, 1.4), a feature of particular relevance to dating since it is not found either before or after iv cent.; T descending well below the baseline; (ù with well rounded curves. In b, some letters show slightly different shapes, especially M, with uprights parallel and straight and its middle curve not reaching the base line; T descending only slightly below the line; tú more angular. Yet on the whole this hand exhibits the same characteristic features as a and may be assigned to the same period. One must, however, remember that this type of hand is already found at the end of iii century: P.Oxy. 23 and P. Berol. 9766 (= Pack 1424 and 1425), from the same roll and written in an almost identical hand, cannot be later than A.D. 295 because that year is given as a consular date on the verso of P.Oxy. 23.

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