Ambr. A 63 sup. [diktyon 42188]
Physical Description
Ambr. A 63 sup. (11 M.-B.) is a manuscript written on paper and consists of 111 folios. The volume is bound with wooden boards and a leather spine. At the beginning of the codex there are three ancient flyleaves, and one at the end (probably all contemporary with the binding).
On the first front flyleaf there is a note referring to the titles of two works transmitted in the codex: “Orphei Argonautica et Hymni Callimachus cum schol(iis)”; another indication (“Hymni 6”), written in a different ink, appears to be a later addition.
On the second flyleaf there is a note ex libris “ex libris Io. Vinc. Pinelli”; the third flyleaf is blank.
The manuscript is a composite copy consisting of three codicological units, which once had an independent existence (though probably for a short time).
It is likely that the first unit (ff. 1-58) is completely independent from the other two, and that its first quire (ff. 1-12) was inserted to complete the volume, perhaps originating from another codex (or from another fascicular block), since it is the only quire in the manuscript that bears a quire signature (on ff. 1r and 12v there appears, perhaps, a delta or stigma, though barely legible). This quire is written by a different hand and shows a distinct layout.
The Callimachean Hymns were copied in the third unit.
The binding is ancient, with old wooden boards and a leather spine, also ancient. The state of preservation is fair, but overall the binding remains structurally sound. The boards are 6 mm thick. The edges are decorated in red.
The dimensions of the codex are 218 × 174 mm (with binding) and 217 × 170 mm (text block, variable).
The manuscript contains the Orphic Argonautica, with marginal and interlinear annotations (ff. 1-59r); the Orphic Hymns (ff. 59v-79r); the Hymns of Proclus (ff. 79v-81v) and several additional Orphic Hymns (ff. 82v-83v); Callimachus’ Hymns, with marginal scholia and interlinear glosses (ff. 90r-110r); and Nicetas of Heraclea’s treatise De deorum nominibus (ff. 110v-111).
Brief History of the Manuscript
The Callimachean section, which is of particular interest here, is considered a copy of the Mutinensis Estensis 164, transcribed by Giorgio Valla (Smiley 1920, pp. 73-76; Stephens 2015, p. 42) before May 1492 (Bulloch 1985, p. 57). It transmits the entire hymnic corpus (Homeric, Orphic, Proclean, and Callimachean Hymns), composed in the East between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the lost archetype ψ (Wilamowitz 1926⁴, p. 5), from which all known manuscripts of the Callimachean Hymns derive (Maas 1926-1927, pp. 205-211; Pfeiffer, pp. lv-lxxxvi; Bulloch 1985, pp. 77-79).
The Mutinensis passed into the possession of Michele Suliardo (1477-1509: RGK I/A 286; II/A 392; III/A 468), a copyist active in Greece – specifically in Crete, Methone, and Corfu – from where he departed for Italy thank to J. Lascaris (Speranzi 2010a, p. 264).
The manuscripts in which Suliardo’ hand has so far been identified attest to his activity between Florence and Bologna.
A subscription on f. 111v of the Ambrosian manuscript places Suliardo in the house of a certain Manuel Pollumates, where he declares that he drew up a document on 22 October 1509 in the presence of witnesses. Since in that year Valla’s codices were located in Venice and Carpi, it has been assumed that the manuscript was produced in Italy (Lobel 1933, pp. 54-56; Pfeiffer 1953, p. lxix). However, further research is required to reconstruct the history of the manuscript and Suliardo’s scribal activity.
Martini, Bassi, i, pp. 12-13; Smiley 1920, 59-60 (description of the manuscript); Smiley 1920, 73-76 (for the Ambrosianus’ dependence on Mutinensis Estensis 164); Pfeiffer 1953, p. lxix (for a short description of the manuscript and its relation to the Callimachean manuscript tradition); Stephens 2015, p. 45; Bulloch 1985, p. 57 (concerning the dependence of the Ambrosian manuscript on Mutinensis Estensis 164); Wilamowitz 1926⁴, p. 5 (on the hypothesis regarding the composition of the lost archetype Ψ in the East between the 12th and 13th centuries); Lobel 1933, pp. 54-56 (for an investigation into the itinerary of Michael Suliardos); Lampros 1909 (about the relationship between Suliardos and Pollumates); Speranzi 2010a (for J. Lascari’s mission to bring copyists of Corfiot origin to Florence); Speranzi 2010b, pp. 361-367 (for Suliardos’ activity between Corfu and Florence); Gerlac 2025 (for an in-depth study of Suliardos and his activity not only as a copyist but also as editor and original compiler of a collection of maxims and apophthegms in the Florilegium Ottobonianum [unpublished], in Vat. Ott. Gr. 192, ff. 184v-239r); Rodella 2013 (for the history of Gian Vincenzo Pinelli’s library); Berg 2001 (edition with translation and commentary of Proclus’ Hymns); Malamis 2024 (recent edition of the Orphic Hymns); Vian 1987 (edition and French translation of the Orphic Argonautica).