F-v0qx: Johannes Matthaeus, Concionum dispositiones, "De templorum dedicatione" (end)
The four paper pieces are a handwritten copy of the last four pages of a printed book: Johannes Matthaeus, Concionum dispositiones in Evangelia dominicalia with its second part on the gospels of feast days, lives of saints and the Passion (Wittenberg: Simon Gronenberg, first printed 1581). They carry the end of the last sermon outline in the book, "De templorum dedicatione" (on the dedication of churches), from the criticism of fairs and drinking at dedication feasts to the "Epilogus" and the closing Greek doxology. The identification is made with high confidence against page images of the 1581 edition. The copy reproduces the page numbers 865-868 and the signatures Kkk and Kkk2 (a signature is the letter mark at the foot of a page that tells the binder the order of the printed sheets). These do not belong to the 1581 edition; they fit the catalogued make-up of the 1590 edition, which was not seen.
The Fragmentarium record describes four paper pieces, Odense, Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek, RARA Musik L 46, envelope 9, 152 × 131 mm, dated 1570-1600, in humanistic cursive, catalogued as "Text on churches", an "Early Modern manuscript copy of an unidentified Latin text on churches" taken from paste-laminate binding boards. The description fits: it is a manuscript, and the subject is churches. The catalogue names no work or author. If the copy was made from the 1590 edition, as its page numbers suggest, it dates from 1590 or later; that follows from an edition that was not seen and is not a claim about the catalogue date.
- Identification: identified, high. On six passages spread over all four pages the fragment has Matthaeus's text in his wording and order, including the numbered heads ("IIII. Cur?", "V. Ubi?", "VI. Quando?", "VII. De prophanatione"), the "Epilogus", and the printed book's own slip "1. Pet. 3" for 2 Peter 3:18. Two printed texts share long stretches with the fragment and were considered: Benedictus Aretius, Problemata theologica, locus "De encaeniis", and Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda aurea, chapter 182 "De dedicatione ecclesiae". They are sources that Matthaeus reworked, not the work copied: the fragment has Matthaeus's own connecting sentences, his numbering and his epilogue, none of which are in either. The edition is a separate question. The 1581 edition has two paginations (478 and 412 pages) and the passage stands there on pp. 408-412 of the second, signature Cc. The 1590 edition (VD16 E 4591, variant issue VD16 ZV 5597) is catalogued as 8 leaves, 868 pages, 2 leaves, in octavo; a text ending on p. 868 in a final gathering of two printed and two blank leaves is exactly what the fragment shows. No scan of the 1590 edition was found, so this rests on the catalogue description. A few small differences from the 1581 text (listed below) may be readings of 1590 or the copyist's own.
- Transcription: source-assisted selected reading of pp. 865-868. The image-only first reading covers only the first four images (the lower parts of pp. 867 and 868). A research reader read pp. 865 and 866 and the heads of pp. 867 and 868 from the images, joining the narrow strips to the main pieces, and rechecked parts of the lower pp. 867-868; the remaining lines of those two pages rest on the first reading. Letters lost between the pieces are supplied in square brackets, where possible from the 1581 print. Accuracy has not been measured.
- Verification: a research reader compared the fragment images with page images of the 1581 edition, pp. 408-412, for the passages tabled below. The coordinator compared the Epilogus and the Greek doxology on the fragment image with the 1581 page image of p. 412. Not checked: the 1590 edition; the first leaves of the outline (before p. 865), which the fragment does not have; a letter-by-letter comparison of the lower halves of pp. 867 and 868. No human review.
Textual evidence
Manuscript images (labels as in the record's manifest; boxes are native pixels x0,y0,x1,y1):
- p. 865: Rara_musik_L_46_9_R_130_009, right half, box 3500,1100,5400,5600; line ends on the strip Rara_musik_L_46_9_R_130_007.
- p. 866: Rara_musik_L_46_9_R_130_010, left half, box 1200,1100,3100,5600; line beginnings on the strip Rara_musik_L_46_9_R_130_008.
- p. 867: head, upside down along the top of image 010, box 0,100,3200,1200; body on Rara_musik_L_46_9_R_130_006, box 3300,300,5700,5400, with the strip Rara_musik_L_46_9_R_130_004.
- p. 868: head, upside down along the top of image 009, box 3400,100,6551,1200; body on Rara_musik_L_46_9_R_130_005, box 900,300,3700,5400, with the strip Rara_musik_L_46_9_R_130_003.
Square brackets mark letters lost between the pieces or not read; abbreviations are resolved silently.
| Fragment | Matthaeus, 1581, part 2 |
|---|---|
| p. 865: "idololatriam potius gentilem spi[ran]t, quam Christianae fidei simplicitatem. [...]bus accedit mercatus, ut circa templa, nec non [in] templis, in Coemiteriis, forum rerum venaliu[m v]ideas: tota die bibitur, tota die luditur, sa[ltat]ur, lascivi cantus audiuntur, quae omnia m[agis] Bacchi quoddam festum resipiunt, quam [...] Christianismi antiquitatem." | p. 408: "Haec omnia, quae in Papistica dedicatione fiunt, idololatriam potius gentilem spirant, quam Christianae fidei simplicitatem: quibus accedit mercatus, ut circa templa, nec non in templis, in coemiteriis, forum rerum venalium videas: tota die bibitur, tota die luditur, saltatur, lascivi cantus audiuntur, quae omnia magis Bacchi quoddam festum resipiunt, quam pii Christianismi antiquitatem." |
| p. 865: "Satis autem dedicatum esset templum, [si] extructo illo, Ecclesia conveniret, & caner[et] psalmos in laudem Dei, & gratiarum action[em] compositos: si pastor omissis superstitiosis illis [Pa]pistarum ceremoniis concionem haberet ad popu[lum], de ingenti beneficio Dei ... IIII. Cu[r]? Templum Hierosolym[itan]um erat extructum, ut ad illud populus [Isra]eliticus ex tota Palaestina conflueret ad aud[ien]dum Mosis libros" | p. 408: "Satis autem dedicatum esset templum, si extructo illo, Ecclesia conveniret, & caneret psalmos in laudem Dei, & gratiarum actionem compositos: si pastor omissis superstitiosis illis Papistarum ceremoniis concionem haberet ad populum, de ingenti beneficio Dei ... IIII. Cur? Templum Hierosolymitanum erat extructum, ut ad illud populus Israeliticus ex tota Palaestina conflueret ad audiendum Moysis libros" |
| p. 866: "Papist[ae rec]ensent quinque caussas, cur templa sua dedicent, [qu]arum 1. est, ut inde Diabolus & eius [...]as expellatur. 2. Secunda est, ut ad templa f[ugien]tes, tanquam ad asyla, salventur ... Quod [...] fingunt, diabolum Caeremoniis & Crucibus & [aqu]a benedicta fugari, superstitiosum est et magic[um]: quod ex templis asyla fecerunt κακοζηλ[ία] est. ... Quare h[is] caussis posthabitis, sciamus templa aedificari Deo [u]t populus conveniat ad verbi Dei conciones" | p. 409: "Papistae recensent quinque caussas cur templa sua dedicent, quarum prima est. 1. Ut inde diabolus & eius potestas expellatur. 2. Secunda est, ut ad templa fugientes, tanquam ad asyla, salventur ... Quod autem fingunt, diabolum ceremoniis & crucibus & aqua benedicta fugari, superstitiosum est & magicum: quod ex templis asyla fecerunt, κακοζηλία est. ... Quare his caussis posthabitis, sciamus templa aedificari Deo, ut populus conveniat ad verbi" |
| p. 867: "I. Ierobaam enim, sicut legitur 1 R[...] vitulos erexerit, unum in Dan, & [...] Bethel, quae dicitur domus Dei: [...] avaritiam, & regnandi libidinem [...]ret regnum ad Roboam rediret [...]nificatum est avaritiam Clericorum [...] Dei valde contaminare, Cum [...]latriae pecuniae gratia in omnibus [...]rigunt." | p. 411: "I. Ieroboam enim, sicut legitur 1. Reg. 12. duos vitulos erexit, unum in Dan, et alterum in Bethel, quae dicitur domus Dei. Et hoc propter avaritiam & regnandi libidinem fecit, ne scilicet regnum ad Roboam rediret. Per hoc significatum est, avaritiam clericorum Ecclesiam Dei valde contaminare, cum vitulos idololatriae pecuniae gratia in omnibus Ecclesiis erigunt." |
| p. 868, head and body: "Nebuzar Adan autem princeps coquorum, significabat illos, qui gulae & luxuriae [dedi]ti sunt, quibus venter Deus est. Profan[ant i]gitur Ecclesiam Clerici in Papatu ... III. [A]ntiochus: qui fuit superbissimus & amb[...] domum Dei polluit, & profanavit ... sic dicit Bernhardus: Honorati in[cedunt de] bonis Domini, cui tamen Domino honor[em non d]eferunt ... et plus calcaria quam altaria fulgen[t]" | p. 411: "Nebuzar Adan autem princeps coquorum, significat illos, qui gulae & luxuriae dediti sunt, quibus venter Deus est. Profanant igitur Ecclesiam Clerici in Papatu ... III. Rex Antiochus, qui fuit superbissimus & ambitiosissimus, domum Dei polluit & profanavit ... sic dicit Bernhardus: Honorati incedunt de bonis Domini, cui tamen Domino honorem non deferunt ... & plus calcaria quam altaria fulgent, &c." |
| p. 868: "[Ep]ilogus. [...]mus igitur insignem hanc Dei gratiam [...] nobis copiam dederit convenien[di in ...]s, ad audiendum verbum Dei, & uten[dum Sa]cramentis: quodque templa nostra a su[perstiti]one & idololatria Papistica purgarit ... [c]onfirmet Deus, etc: 1. Petri. 3. Αὐξάνετε ἐν χάριτι καὶ γνώσει τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ νῦν, καὶ εἰς ἡμέραν αἰῶνος. Ἀμήν." | p. 412: "Epilogus. Agnoscamus igitur insignem hanc Dei gratiam, quod nobis copiam dederit conveniendi in templis, ad audiendum verbum Dei, & ad utendum sacramentis: quodque templa nostra a superstitione & idololatria Papistica purgaverit. Precemur etiam, ut, quod operatus est in nobis, hoc confirmet Deus, &c. 1. Pet. 3. Αὐξάνετε ἐν χάριτι καὶ γνώσει τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς ἡμέραν αἰῶνος. Ἀμήν. Finis." |
Differences noted in the passages compared: significabat for significat, erexerit for erexit, Ierobaam for Ieroboam, purgarit for purgaverit, ita facere for ibi facere at the end of head IIII, Mosis for Moysis, "Antiochus" without "Rex", and shorter forms of some references. The division into pages and lines differs throughout, as it must between editions. The running title (the short title printed at the head of each page) reads "CONC. DISP. DE" and "TEMPLORUM DEDICA." in 1581, with "CON. DIS. DE TEM. DED." on the last page; the fragment has "[...]N: DISP: DE" on its left-hand pages, with "etc:" added on p. 868, and "TEMPLORUM DEDICA[...]" on its right-hand pages. Whether the small verbal differences are readings of the 1590 edition or of the copyist cannot be decided without that edition.
Edition compared: Concionum dispositiones in Evangelia dominicalia, studiosae iuventuti in Academia Vitebergensi publice propositae a Johanne Matthaeo Smalcaldensi, Theologiae Doctore et Professore, Wittenberg: Simon Gronenberg, 1581, with the second part Concionum dispositiones in Evangelia feriarum, in vitas sanctorum et in historiam passionis; copy of the Provinzialbibliothek Amberg digitised by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, title page, p. 408, p. 409, p. 411, p. 412. The attribution rests on that title page, read as an image, and on the library's record (Johannes Matthaeus, 1526-1588). VD16, the bibliography of sixteenth-century German printing, lists the 1581 edition as E 4589 and E 4590 and the 1590 edition as E 4591 with the variant ZV 5597; the collation (the bibliographical statement of a book's leaves and pages) of the 1590 edition, "[8] Bl., 868 S., [2] Bl.", octavo, is taken from the union catalogue record, not from a copy.
How the copy is made, and what else is in the images
Handwritten, not printed. At full resolution repeated letters differ from one another (for example the t and d in "tota die bibitur, tota die luditur"), strokes are joined by the pen, the ink varies in density within words and the baseline wanders; the signature marks and the flourish after the doxology are drawn with the pen. The scribe nevertheless kept the furniture of a printed page: running titles, page numbers, signatures, a catchword ("Pa-" at the foot of p. 865, for "Papistae" on p. 866) and double hyphens at line ends.
Arrangement. The pieces fit together as one sheet folded twice. Pages 865/866 (signature Kkk) and 867/868 (signature Kkk2) are two leaves joined head to head, so that the top of one appears upside down above the other, and each has a blank leaf beside it. The narrow strips are the outer edges of the two written leaves and supply the line ends and beginnings missing from the main pieces. The text ends on p. 868. In the 1581 edition the eight preliminary leaves are signed A; if the 1590 edition is made the same way and its text begins with gathering B, Kkk1 is p. 865, as in the fragment. Why a final gathering was copied by hand is not known; supplying leaves missing from a printed copy is one possibility.
Sources of the printed text. Matthaeus's outline draws on Aretius, "De encaeniis" (for example "tota die bibitur, tota die luditur ...", and "semel factae, quotannis non sunt repetitae" under "VI. Quando?") and on Legenda aurea, chapter 182 (the five reasons for dedicating a church, and the three profaners Jeroboam, Nebuzaradan and Antiochus with the quotation from Bernard). This was checked against the text of Aretius's 1589 edition and Graesse's 1850 edition of the Legenda aurea, both as OCR text.
Other images in the record. The manifest also lists seven images labelled "L 42 130 front cover", "back cover", "spine" and so on. They show the parchment cover of a different volume and belong to the record F-x06a, catalogued there as Cicero, De natura deorum II 54-58 and 64-68. They are not part of this fragment.
No claim is made about the scribe, the place of copying, or the copy of the printed book for which these leaves were written.