Second translation
About the third translationCopies representing the Third translation of the Byzantine Physiologus are listed on this page. They are ordered alphabetically and referred to by a siglum and a brief name. They can be viewed by clicking on the + sign. In the section devoted to each copy there is a subsection headed About the copy with information about its location, contents and main features, about research pertaining to it and editions of its text. There are at least two tables in each section: the first lists the chapters in alphabetical order and the second indicates their order in the manuscript, most often in comparison with other copies within the same translation. When a copy has a more complex composition (in some cases copies contain two versions of the Physiologus belonging to different translations), tables relating to both translations are given in the interests of clarity.
The Third translation of the Byzantine recension of the Physiologus is preserved as a complete text in four copies: Т, В, Б and Ц.
The copy З, which is a compilation, contains three chapters of the Second translation, eight chapters of the Third translation, as well as four chapters of mixed text. Four chapters of the Third translation are also available in the manuscript from the Nikoljac monastery (Н3), which at a different point also features a complete copy of the Second translation (Н2). A number of differences in the composition and in the content of the text and a particular sequence of chapters are specific to the Third translation and distinguish it from the Second translation. The chapters about the struthiocamelon and the nightingale are typical only of the Third translation. The four copies are relatively uniform and cannot be divided into groups. The textology of the texts of the Third translation and the lack of equivalents among the extant Greek copies, as well as their limited circulation and homogeneous tradition, lead to the conclusion that this translation descended from a late Greek version of the Byzantine recension which originated in a small literary centre of local significance (see Стойкова 1994: 77-78, 89). •
Copy Б - NLS Belgrade 38About the copy Б
National Library of Serbia, Belgrade, (NLS Belgrade 38), last quarter of the 16th century, p. 81-117.
The copy contains twenty-four chapters. It has the most complete composition of all the copies of the Third translation. The chapter about the lion is missing; it should have been the first one, and that is probably the reason for its loss. It is preserved in copies В and Ц, but is also missing from Т.
The copy has not been published before. •
About the copy В3
University Library, Vienna, (UL Vienna І 26054), 1566, f. 13r-28r.
This copy contains nineteen chapters of the Third translation and one chapter of the Second translation, namely About the bee (f. 27v-28r). As a rule this chapter is included only in the Second translation. It was probably borrowed from such a source, for it is very close textologically to the same chapter in copies П, W, Г, К2, where it is also attested. The gaps in the manuscript are very likely due to physical damage to the protograph. The available chapters generally follow the order typical of the other copies.
The text of the copy has been used in variant readings by J. Polívka (Polívka 1892-1896) and studied in detail by S. Gechev (Гечев 1938: 93-96).
It has not been published before. •
About the copy З3
Library of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Kukuljević collection (HAZU Zagreb ІІІ.а.20), 16th century, f. 13r-31v.
It contains twenty-nine chapters, a compilation of the Second translation (З2) and Third translation (З), including four (chapters with mixed text): about the lion, the aurochs, the turtle dove and the pigeon (З) (see Стойкова 1991; Стойкова 1994: 78-81). Twelve chapters belong to the Third translation.
The copy is published in part in Jagić 1866 and in full in Novaković 1879: 181-203. This copy was the first one made available in a printed edition and has been used by all researchers interested in the Slavic Physiologus. See, for instance, Polívka 1892-1896, Ягич 1895, Гечев 1938: 76-87, Сване 1987: 285-308. •
Chapters in З3 - alphabetical order
| 1 | Aspide |
| 2 | Elephant |
| 3 | Nightingale |
| 4 | Partridge |
| 5 | Sea Urchin |
| 6 | Seahorse |
| 7 | Snake |
| 8 | Stag |
| 9 | Stork |
| 10 | Struthiocamelon |
| 11 | Swallow |
| 12 | Unicorn |
| 13 | Vulture |
About the copy Н3
Collection of the Nikoljac monastery, Montenegro, (Nikoljac monastery (Montenegro) 52), at present in the National Library of Serbia, Belgrade, 1485-1495, f. 197v-208v.
This copy contains four chapters of the Third translation. Elsewhere in the manuscript (f. 197v-208v), a full version of the Physiologus of the Second translation (Н2) is included. This is the earliest copy of the Physiologus of the Third translation. Its editorial and textological features do not differ from those seen in the other copies.
The copy has not been published before. •
| 1 | Aurochs |
| 2 | Lion |
| 3 | Nightingale |
| 4 | Struthiocamelon |
| 1 | Nightingale |
| 2 | Lion |
| 3 | Aurochs |
| 4 | Struthiocamelon |
About the copy Т
Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia (NLCM Sofia 677), second half of the 15th century, f. 47r-53r, beginning missing.
Its twenty-one chapters are arranged as in Б. As compared to the other copies it lacks three chapters: about the unicorn, the vulture and the struthiocamelon.
The copy has been published by N. Nachov (Начов 1889-1890) and studied by J. Polivka (Polívka 1892-1896) and S. Gechev (Гечев 1938: 87-93). •
About the copy Ц
Church-Historical and Archival Institute, Sofia, (CHAI Sofia 1161), second half of the 16th century, f. 81r-94v.
This copy contains twenty chapters arranged in the same order as the chapters in the other copies of the Third translation. Five chapters (pigeon - turtle dove - nightingale - peacock - frog) are missing due to physical damage to the manuscript. This is proved indirectly by the unfinished chapter (about the stork) that should be before them and by the missing beginning of the chapter that should be after this group (about the swallow).
The copy has not been published before. •