Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3868
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Codex Vaticanus 3868 is an illuminated manuscript of the comedy of Publius Terentius Afer in Latin, from the 9th century, housed in the Vatican Library. The manuscript is also known under the name Vatican Terence. According to the art-historical analysis the manuscript was copied from the model dated to the 3rd century.
Description
The manuscript was made at Corvey, about the year 825, the name of the scribe was Hrodgarius. The illustrations were made by three artists, on of them was named Adelricus.[1] It contains illustrations of 141 scenes. Bischoff dated the manuscript between 820-830.[1]
It is an example of the art of the Carolingian time, but the illustrations represent an antique model.[1] The text of the manuscript was edited by George Colman in 1768.[2] It was more recently edited by Christoph Stiegemann and Matthias Wemhoff.
The archetype of the codex
Since the end of the 19th century many scholars tried to estimate the date of the model, from which Vaticanus 3868 was copied. According to Weitzmann it is a most faithful copy of a late classical original manuscript.[1] On the basis of the art-historical data the manuscript was dated to the 5th century by Weitzmann, Koehler, and Mütherich.[3] The artist was schooled in the Greco-Asiatic manner.[4] This point of view dominated before World War II.
In the 1960's another more detailed art-historical analysis were made. The pictures of female masks were compared with three female masks dated between ca. 242 - ca. 267. The hair-style of the Terence portrait is close to the one favoured by emperors between 238-249. It means that models from which codex was copied were made in the 3rd century.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d C. R. Dodwell, Anglo-Saxon Gestures and the Roman Stage, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 4.
- ^ The comedies of Terence (1768), ed. George Colman, London.
- ^ C. R. Dodwell, Anglo-Saxon Gestures and the Roman Stage, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 5.
- ^ C. R. Dodwell, Anglo-Saxon Gestures and the Roman Stage, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 6.
- ^ C. R. Dodwell, Anglo-Saxon Gestures and the Roman Stage, Cambridge University Press, 2000, pp. 12-20.
External links
- The comedies of Terence (1768), ed. George Colman, London.
- "The most ingenious and expressive work of narrative art known from all of Late Antiquity" (820)
- C. R. Dodwell (2000). Anglo-Saxon Gestures and the Roman Stage (PDF). Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–21. ISBN 0 521 661889 9.
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