Gonville and Caius College : Greek ascetical texts

John Chrysostom‎

Gonville and Caius College

<p style='text-align: justify;'> The manuscript contains a collection of <i> Greek ascetical texts</i> comprising sermons by Isaac of Nineveh (Isaac Syrus), mystical theologian of the 7th century, John Chrysostom (5th c.) and others together with a series of <i> Apophthegmata Patrum</i> (“Sayings of the Fathers”), anecdotes and maxims by the Egyptian Desert Fathers. Such collections of texts are frequently found in Greek manuscripts, as books which had a particular value within monastic communities. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'> The codex was copied by a single scribe, probably in the 17th century. A later hand wrote some annotations in the margins and a final note on the verso of the last leaf of the manuscript, mentioning a monastery τοῦ τιμίου προδρόμου, confirming the probable production and use of the manuscript in a monastic milieu.</p>Dr Erika Elia