Ciro Giacomelli

Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New

Evidence
Today Padua bears little (if any) importance for students of Greek manuscripts: its
libraries preserve 35 Greek codices, but only few of them date earlier than the 16th
century and, with some notable exceptions, they all have been considered worthy of
little attention (and, in most cases rightly so).1
In the 15th and 16th centuries the situation was quite different: the humanistic
circles gravitating around the medieval University attracted scholars from all-over
Europe, and a chair of Greek was instituted for Demetrius Chalcondyles already in
1463.2 Two of his opening lectures have been handed down to us in the recollectae
(class notes) of the German scholar Hartmann Schedel and these texts may be the
ideal starting point of our brief overview.3
Together with Venice – and maybe more than the capital itself – Padua became
one of the most important centres of Greek learning: scribes and scholars came from

1 See Richard/Olivier (19953) 632. The most part of the Greek MSS still preserved in Padua has been
described by Mioni (1965) vol. 1, 231–267. Only a handful of documents has escaped Mioni’s attention:
for a general overview, I’d like to refer the reader to Giacomelli (2018) 121–123.
2 The presence of the Florentine émigré Palla Strozzi in Padua (where he moved in 1434), who died in
that city in 1462, just a year before Chalcondyles appointment, is certainly worthy of mention: Palla
not only left a considerable amount of his Greek library to the monastery of St Giustina, which was
located near his Paduan house, but he was also the host and protector of the well-known byzantine
scholar John Argyropulos, who obtained his Paduan doctorate in 1444. On Palla’s Greek library and
the monastery of St Giustina we will briefly insist in the following pages; on Palla’s influence in Padua
see Cammelli (1954) 29: “Palla morì nonagenario nel 1462, un anno prima della nomina del Calcondi-
la, e non può dunque essere considerato come il promotore diretto e immediato della sua elezione allo
Studio; è certo però che vi cooperò indirettamente, ma non meno efficacemente; poiché è tutto suo
il merito di aver promosso in Padova gli studi del Greco e di aver preparato il terreno a un pubblico
insegnamento”.
3 A general overview of the subject was given by Ferrai (1876). Ferrai’s text is in itself interesting, at
least from an historical point of view, but it is now surpassed: a complete and up-to-date study on the
teaching of Greek in Padua is much needed, since a clear picture is still missing and too much of what
we know is uncertain. On Chalcondyles see most recently Gastgeber (2014) esp. 80–83 and the edition
of the texts 90–99, with previous bibliography; Gastgeber’s work replaces the unsatisfactory edition
provided by Geanakoplos (1974). The historical reconstruction by Geanakoplos (1962a), which used to
be a standard reference for Greek humanism in Renaissance Venice (and Padua), should be referred
to with some caution, since it relies only on pre-existing literature, for the most part now largely out-
dated: see the important review by Dionisotti (1965), reprinted in Dionisotti (1995) 67–76. The best infor-
mation on Greek humanism in Venice and, marginally, Padua (albeit not up-to-date or complete) is to
be found in Pertusi (1980). The more recent general picture provided by Wilson (2000) – I quote from
the Italian edition, since the original English text is marred by some faults, as shown by the review of
Pontani A. (1995) – is too concise, and now out-dated, to be of much use (on Padua, see 149–152).

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110577082-009
198   Ciro Giacomelli

the East, bearing ancient manuscripts and ready to copy new ones, offering their
services to the Italian élites (the names of Musuros and Kallierges, who flourished
between Padua and Venice, being only the most notable).4
From the ideal starting point of 1463, up to 1509, and than again, from 1517 till
the mid of the 16th century,5 the Studium Patavinum was probably one of the most
attractive and intellectually fertile environments in Europe, and the wealth of Greek
and Latin manuscripts circulating in that city is but a shadow of its original splendor.6
When in 1639 Giacomo Filippo Tomasini, bishop of Udine, published his Bibliothe­
cae Patavinae manuscriptae publicae et privatae, an ample catalogus bibliothecarum
comprising lists of manuscripts from 52 libraries in Padua (one of earliest and most
notable works of such a kind),7 it was already too late: much of what used to be pre-
served there – and, as we shall see, this is especially true in the case of Greek manu-
scripts – was already gone: bought, stolen or forever lost. At that time, the Studium,
about to enter a slow but inevitable decline just after the glorious years of Galileo, had
ceased to attract students from abroad.8
Tomasini was acutely aware of this circumstance and in the preface to his work –
which, despite its numerous faults, is still of paramount importance for the study of
book collections in Padua – he duly informs the reader of the dispersions occurred in
the previous century:9

4 The literature on the subject is vast and, sometimes, contradictory: for a general picture of Musuros’
life and works one may now refer to Ferreri (2014) and Speranzi (2013); on Kallierges see the recent
studies by Chatzopoulou (2009; 2010; 2012). Chatzopoulou’s still unpublished Parisian dissertation is
full or important details concerning the activity of the scribe. Some information on Kallierges is to be
found in Fogelmark (2015) 4–61. While the merits of these works are great, it is regrettable that no one
has yet attempted a serious biographical study, examining all the relevant documents and exploring
the local Archives, still rich of unpublished materials: too much of what we know is based on human-
istic blabber and a more critical approach to these sources would be most welcome.
5 The most troubled period for university life in Italy is the so-called season of the Italian wars: a clear
picture of the situation has been drawn by Del Negro (2002). On the temporary closing of the Studium
during the war against the League of Cambrai, see Piovan (2010). When the University was re-opened,
in 1517, its control was taken by the Venetian rulers: from this moment on the administration of the
Studium was given to the Riformatori, and the local aristocracy – deeply involved in the conflict – was
excluded from its organization. A general view on the history of the University is given by Grendler P.
(2001) 3–40; this work should be read with the review by Piovan (2003).
6 One couldn’t stress enough the importance of Padua in the propagation of Greek culture in Europe.
The case of Schedel is well known and the same is true for Johannes Cuno, who at the beginning of
the 16th century taught Greek to an entire generation of German humanists. On Cuno I shall refer the
reader to the seminal study by Sicherl (1978).
7 Cf. Kenney (1974) 89.
8 On the decline of university culture in Italy (and especially in Padua) see at least Grendler P. (2001)
477–508.
9 Tomasini (1639) b[3]v–b[4]r.
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   199

Priuatis hercle minorem longe diuturnitatis securitatem sibi polliceri licuit; quarum possessio saepe
ab unius heri arbitrio, saepe a fato pendebat. Quosdam enim ita faciles ac intempestiue verecundos
finxit natura, ut alienae petitioni obniti turpe suoque genio indignum arbitrentur; unde sua quoque
omnibus indulgent; alios ita duros invenies et suspicionum plenos, ut suo, si Diis placet, thesauro
vigilantius quam Draco incubantes non alia vi quam auri expugnentur. […] Vtroque hoc mortalium
genere temporis diuturnitate tantum profecit, ut sagacissimum erat, Illustriss. Vir Io. Vincentius
Pinellus, ut quidquid veterum Librorum in Vrbe nostra aut vicinis Oppidis esset rari precio preci­
busque in amplissimam suam Bibliothecam accumularet. Verum, quemadmodum omnia in hoc
uniuerso varias experiuntur vicissitudines, ita cum ea defuncto Pinello ab haeredibus Neapolim
deveheretur a piratis intercepta, veluti exigui precii merx carthacea [sic], Neptuno sacrabatur.
Recuperata demum pars melior eximia Federici Borromei Archiepiscopi Mediolanensis liberalitate
Bibliothecam Ambrosianam optimorum librorum delectu ac numero celebrem amplificavit. Baro­
cius etiam nobilis Venetus stupendi ingenii vir in conquirendis calamo scriptis voluminibus maxi­
meque Graecis occupatus, non exiguum rariorum librorum numerum Patavii congessit, qui paucis
ab hinc annis Illustrissimi Comitis Thomae Arrundellii sumptibus Britanniae regno non parum
ornamenti attulerunt. […] Mitto quam nostra Bibliopolia quotidie excutiantur ab exteris, quorum
animos ea versat cura, ut peregrina et preciosioria undique conquirant, non ignari quantum intersit
libros possidere venerandae antiquitatis calamo scriptos maximeque Archetypos.

The perilous fate of Pinelli’s library – here only briefly recalled by Tomasini – is well
known, and it has been accurately illustrated in ancient and modern studies:10 what
is less well known is the fact that Pinelli’s library was actually the last refuge of the
scattered relics of many pre-existing private collections of manuscripts.
Let’s take a step back in time, in an attempt of reconstructing some of the most
notable (and less studied) collections of Greek manuscripts in Padua: this effort will
reveal not only the surprisingly large amount of Greek manuscripts preserved in that
city in the first half of the 16th century, but it will also lead to the conclusion that much
of what is preserved has been dispersed through a limited (and almost invariable)
number of channels, which is worth navigating à rebours, in search of lost libraries.

1 The Case of Niccolò Leonico Tomeo (1456–1531)

and His Learned Circle
The still little-known figure of Niccolò Leonico Tomeo has been recently brought in
full light in a series of papers devoted to his Greek library.11

10 Grendler M. (1980); Rodella (2003); Nuovo (2005a; 2005b; 2007a); Raugei (2018).
11 On Tomeo’s Greek library, see Cariou (2014) and Gamba (2014). Tomeo’s Greek handwriting was
almost unknown until the publication of the pioneering study of Vendruscolo (1996), who was able to
recognize Leonico among the anonymous scribes listed by Harlfinger (1971) 418 (no. 5). Too much of
what is known on Tomeo’s biography is based on Giovio’s biographical sketch and even if the recent
bibliography seems to accept it, his claim that Tomeo was of Greek origins remain suspicious: see
Pontani A. (2000) 346–348. Even the fact that Tomeo would have been a disciple of Demetrius Chal-
200   Ciro Giacomelli

The fruits of Tomeo’s scholarship are few, and even though he seems to have
owned an incredibly rich and select collection of Greek classics, he must have been
a quite reluctant writer.12 His name is associated to a chair at the Studium of Padua
(1497), where he was appointed lecturer on Aristotle’s natural philosophy, succeed-
ing the physician Francesco Cavalli from Brescia (in contrast with some bombastic
statements, to be found even in recent studies, Tomeo’s chair was actually a very
minor teaching appointment, strictly related to the cursus studiorum in medicine and
arts).13 In the same year he seems to have taken part in the preparation of the Aldine
Aristotle: this rumor, propagated by Martin Lowry without any documentation other
than the chronological coincidence, could actually be true, since one of the printer’s
copies employed for the third volume of this great enterprise was in all probability a
copy of Bernensis 402, one of the first manuscripts attributed to Tomeo;14 one may

condyles in Florence should be considered uncertain: by all means Tomeo got his degree in Padua, in
1485; his presence in Florence is inferred by the mention of his name in one letter of Chalcondyles to
Giovanni Lorenzi, published by Noiret (1887) 486–488 no. III. Since for this letter Noiret proposed the
date 1485–1487, there is no proof that Tomeo followed Chalcondyles in Florence when he moved there
from Padua in 1475 (on letter III see Cammelli [1954] 36 and 89 n. 6); see also De Bellis (1980) 38 and
n. 4, where it is stated that the mention of Tomeo in two letters documents his presence in Florence:
actually, in the second letter (no. IV Noiret, dated 1488) only Tomeo’s brother Bartholomew is remem-
bered, while from the first one we know that Leonico brought a letter to Chalcondyles in Florence,
with no further reference to the reasons of his presence there.
12 Tomeo’s published works are scarce and all were published late in his life (see Gamba [2014] 331–
333, with all the relevant bibliography). His main philological achievement seems to be the edition of
the Greek text of Aristotle’s natural treatises for the Giunta’s press (1527); in the frontispiece of this
edition, at the bottom of the general index, we read the statement Omnia ex exemplaribus. N. Leonici
Thomæi diligender emendata. The text itself, however, is a mere re-print of Aldus’ editio princeps.
13 I quote from the deliberation of the Venetian Senate (ASVe, Senato, Terra, reg. 12, fol. 200r), an
edition of the text was first provided by Heiberg (1896) 19, see also Ferriguto (1922) 211: Die XXI aprilis.
Venit in hanc urbem nostram Rector artistarum Gymnasii nostri Patavini, et inter cetera ab eo exposita,
petiit et supplicavit summa cum instantia nomine omnium illorum scolarium cupientium habere lec­
torem in lingua greca et explanatorem textuum Aristotelicorum, maxime in philosophia et medicina, pro
coadiuvandis eorum studiis, ut ad talem lecturam constitueretur vir eruditissimus et doctor utriusque
linguę peritissimus Magister Nicolaus de Thomeis dictis omnibus scolaribus supra quam dici possit gra­
tissimus et acceptissimus. Iccirco vadit pars quod ad dictam lecturam grecam auctoritate huius Consi­
lii eligatur constituatur et deputetur et ex nunc constitutus et deputatus intelligatur prefatus magister
Nicolaus cum salario florenorum 100 in anno et ratione anni. 100 florins each year were not a rich
allowance: in 1492 Pietro Trapolin complained for his stipend of only 137 florins, obtaining a rise of 62
florins (200 each year), cf. Nardi (1958) 156–157. On Tomeo’s appointement see Facciolati (1757) 110–111
(with reference to the unreliable work of the Cretan historian Niccolò Comneno Papadopoli); De Bellis
(1975) 73–74; Schmitt (1983) 288–289 and Gallo D. (2017) 142, 260–261, with previous litterature.
14 Lowry (20002) 150–151. See the description of the Bern MS by Andrist (2007) 188–196. On the use of this
MS for the preparation of the Aldine edition see Burnikel (1974) 91 and Sicherl (1997) 89–98. I have colla-
ted the MS with the editio princeps for the text of the ps.-Aristotelian treatise De mirabilibus auscultationi­
bus and I’m not only able to confirm that the Bern manuscript post correctionem was clearly the model of
the Aldine edition, but also that is bears the marks of a direct involvement in the printing process.
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   201

also observe that the order of the writings included in this edition owes much to Ca-
valli’s De numero et ordine partium ac librorum Physicae doctrinae Aristotelis, an essay
“verbose in extreme”, but surprisingly modern and “the first work written specifically
on the textual criticism of the corpus Aristotelicum”.15 We find no mention of Tomeo in
the preface of the Aldine edition and Cavalli is cited instead:

Consuluit labori nostro Franciscus Caballus, multi homo studii philosophusque doctissimus ac
excellens Venetiis medicus. Is enim libellum de ordine librorum Aristotelis in philosophia, accurate
quidem et erudite composuit, quem ipsi brevi excusum formis publicabimus.16

One may wonder if there has been a deeper relation between Tomeo and Cavalli:
nothing on this subject is to be found in the studies consecrated to the two scholars.
Tomeo’s influence in Europe, and particularly in the British Isles, was notable:
among his students were Thomas Latimer, Cuthbert Tunstall, Thomas Linacre, Richard
Peace and Reginald Pole. The teaching of the Paduan scholar deeply marked the tastes
of his former pupils, who seem to have remembered well his lessons while acquiring
their own libraries: even if it may seem a bald statement, it is quite clear that the cir-
culation of scientific and philosophical texts (mainly Neoplatonic commentators of
Aristotle and Plato) in Europe (and particularly in England)17 owes much to Tomeo
and his pupils, and any future history of Greek scholarship – or even of Renaissance
mathematical studies – should take in to account such evidence with due care.18
I’d like here to add some new evidence on Tomeo’s collection of Greek manu-
scripts: I have found marginalia written by him in Vat. Pal. gr. 57. This manuscript is a

15 Schmitt (1983) 296.

16 Dionisotti/Orlandi (1975) 14.
17 See Woolfson (1998) 90–93, 103–118; De Bellis (1980) 49–62; Papanicolau (2004) 234–235: in a
poem by Benedetto Lampridio (quoted by Papanicolau) it is stated that neque nunc | obtundit aures
nomine orbis | barbarus insolito | nostras. Repostos quam lubet | ultima terra Britannos | cingat […] illa
nunc volvit Platonem | insula volvit Aristotelem, | non hos rudi sermone versos, | atque notham faciem
| prae se ferentes, Attica | sed proprio ore sonantes | verba; tales namque legi jubet Ithomaeus. I’d like
here to add that Tomeo and his learned friends played a major role in the manuscript tradition of Pro-
clus’s commentary on the first book of Euclid’s Elements: on this point I shall refer the reader to the
brief and scattered notes collected in my previous essay Giacomelli (2016a) 134–136. Professor Carlos
Steel, who is now finishing a new edition of Proclus’ commentary, has clearly shown the tight rela-
tionship among the Renaissance MSS copied by Tomeo and his pupils. Interestingly enough, Marc.
gr. VI 11 (= 1409), a witness of Proclus’ commentary penned by <Matteo Macigni>, an apograph of Pa-
risinus gr. 1042, presents the very same garlands and marginalia which can be found in its model (for
the stemmatic relations between the two witnesses I shall refer to the forthcoming edition by C. Steel).
For the identification of Macigni’s hand see E. Sciarra’s description available at <https://marciana.
venezia.sbn.it/immagini-possessori/75-macigni-matteo>. I intend to offer further details on Macigni’s
library in a forthcoming paper.
18 Cf. Wilson (2000) 152: “resta tuttora da dimostrare che il suo insegnamento abbia prodotto un
influsso sostanziale ed immediato”. It clearly did, and now we can prove it.
202   Ciro Giacomelli

witness of the Ethnika by Stephanus of Byzantium.19 The main text was written by the
well-known calligrapher and teacher <George Alexandrou>, who witnessed Tomeo’s
doctorate,20 while the margins of the manuscript have been annotated by several
hands. Tomeo’s handwriting is easily recognizable in many folios (see for instance
the garlands on fols. 44r, 45r, 93r; other clearly attributable marginalia are to be found
almost everywhere and particularly in the first hundred folios of the manuscript),
while a second, anonymous, annotator (most of his annotations are written in the first
quire, but this scribe has read the entire manuscript, since his notes – albeit scarce –
are to be found along the whole codex) seems to me identical to the one who revised
the text of Vat. Pal. gr. 66 (written by the Anonymus Harvardianus) and Vat. Pal. gr.
58.21 It is tempting to see in this manuscript a possible evidence pointing to the exist-
ence of a direct relation between Tomeo and Alexandrou.22
We can easily trace the history of the Palatine manuscript (it is not the only Pala-
tine  manuscript once belonging to Tomeo, who also had in his collection Vat. Pal.
gr. 7723 and, with all probability the Joshua’s scroll)24 from Padua, where it was at
the beginnings of the 16th century, to the Vatican Library. The history of the Palatine
Library, once housed in Heidelberg, is well known:25 the most important contribution to
its formation came from Ulrich’s Fugger (1526–1584)26 collection of Greek manuscript,
which was acquired in the course of some decades in the mid of the 16th century.27

19 See most recently Billerbeck (2006) 13*. P3 (as correctly stated by D. Harlfinger, quoted at n. 25) is
indeed P1 (= Alexandrou). Gamba (2014) 352–353 (no. 71), has noticed that Tomeo knew of Stephanus’
work, but she wasn’t able to identify his copy (which she thought could have been the Aldine edition
published in 1502).
20 See Stefec (2014a) 181; but for the attribution see the previous footnote. On Alexandrou (RGK I 54,
II 72, III 89) see Saint-Guillain (2009). Thierry Ganchou and Eleftherios Despotakis are now working
on a monograph consecrated to this prolific scribe, who played a major role as teacher of Greek in
Padua in the third quarter of the 15th century (for all the relevant details we shall refer to the forth-
coming study).
21 On this point see Giacomelli (2016b) 576–577. On this annotator, now identifiable with the Paduan
professor Giovanni Calfurnio, I shall refer to Giacomelli (2020).
22 See Despotakis/Ganchou (2018) 257. Tomeo annotated two other manuscripts penned by George
Alexandrou: Par. gr. 1888 (Themistius) and Par. gr. 2727 (Apollonius Rhodius), see Cariou (2014) 74–75
and below n. 81.
23 On this MS, see Fortuna (2010) 324 n. 7. This MS was lent by Tomeo to Girolamo Roscio, a Paduan
doctor, who used it in the process of correction his edition of Dioscorides printed by the Aldine press
in 1518; see also Cataldi Palau (1998) 140.
24 For a short description of both MSS, see Gamba (2014) 341 nos. 8 and 9. On Vat. Pal. gr. 431, see at
least Kresten (2010).
25 See D’Aiuto/Vian (2011) 457–463 (esp. 458–459) and Montuschi (2014). The study by Biedl (1937)
remains quite useful.
26 See  von Sachsen-Altenburg – Gering (1878). Cf. <https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz87211.
html> (seen 15.2.2020).
27 See the magisterial reconstruction by Lehmann (1956) 73–192. The Palatine MS is easily recogniz-
able in the oldest inventory of Ulrich’s library (cf. below n. 33).
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   203

Ulrich Fugger, a devoted follower of John Calvin, was planning the institution of a great
public library in Geneva, aiming to the foundation of a new reformed academy. At some
point the project failed, and the great number of volumes already collected was incor-
porated in Ulrich’s private library.28 Once he was back in Augsburg, where his family
lived, Ulrich was forced to leave the town in 1567, due to his numerous debts (he was,
as it appears, incapable of successfully managing the immense wealth of his family).
Ulrich spent his last years in Heidelberg, at the court of the protestant Elector Palatine
Frederic the 3rd (also known as Frederic the Pious).29 At his death, in 1584, Ulrich’s rich
collection was donated to the Prince, and it became part of the Palatine Library, which
was later (1623) exported in Rome after the conquest of Heidelberg by the troops of the
Catholic League led by Tilly.30
Ulrich was not only a melancholic humanist but also a convinced protestant; he
kept himself in contact with the most influent reformed milieux: Henri Estienne was
in his circle, and the same is true for many great classical scholars. One of them was a
Scotsman named Henry Scrimger (1506–1572).31 The name of Scrimger32 is to be found
in the flyleaf of the Palatine manuscript we are now attributing to Tomeo’s library: 57.
Hen. Stephanus de Gentibus et Urbibus.33 Scrimger was not a simple book collector,
he was an eclectic scholar and a fine Hellenist; he was in contact with all the greatest
protestant intellectuals,34 and his competence in the field of Greek studies and Law
was publicly recognized when he was appointed with the chair of Greek, and then

28 Cf. Ganoczy (1969) 3 and Kaden (1959).

29 Gresswell (1833) 171 and Häberlein (2012) 168.
30 Lehmann (1956) 190–192.
31 Durkan (1978) 1–31 and Canfora (2008) 7–8. Scrimger acquired MSS from the well-known library
of the convent of St Giovanni di Verdara (on this library see below) and from the monastery of St
Giustina; a general overview of Scrimger’s travels is still missing and some data should be corrected:
Bernardinello (1976–1977) 110 n. 32 mistakenly believes that it was Edward Henryson the responsible
for the acquisition of books, the same error in Vitali (1982) 13. On Scrimger’s purchases in St Giustina
there is almost no bibliography, even if it is certain that the Plutarch now dismembered between
Padua and Heidelberg (Padua, Biblioteca Universitaria, 560 and Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek,
Pal. gr. 153) was acquired from the Paduan monastery (see below n. 56). On Scrimger expeditions in
Italy, see Durkan (1978) 6–7 and Marcotte (1985–1986) 64.
32 The interpretation of the different abbreviated names to be found in the Palatine MSS has been
long debated: for a general overview I shall refer the reader to the clear discussion by Lehmann (1956)
122–127. See also Marcotte (1985–1986) 63–65.
33 The MS is recorded with this very same title in the catalogues of the Fugger library: see Lehmann
(1960) 76 (Stephanus de gentibus et urbibus; bis. Entry in Vat. Pal. lat. 1925, Catalogus Graecorum
librorum manu scriptorum. Anno MDLV); 102 (Stephanus de gentibus et urbibus. char. 57. hen.); 211
(Stephanus de gentibus et urbibus. Uff papier geschrieben); 320 (Stephanus de urbibus).
34 The relation between Scrimger and Isaac Casaubon (1559–1614), described by Canfora (2008) 7,
given the large age-gap which separates the two, seems unlikely and it may have originated from the
fact that Scrimger’s collations were later used by the great protestant scholar: see Diller (1975) 167–169.
204   Ciro Giacomelli

Civil Law (1565), at the University of Geneva,35 where he published for the press of
Henri Estienne the Novellae of Justinian, with a dedicatory epistle to Ulrich Fugger.36
Even if we don’t know to which extent the manuscripts acquired by Scrimger were
collected on Ulrich’s behalf (we cannot rule out the possibility that Scrimger was also
assembling a personal library on his own right), it is certain that Scrimger was able
to form a more than respectable personal collection which, at his death, passed to his
son and to his well-known nephew Patrick Young (Patricius Junius), a notable scholar
and polymath himself, who served as royal librarian under James the First.37
Concerning Scrimger’s movements, we know with certainty that in 1548 he
escorted in Padua, “a city plunged in the controversies of the Italian reformation”,38
his pupil, the son of the influent lawman and State secretary Guillaume de Bochtel,39
Bernardin de Bochtel, who later became bishop elected of Rennes in 1561–1565.40
Later on, after having undertook the diplomatic career, Scrimger was able to
come back to Italy several times, and particularly in the Serenissima and its territo-
ries.41 Even if we can’t engage here in a detailed account of Scrimger’s life and travels,
it is perhaps worth mentioning the fact that he was more than a simple (and innoc-
uous) tourist in search of books. Not only he was counselor of the Natio Scota at the
Studium of Padua,42 but he was also deeply involved in the religious controversies of
the Reformation: he was one of the most remarkable personalities of the century and
certainly one of the most influential protestants in Padua at that time.43

35 Durkan (1978) 12–18.

36 Corpus iuris civilis. Novellae constitutiones (1558); cf. Durkan (1978) 15. The importance of Roman
law for the religious debate who animated the first half of the 16th century is well known. In Spey-
er – in the year 1529 – the Anabaptists were condemned to death according to Justinian’s codex, cf.
Prosperi (2009) 50. For this edition Scrimger used an ancient MS preserved in Venice (Marc. gr. Z 179).
A copy of this MS still survives: it is Vat. Pal. gr. 387; see the description by H. Görgemanns, in Mittler
(1986) 390–391. On Scrimger and Estienne, see at least Gresswell (1833) 170–174 and Häberlein (2012)
166–169.
37 On Patrick Yung (1584–1652), see Boran (2012). See also the detailed historical introduction to the
edition of his letters (which is not included in the bibliography quoted by Boran): Kemke (1898) V–
XXIX. See also Krafft (1975) 217–220.
38 Durkan (1978) 5.
39 One will find the different forms Bochetel/Bochtel and Bouchetel; on Guillaume, who also was a
translator of Euripides’ Hecuba, see Hoefer (1853) 879–880.
40 Van Gulik et al. (1923) 283. See also Raison (1937) and Aulotte (1965) 155–157.
41 Durkan (1978) 11.
42 In the list of students and members of the Natio Scota of 1564, published by Andrich (1892),
Scrimger’s name (D. Henricus Schrenzer scotus) appears twice: at p. 92 he is among the counsellors of
the Natio in the month of August, on the occasion of the elections for the academic year 1564–1565; the
29th of July, Scrimger is registered as a student (172) for the same year 1564–1565. On the Natio Scota,
see Piovan (2013).
43 Cf. Stella (1996; 2001).
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   205

In his first trip to Padua Scrimger witnessed the last troubled years of the famous
heretic from Cittadella Francesco Spiera.44 Such a man could hardly be considered
an emissary of Ulrich Fugger, or even a mercenary: his presence in Padua and his
involvement in the dispersion of a considerable number of Greek manuscripts is but
a fraction of his biography and a systematic exploration of the local Archives is still
a desideratum which needs to be filled as soon as possible. For the moment, let’s
examine a few of the Palatine (Greek) manuscripts bearing the notation Hen. (see
below): the number of codices that can be traced back to Padua is remarkable.45 The
results that will be presented here are by no means complete or exhaustive: too much
is still missing and the incredibly rich archives of some of the institutions from which
Scrimger acquired his manuscripts remain largely a virgin territory for Greek scholars
(this is particularly true in the case of St Giovanni di Verdara, as we will see later on).

***

The manuscripts once belonging to Tomeo are a small portion of the codices acquired
in Padua by Henry Scrimger: in the following paragraph we will try to give a brief
overview of the Palatine manuscripts which have been already traced back to Padua
with certainty; some other new additions will be offered in the following pages.
Among the Greek manuscripts purchased in Padua, there is the well-known MS
Heid. Pal. gr. 88, of the late 11th century, which, as Aubrey Diller has attempted to show,
was probably acquired from the library of the monastery of St Giustina in Padua,46
and it could be identical with an item (no. 15) mentioned in the will of the Florentine
humanist Palla Strozzi, who left part of his library to the Paduan monastery:47

un volumetto in membrana, lettera molto sottile non così bene leggibile, con asse mal legato nel
quale sono più orationi di Lisia optimo oratore greco, di fora cuoio nero.48

The identification of the Palatine manuscript with the codex belonging to St Giustina
has not yet been confirmed, but it is quite clear that the manuscript was in Padua

44 On Spiera, see at least Prosperi (2011) 123–190; on Scrimger, see 126 n. 13. On Spiera and Scrimger,
see also Hollway (2011) 114.
45 The first who noticed the Paduan origin of many Henricusshandschriften was Bield (1937) 32.
46 The identification was first proposed by Diller (1961) 314. See also Sosower (1987): on Scrimger and
the library of the Paduan monastery, see particularly 12–13, 25 and 92 n. 27.
47 On Palla Strozzi at Padua (cf. n.  2), see at least Fiocco (1953–1954). On Strozzi’s donation to St
Giustina, see the still important contribution of Fiocco (1954), who first published the text of the do-
nation (376–377), the list was later edited by Cantoni Alzati (1982) 184–186, with minor adjustments.
The text of the donation has been accurately studied by Aubrey Diller, Mark Sosower and Giuseppe De
Gregorio (see below). For a recent bio-bibliographical overview on Palla, see Tognetti (2009).
48 Cantoni Alzati (1982) 186 (no. 483).
206   Ciro Giacomelli

in the 16th century, since – as shown by David Speranzi – it bears annotations by

Niccolò Leonico Tomeo.49
Diller cautiously proposed to identify another manuscript from Palla’s bequest
(Just. 491, the works of Philo of Alexandria on paper)50 with Vat. Pal. gr. 248,51 but a
more fitting candidate would rather be Vat. Pal. gr. 152: Philonis Judaei aliquot opera.
bomb., another Hen.-manuscript coming from Scrimger.52
Another manuscript from Palla Strozzi’s library has been identified by Diller
(Just. 485, Xenophon, Paralipomena, in charta) with Par. gr. 1738, coming from the
collection of Colbert, or, in alternative, with Vat. Pal. gr. 140. Diller’s doubts are solved
just opening the Palatine manuscript, since on the upper margin of fol. 1r the ancient
shelf mark from St Giustina is still clearly readable.53
Another manuscript from St Giustina is Heid. Pal. gr. 153, an ancient witness
(11th century) of some of Plutarch’s Moralia.54 This codex is again a Hen.-manuscript
– the abbreviation, which is recorded in the Fugger inventory,55 is preserved on fol.
IVr in the more complete form Henric(us) –; that this manuscript once belonged to
St Giustina is proved by the fact that in its first half (with a πίναξ listing the content
of the entire manuscript), which is still in Padua (Biblioteca Universitaria, 560), on
fol. 3r, we can still read the ex libris from St Giustina.56
Still of Paduan origin, but this time from another religious institution, is Vat. Pal.
gr. 127, coming from the Convent of the Canons Regular of the Lateran, St Giovanni di
Verdara, where a large collection of manuscripts, later enriched by numerous dona-
tions, was housed since the mid of the 15th century.57 Unfortunately we cannot say
with enough certainty which manuscripts were preserved in St Giovanni di Verdara
when Scrimger was in Padua. Some details are to be found in the wills of a notable

49 Gamba (2014) 329 n. *.

50 Liber Philonis Iudei, in greco, littera satis bona, in papiro, tabulis et corio nigro innexus, cf. Cantoni
Alzati (1982) 114 (see also 185: “un volume in bombicina, cioè Philone giudeo, in Greco, coperto d’asse
cum corio nero”).
51 Doubts on this identification have been voiced by De Gregorio (2002) 110 n. 237.
52 Lehmann (1960) 98.
53 Sosower (1986) 141 and 149; see also De Gregorio (2002) 110 n. 237.
54 A short description in Stevenson (1885) 82–83. On this MS see also Irigoin (1958) 213. An informa-
tive overview in Flacelière/Irigoin (1987) CCLIV–CCLV.
55 Lehmann (1960) 99.
56 Cf. Mioni (1965) 254–255 (no. 144). The relation between the two MSS – on which see Paton et al.
(19742) XXIV–XXV – has been questioned by Manfredini (2003) but his argument should be rejected:
see briefly Giacomelli (2016a) 77 n. 145. All the evidence concerning the Plutarchean manuscript has
been fully reviewed in Giacomelli/Zanon (2020).
57 On the library of St Giovanni di Verdara, see Sambin (1955–1956). Sambin intended to further
develop his research and publish a monograph on the subject (277 n. 31), but he never completed his
project and the rich archival documentation on St Giovanni is still unexplored. The overview by Vitali
(1982) is nothing more than a bibliographical sketch. See also the brief contribution by Piovan (1997).
A more accurate reconstruction in Gamba (2016a) 192–197.
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   207

number of teachers and doctores of the Studium, who decided to donate their books to
the Convent: the most important donations (at least in reference to Greek manuscripts)
were those of Giovanni Marcanova,58 Pietro da Montagnana59 and Giovanni Calfurnio.60
The chronology of these donations, the most recent of which dates back to 1503, does
not allow us to know exactly the actual content of the library in the following century:
the first printed catalogue was published by Tomasini only in 1639, when much of what
was preserved in St Giovanni had already been dispersed and naturally no one of the
manuscripts taken by Scrimger can be identified in the extant catalogues.61
Vat. Pal. gr. 127, which contains some grammatical treatises,62 belonged to the
learned priest Pietro da Montagnana,63 who gifted it to the Library of St Giovanni di
Verdara a few months before his death; the dedication is preserved on fol. 101v:

Hunc librum donavit venerabilis presbiter et eximius grammatice doctor scilicet latinae ac hebra­
icae Dominus Petrus de Montagnana congregationi canonicorum regularium lateranensium S.
Augustini, ita ut sit tantum ad usum dictorum canonicorum in monasterio S. Iohannis in Viridario
Paduae commorantium 1479.

Another Greek manuscript from St Giovanni di Verdara bought by Scrimger has been
traced down by Didier Marcotte: it is Vat. Pal. gr. 142, a manuscript known to classi-
cal scholars as a witness of the so-called Geographi minores (the Minor Greek Geogra-
phers) and Demosthenes Olynthiacs.64 This codex was included in Calphurnius’ dona-
tion65 and its identification is proved by a Latin ex libris on fol. 133v – the text has been
hidden under few heavy strikes of ink, but it has been surely deciphered by Marcotte:66

Io. Calphurnius oratoriam artem grece latineque Patavj gloriose docens librum hunc cancis res. s. Io.
in viridario devotus legavit: ut inde proficiens lector sis gratus· MCCCCC. III

The name of Scrimger is clearly readable on the upper margin of fol. 1r and it is listed
as an Hen.-manuscript in the catalogue of 1555.67

58 On Marcanova, medical doctor and philosopher, see Barile (2011). Barile’s work is in many ways
a direct prosecution of Sambin’s research on the Library of St Giovanni di Verdara and Marcanova.
59 Cf. Sambin (1972–1973); all the documents concerning Pietro’s life and library are now fully exam-
ined by Gamba (2016b); see also Gamba (2016a).
60 Cian (1910); see also Marcotte (1987), Pellegrini (2001) and Laneri (2003–2005).
61 Cf. Sambin (1955–1956) 266.
62 For a full description of the MS, see Gamba (2016b) 299–300, with all the relevant literature.
63 Montagnana also owned Vat. Pal. lat. 1516 (Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes), which was also ac-
quired by Scrimger: see Gamba (2016b) 300–302.
64 The text of the Geographers was copied from Par. Suppl. gr. 443: see Marcotte (1985–1986) 57–73
and Canfora (2008) 6–7.
65 Marcotte (1987) 207; it is no. 164 in Calfurnio’s inventory: Item Olintericha [sic] Demosthenis greca
scripta calamo cum fundelo rubeo.
66 Cf. Marcotte (1985–1986) Pl. II.
67 Lehmann (1960) 85.
208   Ciro Giacomelli

Many other Paduan Greek manuscripts are to be found in the Palatine Library and
it is certain that a systematic study of that fonds will shed new light on the humanistic
collections preserved in Padua until the middle of the 16th century.

***

Some other traces of Tomeo’s readings are to be found in the Marciana Library, in
Venice: since the two cases I will describe bear a quite significant contribution to the
right understanding of Paduan Aristotelian Tradition and the role played by Tomeo’s
teaching, I’d like to indulge briefly in some more general observations.68
Tomeo is well known as borrower from the Marciana Library (he actually had
access to the cases where Bessarion’s library was stored before the public opening
of the Library of St Mark).69 The fate of the huge commentary of Proclus to Plato’s
Parmenides (now Ambrosiani A 168  sup., B  165 sup., P 206 sup., R  125 sup., D  166
inf.),70 once belonging to Bessarion’s collection and later borrowed to Tomeo, who
never returned it, has been illustrated by Lotte Labowsky.71
Another manuscript borrowed by Tomeo was Marcianus gr. 225 (copied by the
same anonymous scribe who transcribed parts of Laur. Plut. 85.1 and Par. gr. 1917),72 a
bulky witness of Aristotelian commentators (Ammonius, Eustratius, Simplicius, Phi-
loponus and several anonymous texts).73 On the verso of fol. IV Pietro Bembo, then
librarian of the Serenissima, annotated:

68 The Paduan Aristotelianism is a well-known and much studied subject (at least from the Latin
and Averroistic side) and it is impossible to mention here but the most important studies on this
topic, among which Nardi’s monograph (1958) still is of some use; see also Marangon (1977), the short
introduction by Poppi (1991), and the papers collected by Piaia (2002). The Greek element of Paduan
Aristotelianism seems to have escaped the attention of philosophers and scholars while a complete
and up-to-date study on the subject (with reference to all the scattered evidence taken from MSS and
printed editions) is still a desideratum.
69 See the useful historical guide by Zorzi M. (1987) 87–119. For further information I refer the reader
to Coggiola (1908). On borrowings at the Marciana Library (in a different and later phase) see O. Maz-
zon’s contribution in this volume.
70 All these MSS once formed a single volume, which later came into possession of Gian Vincenzo
Pinelli. A significant number of Leonico’s MSS and printed editions are now preserved in the Ambro-
siana, with the rest of Pinelli’s collection: see Pontani A. (2000) 348 and Gamba (2014) 337.
71 See Labowsky (1961) 118–123 and Gamba (2014) 342 (no. 12).
72 Scribe A in Cacouros (2000). The identification is mine, more details on this point will be offered
in a forthcoming paper (which has been presented at the IXe Colloque International de Paléographie
grecque, Paris, 10–15 september 2018). In the mean time, a new description of the MS (which I have
completed for the project Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca et Byzantina [CAGB]) has been pub-
lished on-line (<https://cagb-db.bbaw.de>).
73 For further details see the description by Mioni (1981a) 338–339.
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   209

Ammonii et Simplicii et Philoponi super logicam Aristotelis liber cardinalis Niceni redditus mihi a
Nicolao Leonico Patavii ante diem tertium nonarum Martium MDXXXI, apud quem triginta totos
annos fuerat. Petrus Bembus.

Tomeo, as we can see, must have been one of the worst costumers of the Marciana
Library: in this case he actually handed back the precious manuscript only after 30
years and on his death bed, since he would have died at the end of the month.74 Con-
trary to what is usually stated, Marc. gr. 225 bears some notes written by Tomeo (the
typical garland on the mg. of fol. 122v and few short notes on fols. 261r, 262r, 266r,
269r). This circumstance is hardly surprising, but what is striking is the presence of
another humanistic Greek hand in the very same manuscript: on fols. 230r (text),
307r–307v, 309r (l.  8), 311r (introduced by the mention ἐν ἄλλῳ), 311v, 386v, 389v
(text), I have recognize the handwriting of the scribe and printer Zacharias Kallierges
(Fig. 1).75 This paleographical evidence must be considered with some care, since the
Venetian manuscript seems to have served as model for the Aldine editio princeps of
1504 (Philoponus):76 Kallierges, as shown by recent studies, was well involved in the
activity of Aldus’ atelier,77 and our little attribution helps us in better understanding
the ties between the Paduan milieu (Tomeo lived only few blocs away from Kallierges
residence in Padua) and Aldus’ printing press.78
Let’s add another relevant element: Marcianus gr. 230, another bulky Aristotelian
manuscript of the late 13th century, written by no less than 23 different scribes (an
ἑκατόγχειρ βίβλος indeed)79 is known to have been the Druckvorlage for the publica-
tion of another Aldine edition of Philoponus (1535).80 Here again, I have found some

74 See Pontani A. (2000) 353–354 and Gamba (2014) 349 (no. 42).

75 The scribe working alongside Tomeo and one of his disciples in Par. gr. 1874 (fol. 9v, upper margin
etc.) – see Giacomelli (2016a) 146 – should be identified with Kallierges as well, as shown by Chatzo-
poulou (2012) 34 (with further details in n. 122).
76 Gamba (2014) 349. See also Kalbfleisch (1907) XII. The MS may have served in the preparation of
the printed edition, but it doesn’t bear any trace of an actual use in the press.
77 On this point I shall refer to Chatzopoulou (2010) and (2012) 34–36.
78 Kallierges moved to Padua at the beginning of the 16th century, on his residence see the remarks
by Geanakoplos (1962a) 135 n. 90, who quotes a letter of Kallierges to John Gregoropulos – ed. by
Firmin-Didot (1875) 525–526 = BH xv-xvi, vol. 2, 297–298 – where the Cretan printer asks for his letters
to be sent to his new address, the Borgo Zucco (εἰς τὸ Βούργῳ Τζόκον [sic]), now via Aristide Gabelli:
cf. Saggiori (1972) 410–411: “Zucco – borgo, via”. On Tomeo’s house, who lived in the contrada Ponte-
corvo, not far from the church of St Francis – called San Francesco grande, in order to distinguish it
form the homonymous church of St Francis, now St Gaetano: see Conte (2009) – where he is buried, I
refer to Pontani A. (2000) 337. The relation between Tomeo and Kallierges is not only of a merely geo-
graphical nature: several MSS written by Kallierges belonged to Tomeo and his friends, see Giacomelli
(2018) 123–127.
79 I have described this MS for the CAGB; in referring the reader to the description published by
Mioni (1981a) 344–346, I’m bound to inform of its limits.
80 Vitelli (1888) XV; see also Sicherl (1993) V, 48–49, 64, 82–83.
210   Ciro Giacomelli

Fig. 1: Marc. gr. Z 225, fol. 307v © Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo,
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.

marginalia written by Tomeo: I’d like to ascribe to his hand the garland on fol. 145r and
the several shorter notes to be found on fols. 18v, 32v, 33r, 34r, 128v, 129v–130r (Fig. 2).
In this latter case we can’t associate the presence of Tomeo’s marginalia with
the printing process, but the circumstance is again of some importance for a deeper
understanding of his Aristotelian teaching and of his influence on the later genera-
tion of scholars.81

81 Even if they do not bear the typical garlands – cf. Bandini (2007) 483 – I wish to attribute to Tomeo
a handful of marginalia I have found in two other Aristotelian MSS: 1) Par. gr. 2088 (Ammonius and
Philoponus, early 14th century), see for instance fols. 53v–54r, 55v–56r and 66r: for a concise descrip-
tion of the manuscript, which once belonged to Francesco d’Asola, see Cataldi Palau (1998) 496–497;
2) Par. gr. 1852 (Aristotle, De anima and Nicomachean Ethics, 15th century), cf. fols. 43v, 44v, 48v, 51r,
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   211

Fig. 2: Marc. gr. Z 230, fol. 145r © Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo,
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.

Tomeo had acces to a large number of codices in Venice: his hand can be traced in
the margins of Marcianus gr. 222 (see fols. 15v, 21v, 25r, 27v, 37v, 82v, 90r, 103v, 209r), a
luxury copy of Simplicius’ commentary to the De caelo and De anima produced by the
Cretan scribe George Tribizias togheter with George Alexandrou.82 In this manuscript
I have found a note by Giovanni Battista da Lion (see § 3), on fols. 63v and 68v (Fig. 3),
and several marginalia (139r, 141v, 149r, 191r, 193r, 196v, 203v, 206v–208r) by an anon-
ymous third hand (Fig. 4), which can be found also in the margins of a Venetian copy
of the Aldine edition of Alexander of Aphrodisias (Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana,
Aldine 41).83

2 Niccolò Passeri Genova

If Tomeo is still a shadowy figure, the name of Niccolò Passeri Genova, an interesting
humanist on his own merit, will be even less familiar to students of Greek manu-
scripts.84
Before adding any new evidence, we shall begin whit a short reprisal of what is
known of his scribal activity. There is only one manuscript which can be attributed
with certainty to Passeri’s hand: it is Rehdigeranus 35 (preserved in Wroklaw, Biblio-
teka Uniwersytecka), brought to Poland by Thomas Rehdiger, who spent some years
at Padua in the mid of the 16th century.85 The manuscript is a well-known witness of
Apollonius Rhodius and the Orphic Argonautics and it bears an annotation written by
Marcantonio Passeri Genova (the son of Niccolò, 1491–1563), which informs us on the
scribe of the manuscript.86 On the flyleaf of the Rehdigeranus, Marcantonio wrote:

53r–54r, 56v, 62v. This second manuscript also bears annotations by Palla Strozzi and George Alexan-
drou: cf. De Gregorio (2002) 175 n. 24.
82 Liakou-Kropp (2002) 265–267 and Pl. 43.
83 See the entry in Archivio dei possessori: <https://marciana.venezia.sbn.it/immagini-possessori/
131-non-identificati>.
84 Cf. Pesenti (1984) 165 and Wilson (2000) 151, with the remarks of Pontani A. (1995) 115–116.
85 On Rehdiger see Markgraf (1888) and Killy/Vierhaus (1998) 190. On Rehdiger’s collection see also
the brief overview by Ulrich Victor (on Rehdig. 15) in Moraux et al. (1976) 74–76.
86 On Marcantonio, see at least Vedova (1832) 457–460.
212   Ciro Giacomelli

Fig. 3: Marc. gr. Z 222, fol. 68v © Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo,
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   213

Fig. 4: Marc. gr. Z 222, fol. 106v © Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo,
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.

Hunc librum scripsit Pater meus nicolaus Passera de ianua Patauus philosophus ac medicus
excelentissim’ Anno aetatis suę XXXIII Currente Anno MCCCCLXXXVIII. Es est mei marci antonij
De passeris ianuensis, patauini et amicorum.87

Thanks to a plate published from this codex by Silvio Bernardinello,88 we were able
to find another example of Niccolò Passeri’s handwriting (Fig. 5) in Par. gr. 2955
(Lucian), fols. 108v l. 18 (μετά ξένων [sic])–109r l. 21 (παρά σοί). The Parisian manu-

87 Cf. Catalogus (1889) 46.

88 Bernardinello (1979) no. 41.
214   Ciro Giacomelli

Fig. 5: Par. gr. 2955, fol. 180v © BnF.

script has been copied for the most part by Tomeo and we are therefore able to infer a
close relation between the Venetian humanist and Passeri Genova, who penned only
few lines of text, taking turns with Tomeo and his collaborators.89

89 See the careful description by Cariou (2014) 69–70.

 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   215

3 Giovanni Battista da Lion: Some Additions

Another name associated with Tomeo is the one of Giovanni Battista da Lion (c.
1489–1528), a little known scholar (again a physician and philosopher) whose
biography and Greek library I had the chance to study recently. The collection
acquired by Lion included up to this point 6 Palatine manuscripts (all of them pur-
chased by Scrimger), 6 Ambrosiani (from Pinelli’s collection), 3 codices preserved
in Vienna, where they where brought by Johannes Sambucus,90 and a manuscript
in Wroklaw, which belonged to Thomas Rehdiger: as one can easily see, the disper-
sion of Lion’s collection is somewhat paradigmatic. Since I have already written
extensively on this subject, I will limit myself to a handful of new additions, com-
pleting the picture given in my previous paper, to which I shall refer the reader for
any further detail.
First of all, I was able to find another manuscript bearing the ex libris of Gio-
vanni Battista da Lion: Vat. Pal. gr. 92, a Schedography written in southern Italy which
can be dated to the late 13th century.91 The ex libris has not been recorded by Ste-
venson and apparently no one has ever noticed it. On the upper margin of fol. 1r we
can clearly read the name of the Paduan humanist: Joh. bapta posthumus de leone.
The handwriting is the same found in other manuscripts belonging to his collection.
The codex was obviously among the manuscripts purchased by Scrimger and we can
easily find it in the 1555 inventory: Moscopuli schede de examinatione grammatices
[sic?], liber plura continens quam reliqui.92
I can add two more Palatine manuscripts bearing annotations in Greek, penned
by the hand I’d like to ascribe to Lion. The first one is Vat. Pal. gr. 74 (Aristotle’s
Organon; marginalia by Lion are almost everywhere: see e.g. fols. 37r, 42r, 44r, 177v–
178v, 179v–186r, 227v–228r, etc.). Vat. Pal. gr. 74 is a Cretan manuscript, copied by
Michael Apostoles and Antonius Damilas.93 The numerous scholia in Latin seems to
me written by at least two different scribes, and, if I’m not mistaken, no one of them
can be identified with Giovanni Battista da Lion, whose Latin script is well known
from several archival sources.94 The second manuscript is Vat. Pal. gr. 128, with mar-
ginalia by Lion on fols. 3r, 45r–84v. In this manuscript (Galen, Pindar and several epi-
grams taken from the Palatine Anthology) we find not only a large number of scholia
by Lion, but also a smaller number of annotations by Tomeo himself (garlands and
shorter paratexts: see for instance fol. 54v. Not all the garlands are in Tomeo’s hand)

90 A brief profile of Sambucus in Padua has been traced by Bevilacqua (2015).
91 A description in Silvano (2015) 127 n. 17 (with a plate).
92 Lehmann (1960) 74. The same title is to be read on fol.  Ir of the Palatine manuscript: 92. Hen.
Moscopuli Schede de examinatione grammatica Liber plura continens quam reliqui.
93 See RGK III.
94 Giacomelli (2016a) Pll. 1–2.
216   Ciro Giacomelli

and scholia of at least one different hand. These manuscripts do not bear Lion’s ex
libris, but both are included in the lot of codices bought by Henry Scrimger in the mid
of the 16th century.95

4 Luca Bonfio
Finally, I’d like to introduce another collection of manuscripts coming from Padua:
the collection of the learned prelate Luca Bonfio (c. 1470–1540).96 This group of
codices still requires a complete codicological and paleographical study, I will there-
fore present here only few details – the result of an ongoing investigation –, since I
intend to consecrate an individual paper to this little collection.
Luca Bonfio was a Paduan clergyman, an intimate friend of Pietro Bembo,
Niccolò Leonico Tomeo and Giovanni Battista da Lion: he is mentioned among the
participants to one of Tomeo’s dialogues and his connection to the learned circle of
Pietro Bembo is certain.97 Elpidio Mioni, the author of a short biography of Bonfio,98
knew of only two manuscripts bearing Bonfio’s ex libris: Oxford, Bodleian Library,
Canonicianus gr. 86 (Theocritus, Euripides and Sophocles) and Bologna, Biblioteca
dell’Archiginnasio, A I 2 (catenae on the Book of Job).99 It is worth noting that in the
Oxford manuscript one can also find marginalia attributed to Tomeo.100
To the two manuscripts known to Mioni we can add five codices now in Milan:
according to the catalogue of the Ambrosian Library,101 these manuscripts were
acquired in Padua in 1603 (the exact origin of this lot of manuscripts is unclear, but it
is likely they were acquired in view of the inauguration of the Ambrosiana, which was
officially opened to the public in 1609).
– A 78 sup. (Martini/Bassi no. 15): Julius Pollux, Onomasticon.
– B 12 sup. (Martini/Bassi no. 83): Pseudo-Cyril, Lexicon.102
– E 39 sup. (Martini/Bassi no. 283): Orphic Argonautics, Hesiod’s Scutum and The­
ogonia (cf. the above mentioned MS Rhedigeranus 35).

95 Lehmann (1960) 81: Aristotelis organum. char. 74. hen. (there are at least 3 manuscripts with a
matching description in the 1555 list), and 71: Galeni ars parva et Hippocratis aphorismi et Pindari
Olympica cum scholiis et Aristophanis comoediae aliquot (clearly referring to Vat. Pal. gr. 128).
96 On Bonfio’s life see Mioni (1971) and, most recently, Benucci (2015) 66–67.
97 On Bonfio and his relation with Tomeo and Bembo’s circle see Giacomelli (2016a) 74 n. 137, with
literature.
98 Mioni (1971).
99 On the Bologna MS, see Losacco (2005–2006) 47–48 and (2006) 17–18.
100 See Gamba (2014) 329 n. * (attribution by D. Speranzi).
101 Martini/Bassi (1906).
102 Cf. Vendruscolo (2018) 248.
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   217

– L 116 sup. (olim O 44; Martini/Bassi no. 502): Homer, Iliad.

– A 200 inf. (Martini/Bassi no. 819): Lycophrones.103

According to Martini and Bassi, two other manuscripts now in Milan were acquired
in Padua in the very same year, but they don’t bear Bonfio’s ex libris: they are Ambro-
siani G 27 sup. (Martini/Bassi no. 389, a collection of grammatical texts) and H 104
sup. (Martini/Bassi no. 445, a collection of sacred and liturgical texts). Given the
nature of Bonfio’s interests, it is likely that those too once belonged to his collection.
Mioni overlooked another manuscript, still preserved in Veneto: the codex
Rovigo, Biblioteca Concordiana, 48, a liturgical manuscript still bearing the Greek ex
libris Τοῦ Λουκᾶ τοῦ Βωμφίου καὶ τῶν φίλων.104
The above mentioned manuscripts give us a clear picture of Bonfio’s Greek library:
even if a couple of titles may figure in a humanistic library (the Orphic Argonautics
clearly knew a wide circulation in Padua between the end of the 15th century and the
early 16th), unlike many of his companions, Bonfio seems to have been keenly inter-
ested in sacred and patristic texts as well, and one is tempted to relate this passion
with his personal involvement in the ecclesiastical matters of his times.

5 Some Other Minor Attributions

1. Vat. Pal. gr. 343 was entirely copied by John Gregoropoulos. On this scribe, missing
from RGK, see most recently Kaklamanis (2016) and Chatzopoulou (2016).
2. The πίναξ written at the end of the well-known MS Vat. Pal. gr. 173 (fol.  163r),
coming from the collection of Giannozzo Manetti, was penned by John Scutario-
tes. I can’t find any trace of this MS in the recent surveys by Martinelli Tempesta
(2010) and (2012). On Scutariotes see also the rich study by Rollo (2014). On the
Palatine MS see Menchelli (1991).
3. Par. gr. 1935, an early 14th century witness of the Aristotelian paraphrases by
Theodore Metochites, was heavily annotated by the humanist <Lauro Quirini>.
The first half of this very same codex (Par. gr. 1866) does not seem to bear any
sign of Quirini’s handwriting. Other MSS annotated by Quirini are Par. gr. 1977
(Porphyrius, Albinus and Origen) and Vat. Pal. gr. 214 (cf. fol. 101v). Vat. Pal. gr.
214 is a Cretan MS, copied by Michael Apostoles, Antonius Damilas and partly by
Ἐμμανουὴλ Ἀτραμυττινός (cf. fols. 6v l. 8; 23r l. 9–end; 32v ll. 1–15; 48r l. 3–48v l. 2;

103 The MS was copied by George Alexandrou – attribution by Harlfinger (1977) 340 – and later came
into possession of Francesco Bernardo, who penned an ex libris in Verona (1491). On Bernardo see
Eleuteri/Canart (1991) 162–164 (no. LXVI) and RGK II 517.
104 For short description of the MS (with an erroneous transcription of the ex libris: τοῦ δοῦκα [sic])
see Mioni (1965) vol. 2, 394.
218   Ciro Giacomelli

a couple of marginalia at 125r; 134v ll. 1–3; 145v ll. 1–6 θεωρουμένους; 163r ll. 1–5;
193v ll. 1–9; 204r). The attribution to Ἀτραμυττινός is not recorded in RGK, while
Damilas subscribed the second part of the MS: cf. Canart (2008b) 43. It is worth
noting that Quirini and Atramyttenos, both related to Apostoles, are shamed and
accused of engaging in homosexual practices in a violent pamphlet written by
their former friend: see Stefec (2014b). On Atramyttenos see Giacomelli (2016a)
117 n. 281. On Quirini and his Greek MSS see Rashed (2001) 259–265; Speranzi
(2010) 322–329; Cronier (2013). I wonder if Parisinus gr. 1935, which bears the
traces of restoration (the same is true for Par. gr. 1866 as well), was actually refur-
bished by Quirini himself. We are informed on his activity as instaurator by a
letter of Michael Apostoles: see Pontani A. (1991) 564 n. 25. We shall remark that
Quirini also owned and annotated Par. gr. 2003, another early witness of Meto-
chites’ works: Rashed (2001) 259; on this MS see also Bianconi (2005) 414 no. 22.
4. Bernensis 662, Maximus of Tyre, was copied by <Paolo Canal>. On this scribe,
not listed in RGK, see Eleuteri/Canart (1991) 74 no. XXIV. On the MS see Andrist
(2007) 282–286. I base my attribution on the plate published at p. 27 of Andrist’s
catalogue.
5. The annotator (fol.  5r, lower margin) of the MS London, British Library, Addi-
tional 18494, copied by the scribe Nikolaos (see RGK I, no. 330 for the attribu-
tion), is <Raffaele Regio> (RGK I 356, II 485, III 566), who taught rhetoric in Padua
and Venice. For his handwriting and a short bibliographical profile see Eleuteri/
Canart (1991) 164 no. LXVII.
6. The page reproduced from the Toletanus ABC 51–5 (p. 3) and published by Pérez
Martín (2010) Pl. 7 (937) was doubtlessly penned by the well-known prelate and
scribe <Jacob Aurel Questenberg> (RGK II 193). On the MS see most recently
Ibañez-Chacón (2016) 34–39 (in this paper, which only recently came to my atten-
tion, a detailed palaeographical exam comes to the conclusion that the MS could
have been written by Questenberg: “No se debería descartar, por tanto, la posibi-
lidad de que Questenberg fuera el copista del Toletanus”. The identification of
the scribe, however, is quite straightforward).
7. Fols. 115r–154v of Vat. gr. 1949 – a composite MS on which see the full description
by Canart (1970b) 734–762 – were penned by Giovanni Puccini (RGK III 295), while
fol.  182rv was written by <Jacob Aurel Questenberg> (see above). Both attribu-
tions are not registered in the catalogue nor in RGK.
8. Fols. 1r–40v of Vat. Pal. gr. 213 are penned by the hand of <John Plousiadenos>
(RGK I 176, II 234, III 294). A large portion of the marginalia in this MS, if I am not
mistaken, should be attributed to <Scipio Forteguerri> (Carteromachos: RGK II
493, III 576).
 Greek Manuscripts in Padua: Some New Evidence   219

Addenda
While this paper was already in the process of being prepared for publication, I was
able to gather some palaeographical evidence which should be included in my survey,
even if in a summary fashion.
1. Rehdiger MS 34 (a philosophical and astronomical miscellany once belonging to
the Cretan scribe Antonius Damilas) was annotated by both Niccolò Leonico Tomeo
and Giovanni Battista da Lion, who in his collection had at least another manuscript
coming from Damilas personal library (Giacomelli [2016a] 138–145). See the full dig-
itisation of the MS at <http://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/dlibra/publication/39281/
edition/54894/content?ref=desc>: cf. fols. 90r–107v and 135v, 137v, 140r, etc. In these
very same codicological units we also find traces of Lauro Quirini’s hand.
2. Par. Suppl. gr. 306, Alexander of Aphrodisias, (fols. 1r–7v of the first codicological
unit copied by George Alexandrou) was annotated by Giovanni Battista da Lion
(see § 3).
3. Par. gr. 2278, Galen, (last codicological unit): the medical manuscript of which a
small part is now preserved in this miscellaneous codex was copied by the same
anonymous scribe who penned the MS Padua, Biblioteca Civica, C.M. 644, on
which see Giacomelli (2018).
4. Par. gr. 1947, <Pachymeres> (fols. 88–end), bears a considerable number of mar-
ginalia by Lauro Quirini. This new identification allows us to correct the chronol-
ogy of the manuscript wrongly placed in the early 16th century by Cataldi Palau
(1998) 537. See also Giacomelli (2016a) 95 with n. 200. The marginalia by Quirini
place the manuscript in Crete, which fits conveniently with the Cretan origin of
most of the manuscripts belonging to the branch of the manuscript tradition of
Pachymeres’ commentary on Physics witnessed by this Parisian manuscript.