St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, cod.254 Josephus Scottus, "Commentarius in Isaiam;' "Epistola Cuthberti de obitu Bedae" including "Bede's Death Song;' "Epitaphium Bedani"

Abstract

447. St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, cod.254

Josephus Scottus, "Commentarius in Isaiam;'

"Epistola Cuthberti de obitu Bedae" including "Bede's

Death Song;' "Epitaphium Bedani"

[Ker App. 25; Gneuss --- ]

HISTORY: This Carolingian manuscript, containing the earliest extant copy of the "Epistola Cuthberti de Obi tu Bedae" and of"Bede's Death Song''. mainly comprises a commentary on Isaiah by Josephus Scottus (i.e. the Irishman, fl. 780s; cf. Manitius 1911-31: 1.547-9), written in several hands and bound in the 9c at St Gallen. Bischoff 1998 dated pp. 2-252a/8 to the second half of the 9c, and pp. 252a/9-256a/20 (Scribe 13) to the first half of the 10c, but the disposition of quire XVIII (pp. 249-56) indicates that Scribe 13 continued where Scribe 12 left off. The manuscript is apparently mentioned in the mid-9c catalogue of St. Gallen, MS 728, p. 6 (pr. Lehmann 1918: 73): "Item Hieronimi in Esaiam libri XVIII! [recte XVIII] in uoluminibus tribus;' and perhaps catalogued before it was bound. It is also mentioned in the 1461 catalogue of St Gallen, where it is ascribed to Bede: S7 at Lehmann 1918:108. It has apparently never left the library there. There is a 13c inscription 'lib<er> s<an>c<t>i galli' on p. 1, and on p. 2a/21 'Beda' was added in the 15c, probably in connection with the St. Gallen catalogue of 1461.

On p. 1 there occur two numbers 'D.n.201: and in red '254'. The St. Gallen library stamp (presumably 19c) also occurs on this page and on p. 256, col.b. Previous descriptive notices in [Scherer] 1875: 95-6, Bruckner 1938: 87, and in Duft and Meyer 1954: 60. A complete digital facsimile has recently been published "e-codices''. http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/ en/ description/ csg/0254/.