Netherlands, Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, Or. 2074

Averroes' Long Commentary on the Metaphysics
Physical Description
  • Material: Paper
  • Pages: 183 leaves
  • Leaves Format: not available
  • Dimensions: 288 x 210 mm
Detailed Description
  • Foliation:
    There is a foliation (ff. 1r- 183v : on the outer edges above) and a pagination (1-366: on the margins below), both going from right to left, written by pencil and in European numbers; the numerations are correct.
    There is no original foliation but on 14 verso-pages (below, at the left) catchwords are given ( 9v , 19v , 29v , 41v , 58v , 68v , 79v , 89v , 99v , 109v , 119v , 137v , 147v , 157v ). These old catchwords are not only scattered; their references are not correct any more. This is due to the fact that the manuscript is not in its original condition.
  • Collation:
    Parts of the manuscript are lost, the remaining leaves have been rebound in a way which does not corresopond to the original sequence of the layers.
    The catchwords suggest that the original collation was that of five double leaves.
    In the present-day collation the layers mainly consist of three double leaves. This is the actual collation: 1r- 4v ; 5r- 5v ; 6r- 11v ; 12r- 12v - 14r- 15v - 17r- 17v ; 18r- 21v ; 22r- 27v ; 28r- 31v , 32r- 37v ; 38r- 43v ; 44r- 49v ; 50r- 57v ; 58r- 63v ; 64r- 69v ; 70r- 71v ; 72r- 77v ; 78r- 81v ; 82r- 87v ; 88r- 91v ; 92r- 97v ; 98r- 101v ; 102r- 107v ; 108r- 111v ; 112r- 117v ; 118r- 121v ; 122r- 127v ; 128r- 129v ; 130r- 130v - 132r- 133v - 135r- 135v ; 136r- 141v ; 142r- 147v ; 148r- 153v ; 154r- 159v ; 160r- 165v ; 166r- 171v ; 172r- 177v ; 178r- 183v ;
  • Condition Description:
    In bad condition: the manuscript is damaged, parts have gone lost.
    Parts which originally belonged to this manuscript are today part of Ms. Leiden 2075.
    Part n°4 is severly damaged: inner corners on the lower pages are often stripped, sometimes they were repaired by sticking paper; presumably the last folios got lost.
  • Decoration:
    Part n°3: with sub-headings Part n°4: ink inconsistent; some words were re-written
  • Layout:
    Text is set in one column

    On average 30 lines to the page
  • Hand Description:
    Text was written by three hands, all in maghribī style.
    Part n°1 (ff. 1r- 69v ) was written by the same hand as part n° 4 and item 2 in Ms. Leiden Or. 2075; text starts on f. 1v ; about 33 lines to the page (normal 32-34, sometimes 31 or 35, in rare cases 30 or 36-37); body of text: 225 x 150 mm; about. 16-19 words / line; the length of the lines are irregular; beginning / end of a line: sometimes the words are split or duplicated.
    In this part of the manuscript we find the biggest disorder of layers and accordingly of catchwords; on the last page of this part (f. 69v ) the text breaks off after the subheading التفسير; the rest of the page is empty.
    Part n°2 (ff. 70r- 127v ) was written by another hand as the other parts in a regular, elegant script; text starts on f. 70v (f. 70r is empty); 29 lines to the page; body of text: 225 x 160 mm; about 22 - 25 words / line; only very seldom words are cut at the end of the line: this is more accurate as in part n°1 and reveals a professional scribe who carefully copied his template.
    Originally these 58 folios formed six layers as it is indicated by catchwords on f. 79v , f. 89v , f. 99v , f. 109r , and f. 119r .
    Just as in part n°1, the verso-page of the last folio in part n°2 as we have it today is not completely covered with text: there are only 24 lines, the last 5 lines are empty - this is not really surprising because on f. 127v is the end of a maqāla (same picture with the end of a maqāla on f. 116r : the rest of the page is empty).
    Part n°3 (ff. 128r- 147v ) again was written by another hand as the other parts (similar writing as in part n°2 but clearly from a different scribe); text starts on f. 128v (f. 128r is empty); 29 lines to the page; body of text: 225 x 165 mm; about 22 words / line.
    Originally these 20 folios formed 2 five double leaves.
    Unlike parts n°1 and n°2, the text at the end of part n°3 (f. 147v ) is not interrupted; there is the end of a chapter but the text continues on f. 148r although this folio already belongs to part n°4.
    Part n°4 (ff. 148r- 183v ) was written by the same hand as part n°1; 32 - 34 lines to the page (sometimes 29/30 - 36 lines, this is similar to part n°1); body of text: 230 x 160 mm; number of words / line varies considerably; inconsistent length of strokes.
    On ff. f. 156v- 157v , the sequence of the lines is not correct; Bouyges has no idea what could have happened here.
    At the end (f. 183v ), the writing changes in the second line; what follows is the text written by another person according to what this scribe assumed to be the lacking text; the inner lower corner is lacking, and what is resting of the last line shows clearly that it was not the clausule - did the text go on originally?
    The incoherent picture of part n°4 imposes the question if this part was written by one hand only.
  • Acquisition:
    Manuscripts registered in Leiden in the period between 1871 and 1833 .
  • Provenance:
    Witkam dated this manuscript as
    According to Witkam it is not known how the manuscript entered the Royal Library in The Hague , but it does also originate from the Library of the Jesuit Collège Clermont (today Lycée Louis-le-Grand ) in Paris , from where it was sold by arrest of July 5, 1763 .
History
  • Origin Date: Partly 13th (7th h.) century?
  • Origin Place: not available
  • Jan Just Witkam , Inventory of the Oriental manuscripts of the Library of the University of Leiden Vol. Vol. III (Or. 2001 - Or. 3000), Leiden (2008) [Link]
  • Maurice Bouyges , Notes sur les philosophes arabes connus des Latins au Moyen Age: V. Inventaire des textes arabes d'Averroès, Beirut (1922) , pp. 3 - 54
Content
Averroes Long Commentary on the Metaphysics x - x
  • Note:
    This is the unique manuscript whith the original Arabic text of the treatise. However it is incomplete and in disorder. The first book contains only 23 chapters (instead of 34), and parts of the third book were intercalated in the first and second parts. Furthermore, a big part (but not all missing folios) was bound to another manuscript (see Ms. Leiden Or. 2075).