Escorial, Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de San Lorenzo, ár. 913
[Colour scanned images of the textblock and covers.]
Single work: Arabic and Judeo-Arabic.
Date:
Book II.3 (=VI) completed during the first ten days of June 1382 of the Spanish era (i.e., Muḥarram 745/June 1344) (86r); Book III.3 (=IX) completed on Tuesday, the last day of Rabīʿ al-awwal 745/10 August 1382 of the Spanish era (=ad 1344) (126r).
Or.:
unknown, probably al-Andalus; copied by Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Mūsā b. Muḥammad al-Qurṭubī al-Yamānī (126r).
Prov.:
no statements of ownership in Arabic script. Old shelfmarks: ‘T VII.A.2’ (Iv), ‘J.I.16’ (Iv), ‘Cod. 873’ (Iav), ‘Cod. 843’ (?) (spine).
Cod.: paper with watermarks, I+161+Ia ff. (foliated with Arabic-European numerals in pen; no catchwords). Two different hands. First hand (1v–126r, Books I.1–III.3): an Andalusī hand in brown or black; fully dotted ductus, hardly any vowels or hamzas, and no shaddas; centered book headings and chapter headings in bold red, except on ff. 98v–126r in bold black; the words qāla Baṭlamyūs (usually abbreviated as qāla Baṭ on ff. 105v–126r) and qāla l-mufassir in red (1v–98r) and in bold black (98v–126r). Second hand (128r–160v, Books IV.1–3): a cursive Sephardic hand in dark brown. Minor tables and horoscopes. First part of the codex in acceptable condition; significant ink corrosion, moisture and mold stains; restorations on the first two folios; second part of the codex in good condition. Dimensions: 265×205 mm; 33–35 (1v–126r) and 26 (128r–160v) lines per page. Bound in a European light-brown leather binding, decorated with blind-stamped frames with floral motifs; several blind-stamped elements with gilding; a central golden stamp 'MERVISSE SATIS' probably stemming from Juan de Borja, who was in the service of King Philip II (r. 1556–1598), with a black stamp of the Escorial library underneath; small holes in the covers due to hinges, damage to the spine partially restored. Head, tail and fore-edge coloured in gold with inscription ‘16. EBU AL HAZEN BINMIAAN (?) BATSMAIUC (?)’.
Cont.: astrology. — Index: title page (Iv); Ptolemaica (1v–161r); two tables on the Hebrew calendar in Arabic with Arabic-European numerals (86v–87r); a note and a horoscope in Hebrew script (161v). Blank: presumably Ir, 88v, 126v–127v.
Bibl.: Miguel Casiri, Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis sive Librorum omnium Mss. quos Arabicè ab auctoribus magnam partem Arabo-Hispanis compositos Bibliotheca Coenobii Escurialensis complectitur, recensio & explanatio, 2 vols, Madrid: Antonius Perez de Soto, 1760–1770, vol. I, pp. 347–348 (no. cmviii); Hartwig Derenbourg and H.-P.-J. Renaud, Les manuscrits arabes de l’Escurial. Tome II. — fascicule 3: Sciences exactes et sciences occultes, Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1941, p. 12.
1v–161r
\1v\ [book title] قال أبو الحسن علي بن رضوان بن علي بن جعفر الطبيب: قصدنا أن نشرح أقاويل بطلميوس في صناعة القضاء بالنجوم على الحوادث. فنقول: إن القضاء بالنجوم على الحوادث صناعة تنبئ عن مبادئ صادقة بالمتكونات المزمعة وذلك أن مبادئها الصادقة هي أشياء تبين بعضها في العلم الطبيعي وبعضها في العلم التعالمي — \161r\ פהד֗ה אשיא קד שרחתהא לך פאנעם אלנט֗ר פיהא וטאמלהא. فهذه أشياء قد شرحتها لك فأنعم النظر فيها وتأملّها.
. — Title: Sharḥ al-Maqāla al-ūlā wa-l-thāniya wa-l-thālitha min Kitāb Baṭlamyūs fī l-qaḍāʾ bi-l-nujūm (Ir). — Additional titles: Libro cumplido del philosopho Batlamayus alofludi de teorica Astronomie con comento de Abi lhacen ali aben redoan aben Jafar Elmedico (Iv). — Index: Book I.1 (=I), 1v–17r; I.2 (=II), 17v–33r; I.3 (=III), 33r–45v; II.1 (=IV), 46r–59r; II.2 (=V), 59v–75r; II.3 (=VI), 75r–86r; III.1 (=VII), 88v–101r; VIII (=III.2), 101r–113r; IX (=III.3), 113r–126r; X (=IV.1), 128r–140v; XI (=IV.2), 140v–153v; XII (=IV.3), 154r–161r. — The first nine books are written in Arabic in Arabic script, whilst the last three books are also in Arabic, but in cursive Sephardic Hebrew script. It is possible that the scribe of both parts is the same, despite his Muslim name, as in the part in cursive Sephardic script there are few words written in Arabic in the seemingly same hand as the section written in Arabic script (145r, 149v, 151v, 152v). The first seven books are numbered according to the book of the Tetrabiblos upon which they comment. Dated scribal colophons for Books II.3 (=VI) and IX (=III.3), and a non-dated scribal colophon for Book XII (=IV.3). Labels of diagrams describing horoscopes in the cursive Sephardic part, in Arabic script. Minor marginal corrections and no collations. Substantial glosses in Hebrew script through the entire manuscript. Minor glosses in Arabic script in at least two different hands and inks. Drawings of hands in the margin pointing to interesting sections of the body text or to marginal glosses.