Vat. Lat. 3313

Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 3313

Former shelfmark(s): Roma, Ful., 26

Italy, Benevento (Loew 1980, 146; Brown 2000, 391; Fioretti 2012, 42-43); Italy, Montecassino (Tarquini 2002, 95)

ca. 770-ca. 799 (Loew 1980, 146; Bischoff III, nr. 6872; Tarquini 2002, 95; Fioretti 2012, 42-43)

ff. 1r-352v
Prisc. ars 1, 3, 3-18, 155, 2
inc.: quam volui; expl.: vapulo ab illo
Note: The witness features no subscriptions; only the Additamentum to the 5^th book is present on ff. 77v-78r.

ff. 1-352

Material: parchment

Guard sheet material: paper

Leaf count: 352

Guard leaf count: 5

Leaf numbering: modern foliation in Roman figures

Quires: beginning with hair side; collation: 1⁴ (4), 2-8⁸ (60), 9-10¹⁰ (80), 11⁶ (86), 12-14⁸ (110), 15⁴ (114), 16-31⁸ (242), 32⁶ (248), 33-45⁸ (352)

Quire numbering: two different marks, both in Roman figures: the older, enriched by friezes, was probably written at the time of the manuscript's creation; if not ploughed, it is still evident on the lower margin of the last sheet of the quires 10^th - 11^th and 16^th - 45^th; the second, more recent, written after the ploughing, dates to the 10^th / 11^th century and it is located at the centre of the lower margin of the last sheet of the quires, in which the earlier one was lost (2^nd - 9^th, 12^th - 15^th )

Rulings: hard-pt • system: Leroy 3, 1 • 20B1 Leroy • description: full page with 26 lines; secondary marginal pricking; quires 17, 22-24, 26 have an irregular pricking; unit of ruling mm 9

Leaf size: 213×295 mm (19r)

Written area size: 135×183 mm (19r)

State: the first 28 folios were restored with parchment reinforcement

Binding: red leather binding on cypress, with two-tone green and yellow silk headband, dating from the 16^th century and associated to Fulvio Orsini. This attribution is drawn from the decorative elements adorning both the front and rear cover, with three concentric frames. Notably, the innermost frame boasts four Ursinian rosettes. Similar rosettes are also present on the spine, where the current shelfmark is visible. Traces of ancient bosses and clasps, though now absent, can be identify on both covers

main (Ancient Greek and Latin): Beneventan script

Hand(s)

A (ff. 1r-352v) One hand in Benevantan script written in a brownish ink. The hand shows thick tracing and an older appearance, evident through certain characteristics. For instance, the letter a appears in an open form like two contiguous c's, c in the so called broken c . The Uncial form of d, i longa, used initially and medially when serving as a semi-vocal, with the short form used in all other cases (except when preceded by g, r, t). There two forms of r – a shorter form and longer one, the latter featuring a slight thickening on its shoulder. Some obligatory ligatures occur, such as those of fi, with the upper end of f forming an open curve to which another curve is attached below, gi, li, ri, the oldest ligatures te, tu, besides the two forms of ti, for assibilated and unassibilated; between optional ligatures we find nt at the end of a word.
Regular abbreviations: Usual abbreviations for per, prae, pro, que. In addition, it is possible to date this script thanks to the absence of some particular abbreviations that became usual in the Beneventan script from the end of the 9th century, namely m-stroke abbreviation in the 3-shaped sign and eius abbreviation.

alpha		Uncial form for alpha
delta		Uncial form for delta
csi		Broken csi in two traits

Rubric (ff. 1r-352v) Use of voided Capital or Uncial letters for pargraph and book titles: : ff. 2r, 2v, 3r, 17r, 211v, 225v, 248r, 253r, 264v, 275v, 282v. Outlined are the explicit and incipit on ff. 19v, 23v, 24r, 26r, 31r, 37v, 41v, 43v, 47v, 49r, 69r, 74r, 77v, 78rv, 105rv, 106rv, 107v, 108rv, 109r, 110rv, 111r, 112v, 114rv, 119v, 121r, 122rv, 128rv, 131rv, 133rv, 134rv, 135rv, 148v, 157v, 158v, 163v, 168r, 170v, 172rv, 176v, 190v, 207r, 210v, 211v, 219v, 221rv, 229v, 230v, 232r, 235v, 247v, 258r, 275v, 276v, 333v, 335v, 338v, 339v, 340v, 347v, 349r. Like other products of the same period and the same area, the manuscript is lacking in colour. The outlined initials can be enlarged and present geometric, floreal and animal pattern.

Init (ff. 1r-352v) Among decorated initials can be mentioned the P on f. 2v, with a braid pattern and with the stem ending in the head of a bird, whose beak eats the same stem, and Q on f. 148r with two symmetrical leonine protomes.

Provenance(s):
The manuscript, written at latest in the early 9^th century, either in Cassinese (cf. Tarquini 2002, p. 96) or in Beneventan (cf. Fioretti 2012, 42-43) area, in the 15^th century was housed in the Capitulary Library of Benevento. There, it was noted by the librarian Luigi Theuli: indeed, in the library's invetory this manuscript is recorded among "ancient books", described as item Servii et liber Prisciani de lictera ligati et tabelati. According to Campana (cf. Campana 1957) this wording connects the Priscian Vatican and the Par. lat. 7530. The phrase "ligati et tabelati" was a later addition by the librarian Theuli and might imply that the actual binding was commissioned by him . Theuli annotations, such as on f. 1r Tractat(us) in gr(a)matica and Lib(er) P(ri)sciani Ecc(lesia)e ben(eveta)ne ut(ri)usq(ue) voluminis and Explicit volum(en) Prisciani maioris eccl(es)ie maioris ben(eventa)ne on f. 281v, were left throughout the manuscript. Additionally Explicit volum(en) Prisciani maioris eccl(es)ie maioris ben(eventa)ne appears on f. 281v, and Finis P(ri)sciani minoris (et) t(a)m(en) des(unt) fere VII linee on f. 352v. The number 26, inscribed on the first flyleaf, represents the former shelfmark within Fulvio Orsini's library. The name of the ancient owner, Orsini, was also written on the fourth flyleaf by Cardinal Assemani. Moreover, the frame of the current binding bears a connection to the Orsini family (as seen in the rosette design). Following Orsini's death in 1600, his entire book collection, including the Priscian Vatican manuscript, was transferred to the Vatican Library.

Owner(s): Fulvio Orsini

Annotation(s):
Hand B: This hand is regularly present from the 2^th book to the middle of the 7^th, and it probably acted nearly at the same time as the copy of the main text, as evidenced by the rather clumsy appearance and by the form of some letters: a like double cc; Uncial d; and the ancient ligatures ta and tu. m abbreviation is rendered either with the horizontal stroke or with the 3-shaped sign (the latter becoming typical, as well as unique, in the later Beneventan script).Latin
Hand C: C is later than B, whose marginalia C often corrects. He masters a well-formed Beneventan script, in addition to the obligatory ligatures of this script, C also has the optional ligatures, like sp bound at the top with an open p-eye. C presents the exclusively Beneventan ligature for eius, given by e in ligature with i that is cut off by an oblique stroke (this ligature becomes frequent from the end of the 9^th century onwards). The m abbreviation is only in the 3-shaped form.Latin
Hand D: D appears in the margins of certain initial sheets, serving as a summary of the text's content. These summaries are preceded and followed by the catchwords, hp, hd.Latin
Hand E: E left different annotations in the margins of books 13^th and 14^th.Latin

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