Solomon ibn Ayub (translator); Qalonymos ben Qalonymos ben Meʼir, 1286- (translator); Ibn Tibbon, Jacob ben Machir, approximately 1236- (translator); Solomon ben Moses, of Melgueil, active 13th century (translator); Nahum, active 13th century (translator); Judah ben Jacob, 15th century (scribe); Jews' College (London, England) (former owner); Bet din tsedeḳ London ṿeha-medinah (Great Britain) (former owner)
Date:
1446
Description:
15th-century copies of 13th- and 14th-century Hebrew translations of 12th-century commentaries by Averroës on scientific works attributed to Aristotle (De caelo, De mundo, De generatione et corruptione, Meteorologica) and a Hebrew translation of Aristotle's Book 9 of Historia animalium, with frequent marginal notes, some of which show signs of trimming (f. 182r). The end of the volume, with a different scribe and different readers, may have been bound with the rest at some later date; it includes a Hebrew translation of Aristotle's De somno et vigilia, Abraham ibn Ezra's commentary on the Song of Solomon, and a Hebrew translation of Maimonides' letter to the Jews of Yemen. The letter of Maimonides has marginal notes in Latin by a reader comparing a few leaves of the manuscript to a printed version of the text (f. 261r-263r) and a concluding note in a combination of Hebrew and Latin (f. 269v), by the same hand that converted dates in the main section of the manuscript to the Gregorian calendar (f. 84v, 162r, 250v).
Language:
Hebrew
Provenance:
Formerly owned by Daniel Itzig, manuscript collector and court Jew in Prussia (ownership stamp, with Hebrew text and roman initials DI, f. 39r).; Probably formerly owned by Solomon Hirschell, later chief rabbi of London, who bought many of Itzig's manuscripts (ownership label, with Hebrew text and number 126, f. 1r).; Formerly held in the library of Jews' College (London; stamp, f. 1r).; Formerly held in the library of the Bet din tsedeḳ London ṿeha-medinah (Ashkenazi rabbinical court, London), no. 41 (spine).; Sold at auction at Christie, Manson & Woods as part of the collection of the Bet din tsedeḳ London ṿeha-medinah, 23 Jun. 1999, lot 15, to Lawrence J. Schoenberg.; Sold at auction at Sotheby's, 17 June 2003, lot 76, to Lawrence J. Schoenberg.; Gift of Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle Schoenberg, 2015.; Itzig, Daniel, 1723-1799, former owner.; Hirschel, Solomon, 1761-1842, former owner.
Relation:
The Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative Fund Home Page: http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017.12/366278; Digital facsimile for download (OPenn): https://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0001/html/ljs453.html
269 leaves : paper; 303 x 201 (201 x 120) mm bound to 311 x 225 mm
Rights:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Notes:
Ms. codex.; Title supplied by cataloger.; Table of contents: 1. f.1r-84v: [Hebrew translation of Averroës' Tafsīr al-Samāʼ wa-al-ʻālam (commentary on Aristotle's De caelo and De mundo) / Solomon ibn Ayub] -- 2. f.84v-118v: [Hebrew translation of Averroës' Kawn wa-al-fasād (commentary on Aristotle's De generatione et corruptione) / Kalonymos ben Kalonymos] -- 3. f.118v-162r: [Hebrew translation of Averroës' Jawāmiʻ Kitab al-Āthār al-ʻulwīyah (commentary on Aristotle's Meteorologica) / Kalonymos ben Kalonymos] -- 4. f.163r-250v: [Hebrew translation of Aristotle's Historia animalium, Book 9 / Jacob ben Machir Ibn Tibbon] -- 5. f.251r-259v: [Hebrew translation of Aristotle's De somno et vigilia / Solomon ben Moses of Melgueil or Avicenna] -- 6. f.259v-260v: [Perush Ibn ʻEzra ʻal Shir ha-shirim (commentary on the Song of Solomon) / Abraham ibn Ezra] -- 7. f.261r-269r: [Hebrew translation of Moses Maimonides' Igeret ha-Rambam (letter to the Jews of Yemen) / Nahum ha-Maʻaravi]; Foliation: Paper, ii (modern) + 269 + ii (modern); [1-269], modern foliation in pencil; 1-97 foliated lower center recto, followed by foliation upper left recto on the leaves before and after the beginning and ending of component works (foliation for 162-176 all one higher than actual, with later foliation correct again). Catchwords on each leaf, lower left verso.; Layout: Written in 28 long lines; ruled in lead with vertical bounding lines; running titles, top center recto (f. 1r-250v). End of manuscript written in 40 long lines (f. 251r-269r).; Script: Written in Ashkenazi semi-cursive script with headings in a larger script in the hand of Judah ben Jacob (f. 1r-250v, colophon f. 250v), with a second hand at the end of the volume (f. 251r-269r).; Decoration: Possible remnant of a marginal diagram in ink (f. 9v); marginal sketch of a face, perhaps a demon, in ink (f. 15r); manicules only in the works at the end written by a second hand (f. 252r-253r, 262r, 263r).; Binding: Modern morocco.; Origin: Probably written in Germany, with a colophon dated 1446 (f. 250v); the following pages (f. 251r-269r) may have been written elsewhere and at another time.; Lawrence J. Schoenberg & Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative.; Hebrew.; Related Work: Averroës, 1126-1198. Tafsīr al-Samāʼ wa-al-ʻālam. Hebrew.; Related Work: Averroës, 1126-1198. Kawn wa-al-fasād. Hebrew.; Related Work: Averroës, 1126-1198. Jawāmiʻ Kitab al-Āthār al-ʻulwīyah. Hebrew.; Related Work: Aristotle. Historia animalium. Selections. Hebrew.; Related Work: Aristotle. De somno et vigilia. Hebrew.; Related Work: Ibn Ezra, Abraham ben Meïr, 1089-1164. Perush Ibn ʻEzra ʻal Shir ha-shirim.; Related Work: Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204. Igeret ha-Rambam.
Physical Location:
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Oversize LJS 453
Collection:
Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection (University of Pennsylvania)
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