Saint Petersburg Bede

The Saint Petersburg Bede (Saint Petersburg, National Library of Russia, lat. Q. v. I. 18), formerly known as the Leningrad Bede, is an early surviving illuminated manuscript of Bede's 8th century history, the "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum" ("Ecclesiastical History of the English People"). Although not heavily illuminated, it is famous for containing the earliest historiated initial (one containing a picture) in European illumination. It is so named because it was taken to the Russian National Library of Saint Petersburg (later known as Leningrad) in Russia at the time of the French Revolution.

Dating

Traditionally, the Saint Petersburg Bede is attributed on palaeographic grounds to Bede’s monastery at Wearmouth-Jarrow. It is also traditionally dated to 731/732 × 746 on the basis of the so-called Memoranda, a series of retrospective dates found in the margins of Bede’s "recapitulo" in Book V Chapter 24. The validity of these Memoranda (and similar notes in the Moore Bede) as evidence for the precise year in which the manuscript was copied has been vigorously challenged. While it may not be possible to assign the manuscript to a specific year, it seems unlikely that it was copied much after the middle of the eighth century.

Physical description

The manuscript is written on parchment. It contains 162 in style, the figure shows Mediterranean influence, as do other elements of the illuminations, such as the foliate decoration filling in the B shown above.

Contents

The Saint Petersburg Bede contains one of the two oldest surviving examples of the "m-type" text of the Latin "Historia ecclesiastica" (Colgrave and Mynors 1969, xliv). The manuscript also contains one of two copies of the vernacular text of the Northumbrian "aelda" recension of "Cædmon's Hymn" in the bottom margin of "f. 107r" (actually f. 108r; see Cædmon). The poem has been copied in the fourth hand of the main Latin text (Parkes 1982, 6).

Notes

Bibliography

The Saint Petersburg Bede is a frequently studied manuscript. The following is a partial bibliography of significant studies and catalogue entries:

Re Illuminations:
*T. Voronova and A Sterligov, Western European Illuminated Manuscripts (in the St Petersberg Public Library), 2003, p198, Sirocco, London.Re Texts:
*Anderson, O. S. 1941. "Old English material in the Leningrad manuscript of Bede’s ecclesiastical history". Skrifter utgivna av Kungl. humanistiska vetenskapssamfundet i Lund/Acta reg. societatis humaniorum litterarum Lundensis, 31. Lund: Gleerup.
*Arngart, O. S. 1952. "The Leningrad Bede: an eighth century manuscript of the Venerable Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum in the Public Library, Leningrad". Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, 2. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
*————. 1973. "On the dating of early Bede manuscripts". "Studia Nordica" 45: 47-52.
*Bévenot, M. S. J. 1962. "Towards dating the Leningrad 'Bede'." "Scriptorium" 36: 366-9.
*Colgrave, B. and R. A. B. Mynors 1969, "Bede’s ecclesiastical history of the English people". Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. xliv.
*Dobbie, E. v. K. 1937. "The manuscripts of "Cædmon’s Hymn" and "Bede’s Death Song" with a critical text of the "Epistola Cuthberti de obitu Bedæ"." Columbia University Studies in English and Comparative Literature, 128. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 16-17.
*Dobiache-Rojdestvensky, O. 1928. "Un manuscrit de Bède à Léningrad". "Speculum" 3: 314-21.
*Gillert, K. 1880. "Lateinische Handschriften in Saint Petersburg". "Neues Archiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde" 5: 243-625 [correctly 243-265]
*Ker 1990. "Catalogue of manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon". Oxford: Clarendon Press. Art. 122.
*Lowe 1934-, "Codices latini antiquiores: a palaeographical guide to Latin manuscripts prior to the ninth century". Oxford: Clarendon Press. Art. 1621.
*————. 1958a. "A key to Bede’s scriptorium: Some observations on the Leningrad Bede". "Scriptorium" 12: 182-90.
*────. 1958b. "An autograph of the Venerable Bede?" "Revue Bénédictine" 68: 200-2.
*Meyvaert, P. 1961. "The Bede 'signature' in the Leningrad colophon". "Revue Bénédictine" 71: 274-86.
*O'Donnell, D. P. 2005. "Cædmon’s Hymn, A multimedia study, edition, and witness archive." SEENET A. 7. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. §§ 4.37-4.38.
*────. 2002. "The accuracy of the Saint Petersburg Bede." "Notes and Queries" 247: 4-6.
*Parkes, M. B. 1982. "The scriptorium of Wearmouth-Jarrow". Jarrow Lectures. Jarrow: [St. Paul’s Rectory] . 5-12.
*Robinson, F. C. and E. G. Stanley 1991. "Old English verse texts from many sources: a comprehensive collection." Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, 23. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger. [Facsimile of "f. 107r" on pl. 2.3] .
*Staerk, A. 1910, "Les manuscrits latins du Ve au XIIIe siècle conservés à la bibliothèque impériale de Saint-Pétersbourg", I. Petrograd: Publichnia Biblioteka. Art. 26. Art. xlii
*Wright, D. H. 1961. "The date of the Leningrad Bede". "Revue Bénédictine" 71: 265-73.