Ambr. G 32 sup., f. 17r

F. 17r of the manuscript Ambr. G 32 sup. preserves the beginning of Theocritus’ fourth Idyll (vv. 1-11) and provides a particularly striking example of the careful graphic planning with which the scribe organized the relationship between the poetic text and the scholiastic apparatus. The placement of the scholia along the upper, outer, and lower margins clearly reflects an intention to guide the reader through the text with precision, despite some inevitable displacements imposed by the spatial constraints of the page. Specifically, the scholia on this folio correspond to verses 1-10, while scholium ια, pertaining to verse 11 (λυσσῆν), could not be accommodated here and continues onto the following folio (17v). Nevertheless, the overall layout of the page exemplifies a careful balance between text and commentary, demonstrating how the scribe calibrated the writing space to ensure the scholiastic apparatus remained as clear and legible as possible.

The writing area on f. 17r measures 2 (33) [97] (34) 18 × 10 [85] (16) mm. The dimensions in round brackets indicate the sections taken up by the marginal scholia, while those in square brackets refer to the actual writing space strictu sensu, reserved for the poetic text. The numbers outside the brackets correspond to the blank space left unoccupied by writing.