Marston MS 51           Southern Italy, s. XV med
Giacomo Curlo, Epitoma Donati in Terentium, etc.

1.  ff. 1r-8r  Ad illustrissimum dominum fferdinandum Sicilie ac Iherusalem
regem.  Iacobi curuli Ianuensis qui vocabula dudum per eum ex comentario
elij donati gramatici super Therencium comicum passim excerpta in hoc
volumine compilauit acque ad debitum alfabeti ordinem reduxit prohemjum
incipit.  Superioribus mensibus Rex inclyte acque preclarissime diuus
alfonsus pater tuus regum celeberrimus pridie quam morbo...et in amplissimjs
et ornatissimjs bibliotecis reponerent vnde nacti sunt gloriam Immortalem.
Vale.

Giacomo Curlo, preface to art. 2, addressed to Ferdinand I of Naples;
printed by De Marinis, Supplemento (1969) pp. 34-37, from Liverpool,
University Library F. 3. 2.  For other manuscripts containing arts. 1-2 see
P. O. Kristeller, "A New Work on the Origin and Development of Humanistic
Script," Manuscripta 5 (1961) pp. 37-38 (Marston MS 51 not listed) and G.
Germano, ed., Jacobi Curuli Epitoma Donati in Terentium (Naples, 1987) where
this manuscript is listed as Z (text of this art. on pp. 3-12 and art. 2
on pp. 13-203).

2.  ff. 8r-89r  Elij donati gramatici antiquissimj vocabula per eum super
Therensium comicum eleganter exposita.  Abducere est per fraudem auferre
Cicero per vim ac dolum abducte ab rhodio tibicine.  Terencius in eunucho...
cuius rei Ennius testis est Exin Tarqujnjum bona femjna laujt et vnxit.
Finjs deo gracias.

Giacomo Curlo, Epitoma Donati in Terentium; alphabetical list:  
Abducere-Vxor.  See bibliography for art. 1.

3.  ff. 89v-90v  Antonij cassarinj ad Iacobum curlum virum clarissimum
in traduccione apophetegmatum plutarchi prefacio incipit.  Nuper amoenissime
Iacobe aliquantulum ocij nactus cum essem.  quod michi quam perraro contingat
nosti...et studijs communibus Impesum non cupiam.

Antonio Cassarino, preface for art. 4, addressed to Giacomo Curlo;
G. Resta, "Antonio Cassarino e le sue traduzioni da Plutarco e Platone,"
Italia medioevale e umanistica 2 (1959) pp. 244-45.

4.  ff. 90v-137r  Plutarchi in apotehmatibus ad traianum Cesarem
prohemjum.
Artaxerses Rex persarum maxime Imperator traiane Cesar. existimans non mjnus
regium acque humanum esse parua grato ac libenti animo recipere...[f. 91v:]
Apotehmata.  Apud persas gryppi idest qui aquilino sunt naso plurimum
diliguntur...qui eo modo edifices perinde roma Immortalis sit futura.  Finjs
deo gracias.  ff. 137r-144v blank

Plutarch, Apophthegmata, Latin translation by Antonio Cassarino;
Resta, op. cit., pp. 245-46 for incipit and explicit only.

5.  ff. 145r-199r  ffrancisci aretinj in phalaridis tyrannj agrigentinj
epistolas ad illustrem principem malatestam nouellum de malatestis
prohemjium.  [text:]  Uellem malatesta nouelle princeps illustris tantam 
michi dicendi facultatem dari vt uel prestancie tue...[Ep. 1, f. 148r:]  
Phalaris Alciboo.  Policletus messenius quem prodicionis apud ciues tuos
insimulas morbo me incurabili liberauit...qui miserit laudem consecuturam.

Phalaris, Epistolae, translated by Francesco Griffolini of Arezzo and
dedicated to Malatesta Novella of Cesena.  See art. 6 for bibliography.

6.  ff. 199r-201r  Ad illustrissimum Alfonsum aragonum regem ffranciscus
aretinus harum quatuor phalaridis epistolarum e greco ad latinum sermonem
interpres fidelissimus acque doctissimus.  Quatuor phalaridis epistolas quas
nuper in alio libello Inuentas in latinum traduxi...[f. 199v:]  Aphilanti
et Thrasibulo.  Quas mutuo vobis pecunias dedimus Teucro reddidisse 
dicitis...sed summe bonitatis premjum accepissent.  Vale.  Finis deo gracias.
ff. 201v-208v blank

Phalaris, four additional Epistolae, translated into Latin by Francesco
Griffolini of Arezzo and dedicated to King Alfonso I of Naples.  The letters
in arts. 5 and 6 are those in the editio princeps (Treviso, Gerardus de
Lisa, 1471); however, the dedicatory letter to Francesco Pellato is not
present in this manuscript.

7.  ff. 209r-261v  Plinij secundi antiquissimj atque elegantissimj viri 
nonnulle epistole quas lege feliciter.  Caius plinius secundus Septicio 
salutem.  Frequenter hortaris vt epistolas quas paulo accuracius 
scripsissem...de vnjuersitate pronuncio de partibus experiar legendo.  Vale.
[added by a later hand, s. xvi, who also added the headings for Books II 
and III:] Desunt hoc loco sex epistolae usque ad finem tertij libri.  
ff. 262r-265v blank

Pliny, Epistolae I.1-III.15; R. A. B. Mynors, ed., OCT (1963) pp. 5-89.
There are a few annotations (e.g., ff. 212v, 219r, etc.); spaces left blank for
the Greek, but Latin translations regularly appear in the margins (in some
instances, for example on f. 212v in Epistola I.6.1, the Greek is written in
with the Latin translation in the margin).

Paper (slightly polished; watermarks:  ff. 1-112, similar to Briquet Lettre
R 8941; ff. 113-160 and 209-256, similar to Briquet Echelle 5904, 5908;
ff. 161-208, 257-265, similar to Piccard Kreuz II.616, 619, 622), ff. ii
(contemporary paper, i = front pastedown) + 265 (contemporary foliation,
i-cclxj, in upper right corner; f. cxxxx, a blank, removed; modern foliation
skips f. 140), 293 x 212 (176 x 100) mm.  24 long lines.  Double horizontal
and vertical bounding lines, with the vertical usually ending just below the
written space and the horizontal not extending into inner margins.  Ruled
in hard point on versos.  Only two single prickings in outer margins, near
upper and lower horizontal bounding lines.
I-XVI 16 (-f. cxxxx), XVII 10 (10 = back pastedown?).  Horizontal catchwords
under written space to right, verso (Derolez 12.2).
Written in an unusual style of loose and sloping humanistic script with
cursive features; angular, little shading of letters, well spaced.
Plain lumpy initials, 3- to 2-line, alternate blue and red.  Headings 
and paragraph marks in red.
Binding:  Spain [?], s. xv.  Original wound sewing on four tawed
skin, slit straps laced through tunnels in the edges of wooden boards to
channels on the outside and pegged.  Yellow edges.  The beaded chevron
endbands are sewn with red and yellow thread on tawed skin cores laid in
grooves in the boards.
Covered in brown sheepskin with the surface mostly worn off; decorated
with concentric frames, the central panel and one frame filled in with
square goat [?] and flower tools standing on a point.  Title in ink on a
paper label, now mostly wanting.  Four truncated diamond-shaped catches on
the lower board have a raised design of the Virgin and child and a flower.

Written in Southern Italy in the middle of the 15th century.  Before 1954 it
was MS XI.50 in the Library of the Santa Iglesia del Pilar in Saragossa
(Germano, op. cit., p. xxii); the style of the binding suggests that the
codex may have been in Spain as early as the 15th century. Acquired from 
C. A. Stonehill in 1954 by Thomas E. Marston (bookplate).

secundo folio:  [decli]nata tempestate

Bibliography:  Faye and Bond, p. 70, no. 51.

Barbara A. Shailor