Copistes, élèves et érudits: la production de manuscrits philosophiques autour de Georges Pachymère

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In September 2008, the seventh edition of the International Colloquium of Greek Palaeography (Madrid-Salamanca, 15-20 September 2008) celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Palaeographia Graeca, the pioneer work of the Benedictine Bernard de Montfaucon that established the fundamentals of the discipline. Papers by renowned specialists in the field contributed to the methodology of study and to our knowledge of Greek manuscripts, and opened new perspectives for the study of the Greek manuscripts preserved mostly in European libraries, taking into account new methodological approaches, the possibilities of online resources and the results of ongoing research projects.

The Proceedings published here include contributions by specialists from over ten different countries, dealing with palaeographical issues such as ancient capital and lower-case lettering, writing and books in the Macedonian, Comnenian and Palaeologan periods, and Greek scribes and ateliers in the Renaissance (especially in manuscripts from the Iberian Peninsula). Many contributors also take a codicological approach and consider the material aspects of the codex, as well as other new research techniques. Finally, some papers deal with the book as object and how this relates to its content, as well as with the history of texts.

The International Colloquia of Greek Palaeography are organized by the International Committee of Greek Palaeography, presided by Prof. Dieter Harlfinger. The seventh edition payed tribute to the memory of the late Jean Irigoin, who died in 2006.

This paper examines manuscripts which—due to their philosophical content, their textual structure and their handwriting—can be ascribed to people working for or in the circle of the Constantinopolitan philosopher George Pachymeres (1242-ca. 1315). The paper provides a list of the relevant manuscripts and identifies some of their scribes, including George Galesiotes, Manuel Gavalas and, possibly, Constantine Acropolites. This investigation into manuscripts sheds light on the intense philosophical activity in Pachymeres’ milieu and arrives at a better comprehension of its final product: Pachymeres composes his own philosophical commentaries, or reworks ancient ones, in new codices, which are subsequently copied for study by his pupils. An oral discussion of specific problems of interpretation, which in some cases has left written traces, must have taken place subsequently.