F-x60p: Justinian, Digestum vetus with the Accursian gloss, Digest 4.8.42-49 and 4.8.52-4.9.3
Five of the six strips are identified with high confidence as pieces of a single leaf of the Digestum vetus (the first of the three volumes in which the Middle Ages copied Justinian's Digest), with the Glossa ordinaria of Accursius, the standard thirteenth-century commentary, in the margins. One page of the leaf carries Digest book 4, title 8 (De receptis, on arbitrators), laws 42 to 49; the other carries the last law of that title (4.8.52), the red rubric of title 9 (Nautae caupones stabularii ut recepta restituant, on the liability of shipmasters, innkeepers and stable-keepers) and its laws 1, 2 and the opening of 3. This is a standard law book: the catalogue already had the kind of text right, and what is added here is the book, titles and laws, the reconstruction of the six strips into one leaf, and the identity of the gloss. The sixth, strip 3, has only a few words in the gloss hand and is not placed; that it belongs to the same leaf is likely from the hand and the shared binding, not shown.
The Fragmentarium record describes Leuven, KU Leuven Bibliotheken Bijzondere Collecties, Ms. 1032: six parchment strips, 80 x 75 mm, in Northern Textualis, dated 1301-1350, with red pen initials, catalogued as "Unidentified Roman law text, with gloss". Its reconstruction summary says the strips were used as a spine lining, were probably recovered from the same binding as Ms. 1033 (F-18n8), and that strips 2 and 6 carry the offset of a twelfth-century liturgical manuscript. The description fits; it names no work, book or title. The catalogue date has not been reassessed.
- Identification: identified, high. On strips 2, 4, 5 and 6 the surviving line ends and line beginnings of the main text agree with the Digest in wording and sequence across two titles, including the rubric of title 9, the praetor's edict "in eos iudicium dabo", and three successive red initials V, P, I standing at the inscriptions (the headings naming the jurist excerpted) of Ulpian, Paulus and Julian at D. 4.8.45-47. A first candidate, D. 42.8 (Quae in fraudem creditorum facta sunt ut restituantur), fits the rubric ending and "dabo" on strip 4 but not the words that follow; the Code, Institutes and Authenticum are excluded by the jurists' inscriptions. In the margins, five glosses to D. 4.9.1 (on mesonautam, vel per navis magistrum, nobis magis, si ante and vectorum) agree with the printed Accursian gloss in wording and in order, and one ends with the siglum "ac." in the manuscript; the marginal text is therefore the ordinary gloss itself, not an earlier or independent apparatus. Small differences of wording are given below. Strip 3 and one face of strip 1 carry only scraps in the gloss hand and are not placed.
- Transcription: source-assisted selected reading of the lines collated. The image-only first reading recorded many of the letter groups correctly (for example "fraudib(us)", "tam accep", "corrigit(ur). ali(a)s hic loq(uitur)") without connecting them. A research reader reread all the quoted lines on the images with the Digest and the printed gloss at hand and expanded the abbreviations from them; the reading of strip 5 and of the gloss on strip 1 does not rest on the first reading, which gave only isolated words there. Every line is cut at one or both ends. Accuracy has not been measured.
- Verification: a research reader compared the manuscript images with a transcription of the Mommsen-Krueger text of the Digest (not a page image of that edition) for the main text, and with page images of the glossed Paris edition of 1566 for the gloss and for the layout of the passage. The coordinating model read the main column of strip 2 "verso" on the manuscript image (canvas 3, native box 2450,200,3570,3000: "uersus eos q / ne nunc q / fraudibus / tam accip / exercet quam / qui nauis n / sint sed de ex / tit nec enim") against D. 4.9.1.1-2, and the upper lines of strip 6 (canvas 10, "habemus", "nobis magis") against D. 4.9.1.6-7; it did not check the gloss. Gaps: strip 3 and the "recto" of strip 1 are unplaced; the column on strips 5 "recto" and 6 "verso" is abraded and was read only for a few words or not at all; the gloss on strip 2 "recto" was not collated; the gloss was compared in one sixteenth-century print only, with no manuscript or incunable of the gloss. No human review.
Textual evidence
Manuscript images, with native-pixel boxes: strip 4 "recto", whole image; strip 2 "verso", main column 2450,200,3570,3000 and gloss 100,300,2500,3214; strip 6 "recto", 150,300,2200,2741; strip 5 "verso", 100,200,2400,1500; strip 1 "verso", 0,0,1618,1700; strip 4 "verso", whole image; strip 2 "recto", 0,150,1300,3000. In the manuscript column, a slash marks a line break, parentheses a resolved abbreviation, two dots text cut away, square brackets letters supplied, a question mark an uncertain reading.
Main text.
| Ms. 1032 | Digest (Mommsen-Krueger) |
|---|---|
| strip 4 "recto", line ends: ..[fe]cerit pe- / ..solue(n)- | 4.8.52: moram fecerit, poenam ex compromisso debet, sed postea solvendo poena liberatur |
| in red: ..nes (et) / ..uant(?) | rubric of 4.9: Nautae caupones stabularii ut recepta restituant |
| ..re re- / ..u(m) dabo. | 4.9.1 pr.: quod cuiusque salvum fore receperint nisi restituent, in eos iudicium dabo |
| ..q(ui)a nece(sse) / ..tere: | 4.9.1.1: Maxima utilitas est huius edicti, quia necesse est plerumque eorum fidem sequi et res custodiae eorum committere |
| ..oc ad- / ..arbi- / ..oc e(ss)et | ne quisquam putet graviter hoc adversus eos constitutum: nam est in ipsorum arbitrio, ne quem recipiant, et nisi hoc esset statutum |
| ..rib(us) ad- (strip 4) + uersus eos q.. (strip 2 "verso") | materia daretur cum furibus adversus eos quos recipiunt |
| ..ndi. cu(m) (strip 4) + ne nu(n)c q.. (strip 2) | coeundi, cum ne nunc quidem abstineant |
| strip 2: fraudib(us). [red paraph] | huiusmodi fraudibus. 4.9.1.2: Qui sunt igitur |
| tam accip.. / exercet qua(m).. | nautam accipere debemus eum qui navem exercet: quamvis |
| qui nauis n.. / sint. s(ed) de ex.. / tit. nec eni(m).. | nautae appellantur omnes, qui navis navigandae causa in nave sint: sed de exercitore solummodo praetor sentit. nec enim debet |
| strip 6 "recto": ..m habemus. It(em) p.. li. .. / ..bit parui refer[r]e res | 4.9.1.6-7: ad cottidianum usum habemus. Item Pomponius libro trigensimo quarto scribit parvi referre, res |
| ..enas intuli.. si tame(n) | nostras an alienas intulerimus, si tamen nostra intersit |
| ..nobis magis qua(m) q.. / solui. (et) ideo si pignori m.. | etenim nobis magis, quam quorum sunt, debent solvi. et ideo si pignori merces accepero |
| pecuniam nauticam m.. / debi.. tenebit(ur). s.. an.. | ob pecuniam nauticam, mihi magis quam debitori nauta tenebitur, si ante eas suscepit |
| ..aut(em) saluu(m) fore / ..miss(a)e assig.. | 4.9.1.8: Recipit autem salvum fore utrum si in navem res missae ei adsignatae sunt |
| strip 5 "verso": ..o(mn)iu(m) eu(m) recip(er)e ..dia(m) / naue(m) illat(a)e su(n)t. (et) factu(m) no(n) sol(um) | et puto omnium eum recipere custodiam, quae in navem illatae sunt, et factum non solum |
| ..ru(m) pr(a)estar(e) d(ebere) .. uector(um) / [red initial] ..icut | nautarum praestare debere, sed et vectorum, 4.9.2: Sicut et caupo viatorum |
| strip 4 "verso", line beginnings: p(rae)sen.. ; red V, lp. li.. ; red P ; red I, ulia.. ; arbit.. | 4.8.44 end: utroque praesente arbitratus esset; 4.8.45 Ulpianus libro xxviii ad Sabinum; 4.8.46 Paulus; 4.8.47 Iulianus: Si compromissum ita factum est, ut ... arbiter sententiam dicat |
| strip 2 "recto", line ends: ..ia furio- / ..iosus cu- / ..huc litig- / ..te curato- / ..t(er) ad(e)sse li- | 4.8.49 pr.-1: quia nihil coram furioso fieri intellegitur. quod si furiosus curatorem habet vel habuerit adhuc litigio pendente, potest praesente curatore sententia dici. Arbiter adesse litigatores |
Gloss.
| Ms. 1032 | Glossa ordinaria, Paris 1566 |
|---|---|
| strip 2 "verso", left block: ..medio.. me.. alii di.. / ..me.. nauta(m) qui o(mn)ib(us) aliis in na.. | col. 662, gloss n: Mesonautam. id est mediocrem, a meson, quod est medium. Alii dicunt, id est meliorem nautam, qui omnibus aliis in navi praeest. |
| (contra) h(oc) ed(ictum) po(m)p. e(st). i. e. §. fi. So. quid.. / ..p(er?) hoc corrigit(ur). alii q(uod) hic loq(ui)t(ur).. | sed contra hoc edictum Pompo. est infra eodem §. fi. Sol. quidam dicunt quod hoc corrigitur. Alii quod hic loquitur cum extra |
| ..da(m)pnu(m) datum (est). ar. i. e. debet. Tu / ..lo(quitur) ubi nauta cui .. co(m)mis.. | navim damnum datum est: arg. infra eodem debet. Tu dic quod hic loquitur ubi nauta cui non erat commissum, contraxit et recepit et non |
| ..or. u(e)l ei(us) magi(ster). un(de) nullo mo(do) te.. / ..or at ubi exercitor .. ten(etur) d(e) facto | exercitor, vel eius magister. unde nullo modo tenetur de facto nautarum exercitor. at ubi exercitor contraxit tenetur de facto nautarum |
| q(uem) i(pse)met p(rae)posuit. ac. | col. 662, gloss o: Vel per navis magistrum. quem ipsemet praeposuit. Accursius. |
| ..mo (contra). ut. i. fur. ad(uersus) .. §. p.. / ..no(m)i(n)ati(m) dix(it) se no(n) recipe(re) .. p(er)ic(u)l.. / ..al(ite)r ibi d(e) ea(?) act(ione) dic(it) que d(e)scen.. | cols 663-664, gloss on vectorum: immo contra: ut infra furti adversus nautas caupones stabularios §. pe. Solu. ibi nominatim dixit se non recipere in se periculum eorum. Vel aliter, ibi de illa actione dixit quae descendit ex quasi maleficio |
| strip 1 "verso", line ends: ..uus. So. ibi / ..sic. u(e)l ibi / ..u(e)l / ..ne i(llud) in rei. uin. | col. 663, gloss d: Nobis magis. immo magis domino ... et l. quod servus. Sol. ibi non habebat ius in re: hic sic. Vel ibi erat praedo, hic non. Vel hic speciale. Vel hoc in hac actione: illud in rei vindica. |
| ..n(te) suscep. s(cilicet) / ..tulit (et) s(ecundu)m | col. 663, gloss f: Si ante. alias est ante: et tunc dic, ante suscepit, scilicet debitor qui is qui intulit. et secundum hanc literam |
Differences. In the main text no difference of wording was seen in the letters that survive, with two reservations. The first rubric line appears to end "-nes (et)", read as caupones et, where neither the Digest edition nor the 1566 print has "et"; only the last letters of the two rubric lines survive. Between "quia necesse" and "committere" on strip 4 the line is too short for the full wording and a small cursive addition stands beneath it, so some words were probably omitted and supplied; the addition is not legible. In the gloss the manuscript seems to read "per hoc corrigitur" for the print's "quod hoc corrigitur" (the first sign is uncertain) and "de ea(?) actione dicit" for "de illa actione dixit". Beside strip 5 "verso" the gloss words "id est principium l[egis]" and "sufficit enim" correspond to the printed glosses on Et ita and Recepit at D. 4.9.3 pr.; these were not collated further.
Sources. Main text: Digesta Iustiniani, ed. Th. Mommsen and P. Krueger, book 4, titles 8 and 9, in the transcription at The Latin Library; law and paragraph numbers are that edition's. Gloss: Digestum vetus seu Pandectarum iuris civilis tomus primus ... commentariis Accursii et multorum insuper aliorum ... illustratus, Paris: Guillaume Merlin, Guillaume Desboys and Sebastien Nivelle, 1566, in the scan of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek copy at the Internet Archive, cols 661-662 and cols 663-664, read as page images. The attribution of the gloss to Accursius rests on that edition's title page, on the signatures "Accursius" and "Acc." printed after glosses in this passage, and on the "ac." in the manuscript; the scholarly literature on the transmission of the gloss was not consulted.
The leaf, other items in the images, and limits
All the placed pieces belong to one leaf with two columns of main text of about 31 to 37 letters a line and gloss in both side margins. On the page with the later text, strip 2 gives the gloss and the line beginnings of the first column and strip 4 its line ends, the two overlapping by two lines; strips 6 and 5 follow one another in the second column, and strip 1 gives the line ends of the gloss beside it. The catalogue's "recto" and "verso" are labels of convenience: the earlier page (D. 4.8.42-49) is the "verso" of strip 4 but the "recto" of strips 2, 5 and 6. From the Julian initial on strip 4 to D. 4.8.52 at the same height on its other face is about 1,600 letters, one column of roughly fifty lines, which fixes the order of the two pages; which of them was the recto of the original book is not determined. On strip 5 "recto" a red initial D with "e reb(us)"(?) probably opens D. 4.8.43, with the end of 4.8.42 above it; that column is abraded and the reading is tentative.
Strip 3 has a few words in the gloss hand on one face and nothing visible on the other; strip 1 "recto" has the beginnings of gloss lines with marginal signs. Neither is placed. The offset of the twelfth-century liturgical book noted by the catalogue is visible on strip 6 "verso" as large letters at right angles to the legal text, and red rules and a red-framed box on strip 2 "recto" may belong to it; it was not read.
Ms. 1033 (F-18n8) was not examined, so nothing is claimed about whether it comes from the same leaf or the same manuscript. No claim is made about the date or origin of the leaf, about the form of the Digest text or of the gloss it carried beyond the passages collated, or about any value of the fragment as a witness.