Legendary, in the Latin hand of the scribe Cundpato, on vellum [Bavaria (Freising), first half of the ninth century]

provenance

1. Written in the monastery of Freising, near Munich, by a scribe who names himself Cundpato in Greek and Runic characters in a manuscript of Isidore's Etymologies (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm.6250; Bischoff, Die Südostdeutschen Schreibschulen, I, no.34, pp.98-99, pl.III.d). His hand also appears in a Gospel Book, now Kremsmünster, Stiftsbibl., Clm.2 (ibid. no.99, p.125). In the fifteenth century the parent manuscript of the present leaf was in the monastery of Eberhardsklausen, near Trier, and was reused as binding material. Bischoff traced a number of leaves from this lost codex in Frankfurt, fragm.lat. I27; Koblenz, Landeshauptarchiv, Best 701 Nr.759,54; Trier, Stadtbibl., fragm. und Leimabdr. 55/1000 4o, 183/1099 8o, 190/1246 8o, and 1881/1508 8o; and Weimar, Thüringisches Staatsarchiv, Hardenburg sammlung 5 (Bischoff, Katalog der festländischen Handschriften, 1998, I, p.268, no.1267), as well as one then in his own collection (now Schøyen MS.1819; cf. S.Krämer, in Aevum 81, 2007, p.627) and the present example (then owned by Kraus). The scribe's name is not common, but is recorded as a recurring family name in the ruling dynasty of Carinthia from the mid eighth century onwards, and appears repeatedly in the necrology for St.Peter's, Salzburg (MGH, Nec. Germaniae, 1904, pp.18, 20, 28 and 42). He was most probably a member of this dynasty, who had held authority in Carinthia for at least a generation before Charlemagne came to power, and certainly before 763 when Charlemagne forcibly deposed Duke Tassilo III (c.741-c.796), the last king of Bavaria in the Agilolfing line. The aristocracy of Bavaria attempted to exploit this shift of power for their own ends (see H. Wolfram in Recht und Schrift im Mittelalter, 1977, pp.115-30), and Cundpato and his family most probably transferred their allegiances to Charlemagne and remained in power.

2. Bergendal MS.114; bought by Joseph Pope from Kraus in November 1981 (his cat.100, 1962, no.1 and his List 199, no.94): Bergendal catalogue no.114.

text

This leaf contains part of the Passion narrative of SS. Nicostratus, Claudius, Symphorian, Castorius and Simplicius, stonemasons in Pannonia (an area of Central Europe bounded on its northern and eastern frontiers by the Danube) who refused to fashion a pagan statue for Emperor Diocletian (245-313 AD.), or to offer sacrifices to pagan Roman gods. They were put in lead boxes and drowned in the River Sava, a tributary of the Danube. The text has an interesting note on the quarrying of porphyry columns for Diocletian's temple.