Medieval and Early Modern Greek Manuscripts : Greek Poems by Joshua Barnes

Medieval and Early Modern Greek Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This manuscript contains two <i> Greek Poems by Joshua Barnes</i> (1654-1712), and it is in the hand of the author. A fellow of Emmanuel College from 1678, Joshua Barnes was appointed Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge in 1695. He published editions of Euripides (1694), Anacreon (1705), and Homer (1711). Being fluent in ancient Greek, which he could write and speak, from a young age Barnes composed works in Greek himself, as illustrated by the poems in this manuscript, which dates to 1673 (see J. M. Levine, <i> The battle of the books: history and literature in the Augustan age</i> (Ithaca and London, 1991), p. 152). Emmanuel College possesses a further manuscript of Greek poems written and copied by Barnes, of the same date: <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-EMMANUEL-COLLEGE-00178/1'>Cambridge, Emmanuel College, MS 178</a>.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'> The codex is a small volume formed of two parts, both dating to 1673, and made of the same kind of paper. In both parts the text is written perpendicular to the usual direction of the text in codices. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'> The first part contains the <i> Metaphraseis</i>, paraphrases in hexameters of Biblical texts (this text is also found in Emmanuel MS 178), followed by a few epigrams, some addressed to members of Emmanuel College, with a dedication to John Breton, its then Master. The second part contains a poem on Homer, <i> Poematium de vatum patre et principe Homero</i>, followed, also in this case, by some epigrams, with a dedication to James Duport, master of Magdalene College and Regius Professor of Greek. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'> Dr Erika Elia</p>