Contents
1. Middle Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics (באור אמצעי על ספר מה שאחרי הטבע) by Averroes
(fols. 1-162v), translated from the Arabic by Kalonymus ben Kalonymus: begins אמר מציאות האמת קשה
(Steinschneider 1893:160). Other copies in Munich: BSB Cod.hebr. 244 (fols. 122v-210v) which
belonged to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter; BSB Cod.hebr. 226 (fols. 122v-210v).
2. Middle Commentary on Aristotle's Physics (באור אמצעי על ספר השמע הטבעי) by Averroes (fols. 163-261),
translated from the Arabic by Kalonymus ben Kalonymus: begins הראשון בזה המאמר כוונתי הראשונה לחקור
(Steinschneider 1893:114-115). Other copies in Munich: BSB Cod.hebr. 73 (fols. 2-105v) from Fugger's
Venetian group; BSB Cod.hebr. 310; BSB Cod.hebr. 341 (fols. 58-112v) which belonged to Domenico
Grimani and later to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter; BSB Cod.hebr. 352; BSB Cod.hebr. 468
(fols. 2-44).
3. Middle Commentary on Aristotle's Meteorologica (באור אמצעי על ספר האותות העליונות) by Averroes
(fols. 262-318), translated from the Arabic by Kalonymus ben Kalonymus: beginsמספר אותות עליונת
המאמר הראשון אמר למה שדברים והקימים בתבות הראשונות המשותפות לכל הגשמיים (Steinschneider 1893:138).
Another copy in Munich: BSB Cod.hebr. 372.
Scribes
Anonymous scribe of titles: fol. 1. Scribe 5* (Scribe A**): fols. 2-20v, in dark brown ink. Scribe 2 (Scribe B): fols. 21-31v, in dark brown ink. Yishai ben Yehiel (Scribe C): fols. 32-148v, 150v, 151v-158 (lines 1-15), fol. 158 (lines 22-30)-159 (lines 1-7), fol. 161 (lines 12-30)-162v in dark brown ink. Scribe 13 (Interpolator A**): fol. 33v (lines 1-8), fol. 37 (lines 1-9), fol. 40v (lines 1-8) in dark brown ink; Meshulam bar Shmuel Faibush of Poznan (Interpolator B): fols. 54-54v, 57-57v, 124v (lines 10-13), 149-150 in brown ink. Itzhak ben Elijah Manosh (Interpolator C): fols. 91 (lines 3-30), fol. 158 (lines 16-20: ... שכל), fols. 159 (lines 7: ואמנם ... -30)-161 (lines 1-11: ... רבים) in brown ink. Interpolator 5* (Interpolator D): fol. 158 (lines 20-30), fol. 158v (lines 1-21) in brown ink. Mendel (Scribe D): fols. 163-318 in dark brown ink. * Running numbers (Scribe 1, 2, etc.) denote anonymous main scribes and interpolators throughout the entire group of Fugger’s Venetian manuscripts. ** The letters A, B, etc. denote the order of copying by the main scribes and interpolators in this manuscript. Scribes identified by name are not numbered.
Script
The text is written in semi-cursive Ashkenazi script, while titles and some initial words are in square Ashkenazi script.
Number of Lines
The text is written in 30 lines per page, in one column.
Ruling
Ruling by stylus: 30 horizontal and 1+1 vertical lines (e.g. fol. 163).
Quires
36 quires of 8 and 10 leaves each. Quire composition: I8 (1-8); II8 (9-16); III8 (17-24); IV8 (25-32); V8 (33-40); VI8 (41-48); VII8 (49-55); VIII8 (56-64); IX8 (65-72); X8 (73-80); XI8 (81-88); XII8 (89-96); XIII8 (97-104); XIV8 (104-112); XV8 (113-120); XVI8 (121-128); XVII8 (129-136); XVIII8 (137-144); XIX8 (145-152); XX10 (153-162); XXI10 (163-172); XXII10 (173-182); XXIII10 (183-192); XXIV10 (193-202); XXV10 (203-212); XXVI10 (213-222); XXVII10 (223-232); XXVIII10 (233-242); XXIX10 (243-252); XXX10 (252-261a); XXXI10 (262-271); XXXII10 (272-281); XXXIII10 (282-291); XXXIV10 (292-301); XXXV10 (302-311); XXXVI8 (312-318a).
Catchwords
Catchwords for leaves are written horizontally at the left below the text in semi-cursive script by the text scribes.
Blank Leaves
Fols. 1v, 151 (no text missing), 163v, 261a verso, 261b-261b verso, 262v, 318a verso.
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Women's Section
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Colophon
Fol. 162v: נשלמה העתקה ביאור בן רשד' לכל מאמרי מה שאחר/ הטבע לארסטו העתקת החכם פלוני היום יום א' כח'/ בחדש אב
ש"י לפ"ק/ פרשת צדק צדק תרדוף למען תחיה וירשת.
(The copying of the commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics by Averroes was completed [from the exemplar] by an anonymous [scribe], today Sunday, 28th of the month Av 5310 [1550]).
Watermark
Watermarks: A trefoil flower between 'P' and '3' in the outer corner of the folio (32 mm; e.g. fols. 1, 2, 21, 31, 266, 293, 318): similar to Harlfinger 1974-80, Lettres 75 (Venice, 1548, 1550); 'A' in the outer corner of the folio (27 mm; e.g. fols. 34, 50, 80, 112, 147, 159, 192); counter mark: 'B' between the points of two crossed arrows forming an X at the centre of the folio (66 mm; e.g. fol. 163): similar to Harlfinger 1974-80, Flèche 41 (1547).
Binding
Dark green leather partly turned brown on wooden boards (353 x245 mm); gold-tooled with a central roundel on the front and a shield on the back cover within an undulating lozenge in a large rectangle, decorated with floral motifs at the centre of each side and at the corners. The front roundel is inscribed סופיא פילו/; below are the letters FFF. The spine, blind-tooled with hatching, has four hidden cords and head and tail bands. On the edges of the front cover are vestiges of four groups of three plaited leather bands; two groups on the side edge and one each on the upper and lower edges, with corresponding holes for four nails on the edges of the back cover (for preserved bands see Cod.hebr. 301). Each group of three bands terminated in a ring which was intended to hook over the nails in the opposite cover. The leaves are gilt-edged.
This binding was executed for Fugger by the 'Fugger Binder' inVenice(Hobson 1999:119-129). Similar bindings in BSB: e.g. Cod.hebr. 25, 34, 41, 53 and Cod.gr. 12.
Watermarks on flyleaves: None.
Decoration Program
Title pages by Mendel written in ribbon-like letters (fol. 163) and in letters decorated with geometrical and scale patterns (fol. 262).
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Owners' inscriptions: None.
Inscriptions of librarians and researchers:
First front flyleaf, verso: Contents in Hebrew in brown ink by Librarian 1a:
פילוסופיא/ ביאורי בן רשד לכל מאמרי מה/ שאחר הטבע לאריסטו.
Below it Philosophia by Librarian 7; on the left by Librarian 1a: Biuri ben raschad leachal maemari ma\ schaeahar hatecha laerasth; on the right by Librarian 2: Auerrois explanatio libroru(m)\ physicorum Aristotelis.
On the cropped leaf inserted between the front flyleaf and fol. 1, verso:
פרושים של רבינו שלמה וקצת/ תלמוד קצת על חמשה חומשי תורה/ ועל ההפטרות מכל שנה/ חלק ראשון.
Back pastedown on the exlibris in plummet: contents of the manuscript in German.
Exlibris and stamps:
Front pastedown: an exlibris of the Bavarian Court and State Library (227 x 155 mm) with the arms of
Elector Maximilian I of 1638 (Dressler 1972:B3ab).
On fols. 1’ and 318v there is a 20th-century oval stamp of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek:
BIBLIOTHECA\ REGIA\ MONACENSIS.
Old signatures:
Back cover, upper right corner in black ink: St. 8. n. 42 (second signature of the Fugger's library).
Front cover, lower right corner in black ink: 2. n0. 37 (Duke's library, Prommer's signature).
Front first flyleaf, upper right corner in brown ink: MS. Hebr. 26.
Sticker on the spine: 10?
Sticker on the back pastedown and on the spine: Cod.hebr. 30 (current signature).
On exlibris in plummet: Cod.hebr. 30 (current signature).
Main Surveys & Excavations
Dressler 1972 F. Dressler, Die Exlibris der Bayerischen Hof- und Staatsbibliothek, 17. bis 20. Jahrhundert, Wiesbaden 1972.
Harlfinger 1974-80 D. Harlfinger, Wasserzeichen aus griechischen Handschriften, Berlin 1974-1980.
Hobson 1999 A. Hobson, Renaissance Book Collecting: Jean Grolier and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, their Books and Bindings, Cambridge 1999.
Sirat and Dukan, unpublished C. Sirat and M. Dukan, Etude des manuscrits hébreux"sehr inkorrekt"
conservés dans la Bibliothèque de Munich (Institut des Recherche et d'histoire des Textes, CNRS,
Paris), unpublished.
Steinschneider 1893 M. Steinschneider, Die hebräischen Übersetzungen des Mittelalters und die Juden als Dolmetscher, Berlin 1893.
Steinschneider 1895 M. Steinschneider, Die Hebräischen Handschriften der K. Hof- und Staatsbibliothek in München, Munich 1895.