Ambr. A 181 sup., f. 22v

Ambr. A 181 sup., f. 22v

On folio 22v, verses 423–506 of Book 4 of the Iliad are transcribed. Here as well, the expertly structured layout is evident, with the scholia precisely framed within the folio (cf. f. 14v). This folio particularly exemplifies the scribe’s careful pre-calculation of the portion of text to be copied, as the layout of the lower margin is “disturbed” by a diagram outlined in red and drawn prior to the inscription of the scholia. This diagram vividly illustrates the chiastic structure of verses 450–451: ἔνθα δ’ ἅμ’ οἰμωγή τε καὶ εὐχωλὴ πέλεν ἀνδρῶν / ὀλλύντων τε καὶ ὀλλυμένων, ῥέε δ’ αἵματι γαῖα (Il. 4.450–451: “There were together the laments and cries of joy / of the killers and the killed, blood flooded the earth”). This didactic drawing was likely already present in the exemplar and appears in other manuscripts containing the same scholia text; for example, it is outlined in the form of an X on folio 57r of manuscript Ambr. L 116 sup. In the folio presented here, a considerable number of scholia in the intercolumnar space are drawn in red, accompanied by a series of interlinear glosses, as well as one gloss in black ink in the intercolumnar space. Furthermore, one scholiast’s note includes a symbolic reference mark (second column, seventh line from the bottom).

Dimensions: writing surface: 290 × 200 mm; poetic text: 233 × 160 mm; intercolumnar space: 20 mm; margins: upper 10 mm, lower approximately 15 mm; outer 18 mm; inner 15 mm.