By Terence (ca. 190-159 BCE). Six plays, from a manuscript produced in 1462.
First page of text from a 1462 manuscript copy of Comoediae sex cum argumentis, showing a "white-vine" border, an illuminated initial and a coat-or-arms supported by putti in gold and colors. Rauner Special Collections Library, Manuscript Codex 001999.
About the Manuscript
Comoediae sex cum argumentis is a fifteenth-century manuscript copy of the six plays of the Roman playwright Terence. Appearing in order in the digitized copy as “Andria,” “Eunuckus,” “Heauton Timorumenus,” “Adelphi,” “Ecira,” and “Phornio,” these six plays were originally written and performed between 166 and 160 BCE, and quickly gained popularity due in part to their conversational writing style. The texts were frequently used in classrooms for teaching and learning Latin.
This copy signals the enduring popularity of Terence in a modernizing Europe, and is rich with details of its production and use. The place and date of production is noted following the copy’s explicit: it was finished on 19 November 1462 in Ferrara, Italy. Written on vellum and comprised of 92 leaves in 10 gatherings, the script is in a clear humanistic hand with stage directions and headings in red and initials in red and blue. There are six illuminated capitals throughout, marking the beginning of each play. Contemporary marginal commentaries and notes surround the main script and indicate different readings. The copy’s well-documented reception and ownership are recorded in notes accompanying the manuscript:
In the North Italian centers of Humanism the study of Terence received a new impulse in the 15th century. Famous scholars at Padua and Ferrara are known to have promulgated his fame. The coat-of-arms on the first page of text in this manuscript — a closed book within three stars — may well be those of an eminent humanist of the circle of Gasparino Barzizza.
This book belonged to Christophorus Madrisius of Gorcica until 1589, and later to a certain Copmaul, according to long inscriptions on the first blank leaf. It was afterwards in the celebrated collection of the Rev. Henry Drury of Harrow…Dr. Drury’s collection was sold in London in 1827. The manuscript was later in the collection of Frederic von Schennis and has his Ex Libris stamped in red on the fly leaf and last vellum leaf.
The original manuscript is available at Rauner Special Collections Library by asking for Codex 001999.
Rights Information
Dartmouth College Library assigns a Creative Commons BY-NC license to the digital work and associated web site.
Collection Permalink: https://doi.org/10.1349/ddlp.3985