Venetus A
Venetus A is the usual name for the manuscript from the 10th century cataloged in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice as Codex Marcianus Graecus 454 [= 822].
Venetus A is the most famous surviving manuscript of the Homeric Iliad and other texts. It is considered by some to be the best text of this epic . Venetus A also narrates a version of Homer's life and summaries of the epic cycle . However, the section of the Kypria is flawed. Various other manuscripts contain the Life of Homer, or the Summary of Kypria, or both, but none contain the remainder of the Epic Cycle like the Venetus A.
The Codex Venetus A was written around 950 as a luxury manuscript. Illustrations were added in the 12th century. It is believed that the Codex was acquired by Giovanni Aurispa during his stay in Constantinople from 1421 to 1423 , which was then besieged by the Turks and conquered in 1453 . Giovanni Aurispa mentions in his letter to Ambrogio Traversari that he had acquired two works from the Iliad and one from the Odyssey in Constantinople. In 1468 Cardinal Bessarion donated his entire library, including the Codices Venetus A and B, to the Republic of Venice . These formed the basis of the later Biblioteca Marciana .
The print edition of the Codex Venetus A in 1788 by Jean-Baptiste Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison was a philological sensation at the time.
literature
- Casey Dué (Ed.): Recapturing a Homeric Legacy - Images and Insights From the Venetus A Manuscript of the Iliad In: Hellenic Studies 35, 2009 (PDF)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Jeremy Norman & Co .: The Most Famous, and Most Significant Manuscript of the Iliad (Circa 950). History-of-Information, April 26, 2014, accessed May 3, 2015 .