- Incipit
The incipit, or opening words of the text, is not present in Camaldoli manuscript (Brown, 1994, p. 72) . The manuscript as it is now is missing page 1. Further research did not produce any information on what the incipit said before the folio went missing or if in fact there was an incipit present on the manuscript at the time of its creation.
- Explicit
There is one very distinct explicit, or closing of a textual unit, found in the manuscript (Brown, 1994, p. 56) . Unfortunately, notation on folio number or name of text was not recorded.
- Colophon
The colophon, the inscription with information relating to the manuscript, its creator, and the place it was created, is located on f.5 (Brown, 1994, p. 43) . It states who created the manuscript and when it was created. The inscription in part, from a translation, is “To the honor of the Creator ... [by] the lord (common title) Simon of Genoa, [at] the wilderness or wild, Camaldolese (Google, 2010) .
- Size
The size of the Camaldoli manuscript is very large. It measures in height from head to tail at 36.5 cm/ 14.4 in and from spine to fore edge 25cm/ 8.9 in. The width of the manuscript from front cover to back cover is 13cm/5.1 in. thick (Brown, 1994, pp. 6-7) .
- Binding
The Camaldoli manuscript is covered by two heavy wooden boards covered with dark brown leather. Only twenty metal bosses and studs remain. The clasps and 20 additional bosses are missing. It is bound with Coptic style stitching, which is holding the 340 folio pages together (Avrin, 1991, pp. 309-310) .
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| Back cover of manuscript |
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| Inside front cover |
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| Pegging |
- Material
The manuscript is written on parchment. The parchment used was most likely made from the hides of livestock located at the monastery that were sent to the local parchment maker (Avrin, 1991, p. 210) .There are a few folia in quire 5 that have been replaced. The paper while old, feels sturdy and very strong. The pages have very little damage on the edges or within the text.
- Collation
I could not find the actual number of quires or gatherings, but from studying the manuscript I am approximating that there are 34 quires of ten folia or five bifolia (Brown, 1994, p. 105) .
Rulings: The manuscript is written in double columns of 32 lines.
Collation:
· ff.1-2v0 - ferial psalter
· ff. 3-4v - Camaldolese liturgical calendar (January through December)
· ff. 5-257 - Winter and Spring temporal from Advent 1 to Whit Saturday, with a sermon of St. Augustine, a part of a St Bernard sermon, and a extended series of Camaldolese liturgical ordines. Inserted between Ember Saturday and Christmas.
· ff. 257v-328v - Twenty-five Sundays after Pentecost
· ff. 329-335v - Trinity Sunday
· ff. 336-340v - A supplement of Marian prayers without music, which includes “Ave” psalters, litany, orations, an Office, and “Gaudia S. Mariae”
