Medieval and Early Modern Greek Manuscripts : De recta in Deum fide

Medieval and Early Modern Greek Manuscripts

This manuscript contains an anonymous dialogue De recta in Deum fide ('On the true faith in God'), which was originally composed in the 4th century CE and traditionally attributed to an Adamantius, its protagonist, or to Origen. Adamantius, who acts as champion of the orthodox faith, discusses it with various opponents, some of them representing the heresies of Marcionism and Valentinianism. The text in MS B.9.10 seems to be the result of a transcription made at two separate times. The main part of the text (ff. 1r-56v), which contains a prologue and incomplete copy of the dialogue, was copied from <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b107218263'> Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, gr. 817</a> by an anonymous scribe. Other leaves, containing a second, longer prologue to the work (ff. [iv]-[v]), and the ending of the dialogue with an epilogue (ff. 57-58), were copied on a different kind of paper by Claude Serrau (Claudius Serravius), who trascribed them from another Parisian manuscript <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b110052151?rk=1051507;2'> Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, gr. 461</a>. Serrau worked after the copy of the anonymous scribe of ff. 1r-56v had been completed: he collated the portion of the text of ff. 1-56 with Par. gr. 461, which he indicated as " P(arisinus) S(ecundus)", writing in the margins variants and missing passages; and added to these leaves parts of the text present in MS Par. gr. 461, absent from the anonymous scribe's exemplar, MS Par. gr. 817. Serrau indicated in the margins other manuscripts from which he drew passages (see e.g. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(124);return false;'> f. 56v</a>). He concluded his work in December 1647 (see <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(127);return false;'> f. 58r</a>; for a transcription, see Colophon); he did it for his friend and correspondent, the Dutch scholar and manuscripts collector Isaac Vossius, who eventually gave the manuscript to Edward Thorndike. Dr Erika Elia