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TERENCE.
Comoediae. Comm: Aelius Donatus and in part J. Calphurnius.
Venice: Bonetus Locatellus, for Octavianus Scotus, 28 Jan. 1492/93.
Goff T89b
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Parchment made from animal skins an expensive commodity in the fifteenth century. As a result, even parchment that had been previously used was frequently recycled and repurposed. The owners of this book, which contains the Comedies of the Roman playwright Terence, bound it in a fragment of a Hebrew text of the Bible; the Hebrew text (beginning Exodus 17:8) describes a war with the Amalekites, the arch-enemies of the Children of Israel. There is a certain irony in the fact that the Roman text was bound in a description of this battle, as according to many Jewish commentators, the Romans were believed to have been descendants of the Amalekites.
Purchased from the University Place Bookshop in 1969 with funding from the Lodge Fund.
Comoediae. Comm: Aelius Donatus and in part J. Calphurnius. Binding (front)
This image is the same as the above, but digitally reversed and rotated, so the Hebrew text is clear.
Comoediae. Comm: Aelius Donatus and in part J. Calphurnius. Binding (front) - reversed